Final month’s Bahrain 8 Hours marked the ultimate aggressive outing for GTE equipment following the choice by FIA and ACO to drop the corresponding class from WEC and the European Le Mans Sequence subsequent yr.
GTE vehicles have been a staple of WEC for the reason that rebirth of the world sportscar championship in 2012, with various producers together with Porsche, Ferrari, Ford, BMW and Corvette constructing vehicles to this set of rules.
The GTE Professional class specifically was massively standard amongst drivers and followers in mid-to-late 2010s, however the class had been on a dramatic decline even earlier than the Hypercar division was launched in 2021.
GTE Professional was phased out from WEC on the finish of the 2022 season, with the GTE Am class additionally now being dropped by the championship in favour of a brand new class operating GT3 vehicles subsequent yr.
Though the distinction between GTE and GT3 vehicles just isn’t dramatic in the case of efficiency, GTE vehicles had been designed extra like thoroughbred racers and thus had been massively interesting to skilled drivers.
Porsche-contracted Matteo Cairoli, who scored three GTE Am wins within the Porsche 911 RSR-19, mentioned the brand new GT3 vehicles will merely not be as fulfilling to drive as their predecessors.
“For me, GTE goes to be for certain the most effective GT automobile ever,” the Italian informed Motorsport.com.
“After all, GT3 can be a pleasant automobile to drive, however GTE is knowledgeable automobile so it’s a must to adapt your driving model greater than what you do in a GT3 automobile.
“I loved each single lap I did up to now seven years and I am a bit unhappy to see the top of this wonderful automobile.
“For certain, [the LMGT3 class] goes to be thrilling as a result of we can have loads of constructors and loads of vehicles. And I feel the struggle shall be all the time on.
“However the pleasure of driving just isn’t going to be the identical anymore. As a result of GT3 vehicles it is extra [of] a street automobile. It is much like a street automobile.
“Right here [in GTE] it is extra onto the prototype facet. As a present, it should be excellent however the pleasure behind the wheel for certain not.”
Photograph by: Alessio Morgese
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Nicky Catsburg, who raced the BMW M8 GTE in each IMSA and WEC earlier than becoming a member of Corvette in 2021 and taking victory at Le Mans this yr, felt GTE Professional was much more aggressive than LMP1 throughout its peak.
“I completely love the GTE class,” mentioned Catsburg. “It is in all probability been my favorite class all through my profession. These vehicles are actual thoroughbred racers.
“If you have a look at GTE Professional, for me that was doubtlessly the very best stage of racing throughout all ranges. I all the time thought that GTE Professional was essentially the most tough class to win at Le Mans when it comes to outright high quality and quantity of vehicles.
“It was a category the place I all the time needed to be and all the time needed to measure myself towards the most effective. I completely liked GTE.
“GTE Am is a bit of little bit of a step down from GTE Professional, however I nonetheless imagine it is a class that’s extraordinarily cool to race in.
“It is a disgrace to see it go and say goodbye. After all GT3 will nonetheless be very thrilling and it is going to be very cool to drive in. There shall be extra vehicles and extra alternatives.”
Cadillac driver Richard Westbrook loved loads of success in GT vehicles on either side of the Atlantic within the late 2010s earlier than transferring again to prototype equipment lately.
The 48-year-old feels followers of sportscar racing will reminisce in regards to the days of GTE Professional at Le Mans for a number of years to return.
“A lot of individuals use the time period ‘the Golden Period of GT Racing’, they usually’re not improper,” he mentioned.
“It’s a must to pinch your self while you look again at years like 2017, 2018 and 2019. You had this practice of GTE Professional vehicles at Le Mans, 20 vehicles nose-to-tail for twenty-four hours.
“It actually was an arms race with producers and everybody being so shut. There have been high manufacturers in there. I used to be lucky sufficient to drive for 4 producers throughout that interval – Porsche, Corvette, Ford and Aston Martin.
“It actually was a particular time, there is no doubt about it. Will probably be one thing that individuals will look again on in 20 years time and a father will inform his son a narrative of how he was at Le Mans throughout that point, and the child in all probability will not imagine it! It was that shut, simply intense racing from begin to end.”
Photograph by: JEP / Motorsport Images
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Three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Andre Lotterer by no means received to race in GTE Professional, however described GTE vehicles as “very emotional”.
“It’s all the time like that when one thing ends they usually had been good vehicles, very excessive expertise, very nicely developed and really emotional vehicles,” the Porsche star informed Motorsport.com.
“In case you have a look at the 911 RSR it is such an excellent sound and exquisite automobile, a profitable automobile.
“It’s kind of unhappy to be trustworthy as a result of individuals put a lot vitality into that and it was an iconic automobile for a few years.
“In case you consider the early 70s, the RSR was already there. Nevertheless it’s like this, nothing is eternally.”
TF Sport boss Tom Ferrier, whose group loved loads of success with the Aston Martin Vantage, mentioned there was a level of exclusivity connected to GTE vehicles that shall be lacking subsequent yr.
Nevertheless, he additionally felt that the brand new LMGT3 will open WEC to a large variety of producers who beforehand could not be part of the sequence because of the obstacles to entry related to the GTE courses.
“GTE has all the time been a tremendous class and has had a really unique really feel to it,” Ferrier informed Motorsport.com.
“I feel loads of drivers and paying prospects all the time actually loved that facet. It is a particular automobile you possibly can race at Le Mans and solely in WEC and ELMS, and now it is clearly opened it to a automobile that can be utilized in all places.
“The flip facet of that’s it provides a great deal of producer involvement for a load of various manufacturers so positives and negatives.”
Throughout his illustrious WEC profession, IMSA-bound Ben Keating drove six completely different GTE vehicles, from the SRT Viper in 2015 to the Corvette C8.R with which he gained at Le Mans this yr.
The American mentioned he significantly preferred how GTE rules allowed every producer to have a bespoke tyre in-built affiliation with Michelin, which meant that they had been capable of extract the utmost efficiency from every automobile. That is in direct distinction to GT3, the place vehicles largely run on identical spec tyres.
“I really like that the tyre from Michelin is designed particularly for every particular person automobile,” he defined.
“That is a giant deal to have a tyre designed on your automobile, and the Michelins which might be on the Corvette are completely different than those on the Porsche, on the Ferrari or on the Aston Martin.
“That is a extremely massive deal for the efficiency stage of those vehicles.
He added: “The vehicles are so well-designed. A lot of the GT3 vehicles are designed to be buyer vehicles. All of the GTE vehicles are designed to be pro-level racecars. There’s just a bit bit additional in each means. I really like that.
“It is positively a talent that it’s a must to develop, and it has been loads of enjoyable to develop the abilities to be quick in these vehicles.”
Photograph by: JEP / Motorsport Images
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One of many main gripes related to GT3 vehicles is that they arrive outfitted with an Anti-Braking System as per rules. Whereas this tremendously assists gentleman racers, many really feel ABS does not have area in skilled championships like WEC and that it takes away an essential differentiator between drivers.
Requested for his opinion in regards to the change from GTE to GT3 vehicles, Christian Ried, who took half in each GTE Am race for the reason that formation of current-day WEC in 2012, informed Motorsport.com: “I really like the GTE, I adore it greater than GT3.
“For certain it is a good suggestion to have race vehicles with ABS, particularly in beginner classes however for me, WEC is high stage of GTE and all of the Professional and Am drivers right here it is actually excessive stage, I am certain they’ll drive a correct race automobile with out ABS.”
With reference to ABS, Cairoli added: “ABS is one thing I personally do not actually get pleasure from to have. Nevertheless it’s a part of the automobile, a part of the rules, so we have to adapt.
“All in all it is simpler as a result of you possibly can play extra with the automobile, they permit you to do extra errors with out shedding a lot. ABS helps you numerous and I feel from a gentleman’s perspective it is the fitting resolution.
“However for knowledgeable driver, for certain, the distinction you do in braking and with ABS, the hole shall be a lot nearer to all people.”
