Before the entry list announcements were made on Friday at the ACO/WEC press conference in Paris, at least three teams were certain of their places on the 2016 grid: the 2015 World Champions Porsche, Audi and Toyota.
Continuity and stability are the key words throughout the class, with just a slight change to Toyota Gazoo Racing’s driver line up as Kamui Kobayashi joins following the retirement from the cockpit of Alexander Wurz (see story HERE). Audi’s driver line up remains the same as 2015, as does Porsche’s.
The LMP1 hybrid manufacturers have been working on their 2016 programmes since mid-way through last year, and both Audi and Toyota will be looking to challenge Porsche every step of the way to regain the coveted World Championship title (Audi 2012/2013, Toyota 2014).
Until the 2016 cars are fully revealed ahead of The Prologue in Le Castellet on 25/26th March – the first time all the WEC cars will be on track together – few technical details are known about them but all LMP1 cars will be subject to certain revisions in the regulations as detailed HERE.
The new-for-2016 Audi R18 e-tron quattro features innovative aerodynamics, represents the next stage in lightweight design and has a modified hybrid system with lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, plus an efficiency-optimized TDI engine.
Porsche Team’s 919 Hybrid has been testing in the Middle East, working with a car which may look similar to 2015 but which has been optimised in all areas, mainly in terms of efficiency and development of functionality where performance gains can be made: engine and gearbox, hybrid system and battery efficiency.
Toyota will introduce the new TS050 at Le Castellet and has already revealed that the 2016 challenger will be wearing a new white, red and black livery. The Japanese manufacturer has worked on significant changes to all areas in order to improve performance, including monocoque, engine and hybrid system to meet the team’s ambitious performance targets.
