World Endurance Championship grid guide

The inaugural World Endurance Championship kicks off this weekend with the Sebring 12 Hours, and while the departure of Peugeot from the sportscar fray has left Audi with a likely open goal, Toyota's decision to up its involvement in its first year back is a welcome boost.

With that likely to form the picture in the top LMP1 category, there are plenty of squads ready to battle for honours in LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am to keep you entertained too.

LMP1

Audi Sport - Audi R18 e-tron quattro/Audi R18 ultra

#1. Andre Lotterer (D)*, Benoit Treluyer (F), Marcel Fassler (CH)
#2. Allan McNish (GB)*, Tom Kristensen (DK), Rinaldo Capello (I)
#3**. Timo Bernhard (D), Romain Dumas (F), Loic Duval (F)
*Only drivers confirmed for full WEC
**Extra car for Sebring, Spa and Le mans only. Not eligible for manufacturers' points except at Le Mans.

Audi must start as a clear favourite for the inaugural FIA World Endurance Championship in the absence of Peugeot, with what will become a split strategy after the season-opening Sebring 12 Hours. The team runs three uprated 2011 TDIs in round one before switching to one e-tron quattro hybrid and one conventional ultra turbodiesel. The driver line-up has a look of extreme familiarity about it, with eight of Audi's nine pilots listed for Sebring having won at Le Mans. The exception is Frenchman Loic Duval, who joins the German manufacturer after impressing in a two-year stint with ORECA (including a Sebring victory last year) alongside his title-winning Super GT commitments with Toyota in Japan. Two diesels and two hybrids are entered for Spa and Le Mans, with Oliver Jarvis, Marco Bonanomi and Mike Rockenfeller driving the extra machine.

Toyota Motorsport - Toyota TS030 Hybrid

#7. Alex Wurz (A), Nicolas Lapierre (F), Kazuki Nakajima (J)

Toyota has stepped up to the plate in the wake of Peugeot's withdrawal and increased its programme to a minimum of six of the eight WEC rounds. The late go-ahead of the programme means the petrol-electric LMP1 hybrid developed at Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne misses the series opener at Sebring, but the negative knock-on effects of this have been alleviated thanks to the late introduction of a 'dropped-score' points system that at least gives the Japanese manufacturer a fighting chance of silverware. A second car, to be raced by Red Bull F1 reserve driver Sebastien Buemi, Britain's Anthony Davidson and up-and-coming Japanese Hiroaki Ishiura, is entered for Le Mans, but the message coming through is that 2012 is very much a learning year and that Audi is unlikely to be toppled just yet.

Rebellion Racing - Lola B12/60 Coupe-Toyota

#12. Nicolas Prost (F), Neel Jani (CH), Nick Heidfeld (D)*
#13. Andrea Bellicchi (I), Harold Primat (CH), Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL)
*Driving at Sebring, Spa and Le Mans only

The top P1 privateer in last year's Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and runner-up in the Le Mans Series mounts a full WEC campaign with a pair of Toyota-engined Lola coupes. The opposition has moved up a notch, which means Rebellion will have to improve its act if it is maintain its place at the front of the petrol pack. Its driver line-up is a strong one, however. Neel Jani was often the fastest man in last year's LMS and Nick Heidfeld, who hasn't driven a sportscar in a competitive arena since he was part of Mercedes' 1999 Le Mans line-up, brings a touch of F1 class for the season's blue-riband races.

OAK Racing - OAK Pescarolo-Judd

#15. Guillaume Moreau (F), Bertrand Baguette (B), Dominik Kraihamer (A)

OAK's late-season form in last year's ILMC, and a bolstering of its line-up with ex-Formula Renault 3.5 champion Baguette, proves the Le Mans-based team's intent to mix it with the top petrol runners. The big question is whether the latest update of the ageing Pescarolo design can keep it on the pace. If it does, then the season could be a good one for Jacques Nicolet's team, especially with the underrated Moreau - a former LMS GT1 champion and an occasional beater of Lewis Hamilton during the 2005 F3 Euro Series - remaining on the driving strength for a fourth year to partner Baguette and Kraihamer, who impressed in LMP2 last year with Thierry Boutsen's squad.

Pescarolo Team - Pescarolo 01-Judd/Pescarolo 03-Judd

#16. Emmanuel Collard (F), Jean-Christophe Boullion (F), Julien Jousse (F)

Henri Pescarolo revived his team to good effect last year, scooping the LMS drivers' crown with Collard, Jousse and his long-serving 01. He is now working on a new car, the 03, built around the Aston Martin AMR-One tub and the Judd V8. This car should debut at Spa, which means the V10-engined 01 is dusted off for Sebring. Pescarolo oldboy Boullion returns to the fold after two years with the rival Rebellion squad and adds a wealth of experience.

Strakka Racing - HPD ARX 03a-Honda

#21. Nick Leventis (GB), Danny Watts (GB), Jonny Kane (GB)

The British Strakka squad moves back to the LMP1 ranks after two successful seasons in P2 with HPD machinery that included a Le Mans class victory in 2010. The team is expecting big things from the new ARX-03a, an upgraded version of the car that finished second at Sebring last year, and will be disappointed if it is not among the petrol frontrunners. Watts and Kane will be at the forefront of the team's push towards the front, with both eminently capable of putting the car at the head of the petrol-engined 'mini grid' - in qualifying at the very least.

JRM - HPD ARX 03a-Honda

#22. David Brabham (AUS), Karun Chandhok (IN), Peter Dumbreck (GB)

The best team over the first two years of the 'other' global sportscar series, the FIA GT1 World Championship, moves into the prototype arena for the first time. Expect the squad led by ex-Formula 1 man Nigel Stepney to get the most out of the car, though the late go-ahead for the programme meant the car didn't test until this week. Speaking of F1, two ex-drivers - Brabham and Chandhok - are on the driving strength, the Australian having achieved incredible success in prototypes during a career that has include a Le Mans win, various ALMS titles and a Japanese GT crown. Brabham, like Dumbreck, was part of the JRM-run Nissan line-up in World GT1s last year.

LMP2

Signatech Nissan - ORECA 03-Nissan

#23. Jordan Tresson (F), Franck Mailleux (F), Olivier Lombard (F)

This could be the best driver line-up in the class if Nissan PlayStation GT Academy winner Tresson lives up to the promise that he's every bit as good as predecessor Lucas Ordonez, who has been moved across to the Greaves squad's European Le Mans Series (but not WEC) line-up. Signatech, the technology arm of Philippe Sinault's Signature organisation, collected the LMP2 teams' title in last year's ILMC and is intent on repeating its success. Mailleux is the only member of that line-up still in place, while youngster Lombard took LMP2 class honours at Le Mans last year.

OAK Racing - Morgan LMP2-Judd

#24. Jacques Nicolet (F), Matthieu Lahaye (F), Olivier Pla (F)

OAK's solo LMP2 entry, now with Morgan badges, has a top driver line-up in former LMS class champion Pla, his fellow former single-seater racer Lahaye and the mandatory amateur Nicolet, who belies his years. The car looks effective, OAK's LMP1 driver Guillaume Moreau having topped last weekend's European Le Mans Series test in the Morgan that's destined for use in that series..

ADR Delta - ORECA 03-Nissan

#25. John Martin (AUS), Robbie Kerr (GB), Tor Graves (GB)

Alan Docking Racing, which once masterminded Mazda's Le Mans campaigns, has teamed up with engineering specialist Delta Motorsport for what looks like a strong attack. There's plenty of quality as far as Kerr is concerned; the 2002 British F3 champion (with ADR) having gained significant sportscar experience and A1GP race wins in the past decade. Australian Martin also made his name in A1GP and has since become the most successful Superleague Formula driver of all time in terms of race wins. Thai-born Graves, who made his racing comeback in last year's LMS after three years out, completes the line-up.

Gulf Racing Middle East - Lola B12/80 Coupe-Nissan

#28. Fabien Giroix (F), Maxime Jousse (F), Jan Charouz (CZ)
#29. Frederic Fatien (CIV), Keiko Ihara (J), Stefan Johansson* (S)
*Confirmed for Sebring only

This team steps up from the GTE Aston Martin ranks to run a pair of new Lolas, powered by Nissan's ILMC title-winning engine. The star turn is former Ferrari and McLaren F1 driver Johansson, who is so far only confirmed for the Sebring season opener, but is hoping to turn his deal into one for the full season. Much will depend on how Ivory Coast driver Fatien and sometime British F3 racer Ihara shape up pacewise. The other car features the experienced Giroix alongside sportscar newcomer Jousse - brother of Pescarolo man Julien - and former LMS champion Charouz.

Lotus - Lola B12/80-Lotus

#31 Thomas Holzer (D), Mirco Schultis (D), Luca Moro (I)

The 2012 season will feature the Lotus name in the LMP arena alongside its more regular GT programme. Romulus Kolles's Kodewa team, which has run Audi R10s at Le Mans in the past, will run the Lotus-engined Lola in the familiar black-and-gold livery. Sometime German F3 racer Holzer is the driver with the most pedigree, having gained sportscar knowledge in the ADAC GT Masters last year. Amateur racers Schultis and Moro will partner him..

Greaves Motorsport - Zytek Z11SN-Nissan

#41. Christian Zugel (D), Ricardo Gonzalez (MEX), Elton Julian (USA)

The British squad had an outstanding 2011 season, Tom Kimber-Smith and Karim Ojjeh bagging the LMS LMP2 drivers' title and Olivier Lombard joining them for their Le Mans 24 Hours class victory. TK-S remains on the LMS driver strength, but hasn't found the budget to compete in the WEC as well. Instead, Gonzalez, Zugel and Julian - the American well known to British fans after his time in UK single-seaters - will drive the team's lone Zytek. The trio had a useful 2011 in the ALMS, Gonzalez taking the LMPC title and the other two fighting him for the crown.

Starworks Motorsport - HPD ARX 03b-Honda

#44. Enzo Potolicchio (YVA), Ryan Dalziel (GB), Stephane Sarrazin (F)

The US Starworks squad, a frontrunner in Grand-Am and so nearly the overall winner of January's Daytona 24 Hours, expands into Le Mans-style prototype racing with a line-up that should challenge in class. The signing of Sarrazin is a major coup. The Frenchman is one of the fastest LMP drivers in the business; his three straight Le Mans poles for Peugeot and nine international victories since 2007 prove that. US-domiciled Scot Dalziel is fast emerging as a sportscar star, having spent the post-Champ Car years winning races in Grand-Am - including the 2010 Daytona 24 Hours. Venezuelan Potolicchio brings budget to the team, but has been a rapid improver over the past 12 months. Post-Sebring the WEC programme will be run out of the team's new European base in Cardiff.

Pecom Racing - ORECA 03-Nissan

#49. Luis Perez Companc (RA), Pierre Kaffer (D), Soheil Ayari (F)

Run by the crack AF Corse team and fielded under the Pecom banner in deference to financial support from former rally driver Perez Companc, this line-up's 2012 season looks like being a good one. A switch from Lola-Judd to the ORECA-Nissan package that has served Signatech so well over the past 12 months will improve performance, while the addition of Ayari to the Perez Companc/Kaffer line-up turns a strong squad into the favourite for the title.

GTE Pro

AF Corse - Ferrari 458 Italia

#51. Gianmaria Bruni (I), Giancarlo Fisichella (I), Toni Vilander* (FIN)
#71. Andrea Bertolini (I), Olivier Beretta (MC), Marco Cioci (I)
*Sebring and Le Mans only

While AF Corse doesn't have a great deal of pedigree in the international prototype ranks, the same cannot be said of its GT history. One of the most successful teams of the past decade, Amato Ferrari's squad tackles the WEC this year with a pair of Ferrari 458 Italias, the likes of which guided the squad to last year's ILMC teams' title (Ferrari won the manufacturers' too) and drivers Bruni and Fisichella to the LMS crown. The Italian pair stay together this year and will have another long-time AF driver, Finn Vilander, on board for the longer races. Former GT1 world champion Bertolini returns to GTs after winning the Superstars crown last year and is partnered by Beretta, who has left the factory Corvette squad after eight years in the US.

Luxury Racing - Ferrari 458 Italia

#59. Frederic Makowiecki (F), Jaime Melo (BR), Jean-Karl Vernay (F)

The Luxury team is a young one, having only been established in time for the 2011 season. But the squad has underlined its ambitions by bringing in long-time Ferrari GT man Melo and Vernay, who held the role of Peugeot's LMP reserve driver last year, to partner Makowiecki, himself a race winner in World GT1s. The signs so far are encouraging of running at the front, although beating AF with similar machinery will be a tough task.

Team Felbermayr Proton - Porsche 911 GT3_RSR

#77. Marc Lieb (D), Richard Lietz (A), Patrick Pilet (F)*
*Sebring and Le Mans only

It's been over a year since the best Porsche squads were able to consistently challenge the far-newer 458 Ferraris for GTE honours in events run to the Le Mans rulebook, and question marks remain over whether yet another reworking of the ageing 997-shaped GT3-RSR can put the German car on a par with its Italian rival. The Felbermayr Proton car is the only Porsche entered for the full WEC and there can be no doubts about the strength of the driver line-up. Factory drivers Lieb and Lietz have won just about everything there is to win in GTs over the past five years, and both are angling for consideration for the manufacturer's prototype line-up for 2014. Pilet joins them for Sebring and Le Mans.

Aston Martin Racing - Aston Martin Vantage GTE

#97. Darren Turner (GB), Stefan Mucke (D), Adrian Fernandez (MEX)

Following the cessation of the disastrous AMR-One project, Aston Martin returns to its GT roots, and with a heavily-revised Vantage too. Expectations have been kept low, with podiums apparently not even on the radar until 2013 and victories the year after. Turner is a star and was instrumental in the manufacturer's GT1 wins at Le Mans in 2007 and '08, while Mucke has an LMS title to his name from his days with the Lola-Aston prototype programme. Whether former Champ Car ace Fernandez - now in his late forties - can keep up with the others could be key to the season.

GTE Am

Larbre Competition - Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

#50. Pedro Lamy (P), Julien Canal (F), Patrick Bornhauser (F)
#70. Christophe Bourret (F), Pascal Gibon (F), Jean-Philippe Belloc (F)

Larbre has a rich history in GT racing, and can list FIA GT titles and a Spa 24 Hours win among its successes. Its prized asset is former factory Peugeot LMP1 driver Lamy, who has three international GT titles to his name (achieved by a mixture of FIA GT and LMS outings) and numerous Nurburgring 24 Hours wins in addition to his sportscar successes. Canal is a useful up-and-comer and Bornhauser a four-time French GT champion.

JWA-Avila - Porsche 911 GT3-RSR

#55. Markus Palttala (FIN), Joel Camathias (CH), Bill Binnie (USA)*
*Sebring only

The British JWA team returns to the GT ranks more than a year after it last competed internationally with a prototype in the LMS. Palttala, who has driven for James Watt's team before, returns to the driving strength after finishing second in last year's Blancpain Endurance Series for GT3 cars. Former Le Mans class winner Binnie will be replaced by Paul Daniels after Sebring, while ex-F3000 racer Camathias has won an LMS GT2 crown in the past as well as the International GT Open title.

Krohn Racing - Ferrari 458 Italia

#57. Niclas Jonsson (S), Michele Rugolo (I), Tracy Krohn (USA)

Last year's ILMC runner-up team has ditched its ageing Ferrari 430 and replaced it with a 2011-spec 458 machine that proved the class of the field internationally last year. Team owner Krohn and his long-standing co-driver Jonsson are again joined by Rugolo, a regular of the past five years in international GT racing. The team could well be a title threat.

Luxury Racing - Ferrari 458 Italia

#58. Pierre Ehret (D), Dominik Farnbacher (D), Francois Jakubowski (F)

Running alongside Luxury's Pro car is the Am entry of Ehret/Farnbacher/Jakubowski, which is aiming for title glory. Farnbacher is the ace in the pack, the German having driven GT cars since he was in his teens and having now left his family-run squad after its Hankook tyre deal expired. Ehret and Jakubowski are both experienced drivers and make up a formidable team.

AF Waltrip - Ferrari 458 Italia

#61. Robert Kauffman (USA), Michael Waltrip (USA), Rui Aguas (P)

For a man more adept at turning left, two-time Daytona 500 winner Waltrip has been steadily increasing his GT commitments since ending his full-time NASCAR driving career and couldn't have chosen a better partner for his new career than AF Corse. His NASCAR team co-owner Kauffman is perhaps best known for his part in the horrifying crash that befell Mike Rockenfeller at Le Mans last year, while Aguas has found success in the International GT Open and raced single-seaters to F3000 level.

Team Felbermayr Proton - Porsche 911 GTR-RSR

#88. Paolo Ruberti (I), Gianluca Roda (I), Christian Ried (D)

The addition of Ruberti and Roda, race winners in last year's Blancpain Endurance Series, make this one of the strongest GTE Am cars on paper. With strong opposition, however, the onus will be on the amateurs to play their part over the course of the season and support Ruberti.

And the extras...

The Sebring 12 Hours is the opening round of the American Le Mans Series as well as the first WEC race. As a result, there is a flurry of extra entries.

The LMP1 field is bolstered by the addition of the crews that battled for last year's ALMS crown; Pickett Racing and Dyson Racing. Pickett switches from a Lola Aston Martin to a HPD ARX-03a and brings Simon Pagenaud on board for Sebring to partner regulars Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf, while Dyson has BTCC race-winner Steven Kane in its number one car now, alongside Chris Dyson and Guy Smith.

The Level 5 Lolas feature Ryan Hunter-Reay and Christophe Bouchut for Sebring in LMP2 and make up the best of the US-based cars in the class. Nine crews take part in the LMPC category with notable names like Bruno Junqueira, Memo Gidley, Raphael Matos and Butch Leitzinger taking part.

The strongst class in terms of ALMS involvement is GT (the ALMS does not have separate Pro and AM classes), thanks to the involvement of the factory BMW and Corvette teams and a number of works-backed Porsches too.

Finally, GTC caters for Porsche Carrera Cup-spec machines with nine cars entered.