Lamborghini: Liger, Iron Links and Romain Grosjean

It was clear that Lamborghini had wanted to join LMDh since 2021. The question was simple: when would it finally announce this. It was not until May that white smoke could be seen in the factories of Sant’Agata Bolognese. Remarkable was the choice of chassis. While everyone thought they would take over the chassis originally intended for Audi, not unreasonable given the association with VAG, the Italian manufacturer went in a different direction. Ligier was hired as a bodybuilder and they were very pleased with that in France. Lamborghini is the only manufacturer that has come to Leger.

Meanwhile, Andrea Caldarelli and Mirco Bortolotti were soon signed up as drivers for the project, but he didn’t stop there. During the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final, the Iron Lynx announced that they will be running as a works team in 2024 in both the FIA ​​WEC and IMSA. For this last championship, for the time being, only the Michelin Cup for endurance. This also provides opportunities for the Iron Ladies, more specifically Doriane Pin. The Frenchwoman will make her debut in the LMP2 class in 2023 and from there she may make a step up to the top division. Finally, the bull-headed brand pulled one last trick out of its hat. It brought only Romain Grosjean as a factory pilot. In other words: Lamborghini wants to explode in 2024.

The Alps: A Year in the Waiting Room

It was common knowledge that Alpine wanted to stay in the hypercar. The problem was that their car had already been in the garage for two years. The Alpine A480 is just another LMP1, more specifically the overbought R13 rebel and after two years it finally had to make way for the new supercars. Although they knew this at Alpine, they didn’t choose a hypercar or LMDh until October 2021. In the end, the choice fell on LMDh and in 2024 the brand will start with the Oreca chassis.

As a result, the French manufacturer has to bridge all of 2023 and it does so in LMP2. So they took over the car from the now-defunct Richard Mille Racing with a second car. It is not yet known who will drive the cars in 2023 and 24, although we suspect Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrao and Mathieu Facsiviere will have to leave. Now we have to wait for the new car to cover its first test kilometers, which will usually be by the summer of 2023. Although there are positive reports from Alpine that they can take advantage of the progress of Acura, which will complete its first season with the same chassis.

Vanwall: Waiting for the green light

If there’s one car that regularly causes ink to flow, it’s the Vanwall. ByKolles, managed by Colin Kolles, was keen to return to the FIA ​​WEC. Only, this time the car has to be associated with an existing brand. That’s why PMC, a German group that also has ByKolles in its portfolio, decided to use Vanwall as a brand name. A very popular name on the British marque secured its first constructors’ title in Formula 1 in 1958. But since 2020 things haven’t been smooth sailing for Colin Collis. First of all, they were denied for 2021. On the one hand, the car was ready for anything, no crash test done yet, but on the other hand, there was a lawsuit hanging over its head, because of the Vanwall brand name.

In the UK, a company called Vanwall wanted to make 1958 replicas of the then Formula 1 cars. He even went so far as to have both parties appear before the European Union Intellectual Property Office, an agency that makes decisions about intellectual property within the European Union. Meanwhile, Collis did not sit still. For example, they went on to test the car and also released a street version of the car, the Vanwall Vandervell 1000. Also, given the inconvenience surrounding the name, the team likely calls the Vandervell, after the original builder of Vanwall. For example, everything was done to entice ACO and LMEM to accept two cars into the FIA ​​WEC.

Isotta Fraschini: Spa as a goal

Isotta Fraschini might be able to put you in the same ranks as Vanwall, only with a higher chance of a happy ending. If you don’t know the story yet: Isotta Fraschini is an Italian brand that made a name for itself in the early 1900s, but hasn’t come out on top since then. Until now, because in October they confirmed their desire to participate in the FIA ​​WEC. Therefore, it aims to hold the 6 Hours of Spa at the end of April for the first participation, as this is mandatory for the ACO to gain starting rights at Le Mans.

Dailysportscars was recently able to speak to its Managing Director Claudio Pirro who confirmed that they are still on track to achieve their goal, but there is still a lot of work to do. For the next season they will work with a team, namely Vector Sport. They are looking forward to the future, in particular two cars in 2024. The plans at Isotta Fraschini are quite clear: they want to be involved. Although ACO will be the deciding factor.

Photos: International Photo Race – Lamborghini Squadra Corse – Alpine Race – Bycols – Isotta Fraschini