United States of Le Mans

This Acura ARX-05 DPi of Meyer Shank Racing won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2022, but how would it fare at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

If you’re a fan of American motorsports and have never tuned in to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2023 might be the year you want to change that.  This year marks the 100th running of the French classic and will see some of the biggest names in American racing history making their return or writing a new chapter of their legacies; Cadillac, Ganassi, Penske, IMSA, and… *checks notes* NASCAR?

               The FIA’s World Endurance Championship is experiencing a renaissance, thanks in no small part to its new-look prototype formula.  The Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) class took over from the outgoing P1 category in 2021, ditching multi-million-dollar rocket ships that were obliterating development budgets and track records in equal measure for a much more budget-friendly and road-relevant approach. 

                Meanwhile across the pond, IMSA was working on how to follow their brilliant but ultimately limited Daytona Prototype International (DPi) cars.  Based on the FIA’s existing P2 regulations, DPi allowed car manufacturers to use their own engine and bodywork without the additional costs of developing a chassis.  The results were brutally effective race cars, but despite being based on an existing Le Mans class the cars didn’t adhere to the FIA rulebook and weren’t eligible to compete at WEC events.

                Let’s review; the FIA had developed Le Mans Hypercar – cars engineered to not be as fast (or ludicrously expensive) as their predecessors while maintaining manufacturer interest.  IMSA was developing the sequel to DPi – cars that weren’t as fast (or ludicrously expensive) as their WEC counterparts while maintaining manufacturer interest.  In an unlikely dream scenario for motorsport fans across the globe, both organizations took this well-timed reset as an opportunity to collaborate and craft their new top-level classes with a similar performance benchmark; an agreement was struck to allow the two categories to race each other for top honors in both series.

                Confirmation of the new classes and their global convergence brought a flurry of manufacturer and privateer interest that even two years later hasn’t settled down.  With such a vast assortment of teams and constructors on offer, the prospective on-track matchups have race fans everywhere salivating.

An original GTP car - the Porsche 962 of AJ Foyt

                While IMSA’s new category – known internationally as LMDh but graced domestically with the throwback acronym of GTP – makes it’s on track debut in January at the 24 Hours of Daytona, the attention will quickly shift to the first practice session at Le Mans to see how Chip Ganassi-led Cadillacs will fair against the juggernaut of Toyota Gazoo Racing, how BMW’s new GTP cars stack up against the Hypercars of Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, Peugeot, and Ferrari, or if the new Porsche 963 – spearheaded by Team Penske – will result in Porsche’s return to dominance at The Great Race. The only GTP manufacturer in IMSA that will be absent at Le Mans is Acura, who have chosen to sit out this year’s race at the request of Honda but may join in the future.

                But in true American fashion, wait!  There’s more!  With so much involvement from IMSA, the United States’ presence will be undeniable throughout the entirety of the Le Mans weekend.  In addition to IMSA’s prototype assault there will be another garage stall sporting the ol’ Stars and Bars that is sure to attract some attention.  This year’s Garage 56 entry – an exhibition entry developed by the FIA that isn’t required to fit into any existing rule structure – is a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Next Gen NASCAR Cup car.  For the first time since a similar run in 1976, an American stock car will contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

                Entered by Hendrick Motorsports, the car has seen extensive development by Le Mans ace Mike Rockenfeller and NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson to prepare it for the toughest challenge that the Next Gen car will face since it was introduced in 2022.  The driving duties will be rounded out by Formula One world champion Jenson Button.  

The other unknown is how much the car itself will be modified to handle the unique challenge of endurance racing.  The most recent iteration of NASCAR’s top class is already known to be more road racing focused than any of its predecessors, but as evidenced by testing photos taken at VIR and Sebring is going through extensive changes to optimize the car for Circuit de la Sarthe.  How the technical team at Hendrick will solve getting their heavyweight monster to brake and corner like a GT car while retaining its monstrous top speed is a mystery that I can’t wait to see the answer to.

                As we get closer to June 10th and more details emerge the plot will no doubt continue to thicken, but with so much intrigue throughout the field already it’d be downright un-patriotic to miss it.  The 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans is shaping up to be an epic spectacle, but the biggest impact on this year’s twice-around-the-clock French classic might very well come courtesy of a different red, white, and blue flag.