The Future Is Now

Yes, the title contenders are familiar. But the WEC and IMSA top-class fields are getting more competitive as they expand.

Sep 26, 2024

With Porsche Penske in position to capture WEC and IMSA top-class titles, it may be tempting to wonder if the team's performance signals a new era of dominance in global sports car racing.

Toyota Gazoo has won the last five WEC drivers' and manufacturers' titles and can still take both crowns this year. But it must out-run both Penske Porsches in Bahrain Nov.2 to keep the coveted constructors' crown.

Penske has all but locked up its third IMSA manufacturers' championship in its last four seasons and one of its two Porsche 963s will take the drivers' title at Road Atlanta Oct. 9. If Penske gets it done, it will add to a trophy case that includes 2019 and 2020 hardware won in Acura ARX-05s before the team took a two-year hiatus from IMSA.

But no matter what the season finales bring--Ferrari can still win the WEC manufacturers' crown and defending IMSA manufacturers' champion Cadillac's repeat bid is still mathematically possible--top-class prototype racing's future is slowly taking shape. And even before factoring in any potential surprises from WEC and IMSA newcomer Aston Martin, it feels crowded up front.

BMW To The Front

BMW M Team RLL's 1-2 finish at IMSA's Tirerack.com Battle of The Bricks Sept. 22 is the clearest example yet that the growing IMSA GTP and WEC Hypercar fields are tightening as teams and new cars gain experience.

The stunning result came two weeks after Team WRT's BMW factory-backed Hypercar effort notched its first WEC podium in its inaugural season, at Austin. The BMW prototype streak comes on the heels of 26 combined WEC and IMSA starts with no podiums this season.

Team WRT's pair of BMW M Hybrid V8s were not expected to spend their first WEC season running wheel-to-wheel with more experienced Porsche, Ferrari, and Toyota entries. But the car's strong 2023 debut season in IMSA that produced a win and five podiums--all by the No. 25 team--had expectations higher for this campaign.

“Last year we had a number of podiums," said Team RLL co-owner Bobby Rahal. "Maybe we thought it was a little easier than it is. But this year has been more difficult."

Team Peugeot TotalEnergies can relate.

After a steady but hardly spectacular 2022 WEC mid-season debut and full 2023 campaign that saw two cars combine for a single podium in 20 starts, the French team had high expectations. A promising start in Qatar was muted when the No. 93 ran out of fuel late in the race while running second. But the strong run and Hyperpole appearances for both cars suggested the team was on the rise.

The step-up finally came in Round 7 at Fuji. After missing out yet again on Hyperpole and a top-10 starting spot, both 9X8s were strong on race day with the No. 93 coming home fourth, matching the team's best WEC finish.

"This marks significant progress compared to previous races and rewards the Team Peugeot TotalEnergies, who, considering their efforts and personal investment, truly deserved this result," said Jean-Marc Finot, motorsport senior VP of Peugeot parent company Stellantis.

Best Of The Rest?

Then there's Alpine. The Anglo-French squad heads to the WEC finale in a somewhat surprising fourth place among manufacturers, ahead of BMW, Peugeot, Cadillac, Lamborghini, and recently retired Isotta Fraschini. The No. 35 A424 LMDH has shown consistent pace in qualifying of late, advancing to Hyperpole in four of the last five events.

As its inaugural season comes to a close, the team's race-day form is on the rise as well. After combining for just three top-10, points-paying positions in the first five races, both Alpines finished no worse than ninth in the last two events. Fuji is the team's high-water mark--the No 35 finished third to notch the team's first podium, while the No. 36 came home seventh.

"We're improving from one race to the next, and we confirmed that again [at Fuji]," said Nicolas Lapierre, co-driver of the No. 36 A424. "We're gradually getting closer to the best teams' pace, and we've enjoyed terrific reliability over the last three races."

Lamborghini also is showing some late-season pace.

The No. Iron Lynx No. 63 SC63 LMDh sped to its first WEC Hyperpole session in Fuji. A week later, the team's IMSA entry took advantage of some wet weather to lead 10 laps at Indianapolis before an on-track incident knocked the SC63 out.

"I think we have shown great potential in wet conditions, while we still have some work to do in the dry because it’s still pretty tough to keep pace with the others," said Matteo Cairoli, co-driver of the team's IMSA No. 63 SC63.

While top-10 qualifying runs or leading a few laps is a long way from contending for a title, such steps matter. Porsche Penske's impressive WEC season--it has placed at least one car on the podium in six of seven races--makes it easier to forget 2023's zero-win, two-podium performance.

As the 2024 season winds down, others are looking to make a similar jump.

"We feel we are moving in the right direction," said Lamborghini Iron Lynx Racing Director Emmanuel Esnault.

Recent WEC and IMSA results suggest they are not alone.