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The entry list for the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season has been revealed. It features 37 cars from 14 manufacturers across the two classes, with a record 19 cars in Hypercar and 18 cars confirmed for the first season of LMGT3.In the top class, of the teams previously in the championship, Ferrari AF Corse, Peugeot TotalEnergies, Porsche...
The entry list for the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season has been revealed. It features 37 cars from 14 manufacturers across the two classes, with a record 19 cars in Hypercar and 18 cars confirmed for the first season of LMGT3.In the top class, of the teams previously in the championship, Ferrari AF Corse, Peugeot TotalEnergies, Porsche Penske Motorsport and Toyota Gazoo Racing all return with two-car efforts. They are joined by a single Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, a single Proton Competition Porsche 963 and a privately-entered AF Corse Ferrari 499P.
Initially, there were suggestions that the third 499P would be entered via a collaboration with Richard Mille, following his GTE Am effort with AF Corse this season. However, it appears that Richard Mille backing for the car is now off the table.
Instead, the car is set to race with No. 83, with Robert Kubica, who signed with AF Corse last week, the only driver listed. RACER believes Yifei Ye will join the Polish ace, while multiple sources suggest that the full-season trio will be completed by Robert Shwartzman.
In addition, Hertz Team JOTA adds to the privateer pack, bringing a pair of 963s to the championship, scaling up from its single-car effort in 2023 which got underway at Spa-Francorchamps back in May.
The second Porsche will sport No. 12 as a nod to NFL legend Tom Brady’s shirt number – Brady is a key backer of Hertz Team JOTA’s Hypercar program – and has Will Stevens listed against it. The No. 38 sister car meanwhile has Oliver Rasmussen as the only named driver, the Dane carrying over from JOTA’s 2023 LMP2 program.
Adding to that, Iron Lynx brings a single Lamborghini SC63 to the championship, Alpine Racing has entered a pair of A424s, BMW Team WRT will run two M Hybrid V8s and Isotta Fraschini will be represented by a single Tipo 6 LMH Competizione.
The Lamborghini will race with No. 63, associated with the year that the Italian brand was founded (1963). Mirko Bortolotti is the only driver listed, but Iron Lynx confirmed that Daniil Kvyat will join him next season shortly after the list was published.
WRT’s BMWs feature Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde in their line-ups. That means that both Vanthoor and van der Linde brothers will race next year, as Laurens Vanthoor is confirmed in the No. 6 Penske Porsche and Kelvin van der Linde is listed at AKKODIS ASP in LMGT3.
The only other notable driver confirmations come at Isotta Fraschini, with 2023 ELMS LMP3 champion Alejandro Garcia and Isotta test regular Jean-Karl Vernay listed.
Notably, news broke ahead of the entry list revealed that Isotta’s Tipo 6 will not be run by Vector Sport next year, following a breakdown in the relationship between the two parties. French LMP2 outfit and LMP3 chassis supplier Duqueine is expected to run the car for its maiden campaign instead.
As a result, Vector will not have a presence in the FIA WEC next season and instead shift its focus to a planned ELMS LMP2 campaign.
Also absent from the list is the Vanwall Racing Vandervell 680, which underperformed throughout 2023 and has been denied an entry due to the 37-car cap and the late addition of a third Ferrari 499P.
LMGT3, meanwhile, features 18 cars spread across nine two-car teams from as many manufacturers.
Of the manufacturers with Hypercar programs, BMW (Team WRT), Corvette (via Cadillac with TF Sport), Ferrari (Vista AF Corse), Lamborghini (Iron Lynx and Dames), Porsche (Manthey Racing and Manthey PureRxcing) and Lexus (via Toyota with AKKODIS ASP Team) all bring cars to the category.
The remaining OEMs represented are Aston Martin, which brings a car apiece for Heart of Racing and D’Station Racing, Ford with Proton Competition and McLaren with United Autosports. A number of drivers have been confirmed too.
At Aston Martin, Ian James is listed with Heart of Racing and Marco Sorensen is down to race with D’Station Racing in the No. 777.
The WRT BMW line-ups are incomplete, though Augusto Farfus will race in the No. 31 M4 GT3 and Moto GP legend Valentino Rossi is now fully confirmed as part of the program, the Italian down to race in the No. 46.
Both Ferraris, which will run under the Vista AF Corse banner, have complete lineups. Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Davide Rigon return as a trio in the No. 54. Simon Mann, Francois Heriau and Alessio Rovera will compete in the No. 55.
There is an interesting name at Proton Competition, as GR Racing FIA WEC regular Ben Barker is down to drive the No. 77 Mustang GT3, while Ryan Hardwick, who won the 2023 ELMS GTE title, will race in the sister car.
United’s confirmed drivers are also down to race, with Grégoire Saucy in the No. 59 and Marino Sato in the No. 95. Both are significant numbers for McLaren’s return to Le Mans in 2024. The winning McLaren F1 GT-R ran with No. 59 when it won the race overall, in 1995.
“We are delighted to have been confirmed for the 2024 WEC season and I would like to thank the Automobile Club de l’Ouest for our inclusion within a hugely competitive LMGT3 class,” said Michael Leiters, CEO, McLaren Automotive. “Motorsport is fundamental to our brand and we build our cars using technology from the race track to give them the supreme performance that our customers expect from a McLaren.
“It will be a very exciting season and extremely close between the teams,” Leiters, continued, “which is why we have nominated United Autosports as our racing partner. This team has an excellent reputation in the endurance racing arena, and I look forward to our return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in which we will see 720S GT3 EVO cars in action.”
There is one complete line-up at Porsche, with Manthey PureRxcing’s 911 GT3 R set to race with Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler. Only Richard Lietz is listed in the No. 91 sister machine.
Interestingly, PureRxcing has already qualified for Le Mans via an automatic invitation earned from its Bronze title in World Challenge. It is also competing in the Asian Le Mans Series over the winter and could claim another auto invitation by winning the GT class.
Lexus and Toyota both have previously confirmed drivers named, with Jose Maria Lopez and newly confirmed AKKODIS ASP racer Kelvin van der Linde placed against an RC F GT3 and Charlie Eastwood and Daniel Juncadella set to race in TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs.
There are no surprises at Lamborghini either, with Claudio Schiavoni listed to race in the Iron Lynx Huracan and Michelle Gatting set to return to the WEC with Iron Dames.
With just 18 spots up for grabs, two manufacturers believed to have filed entries have missed out.
Mercedes is understood to have attempted to get in with GetSpeed, and Audi Sport hoped its planned two-car R8 LMS GT3 EVO II effort with Team Sainteloc would get over the line. Neither made the cut.
For Sainteloc and Audi, this decision is believed to have come as a shock. RACER understands that neither party had been informed that it wouldn’t be on the grid until after it completed a three-day endurance test with Goodyear and other prospective manufacturers at Monteblanco just last week.
Frédéric Lequien, the CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship, says the 2024 entry is a clear statement that sports car racing is currently experiencing a “golden era.”
“The sheer number of entries across both Hypercar and LMGT3 underlines the continued growth of FIA WEC and I’d like to take this moment to thank all our manufacturers and teams for putting their trust in us,” he said.
“To have an entry list featuring 19 Hypercars plus 18 LMGT3 entries representing 14 different manufacturers truly reflects the golden era of endurance racing that we are experiencing right now. The battles on track next season are going to be extraordinary and what’s even more exciting is that we are expanding our calendar to eight races so that even more fans can enjoy the action.”
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Initially, there were suggestions that the third 499P would be entered via a collaboration with Richard Mille, following his GTE Am effort with AF Corse this season. However, it appears that Richard Mille backing for the car is now off the table.
Instead, the car is set to race with No. 83, with Robert Kubica, who signed with AF Corse last week, the only driver listed. RACER believes Yifei Ye will join the Polish ace, while multiple sources suggest that the full-season trio will be completed by Robert Shwartzman.
In addition, Hertz Team JOTA adds to the privateer pack, bringing a pair of 963s to the championship, scaling up from its single-car effort in 2023 which got underway at Spa-Francorchamps back in May.
The second Porsche will sport No. 12 as a nod to NFL legend Tom Brady’s shirt number – Brady is a key backer of Hertz Team JOTA’s Hypercar program – and has Will Stevens listed against it. The No. 38 sister car meanwhile has Oliver Rasmussen as the only named driver, the Dane carrying over from JOTA’s 2023 LMP2 program.
Adding to that, Iron Lynx brings a single Lamborghini SC63 to the championship, Alpine Racing has entered a pair of A424s, BMW Team WRT will run two M Hybrid V8s and Isotta Fraschini will be represented by a single Tipo 6 LMH Competizione.
The Lamborghini will race with No. 63, associated with the year that the Italian brand was founded (1963). Mirko Bortolotti is the only driver listed, but Iron Lynx confirmed that Daniil Kvyat will join him next season shortly after the list was published.
WRT’s BMWs feature Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde in their line-ups. That means that both Vanthoor and van der Linde brothers will race next year, as Laurens Vanthoor is confirmed in the No. 6 Penske Porsche and Kelvin van der Linde is listed at AKKODIS ASP in LMGT3.
The only other notable driver confirmations come at Isotta Fraschini, with 2023 ELMS LMP3 champion Alejandro Garcia and Isotta test regular Jean-Karl Vernay listed.
Notably, news broke ahead of the entry list revealed that Isotta’s Tipo 6 will not be run by Vector Sport next year, following a breakdown in the relationship between the two parties. French LMP2 outfit and LMP3 chassis supplier Duqueine is expected to run the car for its maiden campaign instead.
As a result, Vector will not have a presence in the FIA WEC next season and instead shift its focus to a planned ELMS LMP2 campaign.
Also absent from the list is the Vanwall Racing Vandervell 680, which underperformed throughout 2023 and has been denied an entry due to the 37-car cap and the late addition of a third Ferrari 499P.
LMGT3, meanwhile, features 18 cars spread across nine two-car teams from as many manufacturers.
Of the manufacturers with Hypercar programs, BMW (Team WRT), Corvette (via Cadillac with TF Sport), Ferrari (Vista AF Corse), Lamborghini (Iron Lynx and Dames), Porsche (Manthey Racing and Manthey PureRxcing) and Lexus (via Toyota with AKKODIS ASP Team) all bring cars to the category.
The remaining OEMs represented are Aston Martin, which brings a car apiece for Heart of Racing and D’Station Racing, Ford with Proton Competition and McLaren with United Autosports. A number of drivers have been confirmed too.
At Aston Martin, Ian James is listed with Heart of Racing and Marco Sorensen is down to race with D’Station Racing in the No. 777.
The WRT BMW line-ups are incomplete, though Augusto Farfus will race in the No. 31 M4 GT3 and Moto GP legend Valentino Rossi is now fully confirmed as part of the program, the Italian down to race in the No. 46.
Both Ferraris, which will run under the Vista AF Corse banner, have complete lineups. Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Davide Rigon return as a trio in the No. 54. Simon Mann, Francois Heriau and Alessio Rovera will compete in the No. 55.
There is an interesting name at Proton Competition, as GR Racing FIA WEC regular Ben Barker is down to drive the No. 77 Mustang GT3, while Ryan Hardwick, who won the 2023 ELMS GTE title, will race in the sister car.
United’s confirmed drivers are also down to race, with Grégoire Saucy in the No. 59 and Marino Sato in the No. 95. Both are significant numbers for McLaren’s return to Le Mans in 2024. The winning McLaren F1 GT-R ran with No. 59 when it won the race overall, in 1995.
“We are delighted to have been confirmed for the 2024 WEC season and I would like to thank the Automobile Club de l’Ouest for our inclusion within a hugely competitive LMGT3 class,” said Michael Leiters, CEO, McLaren Automotive. “Motorsport is fundamental to our brand and we build our cars using technology from the race track to give them the supreme performance that our customers expect from a McLaren.
“It will be a very exciting season and extremely close between the teams,” Leiters, continued, “which is why we have nominated United Autosports as our racing partner. This team has an excellent reputation in the endurance racing arena, and I look forward to our return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in which we will see 720S GT3 EVO cars in action.”
There is one complete line-up at Porsche, with Manthey PureRxcing’s 911 GT3 R set to race with Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler. Only Richard Lietz is listed in the No. 91 sister machine.
Interestingly, PureRxcing has already qualified for Le Mans via an automatic invitation earned from its Bronze title in World Challenge. It is also competing in the Asian Le Mans Series over the winter and could claim another auto invitation by winning the GT class.
Lexus and Toyota both have previously confirmed drivers named, with Jose Maria Lopez and newly confirmed AKKODIS ASP racer Kelvin van der Linde placed against an RC F GT3 and Charlie Eastwood and Daniel Juncadella set to race in TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs.
There are no surprises at Lamborghini either, with Claudio Schiavoni listed to race in the Iron Lynx Huracan and Michelle Gatting set to return to the WEC with Iron Dames.
With just 18 spots up for grabs, two manufacturers believed to have filed entries have missed out.
Mercedes is understood to have attempted to get in with GetSpeed, and Audi Sport hoped its planned two-car R8 LMS GT3 EVO II effort with Team Sainteloc would get over the line. Neither made the cut.
For Sainteloc and Audi, this decision is believed to have come as a shock. RACER understands that neither party had been informed that it wouldn’t be on the grid until after it completed a three-day endurance test with Goodyear and other prospective manufacturers at Monteblanco just last week.
Frédéric Lequien, the CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship, says the 2024 entry is a clear statement that sports car racing is currently experiencing a “golden era.”
“The sheer number of entries across both Hypercar and LMGT3 underlines the continued growth of FIA WEC and I’d like to take this moment to thank all our manufacturers and teams for putting their trust in us,” he said.
“To have an entry list featuring 19 Hypercars plus 18 LMGT3 entries representing 14 different manufacturers truly reflects the golden era of endurance racing that we are experiencing right now. The battles on track next season are going to be extraordinary and what’s even more exciting is that we are expanding our calendar to eight races so that even more fans can enjoy the action.”
#Blogs
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