Doonan: Hydrogen Class Dependent on OEM Interest

Photo: Prudencio Casales/ACO

IMSA would consider adopting the ACO’s planned hydrogen class for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship if its manufacturer partners are behind such a project, according to IMSA President John Doonan.

Targeted to debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship, including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2026, the cutting-edge new platform has made significant steps forward towards realization in recent months.

It’s included the opening up of the regulations to allow combustion-engined hydrogen cars alongside those using fuel cell technology, which are expected to be equalized through an Equivalence of Technology process.

Toyota, meanwhile, became the first major OEM to signal strong interest in the technology, having presented the GR H2 Concept at Le Mans last month for a class that ACO President Pierre Fillon hopes will be able to fight for overall victories by 2030.

Speaking with Sportscar365, Doonan has taken a reserved approach towards hydrogen’s potential adoption.

“Much like the hybrid system in LMDh, that was driven by our manufacturer partners,” Doonan said.

“I think the next step of what the top category looks like is going to result from open and honest and adult conversations with the OEMs.

“If that’s a technology they want to pursue and they think this is a great storytelling platform for it, we would certainly try to help them achieve that.

“We did our sustainable fuel that we’re using now based on open conversations with the OEM base.

“That’s really what would happen. We’ll pursue what the market speaks about.”

In addition to Toyota, Sportscar365 understands there are upwards of ten other manufacturers currently involved in the ACO’s technical working group for hydrogen, including several major OEMs that are not currently represented in the Hypercar or GTP classes.

“A lot is driven by our OEM partners and the timeline of such is driven by them,” Doonan added. “It just so happens that the announcement the ACO has made, that timing and somebody that’s racing with them [in Toyota].

“We’ll pursue what the market and the OEMs think is the best way to story-tell.”

Doonan referenced the current LMDh regulations, which are confirmed through the end of the 2027 season, that could open the door for changes either to the current platform or new technologies.

“We’ll get [the OEM partners] together in due time about the next chapter [of GTP],” he said.

“Because if you rewind the clock to where we are today with the LMDh regulations for GTP, the conversations with where we ended up started in late 2016/2017.

“So there’s a long runway to get us to today. When you think about this is halfway through ’23 already, we’ve got to start talking about what might happen after ’28 and we have to be prepared for that.

“We’ll do that in due time.”

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