David Tunnicliffe
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Is the future bright for LMP1?
At first glance the LMP1 entry list for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship looks paltry. Indeed, the loss of Audi’s two-car programme reduces the manufacturers’ title battle to a head-to-head between Porsche and Toyota. With Porsche still weathering the VW diesel emissions scandal and Toyota warning that toning down regulations may bring an end…
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Marvin Dienst ready to tackle maiden WEC season
Marvin Dienst will be one of the new names on the FIA World Endurance Championship entry list for 2017. The 20-year-old German has joined Dempsey-Proton Racing for this season and will race in the GTE Am category alongside team boss Christian Ried and Porsche junior driver Matteo Cairoli in a Porsche 911 RSR. It’s always…
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Old hands to tackle Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most challenging races in world motorsport, so popular that it often tempts racing drivers back out of retirement. This year, a new effort by the name Racing Team Nederland is set to compete at the endurance classic, as well as the full season of the…
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Derani joins Ford for Le Mans
Brazilian driver Luís Felipe Derani will drive for Ford in the first three rounds of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship season, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed yesterday. The 23-year-old Brazilian enjoyed a breakthough year in 2016, winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring overall for Extreme Speed Motorsports and…
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Kubica joins ByKolles in LMP1
Robert Kubica has been announced as the lead driver for LMP1 team ByKolles for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. The former F1 driver joins the Austrian-entered squad on a full-season basis after successfully testing the car at the official test in Bahrain last November. The Pole raced in Formula 1 until 2011, when a serious…
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Book review: Porsche Victory 2016
Books are popular gifts for friends and family at Christmas time. When it comes to motorsport books, it’s often hard to wade through the vast range of titles on offer to find something suitable. “Porsche Victory 2016”, published in November by Gruppe C Verlag, may just be the perfect present for that motorsport-mad member of…
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Driver ratings cause controversy once again
Driver ratings have arguably been one of the most controversial aspects of the FIA World Endurance Championship in recent years. For the uninitiated, driver ratings may seem like a relatively unimportant issue in the grand scheme of things, but in reality they can play a major role in whether or not drivers – and indeed teams –…
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World Champions Dumas and Lieb to leave Porsche
The newly crowned World Endurance Drivers’ Champions, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb, are to end their relationships with Porsche as factory drivers in a major shake-up of the Porsche LMP1 driver line-up. Mark Webber’s departure from the sister car leaves a total of three empty seats to be filled for the 2017 season. Lieb and…
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Nicki Thiim: A career-defining decision
On 19 November 2016, a dream became a reality for a 27-year-old Danish driver by the name of Nicki Thiim. As he crossed the line in his Aston Martin Vantage V8, Thiim, together with fellow Dane Marco Sørensen, secured the FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers – ahead of the baying competition of Ferrari…