The Automobile Club de l'Oueste (ACO) released the entry list for the 2012 World Endurance Championship in an almost-webcast press conference Wednesday morning (technical difficulties stopped the English-language feed.)
Thirty cars have signed up for the 2012 WEC season—nine each in LMP1 and LMP2, five in GTE-Pro and seven in GTE-Am.
P1 could be an all-Audi show; no one really believes the ACO has balanced performance between diesels and gasoline-powered cars, but possibly with Peugeot gone, ACO will give the gasoline cars a break.
Peugeot is gone, of course, but Toyota has opted in, though the team will skip Sebring and debut at Spa. Audi will race a pair of hybrids, Rebellion will be back with a pair of Lola-Toyotas, and Oak Racing, Pescarolo, Strakka and JRM will all enter a single car.
Pescarolo will race what it’s calling a Pescarolo 03, which is a rebodied and re-engined 2011 Aston Martin AMR-One. The AMR-One apparently had good low-speed handling, but a weak engine and too much drag. Henri Pescarolo has redone the aero and inserted a Judd powerplant.
Oak will run an Oak Pescarolo-Judd, and Strakka and JRM will both campaign HPD-ARX03as with Honda motors.
Nissan will be powering two thirds the P2 field, and Judd two of the remaining three (though one will be badged Lotus.) Five chassis and three engine builders will be represented in the nine-car field.
