Today the World Endurance Championship held a photo call and press conference at the Autoworld Museum in Brussels ahead of fourth edition of the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday 2 May. The six hour race will see a huge grid of 34 cars driven by big name stars including André Lotterer, Sébastien Buemi, Mark Webber and US actor Patrick Dempsey who will be making his second start in the WEC.
On display, alongside the hundreds of classic and vintage cars, were three race cars from teams that will be competing during the six-hour race in the Ardennes. The race-winning LMP1 class Porsche 919 Hybrid, an LMP2 class KCMG ORECA-Nissan and the LMGTE Am class Porsche 911 RSR run by the Dempsey-Proton Racing team were lined up under the glass roof of the museum.
Four of the drivers who will compete at Spa also took part in the press conference, including reigning World Endurance Driver Champion Sébastien Buemi who also won in Belgium 12 months ago on his way to the world title with Anthony Davidson and Toyota. Also in attendance were Porsche’s Romain Dumas, Audi’s René Rast and KCMG’s Matt Howson.
WEC CEO Gérard Neveu explained to the Belgian media the importance of the race in Belgium to the World Endurance Championship and to endurance racing: “After the high drama of the 6 Hours of Silverstone, which saw Audi take the first victory of the 2015 season by a margin of just six seconds, the focus now turns to the next round of the World Endurance Championship at Spa-Francorchamps. The race comes just before the Le Mans 24 Hours and has a very important position in the calendar; this beautiful Spa track is one of the best endurance circuits in the world and it certainly is one of the highlights of the 2015 season.
“The WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps brings the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to Belgium. The event is attracting more and more spectators every year with a combination of a full race programme and some great entertainment around the circuit for the whole family to enjoy. Everyone has a part to play in the event and that includes the spectators, so we encourage everyone to come and be part of the WEC on the 2 May. We look forward to seeing you there.”
Pierre-Alain Thibaut, General Manager of Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps added: “We are very proud and happy to welcome back the WEC to Spa for the fourth time. It’s an outstanding championship which is still growing and is becoming more and more exciting to follow. There is a long tradition of endurance racing at Spa-Francorchamps and each year has got better and better. Of course we hope that the 4th edition of the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will be as exceptional as those from the past years.”
THE WEC 6 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
The race in Belgium is considered as the traditional dress rehearsal for the Le Mans 24 Hours and has always attracted extra entries from teams making their final preparations for one of the greatest sporting challenges on earth. 2015 is no different, with both Porsche and Audi running a third car in the LMP1 class, ELMS front runner JOTA Sport racing at Spa to prepare for the defence of its 2014 LMP2 Le Mans title, and AF Corse running an extra Ferrari 458 in the LMGTE Am class.
In total there will be 34 cars on the grid for the fourth edition of the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, with nine in LMP1, ten in LMP2, seven in LMGTE Pro and eight in the LMGTE Am class.
For more information on the 2015 WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps CLICK HERE
