FIA WEC class guide

The FIA World Endurance Championship currently races just two full-championship classes, though a third class appears at Le Mans specifically. 

Hypercar  

Hypercar made its debut in 2021 to replace the old LMP1 class as the WEC's premier category. It accommodates cars built to two different technical regulations: LMH (Le Mans Hypercar) and LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h). 

LMH gives manufacturers freedom to design essentially every aspect of the car, while LMDh requires manufacturers to use certain standardized spec parts. LMDh prototypes use a chassis from one of four approved suppliers along with a spec hybrid system, while LMH manufacturers get more freedom over engine configuration and hybrid design. This is the same LMDh convergence that lets a car like the Porsche 963 race in both IMSA's GTP class and WEC's Hypercar class. 

A Balance of Performance system adjusts each manufacturer's power and weight to keep the class competitive despite these differing technical approaches, and in 2026 the FIA introduced a success handicap system to Hypercar (already used in LMGT3), which converts recent strong results into a lap-time penalty, applied at every round except Le Mans. 

From 2026, all newly homologated Hypercars must include an Energy Recovery System, effectively ending the era of non-hybrid prototypes in the class. 

LMGT3  

LMGT3 replaced the old GTE technical regulations in 2024, and is based on the FIA GT3 platform – the same underlying rulebook used by IMSA's GTD classes. Only manufacturers producing more than 2,500 road-going vehicles a year are eligible to compete, and the cars get several WEC/Le Mans-specific adaptations like luminescent number panels and leader lights. 

Every LMGT3 crew must include a mandatory Bronze-rated amateur driver. This is a Pro-Am class by design, much like IMSA's GTD (not GTD PRO). 

LMP2 (Le Mans only) 

LMP2 was dropped from the WEC's full-season championship at the end of 2023, essentially because the grid ran out of room. Hypercar manufacturer entries had nearly doubled between 2022 and 2024, and LMGT3 arrived as a new class, so the championship prioritized factory Hypercars and GT brands over the customer prototype class. 

LMP2 wasn't eliminated outright, though. It still races in the European Le Mans Series, in IMSA, and once a year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it remains an invited class. LMP2 driver line-ups must include at least one Silver- or Bronze-rated driver, giving it its own pro-am flavor. 

In practice, every LMP2 entry now runs the same chassis – an ORECA 07 with a spec Gibson V8 – after ORECA's design proved faster and easier to run than rival chassis when the LMP2 ruleset launched in 2017, causing the competition to consolidate.