The Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Professional (LMGTE Pro) field consisted of four manufacturers (Aston Martin, Ford, Ferrari and Porsche), while the Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Amateur (LMGTE Am) entrants were six teams: Aston Martin Racing, AF Corse, KCMG, Larbre Compétition, Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing and Gulf Racing. Ford Chip Ganassi Racing entered the series, fielding two full-time Ford GT vehicles driven by Andy Priaulx, Marino Franchitti, Harry Tincknell in its No. 67 entry and Olivier Pla, Stefan Mücke and Billy Johnson behind the wheel of the No. 66 car. Patrick Long was committed to participating in the Pirelli World Challenge event on the Streets of Long Beach and was replaced by Klaus Bachler in the No. 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR, joining the team's regular drivers David Heinemeier Hansson and Khaled Al Qubaisi. Gulf Racing made their first appearance in the series with 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix driver Adam Carroll, Porsche Supercup podium finisher Ben Barker and the team's co-founder Michael Wainwright. The 6 Hours of Silverstone was confirmed as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship's 2016 schedule in December 2015 at a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris. It was the first of nine scheduled endurance sports car rounds of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship, and the fifth running of the event as part of the championship. The race was held on 17 April 2016 at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England with two preceding days of practice and qualifying. The Silverstone Circuit is a race track that is long and is composed of 18 corners in varying degrees of sharpness, ranging from gentle sweeping turns to one sharp hairpin. Heading into the new season, co-defending World Endurance champion Mark Webber stated Porsche's performance advantage over their two main rivals could possibly disappear at Silverstone but felt the team could successfully retain the drivers' and manufacturers' titles. He said his team's expectations were ambitious. Although Webber was aware of the tight opposition he was confident that Porsche could fight well: "We have a very stable concept, let’s say, so it’s very well known for us. We of course want to aim for another win at Le Mans and win the championships, so the goals are very, very high." Audi No. 8 co-driver Lucas di Grassi believed that Toyota's new chassis, the TS050 Hybrid, would allow its drivers to run at the front of the field after they experienced a difficult 2015 season: "I expect them to make a big step, because they have changed the engine and the hybrid system.