24 Hours of Le Mans test day preview

With preparations ahead of the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours ramping up, the entry list for the official Test Day on Sunday has been released. It includes all 60 cars and most of the drivers set to take part in the French classic later this month, making for multiple intriguing storylines to follow during the on-track action this weekend.

Unusually, none of the reserve entries have been called up to the main list since its original release, the 60-car entry of high quality and devoid of any dramas prior to race-week.

• Test Day entry list

This Sunday, the teams and drivers will participate in two four-hour open test sessions, in which all involved will practice race stints, tire tests, pit stops and of course standard laps of the circuit; rookie drivers in particular will be eager to hit the track, as they are required to set 10 laps in the test (a minimum of five timed) to qualify for the race.

In the LMP1 class, all eyes will be on Porsche and Toyota, particularly Toyota, with the drivers of its third TS050 in need of track time. The Japanese team, which has moved newcomer Jose Maria Lopez from the No.8 into the No.9 car for Le Mans following his shunt at Silverstone. It will be looking to ensure that the Argentine and his teammates Yuji Kunimoto – another Le Mans debutant – and Nico Lapierre complete a good amount of laps to help them get up to speed with the new car, and the circuit.

For the No.7 and No.8 full-season TS050 Hybrids, the Le Mans test will mark the first time they've run with the team's 2017 low-drag aero kit in public. It must be noted that all three LMP1 teams (including the Nissan engine privateer ByKolles) will be using their Le Mans aero for the first time in situ as the full Le Mans circuit is not open for testing outside of race week and the Test Day.

The record 25-car-strong LMP2 class teams are also set for a journey into the unknown this weekend. All the cars are new for this year, and haven't run on the Circuit de la Sarthe yet. The four chassis will also be using their new mandatory low-drag aero kit; trimmed out for straight line speed, they are not as sophisticated as the standard kits for the teams, but it will still take time to get used to and perfect the setup.

All four 2017 P2 chassis will be represented in the race, with the Keating Motorsports' entered Riley Mk.30 getting its first run on European soil in the process. The pace of cars won't be definitive, as always, though there should be some indication as to which chassis is the strongest.

The LMP2 outright lap record will also be something to monitor – with the new cars having lots more power and better aero than their predecessors – it can't be broken officially during the Test Day, but we will get an idea of what can be achieved and what sort of time to expect. The current record is a 3m32.301s set way back in 2008 by a Porsche RS Spyder driven by Jos Verstappen , father of current Red Bull F1 star Max, a mark expected to be shattered this year.

Much of the attention will be on GTE Pro, after last year's events which saw Ford outmatched on pace at the Test Day, before dominating race week. The Balance of Performance is key in the class, and the ACO knows that; whether the new system for Le Mans will ensure parity across the four marques though, remains to be seen.

The WEC has been using brand new "automated system" this year, but it doesn't apply at Le Mans. Instead, a bespoke system is being used for this month's data.

The current BoP sees the Fords get 15 kilos (about 33 pounds) and marginally reduced turbo pressure figure compared to the values for the opening rounds of the WEC.

The Aston Martin Vantage on the other hand, have been given a marginal 22-pound weight hike and a 0.4mm larger air restrictor with the factory Corvettes also getting a power boost with a 0.7 mm-larger restrictor.

The Ferraris remain essentially unchanged with the new Porsches up in weight by just 22 pounds.

Minor changes are made in fuel capacity across the board to effectively maintain a parity across the class in the number of laps per tank of fuel each can manage.

Like last year however, the FIA/ACO have the option to make further changes at any point prior to the race proper.

Elsewhere in the class, Porsche will get to run its new 911 RSR at La Sarthe for the first time. AF Corse drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi and Miguel Molina, plus a pair of Audi LMP1 refugees, Ferrari's Lucas di Grassi and Corvette's Marcel Fassler, will also get their first crack at the circuit with the current GTE machinery.

In GTE Am, there's plenty of American interest to keep tabs on. IMSA regular Scuderia Corsa returns to Le Mans, this time with two new Ferrari 488s, while Texan Tracy Krohn and Swede Nic Jonsson return to the ACO scene ahead of their their 12th consecutive Le Mans start as a duo in DH Racing's Prancing Horse.

PWC K-PAX driver Mike Hedlund and Porsche factory driver Patrick Long will also be in action as a pair, driving the No.93 Proton Competition Porsche.

And finally, the single Corvette in the Am field, run by French team Larbre Competition, is one of many cars sporting a new livery this weekend for the first time ahead of the race. The team's C7.R attracting attention with a comic book style art-car!

Sunday's track action is set to begin at 9am, ahead of the second session at 2p.m., local time in France (8 a.m. ET).