James and Jesse Glickenhaus three-season programme in the FIA WEC’s Hypercar class will not extend into the 2024 season.
The decision brings an end to a programme that will be remembered as a foundation stone for the Hypercar era, with a record for the team at Le Mans in particular that stands proudly as one of the most astonishing achievements in the race in the 21st century.
Speaking to DSC last week, Jim Glickenhaus confirmed that the team’s Podium Engineering-built, Joest Racing prepped SCG 007 cars would not return, citing the need to invest seven-figure dollar figures to upgrade the cars to keep up with the development curves from the major automotive OEMs that now compete in the FIA WEC.
“In the beginning, after the wrong turn taken to accommodate the original Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH, it was pretty simple. You built a car within the regulations that could do a 3:30 at Le Mans and you were all set for the duration.
“Since then though there’s been an all too predictable shift to the manufacturers driving forward development while we are on the very edge.
“To carry on in anything like a competitive state we’d have to invest in a magnesium block for the engine or would have to run the current engine so lean that heat management would become an issue, meaning investment in new bodywork.
“Put that all together and there’ are sums involved that we simply can’t justify spending as we work on building the road car side of the business.”
Glickenhaus then looks set to depart the scene but can look back on a programme that numbered 12 FIA WEC races over three seasons, including a trio of two-car efforts at Le Mans.
Whilst the WEC adventure never produced a race win, the SCG 007 did take pole positions at both Spa and Monza in 2022 after topping the times at the Le Mans Test Day in 2021. The team also scored a WEC podium at Sebring in 2022.
By far the most impressive achievements of the programme though, came at Le Mans. Six starts, and six finishes, including a podium finish in 2022 is a very significant result from a privately funded programme.
More impressive still is the fact that despite the massive increase in the field size in Hypercar this year the team will still complete its Le Mans history having had no car finish lower than seventh overall. It’s a record that ranks with some of the very best.
It’s a record that Jim Glickenhaus is rightly proud of:
“This year we beat Peugeot and we beat Porsche and that’s yet another chapter in an adventure that we can cherish.
“We’ll wave farewell with some regrets that the ruleset effectively rendered us uncompetitive, but will wish everyone well for an exciting era in a sport that all at Glickenhaus are totally passionate about.”
