Why two names for the same thing could cloud sportscar racing's new golden era

OPINION: The adoption by IMSA of the GTP name for its forthcoming LMDh versus Le Mans Hypercar era in 2023 appeals to fans of nostalgia - but it undermines the commonality achieved by bringing its rulebook into line with the World Endurance Championship. GTP or Hypercar, both sides should settle on a single name

Gary Watkins Feb 15, 2022, 9:50 AM

Upd: Feb 16, 2022, 3:13 AM

Sportscar utopia appeared to be within touching distance. The i's were dotted and the t's crossed last summer in the arduous process that had become known as convergence. There would, finally, be common prototype rules across the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023.

It was a dream come true for many of us, only now we learn that Le Mans Hypercars and LMDh machinery are going to come together in the two series next year under different banners. The top category in the WEC has been called Hypercar since the arrival of LMH last year, and now it has been announced that in North America the class will be known as GTP, a revival of the name used by the original IMSA series in its 1980s heyday.

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Author Gary Watkins

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.