Hypercar, GTP, GT3: how multi-class endurance racing works

Endurance racing is several races happening at once. Prototypes and GT cars share the track, but each class has its own winner, its own podium and its own championship.

At the top of the World Endurance Championship sits the Hypercar class, which admits two rule sets: bespoke LMH cars and LMDh cars built on a common spec hybrid system and approved chassis. In IMSA, the equivalent LMDh machines race as GTP. That convergence lets the same manufacturers chase both Le Mans and Daytona with one car.

Because those cars differ in concept, organizers use Balance of Performance — adjusting weight and power — to keep the field close. GT3-based classes use the same tool to equalize very different road-car platforms.

Each car is shared by two or three drivers, with minimum and maximum drive-time rules. Driver ratings — Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze — determine eligibility for some classes, ensuring amateurs and professionals race side by side.