The 2024 season of the FIA World Endurance Championship kicks off with the highly anticipated 1812km of Qatar, featuring a record-breaking competition of 14 manufacturers. This prestigious championship includes Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Isotta Fraschini, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Peugeot, Porsche, and Toyota, showcasing the continuous expansion of this spectacular sport.
This year's list of drivers is overflowing with talent and experience. Valentino Rossi, a seven-time MotoGP World Champion, and Jenson Button, the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion, are just some of the prominent names joining the competition. Toyota Gazoo Racing, the current WEC champions, return with a change in their lineup: Nyck de Vries, Formula E champion, replaces Jose Maria Lopez in the Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar No. 7.
Porsche Penske Motorsport also makes adjustments, incorporating Matt Campbell instead of Dane Cameron to pilot the Porsche 963. Ferrari AF Corse, last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, keeps its team unchanged, relying on the consistent performance of its Ferrari 499P Hypercars.
The Alpine Endurance Team, meanwhile, revealed its complete lineup at a joint event with its Formula 1 team, featuring Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg, and Charles Milesi in the Alpine A424 No. 35. Mick Schumacher, Nicolas Lapierre, and Matthieu Vaxiviere will compete in the team's second car.
Peugeot TotalEnergies has recruited Stoffel Vandoorne to join Loic Duval and Paul Di Resta in the Peugeot 9X8 No. 94, while the No. 93 sister car will be driven by Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Mueller, and Mikkel Jensen.
Cadillac Racing adds Sebastien Bourdais to compete in Qatar alongside Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber in the Cadillac V-Series.R. Among the new competitors in the Hypercar category, BMW M Team WRT and Lamborghini Iron Lynx will debut with their respective hybrid vehicles and the highly anticipated Lamborghini SC63.
Isotta Fraschini surprises with the youngest drivers on the grid, Carl Wattanna Bennett and Antonio Serravalle, while Hertz Team JOTA will compete with two Porsche 963s, including Jenson Button, Phil Hanson, and Oliver Rasmussen in one of them.
In addition, AF Corse enters with a privately-run Ferrari 499P Hypercar, and Proton Competition adds a fifth Porsche 963 in the Hypercar class. The new LMGT3 category, based on FIA's existing LMGT3 technical platform, features 18 entries in its inaugural season.
Valentino Rossi will compete in this category, driving the BMW M4 LMGT3 No. 46 alongside Ahmad Al Harthy and Maxime Martin. McLaren, in collaboration with United Autosports, makes its WEC debut with two McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evos.
Other notable participants in LMGT3 include the Iron Dames, Akkodis ASP Team with two Lexus RCFs, and TF Sport aligning with Corvette Racing to compete with two Corvette Z06 LMGT3.Rs.
The stage is set for the pre-season test in Doha, from February 24-25, followed by the inaugural Qatar 1812km race on the weekend of March 1-2. Fans can follow all the action through the official FIA WEC app and enjoy the third free practice on the championship's YouTube channel.
Porsche considers reducing to two drivers per car by 2025
The changes will be announced before the end of the current WEC season.
Porsche approaches the WEC title after winning in Fuji
Porsche's victory in the 6 Hours of Fuji leaves them on the verge of the championship, while Ferrari leads in LMGT3
Cadillac takes pole position at Fuji after a close qualifying session
Alex Lynn secures Cadillac's first pole position in the world endurance championship at Fuji, beating Toyota by a narrow margin.
Toyota faces new performance restrictions at its home race at Fuji
The Japanese brand will see reduced maximum power and higher minimum weight for the penultimate round of the WEC in Japan
