The final pieces of the LMGT3 jigsaw are coming together rapidly, as several manufacturers move to make their submissions and customer team nominations ahead of the new class’ debut in the FIA WEC next year.
Ferrari (AF Corse), Lamborghini (Iron Lynx), BMW (Team WRT), Porsche (Manthey) and Corvette (TF Sport) are essentially locked in for two-car efforts by dint of the brands and/or ownership groups having factory Hypercar programmes.
Also looking like a certainty, as reported in July by DSC, is the arrival of Lexus with Jerome Policand’s Auto Sport Promotion, the programme set to race the current Lexus RC F GT3 ahead of the expected 2026 arrival of the new (Lexus) badged contender.
This effort’s path to the WEC has been smoothed very considerably by Toyota’s successful and continuing Hypercar programme.
Ford’s new Mustang looks set to feature too, with Proton Competition. Despite having no Ford prototype in the top class, the chances of this effort being accepted, beyond the allure of the category featuring Ford’s brand new car, has been assisted by the appointment of Christian Ried’s team. Proton is one of the most loyal customer teams in the WEC, an ever-present in the GT ranks and has moved into Hypercar with Porsche this season.
These are already numbers that are beginning to graze the glass ceiling for full-season entries set by the FIA WEC. It is now clear that things have moved on in recent days and weeks from a position at LMEM where there was an assumptive cap of c. 36 cars.
Discussions are clearly underway to accommodate as many Hypercar and LMGT3 manufacturers as possible though. DSC believes that the process is not complete, with a variety of factors in play, including garage capacity at some 2024 circuits, the willingness of LMGT3 teams to share garage facilities and freighting space.
So who is remaining on the ‘To Be Confirmed’ list?
Aston Martin has been a firm supporter of the WEC since its inception and Aston Martin Racing is known to be keen to get the nod with a revised Vantage AMR GT3. The car is set to benefit from an ‘Evo’ kit next year (that is already being track tested).
The ongoing work on the revival of the Valkyrie LMH programme will also help its case for inclusion.
Also in the group, which should be labelled as a distinct likelihood, is McLaren with its 2023 evo-spec 720S GT3.
The battle for the factory nomination has been raging in the background for some months, with four teams putting in full proposals to McLaren. Team Project 1 and Optimum were, DSC understands, eliminated from the process a short while ago, with United Autosports and Garage 59 progressing to a desk-based ‘shoot-out’.
The case for the UK-based supercar factory is still boosted by the prospect of a future hypercar effort, not imminent, but very much alive, delayed as the core McLaren Automotive concern restructured its finances and supply chain.
Back to LMGT3, DSC now understands that it is United Autosports which will be the factory’s nominated representative, though team co-owner Richard Dean offered only a polite “no comment” when contacted by DSC today.
If McLaren is successful in getting the nod, there’s a tight critical path for United to gather the staff and equipment ahead of the start of the 2024 FIA WEC alongside its continuing programmes in LMP2 and LMP3 in Europe and now the USA (which is being run from a new base in Charlotte).
Beyond that, Honda and Mercedes-AMG are understood to have interest from a mix of current and new customer teams. Both are believed to have plans to propose solo cars from two different customer teams.
Finally, Audi is believed to have significant interest from multiple current customers in fielding the R8 LMS GT3 Evo2. Will the grid have space for all of the above? No, but it is clear that LMEM is pushing hard to ensure as many brands as possible can take part in the 2024 season.
In addition to the total number of full-season grid spots being a key factor, the number of Hypercars entered for the full campaign is also crucial in determining how many LMGT3 manufacturers will get the nod.
As it stands, the current two-car efforts from Toyota, Peugeot, Porsche and Ferrari are set to return in 2024, along with two Alpine A424s, two WRT-run factory BMW M Hybrid V8s, a Ganassi Cadillac, an Iron Lynx Lamborghini, a Vector Sport-run Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH and a customer Porsche apiece for JOTA and Proton Porsche.
That brings the total to 17 without either Vanwall or Glickenhaus returning or any of the additional cars being worked on in the background.
DSC is aware that a second Ganassi-run Cadillac for the WEC has been under active consideration and there are proposals too, from two separate teams, for a second Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH Competizione. DSC understands that the two are LMP2 team Duqueine and Swiss GT squad Emil Frey Racing (which was in the initial mix for the Isotta WEC contract). However, DSC believes that it is unlikely that the second Isotta will be granted an entry for 2024.
Porsche’s customer teams are looking to double up too. HERTZ Team JOTA’s second car is thought to be all but ready to go for 2024 and Proton is close to confirming that two of its four 963s will compete full-time next year. The big question mark for Proton is its IMSA programme. Originally it planned to compete in both championships full-time, but the calendar clashes have created significant hurdles for the German team to overcome.
Depending on how many of these efforts come together, Hypercar could be anything from 17 to 23 cars strong. If it reaches or exceeds 20 cars, then there will be nerves aplenty for the GT3 manufacturers without top-class efforts looking to nominate cars.
