The ACO/FIA World Endurance Championship has released its entry list for the first round of the 2012 season, the 60th Anniversary Sebring 12 Hours, and the list is impressive.
With Audi leading a field of 18 prototypes and 12 GTs, the WEC lineup would make a terrific race by itself. Of course, the American Le Mans Series is expected to send almost three dozen of its cars to the grid as well.
The 60th Anniversary Sebring 12 Hours is developing into a monumental event. As the first round of the brand-new WEC, the 2012 season opener for ALMS, and possibly the last Sebring 12-Hour to feature an international field for a while (depending on ALMS/WEC negotiations), this is a race not to miss.
The WEC has attracted a strong international field, heavy with prototypes and rich in variety.
Nine LMP1s lead the field with a trio of Audi R18s being the odds-on favorites—depending on the final performance-balancing done by the organizers. Rebellion, Oak, Pescarolo, and Strakka will be joined by newcomers JRM to challenge the Audis.
A variety of chassis and powerplants will be present: a pair of Lolas, a pair of Hondas, an Oak-Pescarolo, and a 2011 Pescarolo, with Toyota, Honda, and Judd engines—aside from the diesel-powered Audis.
Audi seems guaranteed to win; the diesels have always had a huge advantage over the gasoline-powered cars, and Audi has the biggest budget by far. It all depends on how the FIA/ACO balances the two P1 subclasses, but Audi is a safe bet.
