By alley - Apr 15, 2017, 6:36 PM ET

WEC Silverstone Saturday notebook

Success for the Ligier JS P217

Supporting the FIA WEC this weekend is the European Le Mans Series, which features a grid of 12 new LMP2 cars, representing three of the four chassis manufacturers.

In the race, United Autosports steered its Ligier JS P217 to a last-gasp victory in the final minutes, marking the car's first-ever race win. The Dallara P217 also scored its first podium with a Gibson engine in the hands of Danish outfit High Class Racing.

Presidents make the trip

FIA president Jean Todt has been in attendance at Silverstone this weekend, and will join ACO president Pierre Fillon and FIA Endurance Commission president Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones for a "meet the presidents" event tomorrow at the circuit for the media.

LMP1 manufacturers assemble

Representatives from Porsche and Toyota were joined by Bruno Famin from Peugeot Sport today for an LMP1 manufacturers meeting. Famin was also in conversation with representatives from tire supplier Michelin, though a pre-2020 entry into LMP1 seems unlikely at present.

RACER understands that the outcome of the meetings are set to be part of an announcement set for the week of the 24 Hours of Le Mans about the post-2020 LMP1 regulations.

The last time Peugeot Sport raced in LMP1 was back in 2011, when it won the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup with its 908 diesel prototype.

Other privateer LMP1 programs emerging?

In addition to

Ginetta's presentation

outlining the development work on its 2018 LMP1 chassis, and the repeated reassurance that the Russian SMP-backed, Dallara-chassis LMP1 prorgram is still advancing, RACER understands that there are at least two other LMP1 non-hybrid programs making progress.

One of these features Benoit Morand, last seeen in the FIA WEC at the beginning of last season supporting RGR Sport's LMP2 effort. Morand's last LMP1 appearance, meanwhile, came back in 2011, when he was part of the Hope Racing Oreca 01 Hybrid program that had a troubled run at Le Mans.

WTCC champions feature

Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez's debut for Toyota Gazoo Racing in tomorrow's FIA WEC race will mean that two former World Touring Car Championship champions will be racing together in the championship. The other is British driver Andy Prixaulx in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK GT.

Busy weekend for some WEC teams and drivers

Due to the increasingly congested motorsport calendar, several teams and drivers will be racing in more than one series this weekend.

Irish Ferrari driver Matt Griffin is doing triple duty this weekend. Today he competed on the ELMS opener with Spirit of Race in GTE, tomorrow he will race for Clearwater Racing in the FIA WEC's GTE Am class, and together with double-duty partner Duncan Cameron (who joined him in the ELMS) he will race another Spirit of Race Ferrari – a 488 GT3 – in the British GT Championship opener on Monday.

Nicolas Lapierre, Darren Turner and Nicki Thiim are on WEC and ELMS duty, along with the Proton/ Dempsey Proton pairing of Christian Ried and Matteo Cairoli.

Of the GT teams, Spirit of Race will race in the WEC, ELMS and British GT, while Proton Competition will compete in the ELMS and WEC (the latter under the Dempsey Proton banner in FIA WEC) this weekend.

G-Drive Racing has an Oreca 07 Gibson LMP2 on both the ELMS and WEC entires, but fielded by different teams. Its WEC car is under the wing of TDS Racing and the ELMS car is run by American outfit DragonSpeed.