[LM24] Le Mans 2023 Le Mans Entries

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Lutzvic

I do see a 3rd Toyota realistic, and I hope Caddy gets all 3 invites....however ByKolles and Fraschitti are not serious candidates.....
Glickenhaus will bring at least one car...I hope

Does Toyota have drivers to fill a 3rd car?

[Aysedasi]

I’m free for the week……

[Lutzvic]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I’m free for the week……

if you accept me as a co-driver.....

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by joeb

Does Toyota have drivers to fill a 3rd car?

Yes, they have all their Super GT and Super Formula drivers they could call on, and literally dozens of other drivers world-wide who would jump at the chance of a factory WEC drive.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Lutzvic

if you accept me as a co-driver.....

Done!

[Simmi]

For sure they'll need a new reserve driver next year with De Vries heading to F1 permanently.

Will be interesting to see how they approach their lineups in the next few years but I'd be really surprised if they don't have a third car by '24 at least.

[RL17]

I wouldn't expect Toyota to change from a 2 car line for Le Mans. Do have respect for their committment over last 10 years or so ( a few dodgy pit stops excluded). They also just had 2 cars most of the time Porsche and Audi were running 3. Went to 3 for 2017 after 2016 nightmare finish, and 2017 was a terrible race for them.

They have had excellent reliability and consistency over last few years, and do commit to doing whole seasons races properly - possibly in the teams make up. A switch to 3 cars could affect team dynamics. They also have a big market share in US car sales but haven't stretched to IMSA GTP yet.

[S griffin]

I don't see any harm in them running a third car. Their reliability has been bullet proof the last few years, so it shouldn't be a problem having a third car there too.

[gert]

Originally Posted by S griffin

I don't see any harm in them running a third car. Their reliability has been bullet proof the last few years, so it shouldn't be a problem having a third car there too.

Logistics, team personnel, focus, ....

There ARE things that could destract them rather than help them.
More is not always better.

[Lutzvic]

https://www.endurance-info.com/auto/...la-porsche-963
sounds very promising...an average over 200 km/h for 36 hours...
I feel it will motivate Toyota as well out of the comfort zone....which can lead to a great race next year

[Mike E]

Ryan Hardwick chooses Proton Porsche

https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...le-mans-debut/

[Simmi]

A spicy nugget at the bottom of this DSC piece - https://www.dailysportscar.com/2022/...-hypercar.html

Alongside Cadillac, possibly 2 more factory teams are circling possible third cars for LM.

[Simmi]

Haven't seen this mentioned on the forum but listening to TWISC alerted me to this one.

https://racer.com/2022/11/18/pruett-...ember-edition/

At the bottom of here. Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden are looking to do Daytona and Le Mans in a P2 car. With "an excellent LMP2 team". They'd be some fantastic rookie additions to the grid to gain experience.

[Mike E]

This seems a bit silly.

'Scott McLaughlin’s hopes of competing this year at Le Mans look set to fall victim to a clash between the IndyCar Detroit weekend, and the Le Mans Test Day, mandatory for McLaughlin as a Gold-ranked driver but not for Newgarden who is ranked Platinum!’

https://www.dailysportscar.com/2022/...shakedown.html

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by Hawkwood

Yes, they have all their Super GT and Super Formula drivers they could call on, and literally dozens of other drivers world-wide who would jump at the chance of a factory WEC drive.

Someone like Nick Cassidy would be ideal for a third car having won F3, Super Formula and GT titles for Toyota.
They have a lot more depth in their driver pool and past performers than some people realize.