Ginetta's program though, is still an unknown in customer terms, as no full orders for its 2018 chassis placed at time of writing.


There are plenty of players who have been in talks to race with the Yorkshire-brand however, including CEFC Manor TRS Racing. Team principal Graeme Lowdon explained to RACER that the level of uncertainty prior to the WEC's announcement had limited the team's amount of progress and ability to make a decision.
It therefore remains to be seen whether the outfit, headed by former members of its F1 crew, will make the leap from LMP2 into LMP1 as intended.


"I think they [the FIA and ACO] should be given credit for sticking to their brand," Lowdon said. "In my eyes the decisions that have been made are being made for a long-term plan [and] growth, and that's always better than swaying with the breeze or with any individual competitor.
"I think a single, balanced LMP1 class for factories and privateers alike makes sense. Where there's a difficulty [is] in the balance. Hybrid technology is incredibly expensive and requires a lot of investment. It's currently outside the reach of a small private team, but that's not to say that the opportunity for the fans to see cars race wheel-to-wheel shouldn't be rewarded.
"What you don't want to see is a single LMP1 class where there's always a car two seconds quicker than everyone else. That doesn't sit right.
"As soon as you give technical freedom on the engine and commercial freedom to make things happen, [you need] equivalencies to give everyone a chance to race each other.
"You're never going to get an ideal solution, but this looks on the face of it [like] a prospect that commercial partners can understand. Fundamentally, if it's easy for us to explain commercially, then it can happen.
"We're doing a lot of work on it at the moment, but the focus is very much on the commercial model. Part of the jigsaw was put in place when this was announced, because before there was no clarity and no certainty to sell to a commercial partner. Uncertainty is something that's the hardest to sell.
"We've always said that LMP1 is attractive, but only viable if there's a sensible commercial model behind it."
For the other WEC teams currently racing in LMP2, who now see the potential to challenge for overall wins with adapted versions of their current ORECA 07s, it's the same story. Some have ruled out a move categorically, like TDS Racing, which told RACER that it will be pushing to stay in LMP2 rather than embarking upon an LMP1 project.
On the other hand, it's not quite as simple for a team like Jackie Chan DC Racing. Sam Hignett from Jota Sport, who handles the Jackie Chan DC Racing effort, told RACER that getting a program together "is an immediate and real challenge. Not insurmountable, but with marketing budgets generally finalized in October for the following 12-month period, there is not a lot of time to achieve either the budget or the transition for clients and sponsors for the 'Super Season.'"
David Cheng, owner of DC Racing, echoed that sentiment, explaining that the team is "working hard already to be there, but we're not ready yet to say anything about which category a program might emerge in. Much of that will inevitably be decided by where our partners want to be."

There is much interest in the new LMP regulations from Vaillante Rebellion too; the Swiss-flagged team an LMP1 privateer entrant until the end of the 2016 season.
RACER understands that there is interest within the team in evaluating a short-term return to the LMP1 ranks, although the team's recent programs and successes in North American IMSA enduros means that it is not as simple a decision to make as it was previously, when LMP1 cars were eligible in both championships.
Outside of the prototype ranks, RACER also took a litmus test from Aston Martin Racing, which in the past has pursued overall wins at Le Mans in LMP1 prior to being taken over by Prodrive.
However Prodrive's managing director John Gaw counted out any move into the prototype ranks from Aston Martin Racing for the foreseeable future.
"We're fully focused on GT, and we're saying nothing, about a new car or not at this point," Gaw stated. (David Richards has said publicly that there will be a new GTE car for 2018 however, which RACER understands is based on the forthcoming AMG turbo-engined Vantage, and is already out testing.)
"The key for us is getting more exposure for the GTE Pro class," he continued. "There will be five factory teams next year, and the reality is that there needs to be much more attention on those efforts – which let's not forget, will be making a proportionality higher financial contribution than some of the ultimately faster LMP teams do.
"More thought needs to go into what value we get from the championship, because one thing is for sure, the interest levels are growing, but to maintain that, the value has to be readily displayed."