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The endurance championship is trying to attract more people thanks to new regulations and taking advantage of the revival of motorsport. This 2024 season is especially awaited by connoisseurs, but also by a wider audience.
Will the endurance championship confirm its revival in the shadow of Formula 1? The 12th season of the WEC, the World Endurance Championship, begins on Saturday, February 24, with the prologue in Qatar. This motorcycle competition is “opposed” to the so-called sprint races, which usually last less than two hours. It features drivers and vehicles competing in different durations, from the shortest of six hours to the longest and most legendary, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This legendary race in the hearts of motorsport fans broke its attendance record for its 100th anniversary in 2023 with 325,000 spectators. “It’s a very special event because there really is a race, but it’s also a big popular festival”explains Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), which organizes the race. “We don’t come to Le Mans just to see the race, but to have the experience for four or five days.” Ticket holders could actually gain access to the amusement park and numerous concerts.
In 2024, viewers will be able to dance to Louise Attaque, Bigflo et Oli, Offenbach or Simple Minds. This format of the famous Sartha endurance car race, between a sports competition and a festive event, attracts popular and family audiences. The next edition on June 15th and 16th is already sold out for the race weekend. More than 300,000 tickets were sold out in less than 48 hours in mid-November. This year, “during the week, if the tests are sold out, we will break our attendance record”Pierre Fillon hopes.
Change in regulations
For its part, the WEC, also organized by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, experiences the same enthusiasm. “There were some glorious surprises in 2023recalls Frédéric Léquien, head of the WEC. I am thinking in particular of the event that took place in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium in May 2023, where we welcomed almost 80,000 people. Right after Le Mans, we were in Monza, near Milan. We had 70,000 to 80,000 spectators at this legendary track.”
However, automotive durability has come a long way. After years of tension with the international authorities of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) who wanted to promote Formula 1 in the 1990s, the competition returned to success. The revival began by attracting large producers who had withdrawn over the years.
Along with historic Toyota and Porsche, manufacturers Ferrari, Cadillac and Peugeot continue this year in the Premier category called Hypercar. They will be joined by BMW, Alpine and Lamborghini in 2024.
“It all starts with good rules dominated by a few teams, and the championship has introduced restrictions to reduce competition costs and ensure sporting fairness.”
Frédéric Lquien, director of the WECon Franceinfo
This budget constraint is linked to the so-called Balance of Performance (BOP) system, to equalize different cars by adjusting their weight and power. This regulation has been criticized, but the teams cannot mention it. The aim is to avoid too much dominance, but that hasn’t stopped Toyota, a historic endurance manufacturer, from dominating the 2023 Hypercar Championship.
On the other hand, the Japanese team suffered a BOP during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari achieved a historic victory, 50 years after the last participation in the Le Mans race. “The balance of performance does not distort competitionassures Frédéric Lequien. In the end, the best wins. With technical regulations, car homologation, we ensure that all manufacturers are within the same performance window. This makes it possible to avoid explosions in terms of costs.”
“I thank Netflix”
New producers and a new audience. “In 2023, 21 percent of viewers were under the age of 18explains Pierre Fillon. It’s a great sign for the future because these are the future viewers.” Apart from the craze for motorsport in general in recent years, the president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest highlights the influence of the Grand Prix Explorer, which took place at Le Mans on the Bugatti circuit.
The WEC is also benefiting from the good form of Formula 1, fueled by the series broadcast on Netflix Drive for Survival – Drivers of their destiny. “I thank Netflix for Formula 1Pierre Fillon reacts. The public wants to see the race, but also human stories. What is interesting are the lives of the drivers, the challenges between them and the on-track battles between the teams.”
“The Netflix series showed that we can reach a much wider audience, beyond motorsport fans, through stories that touch us, about the personalities of the drivers or what happens in the paddock.”
Frédéric Lquien, director of the WECon Franceinfo
A World Endurance Championship series, like the Netflix production, is still in the works, Automobile Club de l’Ouest president Pierre Fillon confirmed. “We already have a product called ‘WEC full access’ available on Youtube that shows behind the scenes of our racesexplains the president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. And with that idea, we are going to the broadcasters with the desire to repeat the series.” We still don’t know the release date or the platform that could host it.
But if Formula 1 has its successful series, endurance has its movies: famous ones Le Mans with Steve McQueen and more recently Le Mans 66, released in 2019, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon, drew American audiences to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “The notion of heritage is extremely important. Endurance has an extremely rich history and it’s true that we surf in our past as well.”, underlines Frédéric Lequien. A great story that hopes to attract more and more enthusiasts.