Not many seasons span more than 13 months but the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship was not most seasons as we all know. With the championship shifting from a Northern Hemisphere-centric spring-to-autumn to a split-year, autumn-to-spring calendar the season took over a year to complete and when looking back at a preview written nearly 14 months ago, there is a lot to be surprised about.
With Le Mans behind us, it is time to go over this extensive season and everything that went to plan or was completely out of the blue.
LMP1
#1 Rebellion Racing R13-Gibson
Drivers: André Lotterer (Seven races), Neel Jani, Bruno Senna, Mathias Beche (Sebring)
What Did I Write: This car was second fastest of the non-Toyotas and only 0.010 seconds off the SMP Racing's BR Engineering BR1. I think this team will be on the podium frequently. It has brought together two past champions and added Senna, one of last year's Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers champions. This car might not be able to chase down the Toyota but it could be leading the rest of the pack.
How Wrong Was It: The #1 Rebellion was on the podium only twice, less than its sister car, which we will get to momentarily. Jani and Senna were fifth in the championship, between the two Toyotas, its sister car and the #11 SMP Racing BR1. Lotterer missed the Sebring round due to a simulator test for his Formula E team, the first WEC race he has missed.
#3 Rebellion Racing R13-Gibson
Drivers: Thomas Laurent, Mathias Beche (First five races), Gustavo Menezes, Nathanaël Berthon (Final three races)
What Did I Write: Laurent and Menezes have had tremendous success in LMP2 the last two seasons while Beche has been a loyal member of the Rebellion Racing following the team from LMP1 to LMP2 and back to LMP1 again. This car was not ready for the Prologue but all three drivers ran the Prologue in the #1 Rebellion R13. I think this is a big change for Laurent and Menezes and I think this team will have some growing pain.
How Wrong Was It: This was the best Rebellion and the best non-Toyota and it won at Silverstone after both Toyotas were disqualified. Laurent earned a promotion and is now Toyota's reserve driver. The #3 Rebellion had four podium finishes and it was third in the championship on 114 points, 84 points off the World Endurance Drivers' Champions.
#4 ByKolles Racing Team ENSO CLM P1/01-Nismo (First five races) / ENSO CLM P1/01-Gibson (Final two races)
Drivers: Oliver Webb (every race), Tom Dillmann (six races), Dominik Kraihamer (two races), René Binder (Silverstone), James Rossiter (Fuji and Shanghai), Paolo Ruberti (final two races)
What Did I Write: What was the only privateer LMP1 car for the last few years the CLM P1/01 appears to be developing into a reliable race car. However, it is behind two cars that have been developed from scratch in the last year. Dillmann ran the fastest lap in this car at the Prologue and was within a quarter second of the #17 SMP Racing BR1 Engineering BR1. The one thing this team might have over the other privateers is it has more experience with this car while all the others are still learning their respective machinery. ByKolles might get a podium or two on days of high attrition but if enough cars keep running then at best this car is looking at top five finishes.
How Wrong Was It: Oof... this was an overestimation of the ByKolles operation. The hope was the one team that has been a regular LMP1 competitor for years would able to beat all the newcomers and that did not work out. The best finish for the team was fourth in the 2018 Spa-Francorchamps race and it was all down hill from there. Only two finishes the rest of the season and it missed Sebring.
#5 CEFC TRSM Racing Ginetta G60-LT-P1-Mecachrome
Drivers: Charlie Robertson (Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans 2018), Léo Roussel (Le Mans 2018), Dean Stoneman (Spa-Francorchamps 2018), Michael Simpson (Le Mans 2018)
What Did I Write: This car has the most inexperienced line-up in LMP1. Robertson and Roussel both make the move up from LMP2 while Stoneman has not race a prototype of any type and ran three Blancpain Endurance Series races last year in his first year transitioning from single-seater racing. Stoneman is a talented driver but this car was 1.661 seconds off the next fastest car in class. The goal for this team is to get the car to the end of every race and get all three drivers experience for the future.
How Wrong Was It: Unfortunately, the entire Ginetta program didn't make it pass Le Mans 2018 and it is a shame. Technically, the team withdrew from Spa-Francorchamps in 2018 and only got on track for Le Mans. Stoneman was the one guy I felt was ready for LMP1 competition and after a respectable year in Indy Lights three years ago it is sad he hasn't gotten that next break.
#6 CEFC TRSM Racing Ginetta G60-LT-P1-Mecachrome
Drivers: Oliver Rowland, Alex Brundle, Oliver Turvey (All three drivers for Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans 2018)
What Did I Write: This all-British line-up looks good on paper. You have two LMP2 experienced drivers in Turvey and Brundle combined with a Formula Two race winner and Williams "young driver," whatever that means. This car was just over a second off the top privateer LMP1 car. The gap isn't great but this team will have some work to do to get to the top of the privateer pile.
How Wrong Was It: Same as the sister car, it was one race for these three and this is a good lineup on paper. In any other entry I think these three are getting solid results. I hope the Ginetta gets a great second chance in 2019-20. It is stepping away from Mecachrome and will have an AER. Of course, everything comes down to money and if the money isn't there then we could be repeating the dismal 2018-19 superseason.
#7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid
Drivers: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, José María López
What Did I Write: This feels like a two-car class with another eight entries waiting to step up and capitalize on any mistakes. This car will win a race or two but historically the #8 Toyota has been the winner. The #7 Toyota has only won three races since Toyota became a full-time competitor in 2013 compared to the #8 Toyota's nine victories in that time period including four last season. This car will win once or twice but it will still be second fiddle.
How Wrong Was It: The team won twice but it was not outmatched. The #7 Toyota was keeping up with the sister car and had it not been for mechanical issues at Spa-Francorchamps in May and a faulty tire sensor at Le Mans in June it might have won more races than the #8 Toyota. Conway and Kobayashi were great and López had a standout season after drawing much criticism when he first joined the Toyota operation. The team was vice-champions but it was better than that.
#8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid
Drivers: Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, Fernando Alonso
What Did I Write: A championship and at least four victories. It is a high bar but this car won five races last year and the car didn't get weaker in dropping Anthony Davidson for Fernando Alonso. Buemi has been a stud and he is combined with one of the best drivers in the world in Alonso and a reliable hand in Nakajima. This car has waved the Toyota flag for half a decade and I don't see that changing now.
How Wrong Was It: The #8 Toyota won the championship and had five victories. Alonso proved to be great and he fit in with Buemi and Nakajima. The trio swept the two Le Mans that took place in this season. The team may have benefitted from the #7 Toyota experiencing more misfortune and sometimes that is what decides a championship but these three never seemed beatable and for the most part they weren't.
#10 DragonSpeed BR Engineering BR1-Gibson
Drivers: Ben Hanley, Henrik Hedman (First three races, Sebring and Le Mans 2019), Pietro Fittipaldi (Spa-Francorchamps 2018), Renger van der Zande (five races), James Allen (Fuji and Shanghai)
What Did I Write: This car will be interesting to watch as this is the only chassis in LMP1 used by two different teams with two different engines. Van der Zande has become a respected driver in IMSA and was the fastest driver in this car at the Prologue and he was about a second and a quarter off the fastest SMP Racing BR Engineering BR1. However, van der Zande will be in and out of the car because of his IMSA duties and Fittipaldi will fill in for the Dutchman when needed. Hanley and Hedman are both new to LMP1 and are not the most experienced prototype drivers. I think this car's success is dependent on van der Zande.
How Wrong Was It: It is crazy to look back at what was written 14 months ago because none of this went to plan. Fittipaldi was hurt at the first race and was never in the car again. Allen was drafted in for two races. The LMP1 DragonSpeed entry finished behind the LMP2 DragonSpeed entry in the World Endurance Drivers' Championship as the LMP1 team had many teething issues with the BR1 and the results were rarely positive. I am sad to see DragonSpeed withdrawing from WEC and from LMP1. The team will be focusing on European Le Mans Series and expanding its IndyCar program. You have to give the team credit for taking a chance.
#11 SMP Racing BR Engineering BR1-AER
Drivers: Mikhail Aleshin, Vitaly Petrov, Jenson Button (Le Mans 2018 through Shanghai), Brendon Hartley (Sebring) Stoffel Vandoorne (Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans 2019)
What Did I Write: This car was 4.372 seconds off the top Toyota at the Prologue test at Circuit Paul Ricard last month and was only 0.010 seconds faster than the Rebellion R13 that participated. Aleshin and Petrov will be on their own until Button joins them at Le Mans. Aleshin has been a quick driver in IndyCar but he showed a tendency for throwing away good results. Petrov had moderate success in the LMP2 class the last few years and he ran the team's fastest lap at the Prologue. Button will be a late addition and he did well in the Super GT season opener but it will be interesting to see if he can adapt quickly to a new situation. I think this car will be of the rest on a few occasions but it will have its off days.
How Wrong Was It: Like I said, 14 months is a long time. Not only were we wondering how Button would do in an LMP1 car but also that Super GT GT500 title seems like another lifetime. He was good but turned his attention to Super GT and family commitments before 2019 started. Aleshin and Petrov were solid. There were retirements in two of the first three races but the team rebounded and was the third-place finisher in the final four races. Not bad and it looks like Vandoorne has found a home, wonderful!
#17 SMP Racing BR Engineering BR1-AER
Drivers: Stéphane Sarrazin, Matevos Isaakyan (Four of the first five races), Egor Orudzhev, Sergey Sirotkin (Final three races)
What Did I Write: Sarrazin is the veteran while Isaakyan and Orudzhev both make the transition from single-seaters and a bit of LMP2. Isaakyan and Orudzhev won at Circuit Paul Ricard last year in European Le Mans Series. Sarrazin had taken a step back from full-time competition last year at Toyota. I think he will carry the team but this car will have rough days and be behind the sister car often but it will have a few good outings.
How Wrong Was It: Five retirements, a non-classification, a third at Silverstone after both Toyotas were disqualified and a fourth at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019. I would say there were more rough days than easy days.
LMP2
#28 TDS Racing Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Loïc Duval (six races), François Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxivière, Jean-Éric Vergne (Fuji), Norman Nato (Spa-Francorchamps)
What Did I Write: You have a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner joining Perrodo, who transitioned quite successfully to LMP2 last year, and Vaxivière also had a good debut year in LMP2. This line-up is doubling up and are running in the European Le Mans Series as well. I am not sure if there is an LMP2 trio that should know each other so well and I think this will be a title contender.
How Wrong Was It: Not as good as previously thought. Its only podium finish was in the finale at Le Mans.
#29 Racing Team Nederland Dallara P217-Gibson
Drivers: Giedo van der Garde, Jan Lammers (Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans 2018), Frits van Eerd, Nyck de Vries (Final six races)
What Did I Write: Van der Garde is going to carry this team. He ran the fourth fastest lap at the Prologue but he was nearly a second and a half quicker than Lammers and another second faster than van Eerd. De Vries will replace Lammers after Le Mans and that could be the saving grace for this entry as van der Garde can't carry the load. I expect results to improve in the second half of the season.
How Wrong Was It: First four race results: Seventh, fifth, fifth seventh. Final four race results: Fifth, fifth, fifth, fifth. It was a consistent season and the average finish was better in the second half of the season. De Vries was strong at Le Mans before his accident at Indianapolis. I am excited for de Vries' future. He is no longer a McLaren driver and leads the Formula Two championship. He, van der Garde and van Eerd will be back in 2019-20 and the team will have an Oreca chassis. This is an early sleeper for the class title next season.
#31 DragonSpeed Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Roberto González, Pastor Maldonado, Nathanaël Berthon (Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans 2018), Anthony Davidson (Final six races)
What Did I Write: Maldonado was the top LMP2 driver at the Prologue. González is back for a second year in the LMP2 class. Berthon will start the season in this car before Davidson joins the team after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. LMP2 is kind of a crapshoot but the Oreca was the best LMP2 car last year and I don't see that changing in 2018. Once Davidson joins the team it will only take this car to another level.
How Wrong Was It: Three of the team's four class podium finishes came with Davidson, including its only victory at Spa-Francorchamps. These three meshed together and will move to Jota Sport next year with DragonSpeed not fielding a full-time LMP2 entry in WEC. I like their odds as well.
#36 Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470-Gibson
Drivers: Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão, Pierre Thiriet
What Did I Write: Signatech has been a successful team and has the LMP2 title in recent memory. Lapierre was one of those drivers and Negrão had a promising first season in prototypes last year. Thiriet won the LMP2 title in the European Le Mans Series in 2012. This will be a championship-contending team.
How Wrong Was It: This was the championship team with two Le Mans victories and eight podium finishes from eight races. Lapierre might be the best driver not in LMP1 right now and on top of that, remember when he was a promising driver in GP2? Lapierre might be able to still hang in an open-wheel car as well. Negrão had a nice transition to sports car racing. The band will be broken up for 2019-20! Lapierre is joining Cool Racing, which moves up to WEC competition from ELMS and in slots Thomas Laurent as he passes the time as a Toyota reserve driver. This entry is not getting weaker.
#37 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Jazeman Jaafar, Weiron Tan and Nabil Jeffri (First five races), Afiq Ikhwan Yazid (Zero Races), Will Stevens (Sebring and Spa-Francorchamps 2019), David Heinemeier Hansson and Jordan King (Final three races), Ricky Taylor (Le Mans 2019)
What Did I Write: This all-Malaysian driver line-up is young with Yazid the oldest driver at 26 years old. Yazid, Jaafar and Tan all won in the Asian Le Mans Series this past season at Buriram. Jeffri will serve as a reserve driver with race participation remaining unknown. Jackie Chan DC Racing had a successful year last season but I think this line-up will be using this season more to gain experience.
How Wrong Was It: I am disappointed the all-Malaysian lineup didn't work out because those three had four podium finishes including a victory at Fuji. They were in the championship fight. However, the drivers drafted in for the 2019 races were no slouches. King, Heinemeier Hansson and Stevens won in their first race together at Sebring. The car held its own at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans.
#38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Ho-Pin Tung, Gabriel Aubry, Stéphane Richelmi
What Did I Write: Tung fell just short of the LMP2 title last year and Richelmi brings LMP2 championship experience to the line-up. Aubry will be splitting this season between this and the GP3 Series and he ran the final two races of the previous Asian Le Mans Series season in the LMP3 class with a victory in the finale at Sepang. This team should win a race but the title might be a bit ambitious.
How Wrong Was It: This team won races and the title was not ambitious. It won three of the five races in 2018 and it didn't go down without a fight with the #36 Signatech Alpine in the finale at Le Mans and finished second in class in the race and second in the championship, 15 points back. Jackie Chan DC Racing will downsize to one car for 2019-20. I have to imagine Tung will be involved but you never know.
#50 Larbre Compétition Ligier JS P217-Gibson
Drivers: Erwin Creed, Romano Ricci, Julien Canal (Spa-Francorchamps 2018), Thomas Dagoneau (Le Mans 2018), Yoshiharu Mori (Silverstone), Keiko Ihara (Fuji), Enzo Guibbert (Shanghai), Gunnar Jeannette (Sebring), Nicholas Boulle (Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans 2019)
What Did I Write: Creed and Ricci are both moving up from LMP3 in the European Le Mans Series and defending Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers champion Canal was a late addition after the withdrawal of Fernando Rees. I think this car will be mostly gaining experience for Creed and Ricci.
How Wrong Was It: I have to give this team credit because it found a way to have seven drivers rotate through this seat and this team finished leveled on points with Racing Team Nederland with the tiebreaker going to Creed and Ricci because the team finished fourth in the Le Mans finale. I think those are respectable results.
GTE-Pro
#51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo
Drivers: James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi, Daniel Serra (Le Mans 2018 and 2019 and Sebring)
What Did I Write: The defending champions Calado and Pier Guidi won three races last year and had seven podium finishes in nine races. AF Corse drivers have won three of five GTE championships in WEC history. I think the team will take a step back but it should be competing for race victories. Daniel Serra will be in the car at Le Mans.
How Wrong Was It: Calado and Pier Guidi took a step back but only one step back, going from champions to vice-champions thanks to a victory in the Le Mans finale. They also won at Silverstone but their only other podium finish was second at Spa-Francorchamps. It wasn't the strongest year but it could have been worse.
#71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo
Drivers: Sam Bird, Davide Rigon, Miguel Molina (Le Mans 2018 and 2019 and Sebring)
What Did I Write: Bird and Rigon won two races last year and they won twice in 2016 while finishing second in the championship. These guys are good and should give the sister car a run for top AF Corse entry. However, an intra-team battle could allow others to step up and leave AF Corse in the middle of the class.
How Wrong Was It: This car was in the middle of the class. It's only podium finish was in the Spa-Francorchamps season opener and its next best finish was sixth, which happened four times.
#66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT
Drivers: Stefan Mücke, Oliver Pla, Billy Johnson (Spa-Francorchamps 2018, Le Mans 2018 and 2019 and Sebring)
What Did I Write: The two Fords are pretty interchangeable with less than a tenth covering the two cars and less than a second covered all five drivers that participated in the Prologue. Mücke and Pla was the top Ford in 2016 with a victory and two runner-up finishes but took a step back in 2017 with only one podium finish. This car should be a podium threat. Billy Johnson will be in the car for this year's races at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans.
How Wrong Was It: The season started strong for this Ford team but after winning the Spa-Francorchamps season opener and finishing third in the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans the #66 Ford never returned to the podium despite winning pole position in class twice.
#67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT
Drivers: Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell, Tony Kanaan (Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans 2018), Jonathan Bomarito (Sebring and Le Mans 2019)
What Did I Write: Priaulx and Tincknell finished third in the championship last year but didn't seem like a contender. Ford is looking to make a championship push in its third year. The team has had lulls in the middle of each of its first two seasons. I think Priaulx and Tincknell will lead the Ford team and could make a title push. Tony Kanaan will be in the car for this year's races at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans.
How Wrong Was It: Priaulx and Tincknell ended up on top of the Ford battle but didn't really push for the championship. It had four podium finishes but never won a race.
#81 BMW Team MTEK BMW M8 GTE
Drivers: Nick Catsburg, Martin Tomczyk, Philipp Eng (Le Mans 2018 and 2019), Alexander Sims (Sebring)
What Did I Write: Tomczyk is a past Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters champion and he spent 2017 driving for BMW Team RLL in IMSA where he won a race at Laguna Seca and had four podium finishes in 11 races. Catsburg has experience in GT3 series and touring cars. This is going to be a rough year but it will not be because of the drivers. Eng will be in the car at Le Mans.
How Wrong Was It: This team had one good day, a runner-up finish at Sebring. BMW is bouncing from WEC after one season. I feel bad for all these drivers because I don't think the 2018-19 season does justice to their abilities.
#82 BMW Team MTEK BMW M8 GTE
Drivers: António Félix da Costa, Tom Blomqvist (Spa-Francorchamps 2018, Fuji and Shangahi), Augusto Farfus (Five races), Alexander Sims (Le Mans 2018), Bruno Spengler (Sebring), Jesse Krohn (Le Mans 2019)
What Did I Write: For a new team and new car, this Prologue test result was a promising sign. Da Costa is an underrated driver and Blomqvist has had a good career in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. However, both these drivers lack endurance race experience and that could hold this team back. Farfus will be the third driver at Le Mans.
How Wrong Was It: Like the sister car, this team's best result was second, which came at Fuji. I don't want to say the BMW program was doomed from the start but I can't imagine you can get the most out of a team when it was only going to last for one season.
#91 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
Drivers: Gianmaria Bruni, Richard Lietz, Frédéric Makowiecki (Le Mans 2018 and 2019)
What Did I Write: The Porsches look real good and Bruni is back in the WEC and motivated. Bruni and Lietz combine for three championships in GTE out of five seasons and Lietz finished second in the championship by eight points. They were the fastest two drivers at the Prologue. I do not expect a beat down but if the #91 Porsche is leading the championship 365 days from now nobody would be surprised. Makowiecki will be the third driver at Le Mans.
How Wrong Was It: The #91 Porsche did not win the championship but it had a standout season with one victory and three runner-up finishes, unfortunately, its defeat came from within.
#92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR
Drivers: Michael Christensen, Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor (Le Mans 2018 and 2019)
What Did I Write: Christensen and Estre had three podium finishes last year but had four retirements. I don't expect that same level of bad luck. These drivers are capable of winning races but I think it will be very difficult to be the best Porsche in GTE-Pro let alone the best in class. Vanthoor joins this team at Le Mans.
How Wrong Was It: This was the best Porsche in GTE-Pro and not only was it the best Porsche but it was the World Endurance GTE Drivers' Champions. Two victories, including the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans and six podium finishes. Christensen and Estre were tremendous, Porsche were tremendous and the manufactures' title was locked up before the finale.
#95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR
Drivers: Marco Sørensen, Nicki Thiim, Darren Turner (Spa-Francorchamps 2018, Le Mans 2018 and 2019 and Sebring)
What Did I Write: Aston Martin won two races last year and in the other seven races had a combined zero podium finishes. This year comes with a new car and it will take some time for it to challenge the Porsches, Fords and Ferraris. The one comforting thing is Aston Martin does find a way to have a few good races and this line-up should have its day in the sun but not be a title contender.
How Wrong Was It: Sørensen and Thiim won at Shanghai but that was its only day in the sun. No other podium finishes and what could have been a bright spot winning pole position for Le Mans in 2019 was doused with pre-race Balance of Performance that undercut the Aston Martin's performance and took both cars out of the fight before Le Tricolore waved.
#97 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR
Drivers: Alex Lynn, Maxime Martin, Jonathan Adam (Spa-Francorchamps 2018 and Le Mans 2018 and 2019)
What Did I Write: Adam is the veteran in the team as Lynn moves over from part-time LMP2 experience and Martin joins the team from the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. I think this car will be in the back half of the GTE-Pro field on a regular basis and be regularly behind the sister car.
How Wrong Was It: Like the sister car, it had one day in the sun... well... their day came in the snow at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019 with a class victory but just like the #95 Aston Martin, no podium finishes in the other seven races.
GTE-Am
#54 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE
Drivers: Francesco Castellacci, Giancarlo Fisichella, Thomas Flöhr
What Did I Write: Castellacci and Flöhr have been running with each other for quite a while dating back to GT3 competition and last year WEC was a good year with Miguel Molina as their third driver. This year they get a superb third driver in Fisichella. Castellacci and Flöhr won at Fuji last year and had four podium finishes but the Porsches look really strong this year.
How Wrong Was It: The team had two podium finishes, both runner-up finishes, and they were fourth in the Endurance Trophy for GTE-Am Drivers. Not a bad year and the Porsches were strong.
#56 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR
Drivers: Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Lindsey, Egidio Perfetti
What Did I Write: Bergmeister is one of the top Porsche GT drivers and Lindsey has had a good career competing as an amateur in the United States. They race together with Park Place Motorsports in IMSA and that familiarity should be in their favor. Perfetti is a bit of an unknown but he was on pace with Lindsey at the Prologue. This team will do well but I am not sure it will have what it takes to be a championship contender.
How Wrong Was It: I present you with the 2018-19 Endurance Trophy for GTE-Am Drivers champions. The 2018-19 GTE-Am class is complicated but after eight races, the Team Project 1 Porsche won the title with 151 points, victories at Fuji and in the season finale at Le Mans and six podium finishes. Bergmeister was great, Lindsey kept up the form he has shown in IMSA's GTD class and those two had worked together before in IMSA. Perfetti didn't shy away from the higher level of competition. Bravo to this team.
#61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 488 GTE
Drivers: Matt Griffin, Keita Sawa and Weng Sun Mok (First five races), Luís Pérez Companc and Matteo Cressoni (Final three races)
What Did I Write: Clearwater Racing did not need a year to acclimate to WEC after years of running Asian Le Mans Series last year. The team retains the same line-up from last year and this trio finished third in the championship after winning a race and having six podium finishes and finishing in the top five in all nine races. I think this year will be a little tougher and I am not sure this car will be in the championship fight.
How Wrong Was It: The #61 Ferrari was third in the season opener but the next four races were finishes of fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. Talk about a gradual decline. It leveled off at the end of the year. The team missed Sebring after totaling a car in practice but recovered for third place results among the WEC GTE-Am teams in the final two races.
#70 MR Racing Ferrari 488 GTE
Drivers: Olivier Beretta, Eddie Cheever III, Motoaki Ishikawa
What Did I Write: Beretta is a respected veteran but there are a lot of stout professionals in this class. He and Ishikawa raced together in the Blancpain Endurance Series last year. Cheever III has been holding his own in GT3 competition and he was running a Cadillac DPi-V.R. for Spirit of Daytona at the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring this year. However, I think this team's lack of experience will hold it back.
How Wrong Was It: The team's best finish was fifth. It wasn't a bad year and I think Cheever III and Ishikawa gained a lot of experience.
#77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR
Drivers: Matt Campbell, Christian Ried, Julien Andlauer (Seven races), Riccardo Pera (Spa-Francorchamps 2019)
What Did I Write: Ried finished second in the championship and he is adding an extremely gifted Porsche driver in Campbell and Andlauer is a promising Porsche junior driver. Andlauer was the sixth fastest driver in class at the Prologue behind the likes of Matteo Cairoli, Ben Barker, Campbell, Alex Davison and Jörg Bergmeister. This team is the favorite for the class championship.
How Wrong Was It: This is where the class gets complicated. The #77 Porsche won two of the first three races including the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, after it had been found the data loggers manipulated refueling times it led to the two Dempsey-Proto Racing entries to be stripped of all their points from the first three races and a disqualification from Fuji.
The #77 Porsche went from leading the class with 80 points to zero. The team recovered to finish second in the championship on 110 points. The team cheated but that does not take away from what these drivers did on track. This team won five races and Campbell is the next great Porsche driver in waiting. The drivers should be applauded for their accomplishment. Other teams may have folded after the penalty. This team gave it 100% every race and went into the finale with a shot at the title.
#88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR
Drivers: Khalid Al-Qubaisi (Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans 2018 and Shanghai), Matteo Cairoli, Giorgio Roda (Seven races), Gianluca Roda (Silverstone, Sebring and Spa-Francorchamps 2019), Satoshi Hoshino (Silverstone and Le Mans 2019), Riccardo Pera (Shanghai)
What Did I Write: Cairoli finished second in this championship last year while Al-Qubaisi has had endurance racing success in the 24H Series and Roda moves over from the European Le Mans Series. I think the two Dempsey-Proton entries will be going head-to-head for class victories in many races this season.
How Wrong Was It: This car did not win a race in 2018-19 with its best finish being third at Shanghai.
#86 Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 RSR
Drivers: Michael Wainwright, Ben Barker, Alex Davison (First three races), Thomas Preining (Final five races)
What Did I Write: Last year was a good one for Gulf Racing UK as the team picked up two podium finishes. Barker and Wainwright return with Davison joining after a long career in his native Australia in the Supercars series. I think this team will challenge for race victories but I am not sure it can make a title push.
How Wrong Was It: This team did not challenge for race victories and it never finished on the podium meaning it didn't make a title push either.
#90 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GTE
Drivers: Euan Hankey (Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans 2018 and 2019), Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluç, Jonathan Adam (Silverstone through Sebring)
What Did I Write: TF Sport nearly won the European Le Mans Series GTE title last year in the team's first year in the series but fell two points short. Hankey and Yoluç won a race and had five podium finishes in six races in that series with Nicki Thiim as the third driver. Hankey and Yoluç also made their Le Mans debut last year with Rob Bell and finished seventh in class. I don't think this car will be at the front of the class but it will have respectable results.
How Wrong Was It: This car was at the front of the class and had plenty of respectable results. It had four runner-up finishes but just couldn't breakthrough for a victory. Eastwood and Yoluç were third in the Endurance Trophy for GTE-Am Drivers, a great result for those two in their rookie season in WEC.
#98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE
Drivers: Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda
What Did I Write: This is the GTE-Am stalwart and this trio finally got its elusive class championship last year. I don't expect them to fall off but I think this year will be this team's greatest challenge yet. It could run eight successful races and that not be enough to take the title. This car will win a race or two but I am not penciling it in for the title this year.
How Wrong Was It: This car won one race, the season opener at Spa-Francorchamps and its only other podium finish was third at Fuji, leading to a seventh place finish in the championship. I think we are all due for an off year. If this team returns unchanged, I would not be surprised if it bounced back.
Conclusion
The 2019-20 season will feel like a lame-duck year before the introduction of the hypercar regulations but there is calmness after the long 2018-19 season and the equally long wait for the direction of the series' top class.
Toyota will be back as the only manufacture in LMP1 and Alonso will be gone with Brendon Hartley moving in to fill the void. All signs point to the 2019-20 season being another year of Toyota domination but the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans saw the privateer LMP1 entries go from finishing 12 laps behind the overall winning Toyota in 2018 to six laps behind. There is still a significant margin between Toyota and the rest of the field and it still seems unlikely Toyota will be beaten straight up in 2019-20 by either Rebellion, SMP Racing or Ginetta but the closing gap at least makes it more interesting should Toyota stumble.
The GTE-Pro class will look a lot thinner with Ford and BMW withdrawing from the championship. A few years ago the idea of GTE-Pro qualifying races were floated out there because of the brevity of the class, now we are back to what 2014 looked like, three manufactures and six cars.
Part of me longs for a GT world championship, something that could stand on its own with six or eight manufactures. I wish Ford and BMW didn't have to go and I wish Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG, Honda and/or McLaren would join the party. When the LMP1/hypercar regulations were up in the air and the FIA and ACO were struggling over what to do to attract manufactures I was set with doing away with prototype racing, as crazy as it sounds, and just having GTE be the part, one pro class, one amateur class, making the bar for entry clear and likely enticing more brands into the party.
After such a long season the next season will be here before we know it. The Prologue from Barcelona will be July 23-24, less than a month away and the first round will be September 1st from Silverstone. It will take getting used to this but this quick offseason might not be so bad after all.
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