2024 FIA World Endurance Championship

The 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship is the twelfth season of the FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The series will be open to Hypercars (built under Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) or Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) regulations) and for the first time LMGT3 racing cars.

This is the first season of the World Endurance Championship without the LMP2 class, after it was dropped due to the increasing demand in the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes. The LMP2 class will still take part at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The LMGT3 class was introduced to replace the GTE class that was dropped at the end of the 2023 season. A maximum amount of 37 cars was set for the full-season grid.

Manufacturers entering in the LMGT3 category will only be allowed to enter a maximum of two cars, to allow for a greater diversity in the LMGT3 category. Priority is given to manufacturers who have also entered a car in the Hypercar category.

Calendar
On 9 June 2023, during the 2023 Le Mans weekend, the calendar for the 2024 season was announced. It contains eight races, including two completely new races and two returning races. The 1000 Miles of Sebring, 6 Hours of Portimão, and 6 Hours of Monza races will not return in 2024, with Monza not being held due to the track being redeveloped. The Imola event would later replace Monza as the Italian round on the schedule, while the series will make its first visit to Qatar to start the season, allowing hotter weather than Sebring. The 6 Hours of São Paulo, which was last visited by the WEC in 2014 alongside the Lone Star Le Mans round that was previously hosted in 2020 would also make their return to the calendar.

The prologue was originally scheduled to happen on 24 and 25 February but was delayed due to shipping issues.

Entries
The number of entries was capped at 37 cars due to garage limitations at Imola and the Circuit of the Americas. Frédéric Lequien, CEO of Le Mans Endurance Management, outlined a goal to increase the grid size in future seasons.

Hypercar
Hypercar team changes

Following the 2023 season Glickenhaus Racing chose to withdraw due to financial reasons and Floyd Vanwall Racing had their application refused.

Revived luxury Italian manufacturer Isotta Fraschini joined with a single Michelotto-produced LMH in partnership with Duqueine.

Hertz Team Jota entered an additional Porsche 963 following LMP2's removal from the series.

Reigning LMP2 champions Team WRT joined Hypercar fielding two works BMW M Hybrid V8s, having previously been slated to run Audi's cancelled LMDh programme. BMW's only previous entry into the FIA World Endurance Championship was in the GTE Pro category in 2018–19, while the Dallara-based M Hybrid V8, which debuted in the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship, marked BMW's return to top-class sportscar racing for the first time since winning the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Alpine returned to the top class with two new Oreca-based A424 cars operated by Signatech, following a transition season in LMP2 in 2023.

As well as running the two factory Ferraris, AF Corse entered a private 499P as an additional third car.

Lamborghini Squadra Corse developed its first racing prototype since the Group C era, a Ligier-based LMDh run by the Iron Lynx team. Hypercar driver changes

Richard Westbrook departed Cadillac after a single season to join JDC-Miller in the IMSA SportsCar Championship's GTP class. Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn were retained as a pair, with US-based Ganassi drivers joining them on occasion: Sébastien Bourdais in Qatar, Álex Palou at Le Mans and Renger van der Zande in Bahrain.

Porsche Penske moved Dane Cameron to its full-time IMSA GTP lineup, effectively swapping seats with Matt Campbell, a former GTE Am runner-up for Dempsey-Proton.

After six seasons and two overall titles, Toyota demoted José María López to Akkodis ASP's Lexus LMGT3 entry. Former Toyota test driver and LMP2 race winner Nyck de Vries replaced him in the #7 car after his dismissal from Formula One.

TCR driver Jean-Karl Vernay was joined by young single-seater graduates Antonio Serravalle and Carl Bennett at Isotta Fraschini, with Bennett a late change after ELMS LMP3 champion Alex García's withdrawal.

For its Hypercar debut, BMW M Team WRT called upon the services of long-serving works drivers Sheldon van der Linde and Marco Wittmann, as well as new signings Robin Frijns, René Rast, Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello. Multi-time GT World Challenge Europe champions Marciello and Vanthoor joined from Mercedes-AMG and Audi respectively to partner DTM legend Wittmann in the #15 car, whereas ex-Audi stalwarts Frijns and Rast reunited in the #20 alongside Van Der Linde.

From Alpine's 2023 LMP2 line-up, only Charles Milesi and Matthieu Vaxivière stepped up to Hypercar with the team, as Nicolas Lapierre returned after a year in the sidelines. Three newcomers completed the roster: three-time ELMS champion Paul-Loup Chatin (who last raced for the team in 2015), Team WRT's Ferdinand Habsburg and former F1 driver Mick Schumacher. Mercedes-AMG factory driver Jules Gounon joined as reserve driver, and stood in for an injured Habsburg in two races.

Ferrari's main lineup was unchanged, while the additional third AF Corse car was piloted by Ferrari F1 reserve driver Robert Shwartzman, F1 race winner and reigning LMP2 champion Robert Kubica and new works driver Yifei Ye, who moved over from Hertz Team Jota.

With Yifei Ye recruited by Ferrari and António Félix da Costa stepping away from WEC to focus on Formula E, Jota hired IndyCar driver Callum Ilott and LMP1 race winner Norman Nato to escort Will Stevens. The team's second car was filled by 2009 Formula One World Champion Jenson Button and LMP2 graduates Phil Hanson and Oliver Rasmussen.

Lamborghini's debut in WEC and IMSA saw the addition of several drivers to its books. Mirko Bortolotti, a decorated GT racer for the brand, spearheaded the WEC lineup alongside ex-F1 driver Daniil Kvyat (who already partnered Bortolotti in Prema Racing's LMP2 entry in 2023) and DTM and Formula E race winner Edoardo Mortara. Mortara missed the 6 Hours of Spa due to his Formula E commitments, with works IMSA driver Andrea Caldarelli stepping in.

At Peugeot, Gustavo Menezes was replaced with reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne, who had already debuted for the team at the 2023 6 Hours of Fuji. Paul di Resta and Nico Müller also swapped cars for 2024.

Double GTE Pro champion Gianmaria Bruni departed the WEC after a decade and switched to Proton's IMSA GTP programme. Porsche-contracted driver Julien Andlauer, an integral part of Proton's fold for six years, stepped up from GTE Am and LMP2 machinery to accompany Jani and Tincknell in the No. 99 car.

Following Vanwall's denied entry and Glickenhaus' withdrawal, none of their drivers from the 2023 season would return to the WEC for 2024.
 * Mid-season changes

Mike Conway was forced to miss the 24 Hours of Le Mans after injuring his ribs and collarbone in a cycling incident. José María López, who normally drives the No. 87 Lexus for Akkodis ASP, was drafted to substitute for the Briton.

LMGT3
<!-- LMGTE/LMGT3 team changes

As with their Hypercar entries, BMW and Lamborghini’s new GT3 programmes were run by Team WRT and Iron Lynx respectively, with the latter continuing the all-female Iron Dames project.

McLaren entered the WEC for the first time with the 720S GT3 Evo, run by Zak Brown’s United Autosports team which had spent several years in the LMP2 class.

The 2023 IMSA Sportscar Championship GTD Pro title-winning Lexus RC F GT3 joined the grid, run by Jerome Policand’s ASP Team which had won back to back GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup titles with Mercedes.

GT-Am Champions Corvette Racing closed their direct factory operation at the end of 2023 with a changed focus solely on customer teams. TF Sport ended their decade-long association with Aston Martin Racing to race the new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Their operational partners from 2023 D’station Racing remained with Aston Martin, instead receiving support from Prodrive alongside Heart of Racing team, who had taken over NorthWest AMR’s entry in 2023 and completed their change of name for 2024.

Long-time Porsche customer Proton Competition remained on the GT3 grid as the first customer of the new Ford Mustang GT3. LMGTE/LMGT3 driver changes

The Corvette GT-Am champion line-up of Nicky Catsburg, Nicolas Varrone and Ben Keating would focus on IMSA drives, but all returned for Le Mans in the LMP2 class with Crowdstrike, AF Corse, and United Autosports respectively. New Corvette works driver Daniel Juncadella led the TF #82 line-up alongside GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Bronze Cup runner-up Sebastian Baud. Hiroshi Koizumi completed the line-up after debuting with AF Corse in 2023. Michael Dinan departed TF for Tower Motorsports in the Weathertech Sportscar Championship, and was replaced by WRT’s LMP2 champion Rui Andrade. Ahmad al Harthy moved in the opposite direction, with his bronze driver seat going to Tom van Rompuy who had competed with DKR Engineering in LMP3 and LMP2.

Team WRT picked from within their 2023 roster, with al Harthy joined by 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup pair Maxime Martin and 7-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi. Sean Gelael switched from LMP2 to join long-serving BMW works driver Augusto Farfus, and British GT champion Darren Leung.

Luis Perez Companc and Lilou Wadoux stayed with AF Corse but in LMP2 in the Weathertech Sportscar Championship. A host of occasional drivers were not retained, but the five other full-time drivers from 2023 was bronze-rated Francois Heriau, 2023 Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 champion, and LMP2 Pro-Am competitor with Ultimate in the 2022 World Endurance Championship.

D’Station owner and managing director Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobo Fujii stepped away from driving, while Casper Stevenson dropped into the European Le Mans Series with Racing Spirit of Leman. Aston Martin works driver Marco Sorensen led the new lineup alongside debutants Sainteloc Junior GT driver Erwan Bastard, and bronze-rated Porsche Carrera Cup competitor Clement Mateu.

Alessio Picariello remained associated with Porsche, leaving Iron Lynx to join Proton Competition in the IMSA GTP Class. His replacement was Lamborghini works driver Franck Perera who had experience with the car and team in the Daytona 24 Hours. In the sister Iron Dames car, F1 Academy driver Doriane Pin initially replaced Rahel Frey, but this was reversed after two rounds with Pin instead racing for Iron Dames in FRECA. Sarah Bovy successfully appealed an upgrade to FIA Silver categorisation to remain as the team’s bronze-rated driver.

Ben Barker left Gulf Racing after seven WEC seasons with the team, becoming a Ford works driver. 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge champion Dennis Olsen was also signed by Ford, with he and Barker taking the seats at Proton vacated by Julian Andlauer and Harry Tincknell who were promoted to Proton’s Hypercar lineup. Team principal Christian Ried stepped away from full-time competition, racing in an additional car at Le Mans, with the bronze-driver position taken by team regular Giorgio Roda who was racing for the team in ELMS LMP2.

All six United Autosports drivers were debutants in the series, although 19 year old Nico Pino scored a podium in the LMP2 class at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was joined by the team’s 2023 ELMS LMP2 runner-up Marino Sato and their 2022 ELMS bronze driver James Caygill. Caygill would miss Le Mans and be replaced by Le Mans Cup race winner Hiroshi Hamaguchi. In the other car, bronze driver and 2023 British GT runner-up James Cottingham was partnered with former Ferrari Academy driver and Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil champion Nicolas Costa, and 2021 FRECA champion Gregoire Saucy who made his sportscar debut after several single-seater seasons with ART Grand Prix.

Double WEC Champion José María López signed for Akkodis ASP to partner experienced bronze driver Takeshi Kimura and teenager Esteban Masson who both raced for Kessel Racing in 2023. Timur Boguslavskiy continued his association after five race winning seasons with Akkodis in the GT World Challenge, alongside a professional debutant in two time 24 Hours of Nurburgring winner and former Audi factory driver Kelvin van der Linde, and 2023 Michelin Le Mans Cup champion, bronze driver, and Le Mans native Arnold Robin. Both van der Linde and Boguslavskiy missed the Spa round due to an FE clash and illness respectively, being replaced by Toyota-contracted Ritomo Miyata and DTM racer Clemens Schmid.

Manthey PureRxcing retained their Asian Le Mans champion team, with Klaus Bachler returning to the WEC for the first time since racing with Proton Racing from 2014-16, alongside debutants Joel Sturm and Alex Malykhin. Porsche factory driver and 2015 champion Richard Lietz led the EMA car in his 11th season in the WEC, partnering bronze driver and Bathurst 12 Hour winner Yasser Shahin, and teenage Porsche Supercup race winner Morris Schuring.

Kessel Racing driver Daniel Serra was retained for the team’s ELMS entry, while Scott Huffaker signed for World Speed in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North American Championship and would also feature for Panis Racing in LMP2 at Le Mans.

Matteo Cairoli left the GT class after six years, signing as a Lamborghini works driver in IMSA and appearing at Le Mans in their additional entry. Gunnar Jeannette focused on his role as AO Racing team principal, with his co-founder and bronze driver P.J. Hyett part of their LMP2 entry at Le Mans.
 * Mid-season changes

José María López, who normally drives the No. 87 Lexus for Akkodis ASP, was drafted to substitute for an ailing Mike Conway in the No. 7 Toyota for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the Briton missing the race after suffering injuries to his ribs and collarbone in a cycling incident. Jack Hawksworth was called up to fill in for López.

Christian Ried replaced Giorgio Roda in the No. 88 Proton Competition Mustang for the 6 Hours of São Paulo. -->

Race results
The highest finishing competitor entered in the World Endurance Championship is listed below. Invitational entries may have finished ahead of WEC competitors in individual races.

Drivers' championships
An FIA World Championship is awarded to the winning drivers in the Hypercar category. An FIA Endurance Trophy is awarded to the winning drivers in the LMGT3 category.

Manufacturers' and teams' championships
A world championship is awarded for Hypercar manufacturers. An FIA World Cup is awarded for customer Hypercar class teams. An FIA Endurance Trophy is awarded to LMGT3 teams.

Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship
Points are awarded only to the highest finishing competitor from each manufacturer. Privateer entries are made invisible.