The 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship saw the first season of the new Hypercars take to the track, showcasing the future direction of the top class in the series. Although one team ran an old LMP1 car and still gave the Hypercars a run for their money, the Hypercars dominated at the top. Were the Hypercars the right way to go and is it just that more competition needed at the front? Ahead of the start of the 2022 season, TheCheckeredFlag discusses this.
In the history of the WEC, the top tier class has always been well populated with competition, keeping viewers hooked on the action that usually continues to the final race of the season. The smallest field in WEC’s history of five full season entries were seen in 2021, and two of those cars dropped out the latter half of the season. For all intents of purpose, it was a weak year for the top class in WEC, with Toyota Gazoo Racing dominating once again, as they have done since the departure of Porsche LMP1 Team in 2018.
Alpine Elf Matmut stayed in the game to take the fight to Toyota until the final race of the year in Bahrain, but in their ‘grandfather’ LMP1 car, the odds were against them. They did have some strong performances and notably stole pole position from Toyota at the 8 Hours of Portimao, but in terms of the full season they didn’t have enough to stop the Japanese manufacturer from taking their third consecutive double championships.
The only other team to take part in the Hypercar class was Scuderia Glickenhaus Racing. Having a late start to the season, only entering one car into the second round of the season when there were due to be two after delays prevented them from completing homologation tests, the Glickenhaus did exceptionally well for their first half season in the top tier category. Coming in as a privateer against works teams is a tall order, and not only did both cars manage to complete the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing fourth and fifth overall, but they also claimed a podium at the 6 Hours of Monza.
The Hypercar class seems an exciting one, but to reach that potential it needs competition. This year, Peugeot will be joining the WEC as a full season entry with two of their Hypercars, so we shall see if they are able to take the fight to Toyota and knock them off the pedestal they have sat upon for the past four years. This new addition to the class and the promise of the return of Audi, Porsche and Ferrari to the top class in 2023 thanks to the WEC/IMSA hybrid rules, it would be safe to assume that after 2022, the Hypercar class will likely capture the hearts of sports car fans once again.
