Nicolas Lapierre is back! - The French driver is returning to the FIA World Endurance Championship in the LM P2 class with the Chinese team KCMG, where he will be replacing British driver Nick Tandy (who will be behind the wheel of the third Porsche 919 Hybrid) for the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “I watched the 6 Hours of Silverstone on TV and also with the onboard cameras available in the official app” Lapierre informed us. “This gave me a good idea of the very high standard in LM P2 this year. G-Drive Racing’s two Ligier JS P2 cars are obviously up there [first and second in the class at Silverstone] but KCMG’s new Oreca 05 is very fast on the straight. It won’t be easy but it should be a great battle.”

Pit talk: work, discussion, concentration... and music - Over the last couple of days, the pits have been a particularly busy place: technical discussions, refuelling and tyre change drills, mechanics tinkering with the cars... often against a background of music: Smells Like Teen Spirit is the choice of Strakka Racing as they prepare their Strakka-Dome LM P2, while Carlos Santana’s Black Magic Woman can be heard around the Ferrari 458 Italia of Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander, LM GTE Pro class winners last time out at Silverstone.

Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) turning over a new leaf - An American team, a Japanese engine and now a French chassis! Spa will see ESM (LM P2) switch to a Ligier JS P2 on its two cars (N°30 and N° 31) following six weeks of relentless work since the 6 Hours of Silverstone where the US outfit competed with a Honda HPD chassis. Honda, a long-time partner of ESM, will of course continue to provide the engine powering the two Ligiers. At last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, this combination finished seventh in the LM P2 class with a 100% Asian lineup.

Two Belgian legends in the Ardennes - Two of Belgian sport’s greatest champions will be at the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday 2 May: Jacky Ickx, six-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and and cyclist Eddy Merckx, five-time winner of the Tour de France. Both are turning 70 this year with Ickx having reached the milestone last New Year’s Day, and Merckx celebrating his birthday on 17 June.

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

Photo (VISION SPORT AGENCY): SPA (BELGIUM), SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS CIRCUIT, WEC 6 HOURS OF SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL 2015. On the eve of the first practice sessions, drivers and engineers walk or cycle around the track. The Porsche team, with Romain Dumas on the right, are pictured here reconnoitring the circuit.