2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar ChampionshipSports Cars 

  • Thread starter Northstar
  • 341 comments
  • 27,138 views
Northstar's link reminded me of this I saw last week.
Audi and Porsche to collaborate on 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours racers

The company will join fellow Volkswagen Group firm Porsche in entering under the new LMDh regulations, which give firms freedom to develop their own powertrains but require them to use a spec hybrid system and one of four control chassis, along with other cost-saving measures.

Notably, Audi Sport boss Julius Seebach said the project is being developed in cooperation with Porsche, suggesting the two race cars will be closely linked. He said: “A great strengh of the Volkswagen Group is the collaboration of the brands in the development of road cars. We are now transferring this proven model to motorsport.”
Click to expand...
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/...and-porsche-collaborate-2023-le-mans-24-hours
 
BMW's official confirmation of their LMDh program for 2023:

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2021/06/11/bmw-confirm-imsa-lmdh-programme.html

IMSA is confirmed, it seems that Dallara will be their base chassis, although this isn't confirmed yet. No word on Le Mans, WEC, customer cars, driver line-up yet. The article is quite bullish regarding Le Mans though, I hope BMW has the balls and plans to go to Le Mans in 2023 beyond their IMSA program. The V12 LMR is one of my favorite prototypes, I hope they will be competitive.

I gotta be honest here: I'm looking forward to the 2023 season, the LMDh class will be bonkers, Daytona, Sebring and Petit will be filled with the best factory drivers in the top class, if we'll have another SuperSebring, it's gonna be even wilder. On the other hand, my two favorite brands are Porsche and BMW. They're not going to make my rooting for certain teams easier LOL, true first world problems :)
 
I think LMDH will actually be the death knell of HyperCar in the next couple of years. But that's not a bad thing. Just seems like a more logical choice for a bunch of manufacturers. For some reason I thought LMDH "had to" cater to customer cars but I may be confusing that with some other series/regulations.

I do think between the two we're set for a golden age (or at least 1-2 years) of crazy manufacturer level racing at LeMans. If everything actually goes to plan, we could see what....8/9 manufacturers currently between HyperCar and LMDH?

Between that and LMP2...I'll be curious how they approach removing lower tier cars or GT's entirely from LeMans as they could simply run out of room.
 
TheHun99
No word on Le Mans, WEC, customer cars, driver line-up yet. The article is quite bullish regarding Le Mans though, I hope BMW has the balls and plans to go to Le Mans in 2023 beyond their IMSA program.
Click to expand...

They would miss a unique chance if they didn't go to LM. It would be beyond stupid. That said, I can see Walkenhorst running at least 1 car in WEC if BMW continues to give them factory support.
 
TheElbows
For some reason I thought LMDH "had to" cater to customer cars but I may be confusing that with some other series/regulations.
Click to expand...

No. That was the original goal. Seemed at first they where effectively trying to bring back the GTS category of the 90s. But then something changed. Don’t want to call out Toyota, but Toyota seemed to have had a big say in that. Hence no real hypercars.

2023 Daytona will have at least what? 10–14 cars? Maybe more if Lexus commits? Not major counts, but pretty certain all will have a legit shot at winning race in and race out.
 
TheElbows
we could see what....8/9 manufacturers currently between HyperCar and LMDH?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised if we see more than 10 considering 8 have already confirmed programs and there are still a few that have shown interest.

HyperCar:
Ferrari
Glickenhaus
Peugeot
Toyota

LMDh:
Acura
Audi
BMW
Porsche

Unconfirmed but likely:
Cadillac/Corvette (supposedly were going to announce their program this weekend but called it off)
Renault/Alpine (would make their move to LMP1 seem weird if they weren't planning something)

Unknown but still possible:
Bentley (wants to be on the grid for the centenary in 2024, so it seems we will at least get a re-badged version of one of the other VAG cars for Le Mans that year)
Ford (Seems to be evaluating both LMDh and GT3, no hints of either actually happening though)
Hyundai (were rumored to be evaluating a program, but with their committing to stay in WRC it seems unlikely)
Lamborghini (Has "shown interest" as recently as April)
Lexus (They've stated a Lexus LMDh is possible, not sure what the odds are of it happening though)
McLaren (Has also "shown interest" as recently as April)
 
If most if not all are serious about committing I wouldn't mind seeing GTE scrapped to field everyone, or at least the Am one. Speaking strictly WEC/Le Mans.
 
Downhill Dino
If most if not all are serious about committing I wouldn't mind seeing GTE scrapped to field everyone, or at least the Am one. Speaking strictly WEC/Le Mans.
Click to expand...

With say 20 LMDh/LMH cars, plus another 15-20 LMP2, def cut GT cars. Did it during the Group 2 era. And with GTE probably costing more than P2 cars to operate, it’s just be financially smart as well.
 
There will be another AMG GT3 on the grid starting at next weeks Watkins Glen race, they supposedly will be doing some other races prior to a full-time effort next year.

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/gilbert-korthoff-steps-up-to-gtd-with-mercedes-for-cosmo-lewis/

GTDMerc.jpg
 
HaydenFan69
Can’t go wrong with Guy Cosmo. And I’m sure they’ll have some sponsor logos on the car, but that livery is very nice.
Click to expand...
Guy Cosmo is almost always gold. One of the fondest memories of mine from recent years was his drive in a boxster(?) at Mosport in the Continental Tire race. It was absolutely madness between him and a few other guys toward the end.
 
For anyone (like myself) who may have forget, the IMSA race is tonight - happening right now live on NBCSN. Totally thought this race was tomorrow evening but glad I checked.

Reminds me of when Grand-Am ran Friday evenings at the Glen with NASCAR back in the mid 2000s. Some nostalgia from when sports car racing last ran evening races at the Glen.

 
Ether
For anyone (like myself) who may have forget, the IMSA race is tonight - happening right now live on NBCSN. Totally thought this race was tomorrow evening but glad I checked.

Reminds me of when Grand-Am ran Friday evenings at the Glen with NASCAR back in the mid 2000s. Some nostalgia from when sports car racing last ran evening races at the Glen.

Click to expand...

Man, those cars were fugly :)
 
JackRyanWMU
I'm in Ohio for Indycar this weekend, having this race on a Friday night to watch was a perfect way to kick off the weekend.
Click to expand...
Same here, only at Road America and listening instead of watching as my signal isn’t that great.
 
Technical details about the convergence emerge:

sportscar365.com

Technical Details Confirmed for LMH, LMDh Convergence – Sportscar365

FIA, ACO, IMSA outline four key areas of LMH, LMDh technical convergence...
sportscar365.com sportscar365.com

Also, LMH cars will be eligible in IMSA WSC:

sportscar365.com

LMH Cars Eligible to Compete in IMSA From 2023 – Sportscar365

LMH cars cleared to race in IMSA from 2023 following convergence agreement...
sportscar365.com sportscar365.com

EDIT:

LMDh cars will use the LMH tire size regulations for RWD cars, allowing for 34-inch tires in the rear and 29-inch tires in the front.

This compares to the 31-inch tires (front/rear) currently used on LMH cars equipped with a front axle hybrid, such as the Toyota GR010 Hybrid and will remain unchanged heading into 2023.
Click to expand...

Big LOL - In the DSC article this is correctly stated in centimeters, not inches. Just imagine a 34-in tire :D

LMH & LMDH Set For Both IMSA & WEC From 2023

LMH & LMDH Set For Both IMSA & WEC From 2023
www.dailysportscar.com www.dailysportscar.com
 
Last edited:
Nice, granted the only one I can really see running over here in IMSA is Toyota (and possibly Glickenhaus if IMSA lets them). Ferrari would be cool but they don't seem to care about NA racing and Peugeot really doesn't have a reason to unless they rebrand it as one of the FCA brands.

TheHun99
Just imagine a 34-in tire 😁
Click to expand...
They're for the new HyperDonk category.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Northstar
2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
13 14 15
Replies
424
Views
32K
TheHun99
TheHun99
Organ-Donor
2018 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship
50 51 52
Replies
2K
Views
77K
01GTP
01GTP
MonGnoM
2015 TUDOR United Sportscar Championship
113 114 115
Replies
3K
Views
141K
catamount39
catamount39
Kuraudo
WeatherTech Hat-Trick Championship
2 3
Replies
79
Views
4K
Raptor013
Raptor013
Northstar
2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
46 47 48
Replies
1K
Views
67K
Northstar
Northstar

Latest Posts

Back