No fewer than ten Formula E drivers raced at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans: Lucas di Grassi, Daniel Abt, Loïc Duval, Sam Bird, Nicolas Prost, Sébastien Buemi, Nick Heidfeld, Oliver Turvey, Nathanaël Berthon and Stéphane Sarrazin. The entry list also includes Bruno Senna, the Aston Martin Racing works driver who has previously competed in the LM GTE Pro class at Le Mans. The forthcoming Formula E season also signals the comeback of Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One World Champion, who raced for Peugeot at Le Mans in 2007 and 2008. His Formula E teammate is none other than Stéphane Sarrazin, another former Peugeot star who claimed three consecutive pole positions at the 24 Hours in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

- Two Le Mans winners will be on the starting grid. Outright winner with Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish for Audi in 2013, Frenchman Loïc Duval will be lining up for Dragon Racing in Formula E. British driver Oliver Turvey, 2014 LM P2 class winner with Jota Sport, will be teaming up with Nelson Piquet, the first Formula E World Champion.

- Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi is not only the reigning World Endurance Drivers’ Champion, but also won the most races in the inaugural Formula E season. His teammate will once again be Nicolas Prost who competes for Rebellion Racing in the World Endurance Championship.

- Last season’s curtain-raiser in Beijing was won by Brazilian Lucas di Grassi, who shares the wheel of the #8 Audi R18 e-tron quattro with Loïc Duval in WEC.

- A serious contender for the 2015 WEC LM P2 title with G-Drive Racing, the UK’s Sam Bird is also one of the three drivers invited to the Rookie Test to be held in Bahrain the day after the concluding round of the 2015 WEC calendar.

The opening round of the 2015–16 Formula E World Championship will be held on Saturday 24 October in Beijing (China).

Tickets for the 2016 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be on sale from Tuesday 3 November (ACO members) and Friday 6 November (general public).

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO
Translated from French by David Goward

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY 14 JUNE 2015, THE RACE. Sébastien Buemi of Switzerland just missed out on the inaugural Formula E World Championship crown, trailing Nelson Piquet by a single point following the final round held in London two weeks after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.