Something special's happening in sports cars... The GT3 feast of 2024

The best of times for premier-level sports car racing? On paper, it sure looks like it. Fans of endurance have arguably never had it so good in terms of quantity and quality when it comes to the long game in both the world and US-based series – and it all kicks off this weekend with the Roar Before the 24 at Daytona.

A colourful and diverse 52-car entry will spend three days testing at the Florida speedway ahead of the Daytona 24 Hours itself the following weekend. Ten strong GTP entries and a further 13 LMP2s equates to a fine line-up packed with talent, including a rich roster of ex-Formula 1 stars. But look beyond the prototype ranks and the most significant strength in depth lies in the GT3-based GTD ranks – which for the first time will be echoed in the World Endurance Championship when it kicks off in Qatar at the start of March with its first grid of LMGT3 racers (replacing the old, much-loved, more sophisticated but also more expensive GTE racers). Both the IMSA Sports Car Series and the WEC are bristling with GT manufacturers fired up to have a piece of the action.

Sure, we’ve celebrated how Hypercar/GTP has pulled major manufacturers back to the premier class, all of whom can sniff the chance of grabbing landmark overall victories, particularly and specifically at the race that counts more than any other: Le Mans. But let’s face it: history tells us the big car makers are notoriously fickle when it comes to prototype sports car racing. After this initial burst of excitement, the likelihood is works entries will wax and wane depending on the state of the global financial economy, the strength of markets and who happens to be sitting in a boardroom at a certain time.

It’s impossible and foolhardy to rely on the car makers sticking around when it comes to the prototype divisions – although at least this time they can realistically sell customer cars, as Porsche is doing with its 963, just as it did with its 956 and 962 in the 1980s. “I find it hard to believe that we’ll have so many manufacturers officially involved for 10 years and, at that point, we’ll be happy to count on the private teams,” notes Porsche motor sport boss Thomas Laudenbach. “So we have to look after them now, even when things are going well. We love endurance racing and we want to keep it going.”

That’s good to hear. But as Porsche knows only too well from its own vast experience, it’s GT racing that’s the true bedrock of endurance motor sport. And in a modern GT class specifically built around car makers selling its wares to customers who then race on their behalf, that’s why the WEC finally joining the GT3 party is so significant. This is where true stability exists, where nimble privateer teams can thrive and drivers can build solid careers with the potential to last for years. In that sense, everyone wins – especially with Balance of Performance (BoP) to keep that playing field on the level.

Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Corvette – they’re all back in the WEC, as you’d expect. But add in new or returning entries from BMW, McLaren, Lamborghini and Lexus and you have a feast of cars the wider public can easily relate to.

Then there’s Ford. That America’s ubiquitous car-making giant is now in on the act too is the key indicator that something special is happening, right now – and starting this weekend at IMSA’s annual jewel.

This week, Ford hosted a well-timed and swish launch for its global motor sport activities, under its Performance umbrella, as the company makes a new and concerted effort to show a united front across everything from NASCAR to Aussie Supercars, off-roading and its new Dakar attack to its revived interest in GT racing. Five years after the end of its Ganassi-run Ford GT programme, the Blue Oval is back with a good old V8 Mustang – and big boss Jim Farley came in hot when explaining why.

“Our R&D for future models will be on the race track,” he claimed, of a brand that in truth has never remained consistent when it comes to its commitment to motor racing. It’s clearly in vogue right now. “Think about the Mustang,” he continued, on a model that celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. “There are a lot of great companies [and models] – the 911, Porsche. But what other car in the world can race on six continents on any given weekend? That’s because we have a V8 engine. We can race in Aussie Supercars, Formula Drift, NHRA, Bathurst [12 Hours] which is coming up, NASCAR of course, at the grass roots, with our own [one-]make racing series and now we are going to Le Mans, IMSA and the WEC. No other car races like that every day of the week. That’s what Ford is all about.”

Plenty of bombast, then. But behind the hype is an addition to the GT ranks that promises to be hugely popular with race fans – and thanks to BoP should also be in with a shout of becoming a contender, once it has some racing miles under its belt.

Built by the Canadian Multimatic concern that is also responsible for the Porsche 963 chassis and the previous Ford GT, the Mustang is powered by a booming 5.4-litre V8 developed by Ford Performance and created by Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport – Ford’s longstanding partner in the World Rally Championship, of course.