While many will see the LMP1 class as the one to watch, with so many new cars and an exceptional line-up of drivers, GTE Pro this year could well provide us with the best racing.

This year’s Pro field is now 10 cars strong, and features two brand new cars and a new manufacturer.

Last year, the first for the ‘Automated BoP’ system, the racing was close, and the title race went down to the wire. This time round, we hope for more of the same, though the form shown by the factories suggested there could be some disparity early in the season. At Spa, the BoP is the same as it was at the Prologue, the next round of changes will come after Silverstone (Le Mans, once again will have a separate BoP).

The question is, heading into the opener, who has the edge?

Ford returns for a third season, and incredibly, it now has the oldest car in the field. The GT is still very much a contender though, its form in IMSA continues to be strong, and last year, Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell mounted a title challenge in the WEC and only narrowly missed out.

For Spa, in preparation for Le Mans, the team will race with its third drivers: Billy Johnson will step into the #66 with Olivier Pla and Tony Kanaan will join Tincknell and Priaulx in the #67. Both line-ups are therefore strong top to bottom, though the #66 crew is due a win, after failing to score a victory during the 2017 season.

Ferrari meanwhile, returns as a reigning champion, and like Ford, with an identical full-season quartet aboard its 2018 EVO-spec 488 GTEs, champions James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 and messers Sam Bird and Davide Rigon in the #71.

Will the updated car prove to be a noticeable upgrade? That’s not certain just yet. The Evo kit was designed to address three things: some reliability niggles, an increase in downforce and a reduction in drag. The BoP process though, has blunted the downforce edge, removing the planned diveplanes from the front corners of the car.

Ford and Ferrari both created Evo kits for their GTE cars ahead of this season, though only one has actually opted to use it with the hope of gaining an advantage. It will be interesting to see who made the right choice…

Porsche on the other hand, returns with its 2017 cars, and looks to have the upper hand for Spa. If the Prologue performance levels carry over to this weekend, Porsche may well prove to have a significant edge in raw pace, with Ford a close second and the remaining marques further behind. Though, as always, testing times should be taken with a pinch of salt.

A cynic’s response when the old BoP system was used, was accusations of sandbagging, though in the current era of BoP there’s less reason to play games in theory. There is of course the possibility though, that politics could be at play here with parties trying to influence the Le Mans-only BoP, especially with there only being one race before the teams head to La Sarthe this time round.

This year the big news from Porsche, concerns its driver crew. Gianmaria Bruni returns to the WEC and will make his first WEC start with Porsche this weekend, which is great news for fans of extremely quick Italian drivers. He’ll race alongside Richard Lietz in the #91, while Michael Christensen will race in the #92 with Kevin Estre. Both crews will be motivated to here, to score Porsche the GTE Pro World title it so desires.

Thats leaves BMW and Aston Martin, two brands that are bringing brand new cars to the championship this year.

Of the two new cars, BMW’s M8 may well have the advantage off the bat, as in addition to its comprehensive testing programme, the car has of course already competed at three IMSA rounds, two of them being long-distance races at Daytona and Sebring.

On the reliability front, the M8 has been solid so far, considering how early in its life cycle it is. Pace wise though, it’s been up and down, the team struggling at Rolex due to the car suffering from what it thought, was being dealt a poor hand in BoP, before almost winning at Sebring, taking Pole before the race.

The bigger question mark here, is whether the lack of WEC experience former DTM outfit MTEK and the team’s drivers will have an effect in the early part of this season.

All four drivers present at Spa though, are experienced Pro drivers, with standout CVs: DTM champion Martin Tomczyk and former Spa 24 Hours winner Nicky Catsburg sharing the #81, with Britain Tom Blomqvist (who made a single WEC start in 2016 with ESM) and multiple Macau GP winner Antonio Felix da Costa taking turns at the wheel of the #82.

Then there’s Aston Martin Racing, which is ushering in its new era with far more involvement from the automotive arm of Aston Martin, with its brand new Vantage GTE.

The new Vantage, replaces the previous model which remarkably, made its debut as a race car back in 2008, and famously won Le Mans in style in 2017. AMR hopes that its new challenger is a step up in every way, the early feedback from the drivers being remarkably positive.

Aerodynamically it’s far more aggressive, the new turbo-charged Mercedes engine is touted as a revelation in drivability terms and just about every other system in the car is new and upgraded too. It may not have the loud rumble of its normally aspirated, ageing predecessor, but what it may lack in raw audio, it makes up for in looks.

The driver crew, isn’t brand new, but it has been tweaked for the season, with former BMW driver Maxime Martin, and all round rapid Britain Alex Lynn joining the team, racing in the #97 with Jonny Adam. Longstanding Prodrive/AMR man Darren Turner therefore moves over to the #95 ‘Dane Train’, to race with Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim.

The new Vantages head to Spa with a colossal amount of testing under their belts over the off-season, the brand running at a wide variety of circuits, completing multiple endurance tests. The car hasn’t been bullet proof, but the British marque is confident at this stage that the majority of the car’s notable issues have been ironed out.

Its expectation, is to be in the mix during its debut, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be. At this point, the crew travelling with AMR are all experienced, and know what it takes to not only win races, but championships too.