2023 FIA World Endurance Championship: LMDh Arrives and Ferrari Wins Le Mans

The 2023 season was a landmark for the series. LMDh cars scored championship points in the Hypercar class alongside LMH cars for the first time, and Ferrari's 499P gave the marque its tenth overall Le Mans win, its first since 1965.

What was the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship?

The 2023 season was the eleventh for the series, which the FIA and the ACO organised together. Prototype and grand tourer-style cars raced in three categories that year, and titles went to the leading prototype drivers and to the leading prototype manufacturer.

Three driver titles were on offer. Only the Hypercar title carried world championship status, and it was reserved for Hypercar drivers. The other two were FIA Endurance Trophies for LMP2 and LMGTE Am drivers.

Manufacturers and teams were judged separately. A world championship went to Hypercar manufacturers, an FIA World Cup went to customer Hypercar teams, and FIA Endurance Trophies covered LMP2 and LMGTE Am teams. Only the highest-finishing car from each manufacturer scored points, and privateer entries were made invisible in that table.

The calendar was announced on 29 September 2022 on the championship website and YouTube channel. It brought Portimao back in a 6-hour format, and the season hosted the centenary running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Ferrari returned to endurance racing in 2023 and won Le Mans, while LMDh cars joined the Hypercar fight for points.

What rules and classes changed for 2023?

2023 was the first season in which LMDh entries could score championship points in the Hypercar category alongside LMH entries. LMGTE Pro was discontinued, LMGTE Am was left as the only GT class, and the LMP2 class was in its final year before removal for 2024.

Before this, LMDh entries had been permitted on a race-by-race basis during 2022. The LMGTE Am class was due to be replaced by LMGT3, a GT3-spec class, the following season.

The LMP2 Pro-Am Cup, introduced for 2021, was dropped at the same time. Its removal from 2024 was linked to demand for grid places from Hypercar and LMGT3, which had reached the maximum number of full-season entries.

The LMP2 cars all ran the Gibson GK428 V8 engine, as the 2017 LMP2 regulations required.

How did the season open at Sebring?

The 1000 Miles of Sebring opened the season, and Ferrari's 499P took pole in what was the marque's first endurance appearance in 50 years. Toyota won the race, with the number 7 car of Kobayashi, Conway and Jose Maria Lopez leading home the number 8 car by six seconds.

Antonio Fuoco led the field away from the start, but both Toyota entries soon passed him. The number 7 car took the lead at the four-hour mark and was never headed, while Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen took third in the number 50 Ferrari, a lap down.

In LMP2, Prema Racing's number 63 car led with five minutes to go but had to pit for a splash of fuel. That handed the class win to Jota's number 48 car of David Beckmann, Will Stevens and Yifei Ye, while United Autosports' number 22 snatched second place in the closing minutes.

The GTE Am class had early drama. The number 83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari cartwheeled after hitting the tyre wall, and the sole Corvette entry, driven by Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nicolas Varrone, dominated the second half to win. The Dempsey-Proton Porsche of car 77 took second when the Kessel Racing Ferrari, car 57, made a late fuel stop.

What happened at Portimao?

Toyota's number 8 car won the 6-hour race at Portimao after the sister number 7 car, which had led from the start, suffered technical problems and pulled into the pits. Ferrari's number 50 car finished second ahead of Porsche number 6, while the Vanwall of Jacques Villeneuve retired with an exploded brake calliper.

Toyota's number 7 car, driven by Mike Conway, blasted into the lead at the start, passing its pole-sitting sister car. The number 8 car, driven by Sebastien Buemi, briefly lost a place to James Calado's Ferrari before regaining it a lap later.

Toyota management then ordered the two cars to swap positions. The number 7 car began to suffer technical issues and went into the pits, which left the number 8 car to canter to victory.

In LMP2 qualifying, Prema's number 63 car took pole by 0.001 seconds from Vector Racing's number 10 car of Gabriel Aubry. Neither team had a role in the fight for victory, which went to United Autosport's number 23 car of Giedo van der Garde, Josh Pierson and Oliver Jarvis. That crew had retired from the lead at Sebring, and they finished ahead of their sister car despite having no radio for the final two hours.

In GTE Am, the Corvette of car 33 took pole but could not hold its lead. Nicky Catsburg edged Alessio Rovera to the flag in a close finish with the Richard Mille Ferrari, giving Corvette Racing its second win in succession, while the Iron Dames Porsche of car 85 finished third.

What happened at Spa-Francorchamps?

The Toyota number 7 car won the 6-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps, its second victory of the season. The race also made history: Lilou Wadoux, driving the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari, became the first female driver to win a World Endurance Championship race.

Qualifying was dramatic. Hartley's number 8 Toyota crashed on cold tyres, and Antonio Giovinazzi's Ferrari in car 51 lost its pole time for a track limits breach. That promoted Kobayashi's number 7 Toyota to the front, so Toyota had a car at both the front and the back of the field.

Both Toyotas started on slicks in tricky conditions, and Conway struggled as the Ferraris and a Cadillac passed him into the first corner. The number 3 Cadillac of Renger van der Zande crashed heavily at Eau Rouge after two hours, and a steering issue was suspected.

Villeneuve retired from the race for the second time running in the Vanwall, after contact with the number 54 AF Corse Ferrari at Blanchimont. About an hour later, Fuoco crashed the number 50 Ferrari just after a pit stop, when it was running third. The battle for third then went to Calado in the number 51 Ferrari, who caught and passed Frederic Makowiecki in the number 5 Porsche on the final lap.

In LMP2, Team WRT's number 41 car of Rui Andrade, Robert Kubica and Louis Deletraz took the win after a battle with its sister car, number 31. Prema's number 63 car received a 3-minute stop-and-go penalty for not respecting safety car procedures, which put it out of contention.

In GTE Am, Wadoux overtook the number 88 Proton Competition car at about half distance and was never headed. The Corvette of car 33 and the Aston Martin of car 25 finished second and third.

Did Ferrari win the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Yes. The Ferrari number 51 car shared by James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi won the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans overall, the marque's tenth overall win and its first since 1965. Their pole-sitting sister car, shared by Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen, had set the fastest Hypercar lap in Hyperpole.

The winning trio led the final 55 laps, and it was the first overall Le Mans win for each of them. Ferrari's victory came after the Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa battled the Ferraris in the second half, and the Toyota finished second.

The Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh of Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook finished third overall.

In LMP2, Inter Europol Competition's Oreca 07-Gibson, driven by Albert Costa, Fabio Scherer and Jakub Smiechowski, led the final 112 laps to claim the team's maiden WEC class victory. Team WRT finished second, 21.015 seconds behind, and Duqueine Team took third with Rene Binder, Neel Jani and Nico Pino.

In GTE Am, the Corvette C8.R of Catsburg, Keating and Varrone came from two laps down after a pit stop to replace a failed damper. It won the final LMGTE Am and GTE race at Le Mans, finishing one lap clear of the ORT by TF Aston Martin crew of Al Harthy, Dinan and Eastwood.

What was the Monza result?

The number 7 Toyota won the Monza round after taking pole by 0.017 seconds from Ferrari number 50, the smallest margin in WEC history. It was the third win of the season for the number 7 Toyota, which had also won at Sebring and Spa-Francorchamps.

The number 93 Peugeot led in the early stages. The number 8 Toyota collided with the number 51 Ferrari and then with the number 777 D'station Aston Martin, which took a heavy impact, and the number 8 car was given a one-minute stop-and-go penalty.

Ferrari number 50 finished second and the Peugeot third. In LMP2, Jota's number 28 car took its first win of the season, and the Alpine number 36 beat pole-sitting Team WRT number 41 into second place.

In GTE Am, the Corvette number 33 crew of Catsburg, Keating and Varrone finished fourth in class, which was enough to clinch the class title. The Proton-Dempsey Porsche number 77 won ahead of Iron Lynx number 60 and GR Racing number 86, while the pole-sitting Iron Dames Porsche number 85 finished fifth.

Where did the title races stand after Le Mans?

After Le Mans, Toyota led the Hypercar manufacturers' championship, and Team WRT and Corvette Racing led the LMP2 and GTE Am team trophies with three races left. Ferrari's crew of Calado, Giovinazzi and Pier Guidi had moved from fifth to second in the drivers' table, 25 points behind the leaders.

The Hypercar drivers' table was led by Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa in the Toyota number 8 car. The Corvette crew of Catsburg, Keating and Varrone went on to clinch the GTE Am class title at Monza.

Who won each round?

Jota won LMP2 at Sebring and Monza, United at Portimao, Team WRT at Spa-Francorchamps and Inter Europol at Le Mans. The Corvette won the GTE Am class at Sebring, Portimao and Le Mans, while the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari won at Spa-Francorchamps and the Proton-Dempsey Porsche won at Monza.