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.
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