Yahoo Autos 2024 LMGT3 field starting to take shape
As the FIA WEC teams pause for the summer after the final European round of the season at Monza, the entry process for the 2024 season is getting higher up on the agenda for everyone in the paddock.
With much uncertainty around the total number of Hypercar entries that will be applied for and therefore the number of LMGT3 slots left available, there has been a lot of movement behind the scenes as teams and manufacturers scramble to work out how good their prospects are.
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For LMGT3 hopefuls, priority will be shown to manufacturers with hypercar programmes, this is clear. FIA WEC CEO Frederic Lequien told the media at Le Mans, “If you are a hypercar manufacturer I do not see how it’s possible to refuse the entry of a GT3.”
RACER expects the size of the Hypercar class to top out at around 20 in 2024. If that is the case, then the number of LMGT3 spaces would be 18 (with a maximum of two cars per make), if the maximum number of spaces for the full season remains at 38.
However, that isn’t by any means a certainty. Multiple paddock sources have told RACER that the full-season entry may be restricted to 36 or even 34 due to the switch from sea to air freight for the expanded eight-round schedule in 2024. 38 is believed to be either too tight for a single plane, and it would be likely too expensive if the FIA WEC were to decide on utilising a second.
If that’s the case, then the manufacturers on the bubble without a Hypercar programme are significantly less likely to be handed grid spaces.
So how many of the current and future Hypercar manufacturers will take up the offer to race in LMGT3 and hand customer teams spaces?
BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche appear to be nailed in. Amongst those, AF Corse is most likely to run the 296 GT3s, Iron Lynx will campaign a pair of Lamborghini Huracans and WRT will almost certainly take up the option of running BMW M4 GT3s with Valentino Rossi headlining the effort.
Valentino Rossi could lead a BMW effort. Motorsport Images
At Porsche, with Proton Competition making the surprise move to Ford, working out which team – or teams – will compete with the 911 GT3 R 992 is a complex task. At first glance, GR Racing and Project 1 from the current WEC roster appear to be leading candidates. However, longtime partner organisation Manthey is understood to be actively recruiting for an LMGT3 programme, which suggests it is either supremely confident or has already quietly been given the nod.
Then there’s General Motors, which with longtime Aston Martin customer team TF Sport now signed up, will be represented by a pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs alongside Cadillac’s Hypercar effort with the V-Series.R.
The outlier from the current Hypercar crop is Toyota, which can gain entries via Lexus. Currently, RACER understands that the new Lexus GT3 car has already been out testing, but will not be homologated in time for 2024, meaning its debut may have to wait until at least the 2025 season.
In the meantime though, there is the prospect of the ageing RC F GT3 being campaigned, as it is by Vasser Sullivan in IMSA GTD. Initially, this prospect seemed unlikely, though RACER now believes the chances of a programme from left field have become more likely in recent weeks. There are murmurs that AKKODIS ASP, a significant player in the GT3 marketplace with Mercedes-AMG, is firmly in the mix.
If all six Hypercar manufacturers with current GT3 machinery take up their entries, and there are fewer than 38 grid slots, that would leave fewer than six spaces remaining and as many as six non-Hypercar manufacturers in play.
From the outliers, Ford’s Proton-led effort looks as good as nailed in with the brand-new Mustang GT3, due to the heritage of Ford in the sport, its level of ambition and Proton’s loyalty to the WEC.
That leaves Aston Martin, Audi, Honda, McLaren and Mercedes-AMG on the list of additional brands understood by RACER to be exploring realistic opportunities. Beyond that, RACER is aware that at least one team has looked into running a Bentley, but the odds are stacked against a team running Continental GT3s being granted a place, with the customer racing programme wound down.
Mercedes and McLaren are two of the manufacturers on the outside looking in. Motorsport Images
At least two of McLaren’s current customer teams have expressed a desire to run the 720S GT3 and Danish outfit GMB Motorsport is known to be a candidate for Honda (with JAS Motorsport backing).
Meanwhile, RACER spoke to a prominent Audi Sport GT3 customer that was confident of its chances and keen to run the R8 LMS GT3 EVO II just a few weeks ago. It said that it would only be looking to file for a single entry, which it believed would it a greater chance of getting in, as the WEC may consider handing single entries to multiple OEMs to increase the diversity of the field. However, Audi’s recent decision to scale back its customer racing support from 2024 onwards is likely to have come as a hammer blow to the team’s plans.
With TF Sport switching to Corvette’s growing customer stable, the likelihood of Aston Martin being present is also somewhat up in the air, especially as the Vantage AMR GT3 is now an elder statesman in this group.
However, AMR has plenty of customer teams, and with TF out of the picture, one or two may see this shift in the marketplace as a rare open door to the LMGT3 class. Heart of Racing and D’Station would be firm favourites here. The long-awaited evo-kit for the car is understood to be close to sign-off and is expected to test over the summer too.
In addition to having demonstrated more than a decade of loyalty to the FIA WEC, Aston Martin’s prospects of gaining entries may also be boosted by the progress behind the scenes for a rebooted Hypercar project with the Valkyrie. RACER understands that a privately-funded engine programme is being worked on, likely in time for the 2025 season. The programme is set to adapt the 1000 bhp normally aspirated 6.5 litre V12 that powers the road car, to the 670 bhp output level required by the Hypercar ruleset.
The final make here is Mercedes-AMG. It has made it clear that multiple customer teams are keen to gain entries. However, AMG’s chances are reduced by the lack of a Hypercar programme and its lack of customer teams with heritage in the FIA WEC or European Le Mans Series. While one of the most prestigious and popular in the world, the brand appears to be a rank outsider, especially as there are no current plans for it to take part in Goodyear’s LMGT3 tire tests this year.
With a significant entry fee required upfront before the end of the calendar year for teams wishing to compete and the start of the 2024 season in March edging closer, everyone looking to get involved is currently in a race against time to secure enough budget, resources and reassurance to compete. It will be fascinating to see who makes the cut.
