Fifteen drivers arrive at Fuji International Speedway with the record of having been listed on the grid for every one of the previous 20 FIA WEC races.
In the 2014 LMP1 line-up, no fewer than four Audi men are amongst the 15: Tom Kristensen is the sole Championship survivor of his original crew, but the full 2014 No.2 Audi squad of Marcel Fässler, Benoît Tréluyer and André Lotterer have raced together in every round - the only three man crew in any class with that level of consistency.
The only other 2014 LMP1 factory driver who has raced at all previous rounds is Porsche LMP1 man Marc Lieb, courtesy of his 2012 and 2013 Porsche GT duties.
Only one other current LMP1 driver has made it onto the grid for every race, Dominik Kraihamer, though he has raced with OAK Racing and and Lotus in LMP2 before his current home with Rebellion’s LMP1 effort.
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From the 2014 LMP2 class, only Olivier Pla and Julien Canal have raced in all 20 races so far, Canal featuring for the past two years aboard Larbre’s Corvette LMGTE Am entries.
LMGTE Pro has been relatively stable with the Aston Martin Racing duo of Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke always having been paired together. Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander are ever present for AF Corse but have not always been paired together.
Finally there’s Christian Ried, Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti, a trio that raced together for the first two seasons of the Championship in 2012, and which for this year has seen the Italian pairing moving over to their current 8Star Motorsports Ferrari.
Of the 15, no fewer than five have finished as World Champions (all four Audi drivers in the LMP standings plus Bruni in GTE). Julien Canal’s Larbre Competition campaign, meanwhile, saw the team take the 2012 GTE Am Team Championship.
In terms of teams, Audi Sport, Rebellion, Aston Martin Racing, AF Corse and Proton Competition (previously known as Felbermayr Proton) have entered every race thus far too.
Graham Goodwin
Photos: PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE (LE MANS, FRANCE), 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SCRUTINEERING, MONDAY 9 JUNE 2014. 1) Audi Sport Team Joest's Benoît Tréluyer, André Lotterer and Marcel Fässler; 2) G-Drive Racing's Olivier Pla and Julien Canal, here with Roman Rusinov; 3) Proton Competition's stalwart, Christian Ried, seen here with his 2014 team mate Klaus Bachler.
