Although Fernando Alonso is likely to steal the headlines, he will be one of numerous former Formula 1 drivers who are now plying their trade in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in the various classes.
Alonso will join former Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi in the Toyota Kazoo Racing LMP1 team. The Swiss driver is the 2014 WEC World Champion with Toyota and 2015-2016 Formula E champion. He made 55 starts with the Red Bull junior team from 2009 until 2011.
Crowd favourite Kamui Kobayashi, who made 75 grand prix starts with Toyota, Sauber and Caterham, will share the second Toyota TS050 with Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez.
Vitaly Petrov will also line-up in the LMP1 class driving a Dallara-built SMP Racing BR1. The Russian spent three seasons in Formula 1 with Renault and Caterham.
Although he will miss out on the season-opening Spa 6-Hours, 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button will partner Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin from Le Mans onwards.
Stéphane Sarrazin, who made one grand prix start with Minardi at the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix, will be on duty in the other SMP Racing LMP1 car.
Former HRT, Renault and Williams driver Bruno Senna, who enjoyed three seasons on the F1 grid, will drive the Rebellion Racing R13, which he will share with Neel Jani and André Lotterer.
Former Toro Rosso driver and Ferrari reserve Jean-Eric Vergne will drive an LMP2 Oreca for G-Drive Racing alongside Roman Rusinov and Andrea Pizzitola. Vergne made 58 starts with Toro Rosso from 2012 until 2014.
Two Dutch former F1 drivers Giedo van der Garde and Jan Lammers will share an LMP2 Dallara P217 in Racing Team Nederland colours. Van der Garde has 19 starts on his grand prix starts on his CV while Lammers was active from 1979 to 1982 and did two races in 1992.
Winner of the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, former Williams and Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado makes a return to racing after a couple of years on the sidelines and will drive a Dragonspeed LMP2 Oreca with Gibson Gonzalez and Nathanaël Berthon.
Three times grand prix winner Giancarlo Fisichella will be on duty in the cockpit of the Spirit of Race Ferrari in the LM GTE AM class, which he will share with Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci.
Former Lotus and Minardi driver Pedro Lamy, active in F1 from 1992 to 1996, will drive an LM GTE AM class Aston Martin which he will share with Paul Dalla Lana and Mathias Lauda, son of F1 legend Niki Lauda.
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