Mercedes-AMG Facing Uncertainty on LMGT3 Entries

Mercedes-AMG is facing uncertainty over its prospects of entering the FIA World Endurance Championship’s LMGT3 class, with the German manufacturer unsure on the number of customer cars it will be allocated if it receives an entry.

Head of Customer Racing Stefan Wendl said they don’t know what the entry allocation for the new-for-2024 category will look like, also admitting the brand is at a potential disadvantage with “no heritage” within the world championship.

Although Mercedes holds an overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans dating back to 1952, it hasn’t fielded a full works effort in the race since 1999, although it has been active in the ACO-rules Asian Le Mans Series and Michelin Le Mans Cup.

“We are starting our relationship and building up the connection points at every stage but there’s no show of confidence in something,” said Wendl.

“So we are just being polite in trying to get on this platform and using the strengths of our system.

“Because also for the ACO we will be an attractive partner because there are a lot of potential customer teams joining their lower platforms, not only the WEC and those two minimum entries.

“It’s also to feed those race series and make them stronger even if they are strong for the moment for sure.”

Wendl said Mercedes-AMG has yet to understand how the ACO will select manufacturers for next year, while also indicating that it doesn’t know the number of cars that will be in the class altogether.

“It’s always good to have more requests than places and also in terms of regulations I also don’t know what it is,” he said.

“It’s the same position that other manufacturers have. I also don’t know if we will receive one or two entries for our cars for WEC. So it means entries also to be available for Le Mans.

“On the other hand, looking from their perspective, I also understand that this is a very tough decision for them and it’s just not the time.

“Everybody is looking at it. They announced what they plan to do but they cannot succeed because they don’t have all the measures together. That’s what I guess. It’s just my perspective.”

ACO President Pierre Fillon said in June that priority would be given to Hypercar class manufacturers like BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. Other brands would be subject to securing slots from the WEC Selection Committee.

“This leads to the assumption that there [is a] minimum [of] 14 GT3 cars,” said Wendl. “Now you can count on a grid on WEC of 36 or 38 cars. If you subtract 14, then you are [at] 24 or 22.

“Okay, and now this is an important thing. You have [a number of] brands waiting maybe. Ford, Aston Martin, McLaren, Audi and us. Honda is also possible and we have six.

“All those six, I think they are all the same way interested [and bringing] customers. There’s no question. On the other hand, they don’t know exactly the number of WEC entries and this is a limiting factor.

“Now if they have 18 WEC entries, 20, 24. This is the number of places left for potentially one or two cars of another manufacturer. So this is my interpretation of it.

“They cannot say now in June after Le Mans, we will have for sure 22 WEC entries. And as far as I understood, they will not limit the LMDh entries or LMH entries for the WEC.

“This means they wait until they have finalized their [Hypercar] grid. In this moment, they open the space and make a decision and open the space for potential further entries.”

Mercedes-AMG Unsure If Modifications Will Be Needed to Car

Wendl said that he is “really confident” that Mercedes-AMG will be able to set up a customer support network in short order if necessary.

He did, however, point to another potential area where a short lead-up time could prove problematic.

“The difficult thing is the homologation of the car,” Wendl said. “If they stick to the changes in the performance window, it’s very late to start the process of developing a car to achieve what you need to achieve and produce the parts. 

“If you need to have necessary changes in major bodywork parts, then it gets tight and potentially it’s not possible. But I don’t know exactly.”

It remains unclear whether or not the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, introduced in 2020, currently falls within the envisioned performance parameters or if the car would need modifications.

The ACO has stated that bodywork kits, previously dubbed ‘GT3 Premium’ will be permitted but not mandatory as part of LMGT3 regulations.

“As long as the performance windows are not clearly defined, maybe it’s possible with some flicks or minor changes on the front splitter or the rear wing to make it wider or shorter or something like this,” Wendl said.

“Then it is possible. It depends a bit on the challenge to bring your car into the window. Maybe it is in the window. Then we’ll find out.”