Chassis manufacturer Ginetta says that the necessity for “significant planned maintenance” prompted Team LNT’s withdrawal of its LMP1 prototypes from the Lone Star Le Mans World Endurance Championship meeting at Circuit of The Americas later this month.

The COTA entry list has dropped to 30 cars, and the LMP1 class shrunk to just three entries after both G60-LT-P1s were withdrawn from the event, which was a late addition to the calendar after the previously scheduled race in Brazil was cancelled. Just the pair of Toyota TS050 HYBRIDs and the single full-season Rebellion R-13 will compete in the LMP1 class in Austin.

According to Ginetta, the G60s, in the midst of their first full season of competition, require maintenance after the flyaway rounds in towards the end of last year.

“The No. 5 and No. 6 G60-LT-P1 cars needed significant planned maintenance after Bahrain,” Ginetta said in a statement. “The WEC calendar is challenging, especially for any team with a new car in its first season and we have not had the chassis back at the factory since before Silverstone in August.

“The cancellation of the earlier WEC race in Brazil and the new race at COTA made it impossible to do the planned work at our facility in Virginia, so the cars were shipped post-race back to Ginetta UK. The cars hopefully arrive at the factory today.”

RACER expects Team LNT, which entered its G60s for the full FIA WEC season, to return for the 1000 Miles of Sebring in March. Both cars remain on the provisional entry list.

With Team LNT set to race at Sebring, Spa and Le Mans to finish the season, the LMP1 class in the FIA WEC will expand to six cars for the first time since Silverstone for the remaining European races, following Rebellion Racing’s announcement that its second R-13 will return for the final two events.