List of FIA World Endurance champions
List of auto racing series Champions / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is an endurance auto racing series administered by the governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), and co-organised and promoted by the automotive group, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO).[1] There were two types of car called Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) divided into four classes when the WEC began in 2012: Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Pro (LMGTE Pro) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance Am (LMGTE Am).[2] The Le Mans Hypercar (Hypercar) category was introduced in the 2021 season to replace the LMP1 class and the Le Mans Daytona Hybrid (LMDh) cars were introduced in the 2022 championship.[3] The LMGTE Pro class was discontinued after the 2022 championship while the LMP2 and LMGTE Am categories were dropped following the 2023 season. The LMGT3 category based on GT3 machinery replaced LMGTE Am and joined the Hypercar class in a revised two full-season class structure from the 2024 season.[4][5]
The series awards international championships, cups, and trophies to the most successful drivers, teams, and manufacturers in each of the series' categories over the course of a season. Points are awarded based on individual race results as well as for earning pole position in qualifying, with the highest tally of points winning the respective championship, cup, or trophy. The highest awards in the series are the FIA World Endurance Drivers' Championship and the FIA World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship, both of which centre around participants in the Hypercar category.[6] The champions are not officially crowned until the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony held in December following the conclusion of the WEC season.[7][8]
As of the 2023 season,[update] 83 drivers have won a WEC title. There have been 21 overall World Drivers' Champions and six LMP1 Private Drivers' Trophy winners.[9] Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley, with four victories, have won the most overall World Drivers' Championships. Timo Bernhard, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López each have two titles. Toyota have won the most overall World Manufacturers' and Drivers' Championships with five.[10] Of the 25 drivers to win an LMP2 title, Julien Canal and Nicolas Lapierre hold the record for the most Drivers' Championships in the category with two. From the nine LMP2 Endurance Trophy for Teams winners, Signatech Alpine have earned the most titles with two. 30 drivers have won a LMGTE title in either the Pro or Am categories. James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi, François Perrodo and Marco Sørensen have achieved the most LMGTE Drivers' titles in any category with three and Ferrari have won the most LMGTE World Manufacturers and Cup titles with seven.[9][11][12]