[WEC/IMSA] 2024 All Hypercar news (Inside the Valkyrie)

[erwin greven]

Bottom post of the previous page:

[MonteCristo]

HUUUUUUGGGGEEEEEEE NEWS

Ford back to Le Mans for outright victory bid

Ford will return to the Le Mans 24 Hours to fight for overall victory as a part of a World Endurance Championship campaign with an LMDh prototype in 2027.

The US giant has announced that it will attempt to repeat its triumphs at the French enduro in 1966 to ’69 with the Ford MkII, MkIV and the GT40 in what will be its first full-factory attack since the C100 Group C car in 1982.

https://www.autosport.com/le-mans/news/ ... /10692595/

Good stuff.

[MonteCristo]

McLaren, meanwhile, are interested in entering.

No word on a self-made car yet that I've seen, or a customer car. But still, good news if it happened.

https://racer.com/2025/01/30/prototype- ... aren-says/

[Cheeveer]

Mercedes-AMG are sniffing around too. Good times.

Lets not blow up like super touring now, shall we.

[leon_90]

Through the game Le Mans Ultimate I have learned that Ferrari has updated the 499P to its first evo specs (still not implemented in the game apart from cosmetic changes). This surprised me as I knew from last year that they were thinking about when to update the car, but it all went quiet.
Does anyone know what this evo version is all about?

[Everso Biggyballies]

Nightmare opener for Cadillac, crashing into each other at an early SC restart with heavy damage.

[erwin greven]

[MonteCristo]

That is a very sexy car.

[Everso Biggyballies]

That is a very sexy car.

Certainly the best sounding current race car on the planet. 6+litre detuned to 700-ish bhp V12 Cosworth. Not a bad basis to make a sexy load of noise.

[Everso Biggyballies]

McLaren Announces 2027 Hypercar Program

McLaren confirms intent to enter FIA WEC’s top class from 2027 with short statement…

Brilliant news to have another iconic Sports Car brand confirming their future participation in Hypercat. Yes the rumours have been circulating for ever but it is always good to hear rumours like that to become reality.

McLaren's announcement came on Thursday by way of a short clip posted to social media, showing a silhouette of McLaren’s future top-flight challenger accompanied by a brief press statement.

From the McLaren website; https://www.mclaren.com/racing/latest-n ... c-in-2027/

McLAREN Racing enters WEC in 2027

1995. Legendary Le Mans victory. Triple Crown glory.

Ready to make our mark on the world endurance stage once again.

Hypercar. 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, said:
“We’re back.”

The statement, which references McLaren’s 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans win, read: “1995. Legendary Le Mans victory. Triple Crown glory. Ready to make our mark on the world endurance stage once again. Hypercar. 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship.”

A short quote from McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown simply said: “We’re back.”

Brown said last year at Le Mans that the extension of the current rules through 2029 would make it easier for the brand to give the go-ahead to the program, which would complement McLaren’s current efforts in Formula 1, IndyCar and Formula E.

Thursday’s statement contained no details about the program, but it is expected to utilize the LMDh platform, with Dallara the likely chassis supplier, while United Autosports — of which Brown is co-founder and co-owner — is in line to run the two-car factory effort.

The news brings the number of top-class entrants for that season to 11, including 2026 newcomers Genesis, assuming that the current eight Hypercar participants — Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, Peugeot, BMW, Alpine and Aston Martin — stay.

Last year’s running of the LM24 marked McLaren’s return to the Circuit de la Sarthe after a lengthy absence via its United Autosports WEC LMGT3 program, which began last year, plus an additional 720S GT3 Evo entered by Inception Racing.


Full storey here: https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/mcl ... r-program/

[MonteCristo]

I'd assume one or two like Pug and Alpine will depart between now and then.

But great to see an extra new entrant emerge.

[DoubleFart]

Yeah, I said last year that there are only so many races so only so many winners. There's a lot of money being spent to pack out a grid and find out the smallest bit of information about hybrid tech for toad cars.

[MonteCristo]

Yeah, I said last year that there are only so many races so only so many winners. There's a lot of money being spent to pack out a grid and find out the smallest bit of information about hybrid tech for toad cars.

It would be different if you had an old customer car manufacturer... a Lola, March, Spice... who would build and update cars (or maybe the individual team updates the car to their taste and needs). But entirely agree. It's a bad look for an automotive manufacturer to have their name on a constantly losing car.

Not everyone can win. There aren't enough races for everyone to realistically get a turn on the podium.

So programs inevitably get cut short for some.

[Cheeveer]

Yeah, I said last year that there are only so many races so only so many winners. There's a lot of money being spent to pack out a grid and find out the smallest bit of information about hybrid tech for toad cars.

It would be different if you had an old customer car manufacturer... a Lola, March, Spice... who would build and update cars (or maybe the individual team updates the car to their taste and needs). But entirely agree. It's a bad look for an automotive manufacturer to have their name on a constantly losing car.

Not everyone can win. There aren't enough races for everyone to realistically get a turn on the podium.

So programs inevitably get cut short for some.

On the other hand: Renault/Alpine in F1.

[MonteCristo]

Yeah, I said last year that there are only so many races so only so many winners. There's a lot of money being spent to pack out a grid and find out the smallest bit of information about hybrid tech for toad cars.

It would be different if you had an old customer car manufacturer... a Lola, March, Spice... who would build and update cars (or maybe the individual team updates the car to their taste and needs). But entirely agree. It's a bad look for an automotive manufacturer to have their name on a constantly losing car.

Not everyone can win. There aren't enough races for everyone to realistically get a turn on the podium.

So programs inevitably get cut short for some.

On the other hand: Renault/Alpine in F1.

I think the only reason why they're staying is that it's worth holding on for the value of their team entry rising. WEC is different.

[MonteCristo]

This thing sounds great.