The start is at 14:30 (local time) on Saturday 7 May. All the cars that raced in the first round at Silverstone will be there, plus the #38 Gibson 015S Nissan fielded by G-Drive Racing, winners of the 4 Hours of Silverstone in the European Le Mans Series. The weather is notoriously temperamental at Spa and drivers often have to deal with a wet track.

In LM P1, the battle is between Audi, Porsche and Toyota. Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb won the opening round in the Porsche 919 Hybrid #2 after the Audi was disqualified for a technical infringement. This time, both teams will be eager to prove themselves the legitimate leader. Toyota’s TS050Hybrid is not far behind and the factory is currently leading the constructor championship.

The LM P2 class comprises 12 cars. Giedo van der Garde and Simon Dolan will be in G-Drive Racing’s second car, which, incidentally, won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps last year, fielded by Jota Sport. British driver Jake Dennis will be joining them for Spa and Le Mans. The 21-year-old came third in the Formula E European championship last year. Regular G-Drive Racing driver Harry Tincknell will be honouring his commitment to Ford in the LM GTE Pro class. There is no change to the rest of the line-up. There are still five different chassis: Oreca 05, BR01, Ligier JS P2, Alpine A460 and Gibson 015S. As for RGR Sport by Morand, the team is still glowing with pride at its victory at Silverstone. Filipe Albuquerque, Ricardo Gonzales and Bruno Senna will be keen to repeat the performance in the #43 Ligier JS P2 Nissan.

Can Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK win LM GTE? It’s not impossible of course, but let’s not forget that the car is new. Porsche won in 2012, Ferrari in 2013 and 2014 and Aston Martin in 2015. So whose turn is it? AF Corse’s Ferrari 488 GTE took the opening round, with James Calado and Sam Bird at the wheel of the #71. As for driver changes, Aston Martin driver Jonathan Adams will be in the #97 with Fernando Rees and Richie Stanaway.

In LM GTE Am, which is reserved for cars over a year old, the first round went to AF Corse’s Ferrari F458 Italia #83 driven by Emmanuel Collard, François Perrodo and Rui Aguas. But the Porsche 911 RSR, the Corvette C7.R and the Aston Martin Vantage V7 remain hot on their heels. Fans will be pleased to hear that the Gulf livery on the Porsche 911 RSR has been restored to its former splendour after its brush with the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid LM P1.

All in all, the second round of the WEC promises to be as exciting as the first.

6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps Competitor List

David Bristol / ACO – Translated from French by Emma Paulay

PHOTO: TOWCESTER (NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, UK), SILVERSTONE, ELMS, 4 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE, SATURDAY 16 APRIL 2016. The #38 Gibson 015S Nissan, winner of the ELMS round at Silverstone will be lining up for the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on 7 May.