How much factory support should be allowed in WEC’s LMGT3 class?

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The 2026 World Endurance Championship will mark the third season to feature the LMGT3 class. Introduced in 2024 as a secondary division to Hypercar, it enabled GT3 manufacturers to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours and a full range of endurance events across the year, offering a more affordable and accessible way to enter the WEC.

There is no denying that LMGT3 has been an instant success. The 2026 grid features no fewer than 18 cars, surpassing even Hypercar in numbers and drawing in a wide variety of manufacturers and leading sportscar outfits.

From the very outset, LMGT3 was conceived as a customer-focused category, explicitly prohibiting full-factory teams. So, while manufacturers are given full freedom to build and finance their own operations in Hypercar, the series places the onus on individual teams in LMGT3. This is in stark contrast to IMSA SportsCar Championship’s GTD Pro class or major GT3 enduros such as the Spa 24 Hours and Nurburgring 24 Hours, where manufacturers are actively involved with their partner teams.

However, a pure customer racing effort is difficult to sustain at this level. Le Mans remains a key event for automakers, and the WEC represents the biggest stage in all of sportscar racing. For manufacturers such as Mercedes that do not compete in Hypercar, GT3 is also the primary platform in this discipline. As such, manufacturers play an important role in ensuring their cars are competitive in LMGT3.

The process begins with selecting the best possible team to represent them in the category. This is why Ferrari has partnered with AF Corse, BMW with WRT and Porsche with Manthey. Each of those three teams is closely linked with its respective manufacturer and has a proven record in sportscar racing.

Factory drivers also play a key role. LMGT3 is based on the pro-am formula, with only one professional driver allowed in each line-up. But with the way teams plan their races, the platinum or gold-rated driver often plays a key role in the crucial final stages.

Engineering support

Another way manufacturers support their customers is by providing engineering expertise, with personnel often embedded within the race operation. This is no different to other high-profile GT3 events or championships, but the extent of engineering support varies between manufacturers.

One of the best-placed figures to explain how LMGT3 operates is Jerome Policand, whose Akkodis ASP team has a long and successful history in sportscar racing.

The French squad joined forces with Toyota Gazoo Racing to enter the Lexus RC F GT3 in LMGT3, after previously competing with Mercedes in GT World Challenge Europe. ASP endured a miserable maiden season in the WEC in 2024, but bounced back strongly last year to win two races and finish third in the standings.

“So, on the racetrack, we have five [Toyota] engineers. We have one performance engineer, engine engineer, data [engineer], we have one engineer managing all the people, and then one engineer who takes care of the torque sensor, to optimise the map of the engine and everything. So, five people from the first day to the last day,” Policand explained in an interview with Motorsport.com.

“At the workshop, we have a spare car which is based in Cologne. We try to be aligned on how we can improve on their side, the spare car and our race car. It's quite often that my engineers go to Cologne and we share information.

“We are talking about little details, but we work a lot on aero, how the car’s rake is efficient. We also work a lot on the damper.

“It's not just a support in terms of sponsorship or rebuilding engine, rebuilding gearbox, making the spare parts [available]. It's mainly technical support and with the knowledge of the championship also.”

#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid, Jose María Lopez

#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Petru Umbrarescu, Clemens Schmid, Jose María Lopez

Why teams need manufacturer backing

As one might expect, the level of factory support in LMGT3 varies up and down the grid. While some manufacturers are more heavily invested, others keep their involvement to a minimum.

Policand is aware that it is virtually impossible for teams to independently operate in LMGT3, given the high costs of a world championship and the level of competition.

Equally, he is wary about manufacturers turning LMGT3 into an arms race, especially after witnessing costs exploding in the now-defunct GTE Pro class.

“It's still a customer championship,” Policand said. “Without Toyota, I cannot race in the WEC. But without our team sponsor, bronze driver and the technical sponsor, we cannot compete.

“I would say it's half-half. We are not a works team, because a works team is a manufacturer team. So, in one way, we get the chance to have support, which is good for us.

"But on our side, we have to fill the gap and, at the end, find the right money to make it happen.”

Operating costs

GT3 programmes are typically underpinned by bronze-rated drivers, who bring most, if not all, of the budget. However, a calendar spanning eight events across multiple continents changes the equation for teams competing in the WEC.

“We have to take care [of budgets]. It's only LMGT3,” Policand warned. “We have now reached a level of budget which is very high.

“At the end, we do exactly the same race [as Hypercar] and the logistics [costs] are almost the same.

“We cannot compare to Hypercar, but we are not that far [in terms of]  organisation, logistics and so on. I would not say that the car itself doesn't cost a lot, but to run the car is still reasonable. What costs a lot is the travel because it's a worldwide championship. When you do the GT World Challenge, you stay in Europe and so on.”

Staffing requirements

Policand also pointed out that a full WEC programme requires significantly more personnel than regional championships.

“LMGT3 is a world championship. And when you are in an FIA world championship, you have to strictly follow the rules. And to follow them, you need people,” he explained.

“The number of people involved technically on one car is 15. So, we have 30 for two cars. And if you compare it with the GT World Challenge at Spa, we have 10 per car, which is a lot.

“In the end, motor racing costs a lot. Sometimes too much. But again, for a private team, we know how to keep the budget at a decent level. But for sure, we have to take care in the future not to overshoot this budget. Otherwise, you know how it works. Sometimes you grow too quickly.”

A manufacturer’s perspective

#61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3: Martin Berry, Lin Hodenius, Maxime Martin

#61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3: Martin Berry, Lin Hodenius, Maxime Martin

For Mercedes, just securing a berth in the WEC was a major challenge. With no presence in Hypercar, it failed to join the inaugural LMGT3 season in 2024. It was only last year that its Iron Lynx-fielded entry was approved by the FIA and the ACO.

Much like Toyota/Lexus with the RC F GT3, Mercedes spent considerable resources adapting its venerable AMG GT3 to the series’ technical regulations. Both Iron Lynx-entered cars struggled for much of the year, but the #61 ended the campaign with a well-earned podium finish in Bahrain.

“It's still customer racing,” Mercedes customer racing boss Stefan Wendl told Motorsport.com. “This is a very important topic, so that means that our customer team, which in this case is Iron Lynx, is the one pulling most of the responsibility on making it happen.

“For us, our task is to provide a solid baseline with the cars and with the technical support that everything is working well. This is where we are and this is where we adapt for the coming season to get more competitive.”

Asked how much factory support should be allowed in LMGT3, Wendl said: “This is something which is very difficult to set rules for.

“I'm quite sure that there are different levels of support. This is how attractive you can make your project.

“It's not always fair, or it seems not to be fair sometimes. On the other hand, I think those rules are coming from the market, and the market will rule it over time.

“We are optimistic, same as in other race series like in IMSA. It is quite comparable. I would say it will work also in the future. We have the right partner here on site and are attractive enough to also go in the future.”

The Manthey-Porsche relationship

One LMGT3 team that has often come under scrutiny due to its relationship with a manufacturer is Manthey Racing, given that the majority of the company is owned by Porsche itself.

The German squad has been the benchmark in LMGT3 since the inception of the category, scoring the Le Mans/title double in both years. Given how dominant Manthey has been in other categories, and its intrinsic knowledge of the 911 GT3 R, its success in LMGT3 should not come as a surprise.

Managing director Nicolas Raeder emphasised that Manthey still operates as a customer team within the regulatory framework.

“First, we are a customer team and we have customers who pay for the races,” he told Motorsport.com. “For sure, we have a very close relationship, but it's not in the way that Porsche is coming and showing us how we do it; we do it together.

“We have up to three [Porsche engineers], but in some races we are alone or have one.

“It's a very close relationship, so we're working together, but it's not that they have some miracle things that they give to us and that's the reason why we are successful. We are successful because we are working closely together and learning every race.”

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz

What level of support is acceptable?

In the end, the distinction between a full-blown factory effort and a private team comes down to how a programme is funded and operated. There are still ways a manufacturer can help the team foot the bill without taking over the running of the team. This could be done through leasing chassis and engines, supplying free spares and providing a factory driver in each line-up.

Ultimately, it should remain the team’s responsibility to secure the necessary funding and staffing to run the programme.

Manthey Racing's director Patrick Arkenau insisted the team receives no preferential treatment despite its close relationship with Porsche, as he weighed in on the way an LMGT3 team should be run.

“In our opinion, LMGT3 should remain as a customer team championship,” Arkenau told Motorsport.com.

“We are treated as a normal customer team. We do not get any extra support because we are Manthey. We have a very close connection to Porsche but it's not that we get anything extra, we get the normal customer support that every other team in the world gets as well.

“We also believe this is how LMGT3 should be run. We know that there are scenarios where it's very hard to differentiate in between the factory and the race team, but in our opinion it should be customer racing where the teams have to prove themselves, and there is not a hidden manufacturer entry where the manufacturer is paying for the whole operation and also sending their own guys to operate it just under a team name.

“It should be real race teams operating the car, being in charge of it, with the necessary support of the manufacturer – which is the same everywhere in GT3.

“The level of support in GT3 for Porsche is the same everywhere in the world and this should also be the baseline for the other manufacturers. They should not say, ‘Okay, in this championship, we run it as a factory effort but just on a different name’.

“It should stay a real customer-based racing series for LMGT3. For sure, the manufacturer should nominate their best team, because it's a world championship and you should have your best team representing your brand, but it should not be the factory itself.”

Raeder added: “I think it's important that the bronze driver is one of the most important parts [of the equation] and the bronze driver should not be paid by a manufacturer.”

As the 2026 season gets under way at Imola later this month, keeping costs and manufacturer involvement in check will be key to LMGT3’s long-term health.

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