Cadillac, Ferrari, Porsche and Floyd Vanwall Racing Team join existing Hypercar competition from Toyota, Peugeot and Glickenhaus to form a 11-car grid in WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring entries.

6 Hypercar Manufacturers will fight for victory in the 2023 1000 Miles of Sebring: Cadillac, Ferrari, Glickenhaus, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota. Floyd Vanwall Racing Team is also member of the so-called elite class but ByKolles (former name) has a poor track record.

Of course aligning LMDh cars (from IMSA) with Hypercars (from WEC) will be a challenge for BoP engineers but let us trust they have done a better job than what we saw in GTD class at Daytona.

On that assumption here are our favorite Hypercars for the 1000 Miles of Sebring previous to next weekend tests at Sebring.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona for Cadillac #2 and Porsche #6, Monza for Glickenhaus #708 and Peugeot #94, Le Mans for Toyota #8; 📷 © Courtesy of Ferrari.

Our favorites

Again, as long as the BoP does not reverse the cards, based on Rolex 24 At Daytona results and previous years’ Hypercars results we view Cadillac and Toyota as the top contenders for victory. Here is why:

Cadillac

Our top favorite for the 1000 Miles of Sebring is #2 Cadillac V-LMDh which has demonstrated velocity and reliability during the Rolex 24 At Daytona with an atmospheric V8 engine. The 3 Cadillacs terminated 3rd, 4th and 5th behind the two Acura’s which do not participate in the WEC championship. “As Testing is limited, going to Daytona is a good way in race conditions to get the team and drivers aligned and prepared for the WEC season” said Stephen Mitas, Cadillac Racing team manager and strategist, and he also added: “Every test is useful and every race is even more. The more experience you get, particularly with a new team, will only benefit you and reduce your learning curve. There are some subtle differences (between IMSA and WEC regulations), which means the cars have to be rebuilt completely due to things like the scrutineering loom and some other technical things subtly different between championships. It will be the same chassis.”

The previous Cadillac DPi V-R has demonstrated Cadillac’s solidity on this bumpy racetrack by winning four of the last six 12 Hours of Sebring.

The 1000 Miles of Sebring drivers Earl Bamber and Alex Lynx won last year’s 12 Hours of Sebring and Lynx also won in 2017. Those two drivers are fast, very experienced and faultless, as is their co-driver Richard Westbrook.

A less favorable factor is that #2 Cadillac will be alone while most opponents have entered two cars. In an endurance race, it's always important not to put all your eggs in one basket. This is also why Cadillac enters 3 V-LMDh at the 24 hours of Le Mans

Also less favorable, as team manager and strategist for #2 Cadillac V-Series.R Stephen Mitas said: “We’re learning about the logistical and technical challenges of competing both in IMSA and WEC this year as we speak. It’s the first time for Cadillac Racing to be racing in IMSA and in WEC. Preparing the same car in two different applications has proved to be challenging and racing on both continents has proved to be a different challenge to what we’ve seen in the past when I was involved in WEC only.”

Toyota

📷 © Luc Warnotte: Harley, Buemi and Harakawa won the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as Drivers Championship.

Having won each WEC championship in the last four years, Toyota is in its own playground. They won the first 1000 Miles of Sebring in 2019 but lost to Alpine last year. The Toyota GR010 was crowned Hypercar champion in the first two seasons (2021 and 2022) as well as at both 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The GR010 HYBRID was the first Hypercar to be presented in January 2021 and it has undergone a program of detail evolutions in key areas, as it did for 2022, to optimize reliability and efficiency.

📷 © Courtesy of Toyota Gazoo. Revised GR010 HYBRID Hypercar.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has revealed a revised GR010 HYBRID Hypercar for the 2023 season. Adjustments have been made to the high-performance Racing Hybrid powertrain to reduce weight and improve reliability, exploiting the unique knowledge gained from more than a decade of experience with Hybrid powertrains at Le Mans.
The most visible changes on the 2023 evolution GR010 HYBRID concern the bodywork. New dive plane aerodynamic devices on the front corners and a smaller rear wing end plate, as well as other detail changes, have been implemented to enhance drivability and aerodynamic consistency.
Modifications have also been made to the bodywork with the target of improving brake cooling and allowing quick changes to cooling options during a race, achieved through new vents at the front and rear. Additionally, a revised headlight layout has been implemented to optimize visibility during night driving.
Under the bodywork, the GR010 HYBRID has undergone a weight-saving program to bring the overall weight down to the minimum 1040kg allowed by regulations.

The same lineups as previous years are definitively an asset: Toyota #8: Sébastien Buemi – Brendon Hartley – Ryo Hirakawa; Toyota #7: Kamui Kobayashi – José Maria Lopez – Mike Conway.

Even though Toyota won the Championship last year, they lost to Alpine in Sebring and Monza where their drivers showed a level of “fragility” whereas the competition is fierce and you have to jostle to win.

Kamui Kobayashi, Team Principal, said: “This is the season we have been waiting for. It’s amazing for the fans to see so many manufacturers competing in Hypercar, and as a team, we are excited by the new competitors. We want to be part of a big fight at the front, one which will entertain the fans and produce many great memories, particularly for the 100th anniversary of Le Mans. At TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, we never stand still and we are always pushing to make ever-better cars. So, just like last year, we have introduced some evolutions to our GR010 HYBRID for the 2023 season. These updates are the result of strong cooperation between team members in Higashi-Fuji and Cologne, as well as our partners and suppliers, so I would like to thank everyone for their hard work so far. The drivers’ first impressions of the revised car from the roll-out and our pre-season tests are positive, which gives us confidence that together we can fight to retain our Le Mans and WEC titles.”

The challenger

Clickenhaus

📷 © Luc Warnotte: Glickenhaus 007 LMH at Monza 6 Hours 2022.

The American team of Jim Glickenhaus made its debut in the WEC championship during the 2021 season, in Hypercar with the 007 LMH. A podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans followed by a pole position at the 2022 6 Hours of Monza bodes well for solid performances in 2023.

With experienced drivers Romain Dumas, Ryan Briscoe and Olivier Pla we look forward to seeing how this non-hybrid car will perform versus the hybrid manufacturer’s cars during the test weekend.

The unknown

Ferrari 499P

50 years after the 312PB, Ferrari returns to Hypercar with the 499P, equipped with a twin-turbo V6 engine. Debut scheduled for the 1000 Miles of Sebring, in March 2023.

Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, making up the crew of the 499P #50; and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, who will share the cockpit of #51 have spent lots of days testing the new car with among others two sessions of 2-days tests at Sebring.

After the second test session at Sebring James Calado said: “We made some progress compared to the previous test a couple of weeks ago, and we received further confirmation of the quality of the project. There is not much time until the debut, and there are still aspects to improve and others to continue working on, but we have taken the right path, and the outlook remains positive. These tests are important for starting from a good foundation when the 1000 Miles of Sebring weekend begins”.

Did they improve their reliability?

Peugeot

The Peugeot 9X8 debuted in the WEC championship during the 6 Hours of Monza in July 2022. Many reliability concerns during the first three races: in Monza, #94 finished more than 25 laps behind the Alpine (retirement of #93), in Fuji the 9X8 #93 finished 7 laps behind the Toyota and #94 at 15 laps, in Bahrain #94 finished 6 laps behind the Toyota and #93 retired!

On board of #93, Jean-Éric Vergne – Paul di Resta – Mikkel Jensen. Loïc Duval – Nico Müller – Gustavo Menezes will drive #94.

Porsche

Porsche will be present at the 1000 Miles of Sebring with the 963 (V8 bi-turbo) Hypercar supported by the Penske team.

At Rolex 24 At Sebring, the two IMSA Porsche 963 suffered a series of setbacks: the replacement of the high-voltage battery threw #7 down the field followed by the replacement of the cooling system which pushed #7 to seventh place after 24 hours (14th overall, 20 laps behind the leaders). A spin by Tandy with #6 cost him three laps until the Porsche 963 had to retire due to a gearbox problem.

#5 will be driven by Michael Christensen – Dane Cameron – Frédéric Makowiecki and #6 by Kévin Estre – Laurens Vanthoor – André Lotterer .