As well as continuity among the LMP1 Hybrid competitors, the WEC will welcome back Rebellion Racing and the ByKolles Racing Team to the ranks of the LMP1 Privateer entries. The number of cars may be limited, but the competition will be as intense as in any other class of the WEC.
As has been previously written about (HERE), the multiple championship-winning Swiss Rebellion team will be running its two R-Ones on Dunlop rubber, while the No.12 and No.13 cars will continue to be powered by AER engines in 2016, for the second year in a row. Both AER and the team have gained experience and knowledge to improve reliability and efficiency of the P60 V6 twin turbo engines.
There will also be continuity in the driver squad, with Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost, Mathias Beche, Dominik Kraihamer, Alexandre Imperatori and Mathéo Tuscher all making a return to the WEC in 2016.
The slightly re-named ByKolles Racing team will be once again bringing its CLM P1/01 – AER back to the WEC, and will also be running on Dunlop tyres. The Austrian-entered team made great strides forward in the second half of last season, finishing on the podium in the final five races, and the team reports that it has been extremely focussed throughout the winter break on producing a brand new package aimed at increased performance and high reliability. The No.4 ByKolles car will feature a new aero package, suspension geometry modifications and performance upgrades throughout.
Simon Trummer and Pierre Kaffer have been announced as part of the driver squad for the second consecutive year, and the new LMP1 will be unveiled ahead of the official pre-season test session at Paul Ricard in March.
