WEC set for largest grid since 2012 at Monza
The FIA World Endurance Championship has released a bumper 38-car provisional entry list for next month's third round of the season at Monza, its largest since 2012.
Assuming there are no withdrawals between now and the Italian race scheduled for 18 July, it will mark the second-largest grid the series has ever assembled outside of the Le Mans 24 Hours - only falling short of the 2012 Spa 6 Hours, which featured a massive 42 cars.
It also signifies a four-car increase on last month's season opener at Spa, and a six-car increase over the 32-car field that is set to participate in next weekend's Portimao 8 Hours.
Most of the increase comes from the GTE Am class, where four additional entries make up a 17-car entry.
All four additional cars are Ferrari 488 GTEs, with stalwart GT3 teams Optimum Motorsport (the McLaren-affiliated squad running under the Inception Racing banner) and Rinaldi Racing joining Kessel Racing in fielding cars by way of preparation for this year's Le Mans 24 Hours.
Factory McLaren driver Ben Barnicoat and fellow Briton Ollie Millroy join bronze-rated American Brendan Iribe in the Inception car, while Pierre Ehret, Christian Hook and all-rounder Jeroen Bleekemolen will represent Rinaldi.
Kessel is already fielding a car for Takeshi Kimura and new Peugeot Hypercar signing Mikkel Jensen at Portimao, and the pair will be joined at Monza by Davide Fumanelli, who was also originally down to race in Portugal before being replaced by Simon Andrews on the most recent version of the entry list.
#72 Inception Racing with Optimum, McLaren 720S GT3: Brendan Iribe, Ollie Millroy, Nick Moss, Joe Osborne
Photo by: Gulf 12 Hours
There is also an extra Ferrari entered under the AF Corse banner for Christoph Ulrich and Simon Mann, who are currently on the reserve list for Le Mans.
The top Hypercar class at Monza will feature five cars for the first time this season as Glickenhaus is poised to enter both of its new 007 LMHs at the Italian track, joining the two Toyota GR010 Hybrids and Alpine's solo grandfathered LMP1 machine, the A480.
Driver combinations for the American boutique marque, which makes its WEC debut at Portimao next weekend with a single car, have not been announced.
The LMP2 category is reinforced by an extra ORECA 07 for class newcomer Risi Competizione shared by ex-Formula 1 driver Felipe Nasr, Oliver Jarvis and Ryan Cullen, bringing the class up to 12 cars.
Four cars in GTE Pro, two works cars apiece for Ferrari and Porsche, complete the 38-car field, with Porsche reverting to its standard two-driver line-ups for the six-hour contest.
Related video
IMSA champion Taylor named ORECA LMP2 reserve at Le Mans
Hirakawa handed surprise Toyota WEC hypercar test chance
The final episode on the Monza round of the FIA World Endurance Championship sees the action reach a dramatic and thrilling conclusion in the race.
Rast, Muller and Cassidy to miss Fuji WEC to focus on DTM
Rene Rast, Nico Muller and Nick Cassidy are all expected to miss the fifth round of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji Speedway next month to prioritise their DTM commitments.
In the third episode on the behind-the-scenes at the Monza round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, attention turns to the pre-race preparations.
WRT to run BMW's factory LMDh team in WEC after Audi split
Successful sportscar outfit WRT will run BMW's World Endurance Championship LMDh programme in 2024 after splitting with Audi, and is expected to race the Bavarian marque's GT3 machinery next season.
The problem sausage kerbs continue to cause
Track limits are the problem that motorsport doesn't seem to be able to rid itself of. But the use of so-called 'sausage kerbs' as a deterrent has in several instances only served to worsen the problem, and a growing number of voices want to see action taken
The history lessons Peugeot should have learned on its return
The Peugeot 9X8 will make its World Endurance Championship debut at Monza this weekend. The French manufacturer has gone radical and will be hoping it doesn’t need to overhaul its contender, as it did with its first Le Mans challenger…
Why Peugeot's sportscar return will capture the imagination
OPINION: Peugeot will make its World Endurance Championship debut at Monza this weekend with the 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar that has ignored design conventions by eschewing a rear wing. Its distinctive look will help sportscar racing appeal to fresh audiences as a new golden era is ushered in
How Formula E's double-duty drivers influenced their Le Mans teams' fortunes
Eight Formula E drivers made the 7,000-mile sprint from the streets of Jakarta to the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe and every one had a story to share at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite a range of triumphs and disappointments, each driver doubling up on the day job played a key role in their teams' fortunes
How an Italian junior formula giant is readying for its Le Mans future
Prema remains a colossus in single-seaters, but the serial Formula 2 and Formula 3 title-winning squad has joined forces with top GT squad Iron Lynx for an attack on sportscars in the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series. Ahead of its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours, its sights are firmly fixed on LMP2 glory – and a future in Hypercars next year...
The British rookies targeting a good first impression at Le Mans
Three young Britons will make their first starts in the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend in the highly-competitive 23-car GTE Am field. But how did they get here? Autosport hears their stories.
The wingless wonder Peugeot hopes will restore it to Le Mans glory
Peugeot went radical with the initial plan for its Le Mans Hypercar project, and then stuck to its guns. Here’s how things are shaping up a few weeks before the debut of the 9X8 in next month's Monza World Endurance Championship round
How Toyota’s sole survivor turned the tables at Spa
After a chastening opening to the season at Sebring that ended in an enormous accident, Toyota's #7 crew got their World Endurance Championship underway with victory at a treacherously slippery Spa to make up for its sister car's Sebring defeat to Alpine, as Glickenhaus's promising qualifying turned to disaster in the race