Pro line-ups boost 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series field
An influx of all-professional line-ups will boost the entry for the Blancpain Endurance Series to more than 50 cars in 2015
The entry list for the Pro Cup is expected to show 21 cars for the Blancpain GT Series when it is published at next week's official pre-season test day at Paul Ricard.
That is almost double the 11 cars that competed in all five races in the top division last year.
The overall entry is up from the 44 cars that registered for the BES ahead of the start of the 2014 season.
Series boss Stephane Ratel credited the introduction of prize money for the increased entry.
"Prize money has been important in encouraging more cars in the Pro Cup," he said.
"We are going to have a much higher level of competition at the front this year year; the tide is definitely turning in our favour."
Factory entries in the Pro Cup have been confirmed by the M-Sport Bentley team with a pair of Continentals, the Grasser Lamborghini squad with two Huracans and the RJN Nissan team with a solo GT-R.
BMW Team Brazil and the VonRyan Racing McLaren squad had also confirmed two-car entries.
BES frontrunner WRT Audi is expected to run multiple pro entries, while the HTP Bentley squad is also likely to be represented in the class.
The Phoenix Racing team has announced its return to the BES with an Audi R8 LMS ultra to be driven by factory driver Markus Winkelhock, sometime World Touring Car Championship racer Marchy Lee and Shaun Thong, a race winner in the Asian Le Mans Series in 2013.
The German team will remain in the sister Blancpain Sprint Series, which forms the Blancpain GT Series with the BES, and will again field an R8 for Winkelhock and Niki Mayr-Melnhof.
Ratel said that six to eight cars would chase the Blancpain GT title by racing across the BES and the BSS in 2015
A 20-car field is expected for the opening BSS race at Nogaro at the start of April, which is in line with last season.
The entry should swell, according to Ratel, to around 23 cars with race-by-race entries through the season.
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