Removal of LMP2 Class Confirmed for 2024

The FIA World Endurance Championship has officially confirmed that its LMP2 class will be dropped after the current season, creating a two-category structure of Hypercar and LMGT3.

It will come as no surprise to competitors considering WEC organizers the FIA and ACO strongly hinted in December that the second-tier prototype class was likely to go away.

This was due to an increasing Hypercar field and strong interest in LMGT3, which is replacing GTE-Am, and against the backdrop of a 38-car maximum grid in the series.

LMP2 will continue to be part of the European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans which forms part of the WEC season.

The ACO has confirmed that 15 places on the Le Mans grid will be reserved for LMP2.

The category has been in the WEC since the inaugural 2012 campaign and its removal, along with that of GTE-Am, will mean that none of the original classes will remain active full-time next season. LMP1 was replaced by Hypercar in 2021 and GTE-Pro went away last year.

For the WEC’s first five seasons, LMP2 was open to a wide range of constructors and engine suppliers, while cars could be built to open-cockpit or closed-cockpit designs.

However, an overhaul of the regulations in 2017 that was aimed at reducing costs saw the number of constructors limited to four and Gibson being awarded an engine contract.

The Oreca 07 emerged as the chassis of choice during the Gibson era, winning all of the WEC titles since 2017 to date and eventually taking over LMP2 grids around the world.