Resolved the convergence between the LMH and LMDh regulations to shape a new global order with prototypes enabled to compete in both the WEC and IMSA, the absolute priority of the FIA and ACO was to define the future of the GT category of the World Endurance Championship. After IMSA’s decision to go for a new GTD Pro class based on the GT3 standard, it only seemed a matter of time before the world competition would also follow this path. And so it has been. The WEC GT category will be based on the GT3 platform from 2024. They will also be used in the rest of the ACO championships.
GTE regulations will remain that way until the end of 2023 before giving way to GT3 vehicles., a global platform used by the majority of the world’s GT vehicle manufacturers. It is still unknown if the GT3s used in the WEC will have technical modifications, but this is a minor detail given the option that more than a dozen brands now have to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the WEC and the European Le Mans Series. Until then, The LMGTE-Pro class will remain alive, but with the arrival of the GT3, an attempt will be made to avoid the presence of factory equipment to keep operating costs in check.
Thus, the new GT3 category will be open to professional drivers, but it seems that a strict rider categorization will be applied to maintain the Pro-Am concept and that the manufacturers do not have as clear a weight as in LMGTE-Pro. This opens the option to have two categories within the WEC, although it will not follow the dynamics of IMSA that will allow to have ‘Pro’ teams with factory direct support on GTD Pro. Meanwhile, FIA and ACO have also announced that the launch of the category based on hydrogen cell technology at Le Mans is delayed by one year, until 2025.