It’s been a while, but Porsche’s Earl Bamber is back in a Porsche 919 Hybrid, ready to take on his first full season in LMP1 after impressing back in 2015, winning Le Mans in only his second appearance in a Porsche prototype alongside Nick Tandy and Nico Hulkenburg.

2017 is set to be a big season for the class, with fewer entries, but more commitment than ever from Toyota’s Hybrid division and a fresh lineup for Porsche. At Spa and Le Mans Toyota will be bringing a trio of TS050s to the party, while Porsche hopes that its new 919 can score it a hat-trick of victories against its Japanese competitor with the help from ex-Audi man Andre Lotterer in its lineup along with Bamber and Tandy from the 2015 triumph.

“It’s great to have the Prologue in Monza,” Bamber told DSC last week, when asked about his excitement level heading into the new season. “I have some nice fond memories here from my Super Cup days, it’s just unfortunate that we don’t race here, it would be a great venue for the WEC.”

“We’ve spent a lot of time with the new car improving every area, and it’s nice to see how we stack up against Toyota,” he added talking about the team’s offseason preparation. “We’re also eager to see the new LMP2s during races, it’s a big talking point, how they race with us on track.”

“When out testing, the car held up well, they’ve done a lot of developments because Toyota was strong where it mattered: Le Mans. The weather and fog kept following us around though so we lost a lot of time.

I didn’t do Daytona, Sebring, anything like that, which is odd for me, so there may be a little rust to shake off

“It’s been a quiet off season for me personally though, so I’m so ready to race. I didn’t do Daytona, Sebring, anything like that, which is odd for me, so there may be a little rust to shake off. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes for us here.”

Toyota confirmed on the day of the TS050 launch that it had completed four 30-hour tests with its new cars across its substantial test programme, which it hopes will prepare it for Le Mans more than ever before. In response to that, Bamber confirmed to DSC that Porsche too had completed endurance, tests, and at least one full 24-hour run.

“Yeah,” he answered when asked if Porsche had completed any 24-hour tests in the off-season. “We mixed long runs and endurance stuff. The key for us is getting the performance over 24 hours, we’re confident it will be good.”

When talking specifically about his own experience, Bamber was keen to mention that in just one year away from LMP1 racing, the cars have progressed noticeably, not just in efficiency, but in drivability too.

“System wise it’s gotten more refined, the general ideas are the same but after a couple of years of development a lot has changed,” he said to DSC. “The tyres is the biggest talking point. The new aero, having a reduction and less tyres this year has really been a talking point. Double stints will be a focus, tyre wear over pure single stints is now a big factor for races.

“So far the tyres have been good, Michelin has even working very hard, but it’s always challenging to double stint. It’s going to make the racing tough and the cars harder to drive late in stints. It could make for interesting racing.”

For most in the WEC paddock, carrying on without Audi present is very alien. But Bamber feels that the battles between Toyota and Porsche this season will prove to be just as exciting as the LMP1 races in 2014, 2015 and 2016, when the WEC had three factory LMP1 teams.

We know that Toyota are going to throw everything they have at it, and it’s great for the sport

“We know that Toyota are going to throw everything they have at it, and it’s great for the sport, especially for them to have three cars,” he concluded. “It shows that they really want to beat us, and they really deserve a good result as last year was so heartbreaking. What’s interesting is that Audi has gone, it’s got no less competitive.

“Now Porsche and Toyota have just each other to focus on, so I think it’s going to be a big rivalry, with great racing.”