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2023 FIA World Endurance Championship


2023 FIA World Endurance Championship
Fédération Internationale de l'AutomobileAutomobile Club de l'Ouest
Sports car endurance racing
7
Toyota
Hertz Team Jota
Team WRT
Corvette Racing

Toyota are the Hypercar Manufacturer champions.

Team Jota are the Hypercar Team champions.

The No. 41 Team WRT are the LMP2 Team champions.

Corvette Racing are the LMGTE Am Team champions.

The 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship was the eleventh 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 was open to prototype and grand tourer-style racing cars divided into three categories. World Championship titles were awarded to the leading drivers in both the prototype and grand tourer divisions and to the leading manufacturer in prototype division.

It was the first season in which LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) entries were allowed to compete in the Hypercar category for championship points alongside LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) entries, after being permitted on a race-by-race basis in 2022. Upon the discontinuation of LMGTE Pro, LMGTE Am remained as the sole GT class, although it would be replaced by LMGT3 the following season. After being introduced for the 2021 season the LMP2 Pro-Am Cup was also dropped. This as well would also be the last season in the FIA WEC for the LMP2 Class with LMP2 to be removed for the next year's season in the year 2024 due to demand in grid numbers for the Hypercar and the incoming GT3-Spec based LMGT3 class replacing LMGTE Am reaching the maximum number of full season entries.

On 29 September 2022, the 2023 calendar was announced on the website and YouTube channel of the FIA World Endurance Championship, with the six races of the 2022 season and the return to Portimão, this time with a 6-hour format. The season played host to the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

RndRaceCircuitLocationDate
PrologueSebring International RacewaySebring, Florida11/12 March
1000 Miles of Sebring17 March
6 Hours of PortimãoAlgarve International CircuitPortimão16 April
TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-FrancorchampsCircuit de Spa-FrancorchampsStavelot29 April
24 Hours of Le MansCircuit de la SartheLe Mans10–11 June
6 Hours of MonzaAutodromo Nazionale di MonzaMonza9 July
6 Hours of FujiFuji SpeedwayOyama, Shizuoka10 September
Bapco Energies 8 Hours of BahrainBahrain International CircuitSakhir4 November
EntrantCarEngineHybridTyre.mw-parser-output .tooltip-dotted{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}No.DriversRounds
Cadillac RacingCadillac V-Series.RCadillac LMC55R 5.5 L V8Hybrid.mw-parser-output .tfd-dated{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .tfd-default{border-bottom:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);clear:both;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .tfd-tiny{font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .tfd-inline{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1)}.mw-parser-output .tfd-sidebar{border-bottom:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);text-align:center;position:relative}@media(min-width:640px){.mw-parser-output .tfd-sidebar{clear:right;float:right;width:22em}}.mw-parser-output :not(.mw-parser-output):not(.documentation)>.tfd-dedup~.tfd-dedup,.mw-parser-output :not(.mw-parser-output):not(.documentation)>.tfd-dedup~* .tfd-dedup{display:none}M2Earl BamberAll
Alex LynnAll
Richard WestbrookAll
Floyd Vanwall Racing TeamVanwall Vandervell 680Gibson GL458 4.5 L V8M4Esteban GuerrieriAll
Tom Dillmann1–4
Jacques Villeneuve1–3
Tristan Vautier4–7
João Paulo de Oliveira5–6
Ryan Briscoe7
Porsche Penske MotorsportPorsche 963Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8HybridM5Dane CameronAll
Michael ChristensenAll
Frédéric MakowieckiAll
HybridM6Kévin EstreAll
André LottererAll
Laurens VanthoorAll
Toyota Gazoo RacingToyota GR010 HybridToyota H8909 3.5 L Turbo V6HybridM7Mike ConwayAll
Kamui KobayashiAll
José María LópezAll
HybridM8Sébastien BuemiAll
Brendon HartleyAll
Ryō HirakawaAll
Hertz Team JotaPorsche 963Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8HybridM38António Félix da Costa3–7
Will Stevens3–7
Yifei Ye3–7
Ferrari AF CorseFerrari 499PFerrari F163CG 3.0 L Turbo V6HybridM50Antonio FuocoAll
Miguel MolinaAll
Nicklas NielsenAll
HybridM51James CaladoAll
Antonio GiovinazziAll
Alessandro Pier GuidiAll
Peugeot TotalEnergiesPeugeot 9X8Peugeot X6H 2.6 L Turbo V6HybridM93Paul di RestaAll
Mikkel JensenAll
Jean-Éric VergneAll
HybridM94Loïc DuvalAll
Gustavo MenezesAll
Nico Müller1–5, 7
Stoffel Vandoorne6
Proton CompetitionPorsche 963Porsche 9RD 4.6 L Turbo V8HybridM99Gianmaria Bruni5–7
Neel Jani5–7
Harry Tincknell5–7
Glickenhaus RacingGlickenhaus SCG 007 LMHGlickenhaus P21 3.5 L Turbo V8M708Romain Dumas1–5
Olivier Pla1–5
Ryan Briscoe1–2, 4
Franck Mailleux3
Nathanaël Berthon5

In accordance with the 2017 LMP2 regulations, all cars in the LMP2 class used the Gibson GK428 V8 engine.

EntrantCarTyreNo.DriversRounds
Prema RacingOreca 07G9Filip UgranAll
Bent ViscaalAll
Andrea Caldarelli1, 3, 5
Juan Manuel Correa2, 4, 6–7
G63Daniil KvyatAll
Doriane PinAll
Mirko Bortolotti1–4, 7
Mathias Beche5
Andrea Caldarelli6
Vector SportOreca 07G10Gabriel AubryAll
Ryan CullenAll
Matthias KaiserAll
United AutosportsOreca 07G22Phil HansonAll
Frederick LubinAll
Filipe Albuquerque1, 3–4, 6–7
Ben Hanley2, 5
G23Oliver JarvisAll
Josh PiersonAll
Tom Blomqvist1, 3–4, 7
Giedo van der Garde2, 5
Ben Hanley6
JotaOreca 07G28Pietro FittipaldiAll
David Heinemeier HanssonAll
Oliver RasmussenAll
Team WRTOreca 07G31Robin FrijnsAll
Sean GelaelAll
Ferdinand HabsburgAll
G41Rui AndradeAll
Louis DelétrazAll
Robert KubicaAll
Inter Europol CompetitionOreca 07G34Albert CostaAll
Fabio SchererAll
Jakub ŚmiechowskiAll
Alpine Elf TeamOreca 07G35Olli CaldwellAll
André NegrãoAll
Memo RojasAll
G36Julien CanalAll
Charles MilesiAll
Matthieu VaxivièreAll

Ferrari's Antonio Fuoco drove the 499P to pole position in the season opener in Sebring, in what was Ferrari's first appearance in endurance racing in 50 years. Fuoco lead the field off the line, however was soon surpassed by both the Toyota entries. The #7 Toyota, driven by Kamui Kobayashi, took the lead at the 4 hour mark and was never headed. The #7 Toyota of Kobayashi, Mike Conway and José María López lead home the #8 Toyota of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa by six seconds. The #50 Ferrari of Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen finished 3rd, a lap down on the Toyota.

In LMP2, the Prema Racing #63 of Doriane Pin, Mirko Bortolotti and Daniil Kvyat lead with 5 minutes to go however had to pit for a splash of fuel. This handed the LMP2 victory to the #48 Jota of David Beckmann, Will Stevens and Yifei Ye, with the Prema finishing in 3rd. The #23 United Autosports lead for the first half of the race, but was forced to pit with technical issues. The #22 United Autosports of Filipe Alburquerque, Phil Hanson and Frederick Lubin snatched 2nd place with just minutes left.

The LMGTE AM saw drama in the races early stages. The #83 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari cartwheeled after colliding with the tyre wall. The sole Corvette entry of Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nicolas Varrone dominated the 2nd half of the race, taking victory. The #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche capitalized on a late fuel stop by the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari to take second position. The pole-sitting #85 Iron Dames Porsche led the first half of the race, before running off the road, dislodging bodywork.

The Hypercar class saw Toyota #7, in the hands of Conway, blast into the lead at the start, passing its pole-sitting sister machine. The #8 Toyota, driven by Buemi, lost a place to James Calado (Ferrari #50), however regained this position a lap later. Toyota management ordered the two cars to swap, however the #7 began suffering technical issues and pulled into the pits. This left the #8 Toyota to canter to victory. The #50 Ferrari finished 2nd, after holding off the #6 Porsche of Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer. The Vanwall entry had a brake calliper explode with Jacques Villeneuve at the wheel, which led to retirement.

The LMP2 qualifying session saw the Prema Racing #63 (Mirko Bortolotti) beat the Vector Racing #10 of Gabriel Aubry to pole by 0.001 seconds. Neither team had a role to play in the fight for victory, however. United Autosport #23 of Giedo van der Garde, Josh Pierson and Oliver Jarvis had their revenge after retiring from the lead at Sebring. They won the class ahead of the sister machine #22, despite having no radio for the final two hours.

The GTE AM Class saw the Corvette #33 grab pole position, but couldn't hold the lead in the race. The AF Corse #21 blasted into the lead at the start, but faded into the latter stages. This left the Corvette entry to battle for victory with the #83 Richard Mille Ferrari. The two cars were side-by-side in places on the final lap, but Catsburg narrowly edged Alessio Rovera to the flag, taking Corvette Racing's 2nd victory in succession. The #85 Iron Dames Porsche came through to finish 3rd.

Qualifying saw drama in the Hypercar class, with the No. 8 Toyota of Hartley crashing out on cold tyres. Antonio Giovinazzi put the No. 51 Ferrari on pole, however saw his time stripped for a track limits violation. This promoted Kobayashi in the No. 7 Toyota to pole position, meaning Toyota had a car at the front and back of the field.

The race began in tricky conditions, and drivers had to decide which tyres to start the race on. Both Toyotas started on slicks, leaving Conway floundering at the start. Both Ferraris and a Cadillac passed Conway going into turn 1. The No. 3 Cadillac, driven by Renger van der Zande, crashed heavily at Eau Rouge after 2 hours. It was surmised that the car had a steering issue. Not long after, the No. 6 Porsche ground to a halt and into retirement after a strong showing. For the second race running, Jacques Villeneuve was driving the No. 4 Vanwall when forced to retire from the event. Villeneuve, chasing the No. 708 Glickenhaus, was clipped by the GTE Am No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari (Francesco Castellacci) at Blanchimont. The move pitched them both into the wall with about 2 hour 30 min remaining. An hour later, Fuoco crashed the No. 50 Ferrari just after its pit stop going down the hill to Eau Rouge. The car was running third after having to battle past the No. 2 Cadillac and No. 5 Porsche earlier. The No. 7 Toyota cantered to victory ahead of the sister car. It was the No. 7 car's 2nd victory of the season. The battle for 3rd place was settled on the final lap when the No. 51 Ferrari of Calado caught and passed the No. 5 Porsche of Frederic Makowiecki.

The No. 23 United Autosports car of Tom Blomqvist dominated the early stages of the race in LMP2. Hometown heroes Team WRT (running Nos. 31 and 41) both battled for supremacy, but the No. 41 of Rui Andrade, Robert Kubica and Louis Deletraz saw the chequered flag first. The team managed to pass the No. 23 United Autosport with 15 minutes remaining. The No. 63 Prema Racing was also in the running, but had to serve a 3-minute stop-and-go penalty. The penalty, for not respecting safety car procedures, was served with 30 minutes remaining, putting them out of contention.

The GTE Am class saw the No. 33 Corvette Racing battle with the No. 25 ORT by TF Aston Martin of Ahmad Al Harthy, Michael Dinan and Charlie Eastwood for the lead. They fought for position throughout the race, however, by the chequered flag it was a battle for second place. Lilou Wadoux, driving the No. 83 Richard Mille AF Corse, overtook the No. 88 Proton Competition at about half distance and was never headed. The No. 33 Corvette and No. 25 Aston Martin finished inline astern in second and third places, respectively. Wadoux became the first female driver to win a race in the World Endurance Championship.

A Ferrari 499P shared by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen of Ferrari AF Corse started from pole position after Fuoco set the overall fastest lap in the Le Mans Hypercar class in the Hyperpole session. Their teammates James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi won overall after leading the final 55 laps. It was Calado, Giovinazzi and Pier Guidi's first overall Le Mans victory, as well as Ferrari's tenth and its first since 1965. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa finished second in a Toyota GR010 Hybrid after battling Calado, Giovinazzi and Pier Guidi in the second half of the race. Cadillac Racing's Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh car, driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook, finished third overall.

Albert Costa, Fabio Scherer and Jakub Śmiechowski of Inter Europol Competition led the last 112 laps of the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class in an Oreca 07-Gibson car to claim their maiden WEC class victory. Team WRT's Rui Andrade, Louis Delétraz and Robert Kubica finished second 21.015 seconds behind, while René Binder, Neel Jani and Nico Pino of Duqueine Team took third. Corvette Racing's Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nicolás Varrone in a Chevrolet Corvette C8.R came from two laps down after a second hour pit stop to replace a failed damper to win the final Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Am (LMGTE Am) and GTE race at Le Mans, one lap ahead of ORT by TF's Aston Martin Vantage AMR shared by Ahmad Al Harthy, Michael Dinan and Charlie Eastwood.

Calado, Giovinazzi and Pier Guidi's victory moved them from fifth to second in the Hypercar Drivers' Championship, 25 points behind leaders Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa. Andrande, Delétraz and Kubica remained the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers leaders as category winners Costa, Scherer and Śmiechowski moved from sixth to second. Catsburg, Keating and Varrone extended their Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams lead over Al Harthy, Dinan and Eastwood. Toyota, the No. 41 Team WRT and No. 33 Corvette Racing teams left Le Mans as the respective Hypercar World Endurance Championship, Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams and Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Am Teams leaders with three races left in the season.

The #7 Toyota of Kobayashi took pole in Hypercar, beating the #50 Ferrari by just 0.017 seconds, the smallest ever margin in world endurance championship history.

At the start of the race, the #93 Peugeot blasted into the lead in the early stages, whilst the #8 Toyota collided with the #51 Le Mans winning Ferrari. The #8 also collided with the #777 D'station Aston Martin, with the #777 suffering a heavy impact. The #8 was given a one-minute stop and go penalty for the incidents. However, in the end, the #7 Toyota claimed its third win of the season, finishing ahead of the #50 Ferrari and the #93 Peugeot.

In LMP2, the #28 Jota took their first victory of the season. The Alpine #36 beat the pole-sitting #41 Team WRT to second place.

The GTE AM class saw Corvette Racing's #33 crew of Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone seal the class world championship title by finishing 4th in class. Proton-Dempsey Porsche #77 took the victory ahead of the Iron Lynx #60 and GR Racing #86 Porsches. The pole-sitting #85 Iron Dames Porsche finished 5th.

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.

Rnd.CircuitHypercar WinnersLMP2 WinnersLMGTE Am WinnersReport
SebringNo. 7 Toyota Gazoo RacingNo. 22 United AutosportsNo. 33 Corvette RacingReport
Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi José María LópezFilipe Albuquerque Phil Hanson Frederick LubinNicky Catsburg Ben Keating Nicolás Varrone
PortimãoNo. 8 Toyota Gazoo RacingNo. 23 United AutosportsNo. 33 Corvette RacingReport
Sébastien Buemi Brendon Hartley Ryō HirakawaGiedo van der Garde Oliver Jarvis Josh PiersonNicky Catsburg Ben Keating Nicolás Varrone
SpaNo. 7 Toyota Gazoo RacingNo. 41 Team WRTNo. 83 Richard Mille AF CorseReport
Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi José María LópezRui Andrade Louis Delétraz Robert KubicaLuis Pérez Companc Alessio Rovera Lilou Wadoux
Le MansNo. 51 Ferrari AF CorseNo. 34 Inter Europol CompetitionNo. 33 Corvette RacingReport
James Calado Antonio Giovinazzi Alessandro Pier GuidiAlbert Costa Fabio Scherer Jakub ŚmiechowskiNicky Catsburg Ben Keating Nicolás Varrone
MonzaNo. 7 Toyota Gazoo RacingNo. 28 JotaNo. 77 Dempsey - Proton CompetitionReport
Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi José María LópezPietro Fittipaldi David Heinemeier Hansson Oliver RasmussenChristian Ried Mikkel O. Pedersen Julien Andlauer
FujiNo. 7 Toyota Gazoo RacingNo. 41 Team WRTNo. 54 AF CorseReport
Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi José María LópezRui Andrade Louis Delétraz Robert KubicaFrancesco Castellacci Thomas Flohr Davide Rigon
BahrainNo. 8 Toyota Gazoo RacingNo. 41 Team WRTNo. 85 Iron DamesReport
Sébastien Buemi Brendon Hartley Ryō HirakawaRui Andrade Louis Delétraz Robert KubicaSarah Bovy Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting
Source:

Three titles were offered to drivers, one with world championship status. The Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship was reserved for Hypercar drivers while FIA Endurance Trophies were awarded for LMP2 and LMGTE Am Drivers.

A world championship was awarded for Hypercar manufacturers. An FIA World Cup was awarded for customer Hypercar class teams. FIA Endurance Trophies were awarded for LMP2 and LMGTE Am teams.

Points were awarded only to the highest finishing competitor from each manufacturer. Privateer entries are made invisible.

Pos.ManufacturerSEBPORSPALMSMNZFUJBHRPoints
Toyota1112111
Ferrari3231243
Porsche5347434
Cadillac4453989
Peugeot9576367
GlickenhausRet8658
Vanwall8RetRetRet11910
Source:
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