A dynamic world full of expectations that of endurance competitions, which after five years of hardship and little interest from the manufacturers, especially in the WEC, has once again attracted the attention of the industry. In a landscape that sees the popularity of Formula 1 in constant expansion and Formula E which, despite registering some defections, continues to boast a fleet of manufacturers worthy of envy, the world of endurance racing is destined to become more and more colorful and compete for attractiveness. with the main disciplines of motorsport. At present, nine manufacturers have announced their Hypercar, LMDh and GTP programs, different terminologies used to refer to a single category: the premier class of endurance races. Between confirmations and indiscretions it is increasingly complex to keep track of the movements behind the scenes, making it appropriate to take stock of the situation.
Hypercar
Hypercar regulations provide for a much wider design freedom than LMDh, with three manufacturers already confirmed for the medium-term future. After having steered the WEC through its long transition period, effectively guaranteeing its survival, there is no reason to expect WEC to leave the scene in the short term. Toyota. The Japanese house will therefore continue to field two hybrid Hypercars in the World Championship, although the editorial staff of Endurance Info recently suggested that in 2023 the current GR010s could be replaced by a new model. The hypothesis clashes with the reality of the difficult international economic situation and with the approval period of five years for the GR010s, but it will be equally appropriate to monitor the plans of the Japanese company. Toyota also does not currently seem interested in competing in North America, nor in individual IMSA championship races such as Daytona and Sebring.
The next 6 hours of Monza will see the debut of the second hybrid Hypercar, the Peugeot 9X8 without rear wing. There will be two cars of the lion on the track in Italy and in the remaining stages of the World Championship, to then take part in the first full season of the WEC in 2023. The month of July will reserve important updates also for Ferrari, another great expectation for the next championship during which two Prancing Horse prototypes will compete for the overall victory. The presentation of the car is expected shortly, accompanied by the very first outing on the track at Fiorano.
LMDh
Porsche presented the brand new 963 LMDh at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, built around the frame developed by Multimatic. The Zuffenhausen-based manufacturer will take part in the WEC in 2023 with two official Penske cars together with the customer program managed by Hertz-Jota, while in IMSA it will be JDC-MotorSport to support the 963 officials. The leaders of Stuttgart have revealed the ambition to bring to Le Mans also the cars destined to compete in North America, although this scenario seems destined to materialize not before 2024. The official debut of the 963 is scheduled for the next 24 hours of Daytona. but the German manufacturer did not rule out participating in the final race of the WEC 2022 in Bahrain to gain experience.
The two manufacturers using Dallara frames will also make their debut in 2023: Cadillac and BMW. The first will focus its attention in North America, despite having already announced participation in the WEC with only one car. BMW, on the other hand, will compete in the IMSA alone in 2023, using Bobby Rahal’s Team RLL. The Bavarian house has expressed its intention to compete at Le Mans as well, but at present no program has been announced yet in Europe. The next season will see among the participants also Editedwhich will compete in America with the cars entrusted to Wayne Taylor Racing and Meyer Shank Racing, built around the Oreca chassis, while at least for 2023 there is no participation in the WEC or in Le Mans.
The LMDh ranks will grow further in 2024. Lamborghini has already announced the development of a prototype in collaboration with Ligier, destined to be the protagonist both in the WEC and in IMSA. The same year will see the arrival of Alpine, which will make use of Oreca frames. The French manufacturer took part in the last two editions of the World Championship with an Lmp1 prototype to gain experience in the premier category, an opportunity that will no longer be granted by the organizers in 2023, pushing Alpine towards a one-year program in Lmp2 before returning. in Hypercar. From 2024 the French manufacturer will compete in the WEC together with the Signatech team, but preliminary discussions are already underway with Andretti to compete also in North America.
Observe special
Among the confirmations for the future in the Hypercar class was excluded Glickenhaus, around which some question marks hover. During an interview with the editorial staff of Sportscar365, Jim Glickenhaus explained how the program in the WEC is driven primarily by ambition and personal passion, but at the cost of considerable expense. The Italian-American team has received from the organizers the authorization not to take part in the last two extra-European races of the 2022 World Cup in Japan and Bahrain, in order to contain the disbursements, thus suggesting the propensity of the FIA and ACO to welcome the 007 LMH also in 2023. However, it will be necessary to assess whether the economic and strategic conditions within the company will allow the presence of Glickenhaus on the starting grid for next season and possibly how many cars will be present at Le Mans. Another suggestive scenario is the participation in the main American marathons such as Daytona and Petit Le Mans, in an important market for Glickenhaus, for which, however, it will first be necessary to receive the authorization of IMSA.
Another constantly evolving project is that of ByKolles, which was supposed to participate in the WEC as early as 2022 with a thermal Hypercar, but before its registration was not approved given the delays in the project. The Austrian team has linked its name to Vanwall to obtain manufacturer recognition, but its presence in the 2023 World Cup is still to be defined.
At the end of the eligible candidates to compete among the Hypercars, there is the name of Aston Martin. The Valkyrie project for the WEC was suspended in 2020, but at the presentation of the Formula 1 car last February, some rumors bounced about the possible resumption of the program. The budget cap in Formula 1 and the availability of a starting point to work on play in favor of this scenario, which, however, still remains unlikely.
On the LMDh front Audi has recently paused its program, with no hint at the moment that it will be resumed soon. The house of the four rings left Formula E precisely to focus on the adventure in the Dakar and on returning to the WEC, but the upcoming entry into Formula 1 has scaled down plans for endurance races. Like Audi, it will also be appropriate to monitor the moves of McLaren. Zak Brown has never hidden his interest in the premier endurance class, emphasizing, however, that any program should be self-sustaining without taking resources away from the Formula 1, IndyCar, Formula E and Extreme E projects. The timing appears tight for an arrival in 2024. , but that of the British team is certainly a rapidly evolving scenario with a view to 2025.
Movements behind the scenes
In addition to the houses already mentioned, there are other discussions with cameras off between companies and organizing bodies to be recorded. Graham Goodwin, editor of the newspaper DailySportsCar, gave some clues during the English commentary of the last 24 hours of Le Mans. Goodwin reports that announcements will arrive shortly from manufacturers so far not even associated with the Hypercar and LMDh regulations, underlining the possibility of an entry of a large manufacturer along with two smaller companies. Among the suspects stands out the name of Fordwhose contacts refused to leave comments when questioned by the editorial staff of Sportscar365 about a possible LMDh program. Similarly, it cannot be ruled out Mercedes, which with the gradual lowering of the spending ceiling in Formula 1 and the farewell to Formula E could have the necessary resources to venture into endurance competitions. However, Goodwin himself has ruled out the entry of two other houses that have recently joined the endurance world, namely Jaguar and Lotus.
Summing up, the 2023 WEC is heading towards a grid of eleven cars registered full-time in the premier class, with the possibility of reaching thirteen or more if the Glickenhaus and Vanwall programs are confirmed. The number could grow further on the occasion of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while a dozen GTPs should be present at Daytona. The projections, however, are significantly up in view of 2024, with about fifteen full-time enrollments expected in the WEC and the potential to breach the threshold of twenty crews at Le Mans. The participation and interest of the manufacturers constitutes the greatest revenge for the endurance world and in particular for the WEC, whose very future had been questioned in the last five years.
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