What Does the Exciting New LMGT3 Class Have in Store? I Season Preview I FIA WEC

WEC is back and with that the exciting new LMGT3 class featuring 18 cars and 9 different manufacturers. Watch Alexa Rendell and Sam Smith as they tell you everything you need to know before the 2024 season opener on March 2.

The FIA World Endurance Championship is the world’s premier international sportscar championship, contested over eight rounds across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. With multiple cars across two categories (Hypercar and LMGT3) all on track at the same time, the WEC is a sports car extravaganza that offers action, overtakes, excitement and entertainment for fans worldwide. Watch all the WEC action live on FIAWEC.tv

Chapters:

0:00 Intro
1:54 Aston Martin
3:11 BMW
4:51 Corvette
5:47 Ferrari
6:33 Ford
7:24 Lexus
8:18 Lamborghini
10:02 McLaren
11:30 Porsche
12:41 What you need to know about the LMGT3 class
13:40 The one team you should be looking out for

2024 Calendar:

Official Prologue Qatar – February 24-25
Qatar Airways Qatar 1812KM – March 2
6 Hours of Imola – April 21
TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – May 11
24 Hours of Le Mans – June 15-16
Rolex 6 Hours of Sao Paulo – July 14
Lone Star Le Mans Cota – September 1
6 Hours of Fuji – September 15
Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain – November 2

37 cars 14 manufacturers and over a 100 drivers welcome to the 2024 W season which is sure to be one of our biggest and our best yet we’re here in Qatar and this looks set to be one of our most exciting Seasons yet no first time ever in qar really excited for this track a real Challenge and I think in terms of what this season means for w it’s absolutely huge I don’t think there’s been this level of quality of manufacturers in any championship in the world let alone in sports cars yes a massive amount of anticipation for what’s ahead before we get into any of that let’s chat about our lmgt3 cars and more specifically what this track has in store for them because I was on the track walk earlier and there is so much for them to sus out here a lot of drivers haven’t been here before particularly in the GT3 class what can they expect a challenge a major challenge lot of constant radius Corners say it’s going to be be super tough does on the it means long Corners okay okay that makes sense so you know a regular corner is generally a single Apex Corner these are multiple Apex Corners almost long flowing Corners obviously very difficult vehicle dynamically for the tires so a big test for the strategists on that one for GT3 in particular I’m really interested in the fact that these cars now as opposed to the lmgt cars of the past have ABS brakes now what that means is it should theoretic Al be a bit easier for the silver and bronze categorized drivers so that will be quite interesting not only how they cope but obviously with the traffic and how the traffic flows with been lacked by the hyper cars well we have 18 cars nine manufacturers when on Earth shall we start it’s difficult let’s do the alphabet shall we should we start that’s very civilized us Martin I would say would be a good place to start think that’s an excellent place to start here have we got looking out for us this year in the as we got the heart of racing team obviously that came in partway through last season they’re going to be ultra busy cuz not only are they doing a season of the GT3 LM GT3 and W category they’ve also got the hyper car program that’s coming on stream for 2025 so those guys are going to be really busy on two programs effectively and you know that that team actually when you look at what they did last season really got more confidence as the season went on by Bahrain you know they were really up there looking for a a Podium result you Ian James Lees that team he’s also the the the the brains really behind what they’re going to do in hypercars from a management sense so and his qualifying performance has really improved as his time has been in wack as well yeah he’s really improved Ian he’s he’s a really experienced guy but then you look at the dstation guys as well and it’s nice to welcome about Marco senson obviously an ex- Champion part of the Dane train the the famous Dane train from a few years ago that’s going to be interesting to see how he gets on with d station uh and he’s got silver driver with uh IR bastar so it’s going to be interesting to see how that goes as a new dynamic in that team so I’m looking down at my alphabet on here I think I’m next I sound like a children’s teacher it’s B for BMW talk to me about this because this is perhaps one of the most hotly anticipated lineups that we have in the work this year yeah the BMW M4 uh lmgt3 Challenger looks the business it it’s a Mean Machine it looks extremely aggressive on the track and the big story obviously is Valen o Rossy a legend of Motorsport nine-time MotoG GP Champion somebody who actually has been has a framework of what he’s done before he’s done GT3 races he’s driven lots of different uh cars of that design he got some knowledge base there I think it’s crucial for him being paired with maxi Maran who is the 2020 leemon Champion with Aston Martin Maxim’s got a wealth of experience a really knowledgeable technical drive and I think Valentino learn quite a lot I it sounds ridiculous doesn’t it Valentino Rossy learning something from anyone a true legend the spot but that’s what he’ll have to do and I think yet his inherent determination is going to be fascinating to see how he tackles a really really tough proposition a tough program for him this season and of course we do have to acknowledge that it’s wrt that’s going to be running that car with so much experience in endurance racing between that car and the experience also in the sister car surely that puts him in a really good place heading into this year yeah I think so you know I don’t think you can question their record in W over the last three seasons you know multiple lmp2 Champions they’ve won you know a hatful of Races they do have experiencing a a variety of disciplines in in Motorsport vanon Vos and tierry tassan run a a super tight organization there so yeah I expect them to hit the ground running and be right from the from the start C for Corvette racing up next now run by TF sport not our usual yank actually a British team who can we be looking out for in this little Bill crew yeah I mean it’s it’s it’s funny isn’t it TF Sports synonymous with Aston Martin in the past and then they’re going to to Corvette race in a nice partnership there so I you know I I I sense that they will go on to great things it may just take a few races to to get bedded in and and understand a totally new project for them but you know they they they’ve got the likes of Charlie Eastwood in there with a bag full of experience they’ve got Daniel Juna who is you know that was a big story an ex uh Factory Mercedes driver somebody you know who’s raced with some of the the best F1 drivers in his Junior career and and sort of got some good results so big things expected of them but like I say I think it might just take a couple of races for them to to hit their straps well perhaps the team that I am absolutely expecting to hit the ground running is the Ferrari with AF corser these guys a lot of them have already been driving this lmgt3 car in other championships up until now particularly the likes of rovera they know this really well for me that’s a team I’m going to be looking out for heading into this season yeah and I think you know continuity with the 54 crew Thomas Flo calache and David regon as well you know they they won in fui last season they they they just jelled over the last last campaign the 296 is a car that like you say is is quite well sorted well known so yeah I think they will be a threat probably the 54 car as opposed to the other car but yeah I mean a class in any type of endurance racing wouldn’t be the same without Ferrari absolutely not I’ve made myself laugh here I’ve gone to look at my notes for what we’re going to talk about when it comes to Ford and all I’ve done is write in capital letters Mustang is that kind of all we need to know or what else is there to it the MU the mule is kicking the door down in exting isn’t it it is and it’s it’s great to have uh multimatic back and proton competition winning this you’ve got you know you’ve got a great sort of structure of really top companies in that you got some great drivers I mean it’s nice to see Ben Barker getting a factory gig isn’t it I mean he’s really earned it in his time with gr racing and golf racing in the past so I just think quite apart from the noise which is going to blow everybody away and the size of the thing as well yeah it’s I mean it’s just a wonderful addition to the diversity of what we’re seeing in lmgt3 this season actually speaking of diversity for me one of the really exciting cars that has joined us all the way down the far end of the the pit Lane is a codus with the Lexus there’s a few really interesting stories in that team Kelvin velinda Jose Lopez two quite wellknown names around the Motorsport world what else can we be looking out for there it’s you know a new proposition really the Lexus name hasn’t raced in uh the world ands championship before obviously it’s part of the Toyota family uh Pito Lopez nice to see him with a a fresh new challenge he’s achieved so much with that number seven crew so you know he’ll be he’ll be leading that team he’ll be somebody he’ll be pushing them technically on strategy and lots of other things so again it might take them a few races to get to get fully into but with like you say vandelinda who has you know won a variety of different races in in GT3 and been a DTM driver as well and I think Lopez as well yeah I mean they’re undoubtedly going to be in the mix com the end of the season I think moving on up next in the alphabet Lamborghini perhaps the team that’s going to be most talked about out of those two will be particularly the iron Dames coming off their win in Bahrain their first ever win in the world J championship and what a way to end the lmgte era now heading into GT3 now with Dian pin instead of raal Frey what’s that going to look like for them it’s the third car in three seasons for the iron Dames tough ask but they’ve proved last season they can adapt to a new project I think doriana has got a lot of momentum in terms of what she achieved in LMP 2 last season she have learned a hell of a lot from the prma team and with NOCO balotti Daniel Kat and she you know she shaped up extremely well against some really top professionals there Michelle gatting has proven consistency why that she’s Mega Sarah bovie the qualifying specialist and and somebody who’s really come on in terms of what she’s able to brings to the party yeah I I actually think that that Lamborghini hurricane has had some development it’s had a lot of um reasonable results in other classes other Series so I don’t see why they can’t get up where they were before there’s no reason they’ve proved as a squad they got strength in depth so yeah I think more of the same I think for the iron Dames and a word for the Squad I on links yeah unchanged lineup mat Crone and Claudia skone as well you know we saw last season that they they were a little bit inconsistent in terms of what they brought but it’s all about ski of only in that car if cladio can do a consistent stint and and cron can then kick on and and they can actually build something in the race then again I you know I don’t see any weak links in this this class you know there’s I’m pretty pretty sure that anyone on any given day can be in with a shout of at least a podium my challenging for the win now to McLaren there’s a lot of fans that are super excited to have them back in the championship and there’s more of a link between their team United aut Sports and McLaren then I think a lot of people might realize can you kind of explain that a bit to me yeah so the United aut Sports have been around now for over maybe about 20 years they’ve been racing in all sorts of different National in the UK and international championships highly decorated team uh Richard Dean who who runs the operation uh was actually Zack Brown’s uh racing coach when Zack Brown was trying to be a racing driver back back in the ’90s so nice little sort of factoid there for you but again those two have built something very special in terms of what they’re bringing to International Motorsport the 720s again has been extremely welldeveloped I think he’s got a lot of potential for not upsetting the apple cart because we’re talking about McLaren here United aut sports but I think eventually they’ll be seen as as favorites they’ve got some rookies in their in their driver crew but they’ve got some drivers who are experienced in other series you know Marina Sato is coming into that team and you know he’s proved that he’s extremely quick and can race with the best um F2 drivers so I anticipate like some of the the teams we’ve already mentioned that it may take a couple of races just to just to get a bit of consistency and a bit of uh bit of precision in there but yeah I don’t see why they can’t be sniffing around for some big prizes by the end of the season last but by no means least Porsche a longstanding part of the world urance championship with a new team this year yes Manta running uh the the two cars I think the interesting thing about Porsche is a bit like Ferrari they they’ve got a bit of they’ve got a little bit of consistency and and history and understanding technically What It Takes with these cars it’s interesting they’ve called upon clus backler who’s very experienced you know he he knows how to develop a car so I think as as long as they have guys like Richard lease and and and also clouse that they can really push porer into doing something special again this season so again you know it’s almost impossible which please don’t tell me we’re doing any predictions for this give us one I’m cruel enough One race Grace because we need to see we need to see where the hierarchy is who’s really getting it right from the start and it’s a 10-hour Race So by the end of it we should get an understanding of a little bit of where the where the balance of power lies I think we’ll come back to your predictions alternative in just a second for now so we’ve got good your tires on all of these LM gt3s how we going a new qualifying format one of the things do the fans who might want to watch this race what do they need to know about this class I think the key for me is quite a technical one but the fact that these production sports cars have ABS brakes now the lmgt cars didn’t have that the lmgt3 cars do theoretically that should make it easier for the silver and the bronze categorized drivers and that will also have a bearing on traffic when they’ve been laped by the hypercars cuz that’s where quite often the the drivers the the silver and bronze drivers often lose Time by going offline especially here at Qatar it’s very dusty offline that’s where you can lose 3 four five seconds a lap easily and if you do that you know three times an hour you’re going to go from P3 to P6 very very easily so it’s a kind of a technical thing but ultimately I think that’ll do with a sporting matter of just keeping consistency during stance we mentioned the D just then with the wind as well it’s going to be an interesting race one final thought an alternative to a prediction what is one team that people should be looking out for this weekend par still I know but where do you think a good story line lies well the the romantic story would be the proton for Mustang wasn’t it I mean that that is the one to look at and I think I know they’ve done a quite a lot of testing I know that um you know if if you ask some people in that team they’ve got something quite special there it’s going to be a fan favorite wherever we go because the noise because of the look and oh yeah and everything so I I think that there could be quite you know you wouldn’t say it’s a surprise because the quality that they’ve got in their operation their drivers but I’ve just got a feeling that you know there could be a nice romantic story by by Sunday evening here in Qatar and that wraps us up nicely so thank you so much for joining me S for this one but we’re going to have to go and do all over again cuz this is just the GT3 video we’re also going to be talking about our hypercal cuz there’s a whole lot more to unpack there if you want to watch along with us this weekend you can head to FIA a.tv to do so there’s a promo code available on our Instagram just a little sneaky bit of information between me and you thank you so much for joining us and we will see you in the next one