Hypercar: an overview of the new teams
As they prepare to approach the exciting 2024 season, the manufacturers involved in the WEC have worked to revise the allocation of their drivers, particularly at Peugeot and BMW, which has announced its line-ups.
The year 2023 marked the start of a new golden age for endurance racing, with the mass return of major manufacturers. It’s not surprising that the success of the WEC (World Endurance Championship) is generating so much interest from brands.
The competition will be particularly fierce this year, as nine different manufacturers will come to compete in the World Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This offseason was an opportunity for manufacturers to perfect their designs, so that their teams can deliver the most consistent performances possible.
Cadillac: Two is better together!
The General Motors representative in Hypercar will be an exception on the WEC grid this year, as they will be the only one to field only two drivers in their LMDh.
The blue V Series R, No.2, will be entrusted to Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn, but Richard Westbrook will not be part of the team. The British driver will compete in the IMSA series with the JDC Miller’s Porsche 963. Therefore, for the first time since the duo of Alexander Wurz/Nicolas Lapierre in 2012 (Toyota), a crew in the premier category will not field three drivers.
Peugeot changes its game plan.
The arrival of a former F1 driver within the ranks of Sochaux has inevitably shaken things up within the two 9X8. In addition to the hypothetical arrival of a rear wing on the unique LMH, Peugeot’s troops had to think about the placement of their pieces.
Car number 93 will be equipped with a pair of former Formula 1 drivers, Paul Di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne. Mikkel Jensen will be alongside them, driving the Peugeot that achieved the brand’s only podium in 2023 at the 6 Hours of Monza.
Number 94, surprising and then unfortunate during the centenary of Le Mans, will keep Loïc Duval and Nico Müller on hand. Stoffel Vandoorne, convincing interim driver at the end of the season, will be a permanent driver, in order to move the French team up in the hierarchy. The question remains how the drivers will adapt to a possibly radically designed car.
BMW hits hard.
One of the latest announcements concerns BMW, returning to the top of global endurance after a 25-year absence. The season in IMSA has been a remarkably rich preparation, including a victory at Watkins Glen. The weapons are well sharpened for the upcoming season.
Thus, the Bavarian prototype N°15 will be entrusted to Dries Vanthoor (whose brother Laurens drives for Porsche on the Penske N°6), Raffaele Marciello, and Marco Wittmann.
The M Hybrid V8 N°20, on the other hand, will also be equipped with a member of a sibling duo competing in WEC: South African Sheldon Van der Linde, whose brother Kelvin will be competing in GT3 for the French team Akkodis (Lexus), will be accompanied by an endurance regular in the form of René Rast. The crew will be completed by Robin Frinjs, winner of the FIA LMP2 drivers’ trophy in 2021 (with WRT).
Alpine has everything well organized.
Finally, the other French manufacturer involved, Alpine, takes advantage of its return to Hypercar (this time with a real LMDh) to field two well-seasoned crews.
Among others, we will find Matthieu Vaxivière, who has already been part of the LMP1 program during the 2021-2022 interlude, alongside Paul-Loup Châtin and Ferdinand Habsburg on the No. 35.
The No.36, an almost fetish number for the brand in endurance, should have the most performant trio: Nicolas Lapierre will showcase his experience alongside Charles Milesi from Burgundy and especially Mick Schumacher. An all-French-speaking crew in essence, as the German grew up in French-speaking Switzerland.
