LMGT3 Set for Two Cars Per Manufacturer in 2024

LMGT3 entries in the FIA World Endurance Championship are likely to be limited to two cars per manufacturer when the class arrives in 2024 according to series boss Frederic Lequien.

The championship will abandon the GTE ruleset following the conclusion of the current campaign, introducing a GT3-based class instead.

With an expanding group of Hypercar entries set to take to the grid next year thanks to the arrivals of new manufacturers like Alpine, Lamborghini and BMW, the number of spaces on the world championship grid is likely to be limited.

As a result, the idea of how to allocate entries for the new-for-2024 class has been a topic of debate.

Lequien stated at the championship’s most recent round at Portimao that the championship is considering limiting LMGT3 entries to a pair of cars per marque that enters the series.

Additionally, manufacturers that are present in the Hypercar category could receive priority over other OEMs when allocating entry slots.

“One of the ideas which is on the table is to have two GT3 per manufacturer and to give preference to the manufacturers which are involved in Hypercar,” Lequien told reporters in a roundtable media session.

“But we like diversity also. The perfect situation would be to have enough places to also welcome some brands which are not in Hypercar.

“We need to find a fair regulation. And it seems that today, the discussion we have with everybody, this is something fair.”

If implemented, this could potentially spell trouble for manufacturers like Aston Martin, which offers a GT3 product to customers through its Vantage program but is without a Hypercar platform.

The British marque is a longtime competitor in the series, racing in both GTE-Pro and GTE-Am from the championship’s very beginning.

“You’re completely right – this is something we must take into consideration, seriously,” Lequien admitted.

“Loyalty to the championship, of course. But the problem is that there are 36 places.

“In a way, the success of Hypercar can bring some other types of problems. What do we do if we have 26 Hypercars? It means that we have [10] places for GT. We will see.

Lequien added that the number of cars per manufacturer would “absolutely” be limited to two.

Parts of the ongoing discussions include a proposal that would let manufacturers select the teams that will run the cars.

“The idea is that the OEMs will choose the teams,” he said. “This is the idea we have now.”

He stressed, however, that talks remain ongoing and that any decision would need to be ratified by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

Teams Taking Wait-and-See Approach over LMGT3 Plans

Teams and manufacturers that are looking to run in the new category had so far taken a wait-and-see approach to firming up their LMGT3 plans, looking out for relevant information from the organizing body.

“Ultimately, we’re at the mercy of what information comes,” GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser said.

“If they come back and say none, well crap, we have none.

“Our hope and our intent is to have Corvette starting the IMSA season and WEC season, so they can run the full season.

“In terms of how many for WEC, that will be up to what we’re allowed to bring. And making sure we find a team that can be flexible as well.”

Christian Ried, a stalwart of the outgoing GTE-Am category, said it was more than likely that grid space will be limited in the series beyond 2023.

“This is not rocket science,” Ried told Sportscar365. “We are limited to 36 or 38 entries in the WEC. So we have Hypercars and LMDh and we have the GTs, so it will be a limited issue.”

Ried’s Proton Competition outfit could potentially run cars in both categories, telling Sportscar365 at Portimao that his team has ordered a pair of Type-992 Porsche 911 GT3 Rs alongside its customer Porsche LMDh cars that are slated to come online after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

However, the German stated that he is not likely to begin planning for the season ahead until after the French endurance classic..

“For me, it’s still too early,” he said. “I’m not thinking about 2024 right now, so for sure we will run the LMDh.

“I want to do the GT3 as well. First we do Barcelona, Spa, Le Mans and then we start the next [phase].”

Daniel Lloyd contributed to this report