What conditions must a brand meet to compete in Le Mans, the WEC or the ELMS in the LMGT3?

The arrival of LMGT3 next year in place of GTE Am has raised a number of questions. And many of you, fans and competitors alike, are still asking us questions on the subject. To find out more, we spoke to the decision-makers at Bahrain last week.

WEC - World Endurance championship

If you're a regular reader of Endurance-Info, you'll already know. The ACO / FIA tandem has said it over and over again: "Priority will be given to the brands entered in the Hypercar class, as well as to the teams loyal to our championships".

BMW, Chevrolet (GM), Lamborghini, Lexus (Toyota), Porsche and Ferrari are in the first category. In the second, we have Aston Martin (thanks to D'Station Racing and Heart of Racing), Ford (thanks to Proton Competition) and McLaren (thanks to United Autosports).

We are counting on nine brands and therefore 18 cars in the World Endurance Championship, since, as we have been reminded once again, "a brand can have its interests represented by two cars, no more and no less".

ELMS - European Le Mans Series

We asked the question to Pierre Fillon last week. Can a brand that is not entered in LMGT3 in WEC be entered in ELMS? The ACO President replied: "No, for BoP reasons. For example, if McLaren is not represented in WEC, it cannot be in ELMS."

In other words, only the brands (according to our information, the nine listed above) which are in the World Endurance Championship will be eligible for the ELMS, in LMGT3.

24 HOURS OF LE MANS

Similarly, for obvious BoP reasons, only car models present in the WEC will be eligible for a place at the start. So, if GetSpeed Performance wins the GT title in the Asian Le Mans Series, the German team will not be able to come to La Sarthe with its Mercedes-AMG GT3 unless, big surprise, Mercedes is finally retained in the World Endurance Championship. The team will have no choice but to withdraw its invitation, or else make the trip to Le Mans with another car.

On the other hand, the competitors who have already won an invitation to LMGT3 should have no worries. Inception Racing is running a McLaren 720S GT3 in IMSA, Proton Competition will be fielding Ford Mustangs next year (unless the additional entry is honoured with a Porsche, which can't be ruled out) and Pure Rxcing has won its ticket in GT World Challenge Europe with a Porsche 911 GT3 R.