The 2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS entry lists were announced during this week's test days, prompting several squads to confirm their driver line-ups for the 2022 season.
Having won last year's Endurance Cup drivers' title and scored overall victory at the TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa, Ferrari squad Iron Lynx will return with an unchanged two-car programme this term. In the #51 machine, reigning champion Nicklas Nielsen will be joined by the experienced duo of James Calado and Miguel Molina, both of whom return to the series on a full-time basis.
The sister #71 features two returning drivers in Davide Rigon and Antonio Fuoco, the former making a welcome comeback following the injuries he sustained at last year's TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa. Their line-up is completed by Daniel Serra, who is set for his first full season following a number of one-off outings at Spa. All six drivers are members of Ferrari's factory roster.
McLaren has an increased presence this season. Among its representatives, Inception Racing will undertake a full Endurance Cup campaign and has named Brendan Iribe, Ollie Millroy and Frederik Schandorff as its drivers. Iribe and Millroy are mainstays of Inception's global efforts, while Schandorff returns to the Endurance Cup having previously won the Silver class title in 2020.
Series newcomer Tresor by Car Collection announced an impressive Pro driver roster. Mattia Drudi and Luca Ghiotto will run a full Sprint and Endurance schedule in the #12 machine and should be among the contenders for the combined championship. Their Endurance Cup line-up will be further strengthened by Christopher Haase, one of Audi Sport's most accomplished factory GT drivers. Haase will also compete in the Sprint Cup, reprising his successful partnership with Simon Gachet. The duo were previously teammates at Saintéloc Racing and took an overall win at Zandvoort in 2019.
Aston Martin's presence in the series was confirmed on Tuesday morning when longstanding partner squad Beechdeen AMR announced a two-car Endurance Cup programme. At present, team owner Andrew Howard is the only confirmed driver, while it also remains to be seen which class the outfit will contest.
Jordan Witt has joined Leipert Motorsport for the Endurance Cup, partnering Brendon Leitch and Dennis Fetzer in the #27 Lamborghini. Witt has solid experience in the championship and contested last year's Fanatec GT2 European Series. Another Lamborghini squad to complete a Silver Cup line-up was Emil Frey Racing, which added Tuomas Tujula to its #14 crew alongside Stuart White and Konsta Lappalainen.
With the test days complete, Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS is now preparing for its season-opening race at Imola. The Italian venue will play host to a three-hour Endurance Cup contest on 1-3 April, kicking off a 10-round championship that culminates at Barcelona on 30 September–2 October.