Le Mans 2023 entry list

The 100th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will have the largest field of Prototypes in the top class since 2011. No fewer than 16 Hypercars are confirmed among the 62-car grid, representing seven manufacturers.

The category has seen a massive increase in popularity as the LMDh class cars, nominally based on an LMP2 chassis but with manufacturer engine and aero kit, is eligible to race in both the FIA WEC and IMSA’s WeatherTech Sportscar Series. Even within the LMH group of cars, designed and built from the ground up, the cost of competing in the top class with these cars has plummeted compared to the old LMP1 cars, while return on investment has increased due to the global regulation set.

‘The Hypercar class reached an impressive 16 cars, which is the highest seen in the top class at Le Mans in over a decade,’ said Endurance Commission president, Richard Mille. ‘This is exactly what we envisaged in the early days of developing the Hypercar concept.’

The top class will also feature Ferrari for the first time in more than 50 years. Also making its debut is Colin Kolles’ Vanwall Vandervell 680, which will feature in next month’s edition of Racecar Engineering, and Peugeot’s 9X8, which missed last year’s event in order to prepare for the FIA WEC campaign after Le Mans.

The British JOTA team has made the list with its Porsche 963, the only privateer Porsche in the top class, as Sam Hignett’s outfit takes on the factory team run by Penske Motorsport.

Cadillac will have three of its LMDh class cars at Le Mans, with two run by Chip Ganassi Racing and a third by the Action Express Racing team.

Alongside the Hypercars, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest has confirmed 24 entries in LMP2 and 21 in the GTE-Am category. The LMP2 grid is made up entirely of ORECA chassis, each powered by Gibson engines. The British company will power more than 40 per cent of the entire Le Mans grid this year.

There is also an entry for Hendrick Motorsport with the GM Camaro based on the NASCAR Gen 7 which is still in development.

F1 to ditch tyre warmers for wets?

Formula 1 is set to abandon the use of tyre warmers for its wet weather tyres from the Imola Grand Prix in May onwards, after Pirelli developed a compound that means teams can use the tyre without the need for heating blankets. It is part of a strategy that has seen other FIA series lose pre-heating systems for their tyres in a bid to improve the environmental image of the sport.

At the first meeting of the Formula 1 Commission this year, it was confirmed that, subject to approval, a new Technical

Directive would be issued that will allow teams to develop their cars outside of the Aerodynamic Testing Restriction and outside the cost cap in order to accommodate the new tyre. The change will be made with the agreement of the teams, and track testing will begin during either the second or third quarter of the 2023 season.

Other measures on the Commission’s agenda, which have to be passed by the FIA World Motorsport Council, included the introduction of a winter shut down period for competitors and power unit manufacturers and a change to parc fermé conditions during Sprint race weekends, allowing greater scope to change components prone to damage. The Commission proposed changes to various circuits on its schedule, including improving visibility on corner entry in Saudi Arabia, re-surfacing the entire Azerbaijan and Miami circuits, increasing the space between the pit stalls at Zandvoort and confirming a new pit building will be built at Qatar.