Season two of LMGT3 in the FIA WEC has a remarkably different feel to it, despite the fact that the vast majority of the teams have returned. If you scratch beneath the surface, it becomes apparent that the balance of power looks poised to shift, after Manthey and Porsche dominated the 2024 season with its EMA and Pure Rxcing 911s.

Balance of Performance will clearly play its part, as will the introduction of Goodyear’s Medium Plus compound, which is expected to debut at Interlagos and be utilised at CoTA and Bahrain. However, it’s arguably the driver lineups that make the biggest difference here, and there’s been plenty of movement over the winter.

Finding a Bronze-graded star in this ruleset is vital, as well as a Silver-graded racer who, as one team source puts it, “should have been made Gold in the off-season.” Thus, keeping tabs and analysing the rosters coming together in the off-season is key to getting a sense of which manufacturers will be in contention in a category that promises to be so close. So who deserves the attention?

Ben Keating’s return to the WEC full-time is a clear headline. The veteran Texan, who lest we forget cleaned up just two years ago in GTE Am with Corvette Racing winning the title and Le Mans, is back with the GM brand and TF Sport. He will campaign the No. 33 Z06 LMGT3.R with two new teammates, Jonny Edgar and Daniel Juncadella.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that’s the story here. After a year in IMSA LMP2 with United Autosports and one-off races at Le Mans and CoTA in the WEC, he’s now flipped to a full WEC campaign with an appearance at Daytona last month.

“The reason I’m with this program is a big series of little things,” he told RACER. “I love being with TF Sport, I love running the Corvette, I really appreciate the WEC rules, the way it races, my drive time matters. I love IMSA, the paddock, the people, but I don’t like feeling my time doesn’t matter.

“So I’m here and it’s the first time ever I’ve had my name on the side of the car with Keating Chevrolet, and it’s a big deal for me to race something I sell. It’s key to my racing. It just all came together, I could even return to get my number, 33.”

There’s work to be done to get up to speed and score points early in the season, though Keating has full confidence that TF is now on top of the car and that his teammates will help secure strong results.

“This championship starts off with a race that’s worth points and a half, so with only eight races, it’s going to be extremely important to score big here,” he pointed out. “You can’t finish outside the top 10 and expect to come back from that.”

The Corvettes ran fast and reliability in the Prologue and Edgar, he told RACER, looks to be a particularly hot prospect. The 21-year-old Briton, who won the 2024 European Le Mans Series LMP2 title with AO by TF, is new to GT racing but made the most of a shot at the drive on the back of a recommendation by team owner Tom Ferrier.

“We tested 10 Silvers, at two tracks, and two of them stood out to me, Jonny was one of them. He was dialled in immediately. It was impressive,” Keating added.

Is it notable that after a one-off appearance with Proton Competition in a Ford Mustang last year at CoTA, he hasn’t returned to race with the Blue Oval in 2025? He does sell Fords as well as Chevrolets in his role at the helm of the Keating Auto Group outside of racing after all.

“The characteristics of the GT3 Corvette are that it’s easy to drive. It makes everybody look good. That means it’s also that you rely less on tire performance. I can be more consistent with this car than the others. I enjoyed CoTA last year, but it was tough and the Ford doesn’t quite feel ready yet.”

Elsewhere, the atmosphere at McLaren partner team United Autosports compared to the 2024 Prologue 12 months ago is completely different. The deal for last season came together late and testing opportunities were limited. It made for a tough start to the year, but momentum did pick up for the Anglo-American after Le Mans.

The hope within the camp is that the upward trajectory continues into its sophomore campaign with Papaya and black-liveried GT3 Evos. The addition of Darren Leung to its driver roster is a reason to be cheerful and feels like a statement of intent. The former British GT Champion, who impressed in his Rookie WEC season last year with WRT and was part of BMW’s only win in LMGT3 at Imola, has made the move after much deliberation.

Walking away from a factory-supported effort with BMW that features the star power of Valentino Rossi, was a decision not taken lightly. But as he explained to RACER, he believes that United and the McLaren package will provide him with the tools he needs to win a title. He will also continue working with Sean Gelael, who signed with United before he did. It’s a bonus, that adds a nice layer of familiarisation to this new adventure.

“I put a lot of work in with WRT and my relationship with BMW is still very good,” Leung said. “So I’d love to have stuck it out. But the second half of last year was so tough. We felt like we had one hand tied behind our back, and the BMW wasn’t so good on low-grip tracks or tire degradation. It was soul-destroying and I didn’t want to fall out of love with this.

“I tried the Ferrari in the FIA Motorsports Games, the Lamborghini which was fun and the McLaren. And the McLaren-United combination at the WEC Rookie Test was impressive; the car felt good and the team did too. I have known Richard Dean for a long time. It was always in the back of my mind I wanted to race with him at some point and this works, I wanted to give myself the best chance to come here and enjoy it.”

The departure of Leung doesn’t mean that BMW should be counted out for a title run. The two M4 LMGT3 Evos are stacked with talent, and the addition of 2024 Le Mans winner Yasser Shahin from Manthey in the No. 31 is one that shouldn’t be overlooked.

The sister No. 46, which sees Ahmad Al Harthy and Valentino Rossi back for more, also receives a welcome boost from newly-minted BMW factory driver Kelvin van der Linde. The South African joins ‘The Doctor’ on recommendation from WRT boss Vincent Vosse, who admitted “it’s so nice to have him back in the team” after he previously competed with the Belgian outfit back in its Audi days.

What about Vista AF Corse and Heart of Racing, both of which won races in 2024 but lacked consistency?

The Ferrari trios are identical last year, and finished the season with a win apiece in Fuji and Bahrain. The 296 is a car that is seemingly strong wherever it races, and with the likes of Thomas Flohr, Simon Mann (who topped the Prologue combined times) and Francois Heriau improving all the time, they may well prove to be tough to beat.

As will Heart of Racing. Ian James is joined by Zach Robichon and AMR factory driver Mattia Drudi. Drudi, who was an architect of Aston Martin’s shock Centenary Spa 24 Hours victory last summer, has the potential to fly here as THOR begins fighting on two fronts with the addition of its Valkyries in Hypercar.

“We wouldn’t have assembled this lineup if we didn’t think we could win it all,” James points out. “Mattia is world class and Zach is one of the best Silver drivers around.”

Manthey, it must be said, could still win it all though, even without Pure Rxcing. It would shock nobody. The 911 LMGT3 R 992 proved last year that it’s a real weapon in the right hands.

Iron Dames takes up one side of the garage. It moves from Lamborghini to Porsche as part of a wider partnership with the German brand and a separation – operationally – from Iron Lynx. Celia Martin is the key there, taking over from Sarah Bovy who was frequently one of the fastest Bronzes. If she can find speed, then the fan-favorite effort has a chance to leave its rough 2024 season for dust.

The other half of the attack comes from 1st Phorm, after American racer Ryan Hardwick opted to switch from racing with Ford and Proton. Richard Lietz, remarkably the only Porsche LMGT3 driver to return for this season, powers the line-up, along with Riccardo Pera.

Like Iron Dames, they have a trick up their sleeves. Having spent the winter together in the hotly-contested Asian Le Mans Series GT class, they have the potential to hit the ground running after gaining so much track time since December.

“I’m really enjoying the car,” Hardwick told RACER during the Asian Le Mans Series’ final weekend in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. “It’s a big step from last year. The team is mega, and the crew is prepared after the Asian campaign. We’re delighted we did it.”