The inaugural FIA WEC season kicked off in 2012 with the Silverstone race being the first on the calendar that year. Since then, we have had six years of world endurance sports car racing under the auspices of this organisation, and numerous teams have come and gone. While the current WEC set up has lost some of its early lustre, there have been some great moments that we can look back on.
The 2017 WEC season is now behind us, and we all know the results and have seen hundreds of action shots from the year. But we thought we would once again bring you an alternative look at the season’s activities in the pit lane and paddock, some are humorous, some creative and some show quite tense moments. But this is all part of racing, so enjoy:
WEC Prologue, Monza, 1-2 April
(Top left) The #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid to be driven by Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, is unveiled at the WEC Prologue, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, 31 March 2017
(Top right) The #91 Porsche 911 RSR (2017) driven by Richard Lietz and Frederic Makowiecki, undergoes scrutineering at the WEC Prologue, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, 31 March 2017
(Bottom left) Brendon Hartley signing autographs at the WEC Prologue, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, 31 March 2017
(Bottom right) The #24 CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 Gibson driven by Tor Graves, Roberto Gonzalez, Jonathan Hirschi and Simon Trummer, in the pit lane at the WEC Prologue, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, 31 March 2017
WEC 6 Hours of Silverstone, 16 April
(Top left) The #91 Porsche 911 RSR (2017), driven by Richard Lietz and Frederic Makowiecki in the pit lane during the 6 Hours of Silverstone, on 14 April 2017
(Top right) The #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez, is refuelled during the 6 Hours of Silverstone, on 15 April 2017
(Bottom left) After the podium presentation, the #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT driven by Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell and Luis Felipe Derani is wheeled away after winning the GTE Pro class of the 6 Hours of Silverstone on 16 April 2017
(Bottom right) The #4 Team ByKolles ENSO CLM P1/01-Nismo driven by Oliver Webb, Dominik Kraihamer and James Rossiter was Not Classified (NC) following accident damage in the 6 Hours of Silverstone on 16 April 2017
WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, 6 May
(Top left) The #98 Aston Martin V8 Vantage driven by Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda stops in the pits during practice for the 6 Hours of Spa on 6 May 2017
(Top right) Its all action around the #28 TDS Racing Oreca 07 Gibson driven by Francois Perrodo, Ben Hanley and Emmanuel Collard in the 6 Hours of Spa on 4 May 2017
(Bottom left) The #61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Weng Sun Mok, Keita Sawa and Matthew Griffin in the pits during practice for the 6 Hours of Spa on 4 May 2017
(Bottom right) The #97 Aston Martin Vantage driven by Jonny Adam, Darren Turner and Daniel Serra is (unceremoniously) pushed up the pit lane entrance by the marshals during practice for the 6 Hours of Spa on 4 May 2017
WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans, 17/18 June
(Top left) Its all go-go-go as the #92 Porsche 911 RSR (2017) driven by Michael Christensen, Kevin Estre and Dirk Werner comes into the pits during night practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 13 June 2017
(Top right) Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser keeps abreast of the progress of the two works GTE Pro Porsche 911s during night practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 14 June 2017
(Bottom left) The #63 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor calls into the pits during night practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15 June 2017
(Bottom right) The #71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE of Davide Rigon, Sam Bird and Miguel Molina calls into the pits for a driver change during night practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15 June 2017
(Top left) The #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT driven by Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell and Luis Felipe Derani during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, on 18 June 2017
(Top right) The #99 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin Vantage driven by Andrew Howard, Ross Gunn and Oliver Bryant in the pits during practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 14 June 2017
(Bottom left) The #26 Gibson G-Drive Racing Oreca 07 Gibson driven by Roman Rusinov, Pierre Thiriet and Alex Lynn is attended to during practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15 June 2017
(Bottom right) Extraction team practice for the #64 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R driven by Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler during the Le Mans Test weekend on 3 June 2017
WEC 6 Hours of Nürburgring, 16 July
(Top left) “Here catch!” A water bottle change for the #71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Davide Rigon and Toni Vilander during the 6 Hours of Nürburgring on 15 July 2017
(Top right) The #4 Team ByKolles ENSO CLM P1/01-Nismo driven by Oliver Webb, Dominik Kraihamer and Marco Bonanomi is pushed back into the pit garage during the 6 Hours of Nürburgring on 15 July 2017
(Bottom left) The #24 CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 Gibson was driven by Tor Graves, Jonathan Hirschi and Roberto Merhi in the 6 Hours of Nürburgring, 15 July 2017
(Bottom right) “Honestly, the fish was this big,” says Ben Barker, driver of the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche 911 RSR (2015) which he sahred with Michael Wainwright and Nick Foster in the 6 Hours of Nürburgring, 15 July 2017
WEC 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas, 16 September
(Top left) Driver change for the #61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Weng Sun Mok, Keita Sawa and Matthew Griffin in the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas on 15 September 2017
(Top right) ‘Cool’ looking fire marshal at the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, 15 September 2017
(Bottom left) The crew of the #36 Signatech Alpine A470 Gibson, driven by Nicolas Lapierre, Gustavo Menezes and Andre Negrao, practice their pit lane routine ahead of the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, on 13 September 2017
(Bottom right) #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid driver, Andre Lotterer, monitors the progress of team mates Neel Jani and Nick Tandy during qualifying for the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, on 15 September 2017
WEC 6 Hours of Bahrain, 18 November
(Top left) We know that the pit lane can be a dangerous place, but this takes the cake! Sam Bird proposes to his girlfriend in the pit lane during the 6 Hours of Bahrain on 18 November 2017
(Top right) Crew member of the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 Gibson practices a bit of Kung Fu as he tries to get out of the way of the car driven by David Cheng, Alex Brundle and Tristan Gommendy during the 6 Hours of Bahrain, 18 November 2017
(Bottom left) The #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid calls into the pits while in the lead. Driven by Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer and Nick Tandy, the 6 Hours of Bahrain 2017 was this car’s last race
(Bottom right) #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid driver Sebastien Buemi, appears to be in prayerful thought during the 6 Hours of Bahrain, the season’s final race
Final word
Audi dropped out of the WEC at the end of 2016, and now at the end of 2017 Porsche have done the same thing, a year earlier than expected. As we stand here at the end of the 2017, the new season looks somewhat different and a little uncertain with rumours and stories of new LMP1 contenders, although much still needs to be confirmed. No longer will we have a season of racing in the traditional sense, but instead there will be what the WEC has called a ‘super season’ spanning two calendar years. There is so much that is uncertain about this new set up, such as the Sebring race, but hopefully this will be firmed up in due course.
However, one aspect sticks in the throat of the die-hard motor racing fan, and that is the amount of ‘control’ that is meted out within each class, in an effort to make all the cars in each class perform at the same level, this is called the BoP and the EoT. We can but look forward to the future of the WEC and hope that true motor racing returns for all to admire and enjoy.
All the teams go off to their various headquarters, and over the winter there will be much hard work behind the scenes. While they are doing that, Virtual Motorpix and our sister online journal, Porsche Road & Race, will continue to bring you great stories. So be sure to stay tuned over the Festive Season!!
We hope you enjoyed our light-hearted look back at all the WEC pit lane action this year.
Written by: Glen Smale
Images by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale & John Mountney
Great collection of pictures. Worth to be stored as WEC archive through the years.