Normally Fierce Rivals, Manufacturers for the 2023 Class Are Working Together to Make Sure It Succeeds
By Jeff Olson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In just 25 weeks, cars will report to Daytona International Speedway for the Roar Before the Rolex 24. In racing time, that translates to roughly 10 days.
Yes, the clock is ticking on the official debut of the new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The approaching deadline requires cooperation among the four manufacturers who will field cars in what will be the series’ top-tier class in January.
Porsche, Cadillac, BMW and Acura – and Lamborghini, which will join in 2024 – are in the process of developing and testing their new LMDh cars, the hybrid-based prototypes that will compete in the GTP class. And, as secretive as manufacturers often are about their racing particulars, they’re cooperating on the foundation of the new car.
The sharing involves the single-source hybrid powertrain, which is married to each manufacturer’s engine. Testing earlier this month brought Porsche and Cadillac to Sebring International Raceway to sort out – and divest – what they know about the hybrid element of the car they’ll race in a few months. Collaboration has been the buzzword throughout this process, and it was in full evidence at Sebring as the rival manufacturers continued to share information.
“It made sense for all of us to work together,” said General Motors Sports Car Program Manager Laura Wontrop Klauser, who oversaw Cadillac Racing’s joint test with Porsche Penske Motorsport. “In our very limited time, we have to get ready for the Rolex in five short months now. We wanted to make sure that the learnings were shared so that we didn’t each have to take a duplicate path to get to the same answer we could grow with each other.”
Porsche was the first manufacturer to test the hybrid system, then offered what its engineers gleaned from early tests with its competitors. Early testing has been slow and deliberate, but also productive and encouraging.
“You’d like to think if you’re first to the table, you can get a little bit of a running start,” said Porsche Penske Motorsport driver Dane Cameron. “Obviously, we’ve been doing some of the global development work for all these cars. That’s eaten into a little bit of our personal test program, but we were kind of happy to shoulder some of that load to get out there first. We’re still learning a lot.”
The new LMDh cars will be eligible for FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) races including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, bringing the top classes of sports car racing on the same page internationally. The manufacturers developing LMDh cars for the WeatherTech Championship’s GTP class can run in WEC’s Hypercar class alongside the LMH cars already competing there, with the same true for the GTP class: approved LMDh and LMH cars are eligible to go head-to-head.
What’s happening now – private testing by LMDh manufacturers – is the initial step in that journey in North America. It will be followed by IMSA-sanctioned testing later this fall at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and Daytona International Speedway.
“We’ve got all our little teething areas out there, otherwise that wouldn’t be motor racing and the challenge of going to win in Daytona and Le Mans and all these races,” Earl Bamber said while testing the Cadillac at Sebring. “We’re very, very happy with it so far. We’re looking forward to getting just more and more mileage on our car. That’s the biggest thing for us is every time we go out. We are learning, we’re gaining knowledge and slowly making baby steps forward.”
Those baby steps are being taken in very large shoes. Everyone involved in the early steps of the GTP introduction understands its weight. This is significant on multiple levels, and that explains the cooperation and the deliberate pace.
“This is definitely the biggest thing I’ve ever been a part of in terms of the development stage,” Cameron said. “The complexity of these cars is pretty staggering and what you can do with the electricity and the hybrid component. They’re brake-by-wire, and there’s just so many other added layers of complexity of these cars that you have to go through. … It’s been pretty intensive in terms of that and what you’re allowed to do and not touch and all these kinds of things.”
The current quiet testing without an audience or competition is the complicated and often tedious act of creating the foundation for what races beginning at Daytona in January. It’s what drives the people overseeing the assembly and application of the machinery.
“This is going to be one of the coolest classes we’ve had in a long time,” Klauser said. “So far, each car has its own identity, either visually or audibly, and it’s going to create an experience unlike any other, especially considering how many of us are coming. I highly encourage everyone to buy tickets now, because I know they’re going to sell out.”