Asian Hypercar Class in Jeopardy for 2026-27 Season

Photo: Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI

The planned launch of the Hypercar class in this winter’s Asian Le Mans Series is in jeopardy, with only two cars, and reportedly a single FIA Bronze-rated driver, having signed up for the new headline category.

Sportscar365 has learned that an AF Corse-run Ferrari 499P, for Cetilar Racing’s Roberto Lacorte, as well as an entry for an Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH with a yet-to-be-determined Bronze driver, have been entered for the dubbed ‘Winter Le Mans Series’ that’s due to kick off at Paul Ricard in November.

This comes despite a high level of initial interest for the new privateer class, which saw plans from BBM Sport to field up to two wingless Peugeot 9X8s, alongside as many as three Ferrari 499Ps, up to two Porsche 963s and at least one Isotta, as well as an initial expression of interest from Vanwall.

However, interest levels are understood to have dropped when the calendar moved entirely to Europe, due to the Middle East conflict, although series organizers came close to pulling off a Southeast Asia campaign with rounds in Sepang and Buriram, but faced an unavoidable date conflict with MotoGP at the Thai venue that ultimately called off those prospects.

Francois Perrodo, who was in line to drive a Ferrari, previously told Sportscar365 that he wouldn’t race in the Hypercar class if it was held entirely in Europe.

As previously announced, each Hypercar entry must have at least one Bronze-rated driver, with no auto-invite given to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the class champion due to Bronze drivers not being permitted to race the cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

ACO President Pierre Fillon told reporters at Le Mans in June that he expected between three and six Hypercars for the launch season.

When reached by Sportscar365, an Asian Le Mans Series spokesperson denied claims that the class will be dropped for the upcoming season. “I don’t know where this rumor started but it is not true,” the spokesperson said.

However, multiple LMP2 teams entered for the season have now called for the class to not go ahead, with one team owner telling Sportscar365 that it would be an “embarrassment” to have one or two entries in the top class, which would overshadow a healthy grid of more than a dozen LMP2 entries.

Additionally, the lack of a Hypercar class, or delayed start to the next season, would likely reverse the series’ plans for LMP2 cars to run with the low-downforce Le Mans aero package, in order to create a larger performance gap between categories, when factoring in Bronze drivers’ lap times in Hypercar.

While it’s understood the ACO and SRO-Run series has received an influx of GT3 entries, it has already moved the LMP3 class to a new Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup that will serve as a support series, which could make the upcoming season consist of only two classes.

Source: Sports Car 365