Jeannette: Asian Hypercar Class “Zero Sense” Without Auto Invite

Photo: Porsche

The addition of a Hypercar class in the Asian Le Mans Series would make “zero sense” without awarding the series champion with an automatic invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans according to AO Racing team principal Gunnar Jeannette.

Jeannette, whose IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship-winning team is exploring its options to step up to top-class prototype racing, has expressed mixed feelings on a potential Asian LMS campaign for its team owner/driver PJ Hyett in a Hypercar.

The ACO announced in June that it would add a Hypercar class to the series beginning with the 2026-27 season, although fell short of confirming that the class championship-winning team would be given an auto-invite to the French endurance classic, as is the case with the LMP2 and GT categories.

While each Asian Hypercar entry would require a Bronze-rated driver, they are currently not eligible to compete in the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, thus creating a potential problem with handing out such an invite.

“The problem is, and I’m very fine coming on record and saying it, if the ACO doesn’t give an auto entry for that, why the hell are we going to spend that much money and that much effort to go do that?” Jeannette told Sportscar365.

“It makes zero sense for us.

“I hope the people understand that a GTP car, for the most part, is not more enjoyable to drive than a LMP2 car, and it’s much harder [to drive] and it’s a lot more expensive.

“If you look back on the previous generation of regulations on both sides, in terms of DPi and LMP1, you could look at both of those cars as pinnacle cars.

“From a driving perspective, any gentleman/Bronze driver that’s going to spend all the money, it’s still getting the extra, ‘I’m in the fastest, most exciting best-to-drive [class].'”

Jeannette, instead, has suggested for the WEC to transform the FIA World Cup for Hypercar teams, which currently sees participation from Proton Competition’s Porsche 963 and the Le Mans-winning No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, into a sub-class that would mandate eligible Bronze-rated drivers.

That would in turn allow Bronze pilots a place to compete for a class win at Le Mans, although it could pose a problem in regards to available grid space in the world championship, amid the upcoming arrival of Genesis, Ford and McLaren.

“What I would think would make sense is, you already have the ‘privateer’ class in the WEC. Open that up to Bronze guys,” said Jeannette.

“Now you’d have the ability to give a Bronze driver an auto-entry in Asian Le Mans and there’s already a class for them.

“You can even put the stipulation that the Bronze has to be approved by the FIA/ACO in order to get the ‘license’ to drive the Hypercar.

“It’s not that difficult. It really just comes down to the grid and the entries they have, because looking at the forecast of the manufacturers coming [into WEC]… there’s no space.”

Jeannette said that Hyett, who won this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 Pro-Am class, which mandates a Bronze driver in each lineup, would be interested in contesting the Asian series in the Hypercar class, but only if it would come with an auto-invite to Le Mans.

“PJ has expressed interest in doing the Asian Le Mans thing,” he said. “But if there’s no potential for an auto entry and an entry you can take to Le Mans, it’s a lot of money and a lot of travel to go [and do it].”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John