C’is an understatement to say that the World Endurance Championship (WEC), which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is coming out of a rather special period. Following successive withdrawals of major teams at the highest level, Toyota found itself at the top for five years in a row, winning each time at the famous Sarthe event while winning all the world titles. Problem: the Japanese firm was a bit on its own, with no real competition…
Faced with this distressing situation, a very promising revolution has been underway for two years. An in-depth change, the beneficial effects of which are particularly felt this year, and which will make it possible to enhance the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. While suggesting the best for the future. Explanations.
More competitors, for less
The revolution started in 2021 has a name: the hypercar (the LMh, for Le Mans Hypercar, to be more precise). They are the new queens of endurance racing. With the heavy task of succeeding the old LMP1s, named after the former supreme category, the mission of this new generation of racing cars is twofold: to allow, through new technical regulations, to attract a plethora of teams and manufacturers, but also to offer a spectacle worthy of the most famous race in the world, with more balanced performances from one competitor to another.
For the first aspect, it’s already won: by drastically simplifying the entry conditions, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) has at the same time made it possible to reduce costs considerably, by around 80%. Toyota, which won the last three events of the previous era, has thus divided its budget by three with its Hypercar. Morality: very big names in the automobile and motor sports have taken the plunge to come back.
“We are entering a new golden age”, welcomes Frédéric Lequien, general manager of the WEC, during an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP). “Among the brands present in 2023, some have a fantastic historical past in the discipline, such as Porsche, Peugeot, Toyota of course, but also Ferrari, back after fifty years of absence. »
Homogenized performances, for more spectacle?
Added to the prestige of the returning big names is the strength of numbers. In 2022, the two LMhs entered by Toyota faced only three competitors: a total of five cars for the main category, the showcase of the discipline. This year, they will be sixteen to compete for victory, to represent seven different brands: Porsche, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Glickenhaus, Vanwall and, of course, Toyota.
This new era was built at the expense of performance. These hypercars are thus heavier – at least 1,030 kg – and a tad less powerful than their illustrious elders, going from 1,000 horsepower to around 700. Thus, a full lap of the ultra-fast 24 Hours circuit is completed, at best , around 3 minutes and 24 seconds, when the record is 3 minutes, 14 seconds and 791 thousandths of the LMP1 time (Kamui Kobayashi on a Toyota TS050 Hybrid in 2017). Another consequence: the little sisters in the LMP2 category are now only a handful of seconds from the front row.
The best remains the one who wins, but he can no longer crush the others.Frédéric Lequien, General Manager of the WEC
Simpler and less expensive, this new technical and regulatory framework is also intended to be more restrictive: the authorities hope to limit the gaps between the various entrants to offer a real battle to enthusiasts. “All participants are locked into a very homogeneous performance window. The best remains the one who wins, but he can no longer crush the others”, believes Frédéric Lequien. “On the track, something has to happen. We know: whatever the discipline, when there is no more competition because only one wins, it can become pointless. » A barely veiled reference to the last years lived in Endurance, and which also applies to Formula 1, where the seasons are very often dominated by a team or a driver in particular.
And the best is yet to come
The example of Formula 1, precisely, should encourage us to be cautious. Pinnacle of motorsport, the discipline has also experienced many technical revolutions over the past fifteen years which have rarely had the expected effects in terms of entertainment and competition. In fact, Toyota, on the strength of its experience and its current hegemony, will once again be the favorite this year in the WEC as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
READ ALSOWEC: 2023, the beginning of a new golden age for enduranceNevertheless, there are many reasons to rejoice. Because the list of participants at the highest level is already guaranteed to grow next year. Thus Alpine, BMW and Lamborghini will swell an already extremely attractive line-up. The only downside: Audi, which was to make its big comeback in 2024, no longer seems interested in lining up on the starting line, the firm with the rings focusing on its arrival in F1 scheduled for 2026. Remains only with 10 builders at the top, next year is already shaping up to be that of all records.