The future of the WEC

I'm disappointed that the P2 cars were not competitive with the hypersleds, but they sure raced the hell out of each other and threw a good scare into everyone for the overall.

I believe IMSA is either next weekend or the one after. Between them and WEC, we have a lot to be thankful for.

And ... it's May.
 
There’s a stream of announcements coming up soon and running through Le Mans week.

Not sure Toyota will make this public until late in the year but reportedly they’re building a new car for the rest of the homologation period. The regs changed three times while they were developing it, so they need something with a whole new weight distribution that works the tires better.

Peugeot are reportedly soon announcing they’ll make Monza in July their debut race.

Lamborghini are rumored to have an upcoming announcement for a 2024 LMDh debut with Prema and Iron Lynx in the WEC.

With Audi dropping their project, WRT are rumored to be working on a deal to run BMW in WEC. So far BMW only confirmed an IMSA program with Rahal Letterman Lanigan.

And with WEC also going to a Pro-Am only GT3 class in 2024 the rumor is you’ll have to be in Hypercar to have your GT3 model allowed on the grid.



 
Doc Austin said:
This is sad news: https://racer.com/2022/05/20/penske-to-end-wec-lmp2-program-at-le-mans/

Hopefully they will have a good run at lemans. That will be the first Penske entry since 1971.
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Says they want to be ready for the four-car effort to debut at Daytona next year. I wonder if that means they’re actually bringing the WEC cars to the Rolex? Like Ford did in GTLM for a few years. If the WEC still opens at Sebring I suppose it might not be too hard to pull off.
 
Kiante said:
Eh.

Got enough data to build on and now they focus on 2023. A major problem for possible competition in LMDh/GTP.
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Yeah, but that's one less P2 car for this season. At least we get to see Penske go back to LeMans this year.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Says they want to be ready for the four-car effort to debut at Daytona next year. I wonder if that means they’re actually bringing the WEC cars to the Rolex? Like Ford did in GTLM for a few years. If the WEC still opens at Sebring I suppose it might not be too hard to pull off.
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How cool is it going to be to see four factory Porsches at the Rolex?

Running a 10 hour race and then a 12 hour the next day would kill the crew. Racing the car for 1000 miles, then preparing it for a 12 hour race and then actually racing it would be an epic team effort. It would require managing your people as much as anything.
 
Doc Austin said:
How cool is it going to be to see four factory Porsches at the Rolex?

Running a 10 hour race and then a 12 hour the next day would kill the crew. Racing the car for 1000 miles, then preparing it for a 12 hour race and then actually racing it would be an epic team effort. It would require managing your people as much as anything.
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Yeah I’m stoked if that’s actually the case, that would be an awfully tough armada to beat.

I don’t think they’ll do the same at Sebring, just saying that if they have to freight stuff over Stateside for March anyways it may not be too difficult get Daytona in as well. I guess it depends on how it affects their freight schedule/costs.
 
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Sorry it's in French, but lots of different views of the Peugeot.

Watch the pitstop at 17:20. The car appears to have jacks that do not need an outside air source. That's one less thing for the crew to have to do.

​
 
Doc Austin said:
Sorry it's in French, but lots of different views of the Peugeot.

Watch the pitstop at 17:20. The car appears to have jacks that do not need an outside air source. That's one less thing for the crew to have to do.

​
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That thing looks pretty good at speed. Can’t wait to see it race. I’m glad they mostly stayed true to their original concept. The triangular intake is pretty interesting, and they definitely added some minor wing elements at the back. Such a unique car.
 
Sounds like we’re in for a fantastic slew of announcements at Le Mans this week.

2024 LMDh update - Lamborghini technical details? Alpine are also a 2024 squad.

Customer Peugeot program? Kinda sounds like it, but it could be phrased better.

Yet to be publicly revealed LMH/LMDh manufacturer? Time to speculate.

What To Expect In Le Mans Week On 2023 Hypercar & GTP

What To Expect In Le Mans Week On 2023 Hypercar & GTP
www.dailysportscar.com www.dailysportscar.com
 
FLRacingFan said:
Sounds like we’re in for a fantastic slew of announcements at Le Mans this week.

2024 LMDh update - Lamborghini technical details? Alpine are also a 2024 squad.

Customer Peugeot program? Kinda sounds like it, but it could be phrased better.

Yet to be publicly revealed LMH/LMDh manufacturer? Time to speculate.

What To Expect In Le Mans Week On 2023 Hypercar & GTP

What To Expect In Le Mans Week On 2023 Hypercar & GTP
www.dailysportscar.com www.dailysportscar.com
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Customer Peugeot program?

Those Dodge rumors are getting a tad bit louder with that possibility.
 
What's with all the battering ram noses on this and the Peugeot? I'm sure it will look better in it's final livery. Compare to the Toyota and the big opening allows both to ram a lot of air under the car.
 
I like it, they did a great job with design. It’s a car you could look at in bare carbon fiber and say “that’s a BMW.” They integrated the kidney grilles into the car way better than most of their recent road cars. I hope they find a way to get it in the WEC grid.

Cadillac are using the same chassis so it’ll be very interesting to see later this week how Dallara managed to adapt it to two different body styles.
 
Kiante said:
How long does the program last?

That's my next question.
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IMSA program I don’t think is much of a question mark. BMW and RLL have been together for close to 15 years now I think - back to the ALMS days. The project is funded by BMW North America.

Anything in the WEC - yeah, Idk. The one year they had in GTE with MTEK was a mess. Not sure who made that one happen, but they had a falling out both with MTEK and the ACO after that. There’s a ton of rumors swirling of them signing a deal with WRT since Audi dropped them like a bag of bricks, and they were seen meeting at the Spa race. But who knows, even if they agree to something, what are the terms of the deal? Is it strictly a customer thing? Works-supported by one of the European divisions?
 
You can BOP the cars all year but everything changes at lemans. This is a rare reversal of fortune because the rules always seem to favor the French cars here.

Either way, it's a good entry that's been BOPed out of competitiveness. Not much reason to pull for them if they can't outrun a P2 car.

sportscar365.com

Alpine Drivers Concerned by Relative Speed on Straights – Sportscar365

Alpine drivers Negrao, Vaxiviere point toward a straight-line speed deficit during test day...
sportscar365.com sportscar365.com
 
Doc Austin said:
You can BOP the cars all year but everything changes at lemans. This is a rare reversal of fortune because the rules always seem to favor the French cars here.

Either way, it's a good entry that's been BOPed out of competitiveness. Not much reason to pull for them if they can't outrun a P2 car.

sportscar365.com

Alpine Drivers Concerned by Relative Speed on Straights – Sportscar365

Alpine drivers Negrao, Vaxiviere point toward a straight-line speed deficit during test day...
sportscar365.com sportscar365.com
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Like most test days, I’d be wary of making any assumptions from this one. Everyone will magically find more pace tomorrow when sessions officially start.
 
Ligier and Lambo confirm a partnership for their GTP/Hypercar entry. All four eligible LMDh chassis constructors - ORECA, Dallara, Multimatic, Ligier - have signed an OEM now.

 
FLRacingFan said:
Ligier and Lambo confirm a partnership for their GTP/Hypercar entry. All four eligible LMDh chassis constructors - ORECA, Dallara, Multimatic, Ligier - have signed an OEM now.
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If all four chassis makers are building cars, that keeps them in business for when other manufacturers come in. Once a few more manufacturers comit, the could open the floodgates, especially if there are customer cars involved.
 
There might be a possibility of Audi coming after all.

Larry Holt (from Multimatic) says “We’ve just made Audi’s first chassis." Go to the last line of the article.

Maybe they ordered a chassis before they decided not to race, or maybe maybe they changed their minds. I guess we will know if/when they show us the thing.

OK, this is a little better than a rumor, but it's not bad news. Maybe if they do run, hopefully they will at least come over here for the enduros.

Catching Up With Multimatic’s Larry Holt: On Mustangs & LMDhs

Catching Up With Multimatic’s Larry Holt: On Mustangs & LMDhs
www.dailysportscar.com www.dailysportscar.com
 
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