The philosophical problems the WEC's new Hypercar class is already facing

By:

Gary Watkins

May 7, 2021, 2:29 PM

OPINION: Most of the column inches after the World Endurance Championship's opener were centred around the relative pace of the Hypercar class and the LMP2s, but there's another question that needs addressing in order for the new division to have a successful future

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The 2021 World Endurance Championship opener at Spa last weekend offered a taste of a bright new era for top-flight sportscar racing. We finally got to see a Le Mans Hypercar in anger, but we also received a wake-up call about the political machinations and manoeuvrings that will inevitably be a part of the brave new world that lies ahead.

The WEC's Hypercar class, which will incorporate the LMDh machinery from Porsche, Audi, Acura on occasion and perhaps others in 2023, is a Balance of Performance category. If you don't like it, tough, because it has played a key role in rekindling the massive interest from major manufacturers in the pinnacle of prototype racing.

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Gary Watkins

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Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.