WEC's Prologue next up in this busy fortnight (part 2) UPDATED

The second event in this fortnight sequence at GT action heaven will be the return of the World Endurance Championship and their Official Test (Prologue) from the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Astonishingly as it may seem having only completed the last race of the previous Championship season at Le Mans back in mid June, we now (and the teams) have to hit the track running as this new 'winter' package kicks into life proper after it transition of last year.


Breaking the long traditional of the WEC so far, season 8's Prologue will change both venue and indeed country with this months event being held in Barcelona for the first time. Like all Prologues to date, the test provides the team's with their first opportunities of the new season to 'brush away' the metaphorical cobwebs (or in this years case having let the engines cool down) and ready themselves for the eight race season that lays before them - a season that starts in late August at Silverstone and runs right through to the conclusion of the season at Le Mans in June 2020.

At least one car of each variant are mandated to attend together with drivers who may have never raced in etc. Championship before. As things stand today with entries for the 2019-20 WEC full season we believe that most, if not all of the Aston Martin Racing cars and drivers will be the same as last year with the exception of both indicated GTE Am cars now being the 2019 AMR V8 Vantage GTE model rather than the older, normally aspirated model that saw its international swan song at Le Mans in June.


As per the entry list for the Prologue, Aston Martin Racing will be providing one such factory supported GTE Pro car for its line up of four indicated drivers - being Nicki Thiim, Marco Sorensen, Maxime Martin and Alex Lynn. That's all we know at the moment and nothing more should or can be read into that regarding the identity of any third driver required per car for the longer races throughout the season. For information, both remaining factory OEM's in Porsche and Ferrari are sending both of their cars but have only listed a single driver per car.

It was Eastwood who kindly posted photos of the new TF Sport GTE car being shaken down last week prior to being delivered to the team this week.


Two - four hour test sessions per day will be available to the teams over the Tuesday and Wednesday - on morning/afternoon and the other late afternoon/evening.

UPDATE

In the ever changing environment of motor racing, the entry list aboard these three Aston Martin Racing GTE's has again changed.

GTE PRO -

No change

GTE Am -

Jonny Adam's name in now place of both Charlie Eastwood and Salih Yoluc aboard the #90 TF Sport car with the later two on racing duty at Spa 24 and now choosing to sit out the Prologue

#98 AMR prepared car - Paul Dalla Lana is now joined by Darren Turner, Ross Gunn, Mathieu Vaxivierre and Mathias Lauda

TF Sport have also since declared that their full season driver line up will again be Salih Yoluc + Charlie Eastwood + Jonny Adam emulating the large percentage of last season where that trio raced together.

Entry into the event is free.

Photo credits - WEC (title banner) - C Eastwood (new AMR)