Toyota is effectively in a class of one at the front of the Le Mans 24 Hours field, but has at least invited a double Formula 1 world champion along to put more eyeballs on a race it really cannot afford to lose again.
In its wake, things look wide open in the privateer LMP1 group, the LMP2 and GTE classes.
Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 29th as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 70 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.
Gary, who also writes for Autoweek, Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.
How pragmatic principles made Tauranac a design legend Jack Brabham's 1966 world championship campaign in his eponymous car was also a defining moment in the career of designer Ron Tauranac, who would apply the same ethos to his ultra-successful production racing car business, Ralt F1
The wild Austrian GP that launched a future champion Alan Jones's maiden grand prix victory was also the Shadow squad's sole win. Neither expected that result from a 14th-place starting position, but it would spur the Australian on his path to become a future Formula 1 world champion F1
Audi's forgotten winner that still holds a Le Mans record In 2010, a 39-year distance record was finally beaten at the Le Mans 24 Hours as Audi claimed its ninth win at the event. It achieved both with a car that's largely forgotten, the 'ugly duckling' R15-plus TDI WEC
What we'll miss about Le Mans this weekend This weekend should've marked the 88th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours - before coronavirus forced it to be delayed until September. We asked the great and the good of the sportscar paddock what they'll most miss about not being at Le Mans WEC
The magnificent seven set to contest FE's title showdown After a five-month pause, the 2019-20 Formula E season finally resumes with a six-race Berlin showdown. Although anyone can still mathematically win, seven drivers stand above the rest based on form and history. Autosport judges their credentials FE
The engineer who took Reynard to another level Senior technical transfers between customer racing car manufacturers were rare at the height of their 1990s pomp. But Bruce Ashmore's move from Lola to Reynard bucked the trend and set in motion a shift in the balance of power in US open-wheel racing Engineering
Ask Tim: Why Albon isn't the biggest scapegoat at Red Bull A heavy crash in FP2, dropping out in Q2 and an early skirmish with Kevin Magnussen meant Alexander Albon's British Grand Prix performance came under the microscope, but Autosport's technical expert says there's another figure that has been harshly treated F1
Why Silverstone is "not friends" with tyres A series of high-profile failures late on in the British Grand Prix led to a heart-stopping finish for winner Lewis Hamilton. But with another race on the tyre-punishing Silverstone coming this week, there is cause for deep concern F1
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