Following RACER’s recent round-up of the status of the FIA WEC’s current top-class teams, it’s time to take a look at the incoming teams and manufacturers that are currently hard at work preparing for their Hypercar debuts.
Belgian outfit Team WRT, which is running BMW’s M Hybrid V8s in the WEC next year, is enjoying a hugely positive test program that began after the Le Mans 24 Hours and is still ongoing.
To ensure it is ready for the colossal challenge that awaits in Hypercar next year, WRT has filled the gaps in its calendar with test days around Europe. To date, WRT has visited Aragon, Barcelona, Monza, Spa, and Portimao, and still has plans to head to Jerez, Paul Ricard and Imola before the end of the year.
There is the potential for WRT to visit the Middle East before the end of the year too, and also test in Bahrain and Qatar.
WRT has one key advantage over Alpine, Lamborghini and Isotta Fraschini, and that is that the M Hybrid V8 is already out racing (main image). The RLL program in IMSA’s GTP class has soaked up and worked through the teething troubles all new cars face this season, and unlocked both reliability and pace as the campaign has worn on.
For Vincent Vosse and his team, this has made life significantly easier during testing and enabled WRT to maximise its track time without the need to fire-fight issues.
“This is something I have discussed with Mr Penske,” he tells RACER when asked about his experience testing the M Hybrid V8. “He explained to me how difficult it was at the start of the Porsche program, with all the hiccups. I have to say on our side, of course, it is tough to wait, but I think it was a good decision. We have run our test program without major issues.
“We have technical support from BMW Motorsport. But the test at Spa recently was run fully by WRT and we have focused on the car’s efficiency.
“There will be a WEC homologation for the car soon, so the recent test in Spa was very important. We have a test in Paul Ricard before the car visits the wind tunnels for homologation, too.
“We are running with a car which has been developed, without many issues and has been able to run approximately 800 kilometres a day, every day, during testing.”
Currently, WRT has only taken delivery of a single M Hybrid V8, which is being used as a test car. That will be joined by an additional trio that are currently being built up for next season. Two are being built for the wider WEC campaign, with the third earmarked specifically for Le Mans, where it will act as the previously-announced ‘Art Car’. (RACER has been informed that the prospect of a third WRT-run customer BMW for the WEC next year has now been shelved.)
Around 80 to 90 per cent of the crew that will run the Hypercar program next season are existing staff members from WRT.
This, Vosse told RACER, is vital. His staff have had an active involvement since WRT was brought on board for BMW’s WEC effort, and have been learning the ins and outs of the M Hybrid V8 in the background.
“Our relationship with BMW has been smooth,” he says. “We have had a small part of our WRT group that have been to Munich and to RLL and went to Daytona in January to help, support and learn. We had a big part of the group that was there in Munich to build the first chassis. It was completely built by us. The second, third and fourth cars are going to be assembled at the workshop at WRT.
“We are working as a group and it feels like we have been together for years. I am sure there will be stress, but this is the best way to learn as quickly as possible. We have to jump and swim.”
The feedback from Alpine has been positive to this point, too. The A424 went out testing first at Paul Ricard in September, and most recently last week at Aragon as the Signatech operation scales up for another WEC top-class attack.
The entire program appears to be running to its original timeframe. The test at Aragon, which featured a mix of short and long runs, saw Matthieu Vaxiviere and Nicolas Lapierre log 1,500 kilometres over two days; the team focusing on fine-tuning the car’s systems and aero.
Another test at Jerez is booked for later in the month before the team moves into endurance testing at Aragon in November.
The biggest unknown is the shape of its driver line-up. Nicolas Lapierre, Mathieu Vaxiviere and Charles Milesi have been testing the A424 so far, but there are still gaps to fill ahead of the start of next season.
Mick Schumacher, Pierre Gasly and Ferdinand Habsburg are among the drivers name-checked by media outlets in recent weeks. Gustavo Menezes, a former Le Mans winner with the brand in LMP2, is also understood by RACER to be on its radar since confirming his departure from Peugeot. However, Menezes is known to be in negotiations with multiple Hypercar teams, with no firm landing spot as of yet.
On the other hand, Lamborghini’s test program with the SC63 has been significantly disrupted by the accident at Paul Ricard in September, when Mirko Bortolotti suffered a substantial off at Turn 11.
The better news is that the test program is set to get back underway shortly after the team took delivery of a replacement car within the past two weeks. But delays to the program as a result of the setback at Le Castellet look set to force the brand to miss out on a planned appearance at the Roar test at Daytona in January. (The car was not scheduled to race at the IMSA season-opener.
There is no news yet on whether the delay might also impact on the team’s preparedness for the WEC Prologue test and season-opener at Losail Circuit in Qatar in late February/early March. There has also been no update on any plans or availability for customer SC63s, something which was spoken about during the program’s embryonic phase.
The fourth new-for-2024 effort is Isotta Fraschini, which continues to traverse Europe with a single Tipo 6 LMH Competizione test car. The revived Italian brand’s experience with its new challenger has been mostly positive so far, with tests at Monza, Aragon and Vallelunga completed, though it did hit significant trouble during testing over the summer. An engine bay fire after a lubricant leak cut a test at Monza short by a day after completing 98 laps, serving as a reminder that there’s still work to be done.
Since then, the car has been out running again though and shown flashes of impressive outright pace, with a recent test at Aragon serving as the team’s first chance to run at night. Also of note, current WEC LMP2 team Vector Sport, which will run the effort next season, has become increasingly involved in the testing process. In addition, Gabriel Aubry, one of its drivers, recently got his first taste of the car at speed.
Former Audi LMP1 racer Marco Bonanomi, who has been involved in the development of the Tipo 6 from the outset, tells RACER it’s been a hugely encouraging year for the operation as it edges closer to its race debut in 2024.
“It’s a very nice atmosphere within the team,” he says. “The brand has a very big history, but its golden years were a few generations ago. The Michelotto guys are experts and doing a great job, helping improve the racing car and develop the road cars alongside the Hypercar, which is crucial to the financial aspects of the race program.
“We are improving the car every time we hit the track. The guys back in the factory are really good at reading data. It’s a long learning process because it’s a complex car. I am glad to have helped them a lot with my Audi experience, because the technology in the car is similar to an LMP1 Hybrid, just with different numbers due to the regulations. We are still in the development phase. There’s a lot to learn in terms of calibration of the car’s systems.”
What will the Isotta entry look like? RACER believes that both Duqueine and Emil Frey (the latter was one of the teams in the fray to run the factory program) have been enquiring about the possibility of entering a second car alongside Vector’s flagship machine.
However, it is highly unlikely that a second Isotta would be granted a place on the grid by the selection committee due to the limit on full-season entries and the will from the ACO and FIA to keep the number of Hypercar and LMGT3s on the grid as even as possible.
Meanwhile, the initial prospect for the car to test at the WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain has fallen victim to the decision by Michelotto to delay homologation until later in the year.
Beyond 2024, there are further movers and shakers coming together, adding to the current list of factories already signed up.
Aston Martin’s unveiling on Wednesday has confirmed the revival of the Valkyrie Hypercar project for 2025, something which RACER has teased since June. This is a hugely significant development and adds another major manufacturer to the LMH ruleset, (interestingly with a non-hybrid V12-powered challenger), four years after its initial plans were scuppered by a change of direction for the company in motorsport when Lawrence Stroll took over at the helm.
Elsewhere, McLaren and Honda are also believed to still be in play, and continue to evaluate their options for the future.
Should it return to Le Mans for an overall victory for the first time since the 1990s, McLaren is understood to have chosen Dallara as a chassis partner. This would add to its planned presence in LMGT3, which United Autosports is believed to have been chosen to manage should McLaren be selected for entries.
With the future of the brand’s automotive arm receiving significant investment this year and its future now more secure, a program is beginning to look more likely, though not before 2026.
Honda, too, is one for the future. The Acura-badged ARX-06 is now more likely to head to the FIA WEC in future seasons following the news that HPD is becoming Honda Racing Corporation USA from 2024 onwards. HRC USA CEO David Salters confirmed last month that a Honda entry to the WEC is under formal evaluation beyond 2024, though there are no details on a time frame or a selected partner yet.