This is the first season of the World Endurance Championship without the
LMP2 class, after it was dropped due to the increasing demand in the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes. The LMP2 class will still take part at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[1] The LMGT3 class was introduced to replace the GTE class that was dropped at the end of the 2023 season.[2] A maximum amount of 37 cars was set for the full-season grid.[1][3]
Manufacturers entering in the LMGT3 category will only be allowed to enter a maximum of two cars, to allow for a greater diversity in the LMGT3 category. Priority is given to manufacturers who have also entered a car in the Hypercar category.[4]
Calendar
On 9 June 2023, during the
2023 Le Mans weekend, the calendar for the 2024 season was announced. It contains eight races, including two completely new races and two returning races. The
1000 Miles of Sebring,
6 Hours of Portimão, and
6 Hours of Monza races will not return in 2024, with Monza not being held due to the track being redeveloped.[5] The
Imola event would later replace Monza as the Italian round on the schedule, while the series will make its first visit to Qatar to start the season, allowing hotter weather than Sebring. The
6 Hours of São Paulo, which was last visited by the WEC in 2014 alongside the
Lone Star Le Mans round that was previously hosted in 2020 would also make their return to the calendar.
The prologue was originally scheduled to happen on 24 and 25 February but was delayed due to shipping issues.[6]
The number of entries was capped at 37 cars due to garage limitations at
Imola and the
Circuit of the Americas. Frédéric Lequien,
CEO of Le Mans Endurance Management, outlined a goal to increase the grid size in future seasons.[7]
Revived luxury Italian manufacturer
Isotta Fraschini joined with a single Michelotto-produced LMH in partnership with
Duqueine.[14]
Hertz Team Jota entered an additional Porsche 963 following LMP2's removal from the series.[9]
Reigning LMP2 champions
Team WRT joined Hypercar fielding two works
BMW M Hybrid V8s, having previously been slated to run
Audi's cancelled LMDh programme.[19] BMW's only previous entry into the FIA World Endurance Championship was in the GTE Pro category in
2018–19, while the
Dallara-based M Hybrid V8, which debuted in the
2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship, marked BMW's return to top-class sportscar racing for the first time since winning the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.[41]
Alpine returned to the top class with two new
Oreca-based A424 cars operated by Signatech, following a transition season in LMP2 in 2023.[21]
As well as running the two factory
Ferraris,
AF Corse entered a private 499P as an additional third car.[28]
After six seasons and two overall titles,
Toyota demoted
José María López to Akkodis ASP's
Lexus LMGT3 entry.[44] Former Toyota test driver and LMP2 race winner
Nyck de Vries replaced him in the #7 car after his dismissal from Formula One.[12]
From Alpine's 2023 LMP2 line-up, only
Charles Milesi and
Matthieu Vaxivière stepped up to Hypercar with the team, as
Nicolas Lapierre returned after a year in the sidelines. Three newcomers completed the roster: three-time ELMS champion
Paul-Loup Chatin (who last raced for the team in 2015), Team WRT's
Ferdinand Habsburg and former F1 driver
Mick Schumacher.[23] Mercedes-AMG factory driver
Jules Gounon joined as reserve driver, and stood in for an injured Habsburg in two races.[24][25]
Robert Kubica (left) and
Jenson Button (right) were among the drivers making their Hypercar debut in 2024.
Ferrari's main lineup was unchanged, while the additional third AF Corse car was piloted by Ferrari F1 reserve driver
Robert Shwartzman, F1 race winner and reigning LMP2 champion
Robert Kubica and new works driver
Yifei Ye, who moved over from Hertz Team Jota.[29]
Lamborghini's debut in WEC and IMSA saw the addition of several drivers to its books.
Mirko Bortolotti, a decorated
GT racer for the brand, spearheaded the WEC lineup alongside ex-F1 driver
Daniil Kvyat (who already partnered Bortolotti in
Prema Racing's LMP2 entry in 2023) and DTM and Formula E race winner
Edoardo Mortara.[33] Mortara missed the 6 Hours of Spa due to his Formula E commitments, with works IMSA driver
Andrea Caldarelli stepping in.[34]
Double GTE Pro champion
Gianmaria Bruni departed the WEC after a decade and switched to Proton's IMSA GTP programme. Porsche-contracted driver
Julien Andlauer, an integral part of Proton's fold for six years, stepped up from GTE Am and LMP2 machinery to accompany Jani and Tincknell in the No. 99 car.[38]
Following Vanwall's denied entry and Glickenhaus' withdrawal, none of their drivers from the
2023 season would return to the WEC for 2024.
Mid-season changes
Mike Conway was forced to miss the
24 Hours of Le Mans after injuring his ribs and collarbone in a cycling incident.
José María López, who normally drives the No. 87 Lexus for Akkodis ASP, was drafted to substitute for the Briton.[13]
The highest finishing competitor entered in the World Endurance Championship is listed below. Invitational entries may have finished ahead of WEC competitors in individual races.
An FIA World Championship is awarded to the winning drivers in the Hypercar category. An FIA Endurance Trophy is awarded to the winning drivers in the LMGT3 category.[76]
A world championship is awarded for Hypercar manufacturers. An FIA World Cup is awarded for customer Hypercar class teams. An FIA Endurance Trophy is awarded to LMGT3 teams.[76]
Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship
Points are awarded only to the highest finishing competitor from each manufacturer. Privateer entries are made invisible.
^
abKvyat and Boguslavskiy are Russian, but they compete as neutral competitors as Russian national emblems were banned by the
FIA following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine.
^Malykhin is Belarusian, but he competes under a Kittitian licence as Belarusian national emblems were banned by the
FIA following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine.
^Gounon did not fulfil his mandated minimum drive time at the
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, meaning that he did not receive points for that event.
^
ab"WRT to Race New BMW in 2024". fiawec.com. Automobile Club de l'Ouest. 7 August 2022.
Archived from the original on 11 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.