The World Endurance Championship (WEC) has its roots in the World Sportscar Championship, which is an endurance event that started in 1953. The WEC started in 2012, as a development of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup event, which had been set up in 2010. Since its inception, the WEC has been recognized as a world championship and the scene of many legendary racing moments. Furthermore, it is organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, a French organization that also runs the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
The Races
MASTERING THE ULTIMATE ROAD
If the racing circuit can be defined as the ultimate road, then motorsport can be defined as the attempt to master the ultimate road. In the case of Lexus this means using the racing circuit as a laboratory for researching and developing cutting-edge automobile technologies, many of which have been revolutionary.
The scope of Lexus’s motorsports activities reaches far and wide, from sprint races at Grand Prix circuits across the world to endurance-testing 24-hour races, street course races where the roads offer tenuous grip, hill climb races that involve driving to elevations of over 4,000 meters, and desert races that take place on dangerous offroad terrain.
The “roads” in these racing series are difficult to conquer, and yet that has never stopped Lexus from taking on the challenge in its motorsports activities. For almost twenty years, these passionate car and engineering enthusiasts have competed in races in vehicles provided by the brand itself.
What Lexus has learned through these races has not only helped improve the technological performance of their racecars but has also directly contributed to better road-legal cars for the everyday driver.
Learn more about the races:
FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
GT WORLD CHALLENGE ASIA
NÜRBURGRING 24 HOURS
SUPER GT
SUPER TAIKYU (S-TAI) SERIES
BAJA 1000
FIA World Endurance Championship
In 2024, the WEC’s Middle East round will expand to include the Bahrain International Circuit and Qatar’s Lusail International Circuit. In Europe, the main WEC events will include races at Italy’s Imola Circuit, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, and the traditional 24 Hours of Le Mans race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France.
The Championship will further feature endurance races at the Interlagos Circuit in Brazil, Circuit of the Americas in Texas, and the Fuji Speedway in Japan. Moreover, the WEC is a world championship, indicating that races are held at premier-class circuits worldwide.
Another new addition to the 2024 calendar is the LMGT3 class, using GT3 machines. European entrants will include world-famous teams’ fielding cars such as the BMW M4 GT3, Ferrari 296 GT3, and Porsche 911 GT3R. From America, we will have the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R and Ford Mustang GT3. In addition, France’s Akkodis ASP Team, renowned for outstanding track record, will take on the competition in the Lexus RC F GT3.
IMSA WEATHERTECH
SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
In 2014, the Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series were merged by the International Motorsports Association (IMSA). IMSA is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body that oversees many of the world's most prestigious endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Initially called the United SportsCar Championship, the series was renamed to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2016.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship hosts 11 rounds per year, including five endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring as well as six sprint races at famous U.S. circuits such as Indianapolis, Laguna Seca, and the Long Beach street circuit.
There are four classes in the championship: two Sports Prototype categories (the GTP and the LMP2) and two Grand Touring classes (the GTD PRO and the GTD).
The VASSER SULLIVAN RACING competes in the GTD Pro and GTD classes in the Lexus RC F GT3 up against the PORSCHE 911 GT3R, the BMW M4 GT3, the MERCEDES-AMG GT3, and the FERRARI 296 GT3. The team won the GTD Pro class in 2023.
GT WORLD CHALLENGE ASIA
The GT World Challenge Asia—formerly known as the Blancpain GT Asia—kicked off in 2017 and has been hosting races in three Asian countries. The series is consisted of seven rounds in 2024 and they are the Chang International Circuit in Thailand and the Shanghai International Circuit in China as well as Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, Fuji, Suzuka, Sugo, and Okayama in Japan.
The series is open to entrants competing in GT3 and GT4 cars, with a maximum of two drivers per car, and it has a strong international flavor, with Japanese models such as the Lexus RC F, the HONDA NSX, and the NISSAN GT-R competing against European GTs such as the AUDI R8 LMS, the BMW M4, the FERRARI 296, the LAMBORGHINI HURACAN, the McLAREN 720S, the MERCEDES-AMG GT, and the PORSCHE 911 GT3R.
The GT3 category is split into a
variety of classes according to driver performance and combination with at least one Asian driver required to enter. The PRO/AM class is for teams that feature both professional and gentleman drivers while the Silver Cup requires two professionals ranked Silver or lower by the FIA per team to compete. The AM Cup is for drivers ranked Bronze.
There are a number of Japanese drivers and teams, including the K-tunes Racing with the Lexus RC F GT3, as the GT World Challenge Asia hosts a spate of races in Japan (known as the “Japan Cup”). The GT World Challenge Asia employs the Balance of Performance (BoP) system, which means that there are plenty of fierce battles and new champions on the horizon.
NÜRBURGRING 24 HOURS
This prestigious 24-hour endurance race began its life in 1970 at the Nürburgring, a circuit located in north-west Germany. Originally a local event organized by the German Automobile Association (ADAC), the Nürburgring is now known as one of the most challenging circuits in the world; with a 300-meter drop in elevation and more than 170 bends.
This twisting mountain circuit is consisted of the 20-kilometer North Loop (Nordschleife) and the 5-kilometer Grand Prix Track (GP-Strecke), where Formula One’s German Grand Prix has been held. The North Loop, especially, is so demanding that it is known as the "Green Hell".
In the 1990s, the world's leading car and parts manufacturers, including PORSCHE, FERRARI, and MERCEDES, began to enter the Nürburgring 24 Hours as part of their cutting-ege development efforts. As a result, it became a popular international endurance race on par with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona. The race is famous for its unique technical regulations and featuring a variety of classes. Lexus first entered the race with the Lexus LFA for technical development and engineer training purposes, followed by the Lexus LC 500 in the SP-PRO class where the Japanese car manufacturer won the championship in 2018.
SUPER GT
Originally known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship that began in 1994, SUPER GT became an international series in 2005. Since then, the races have been held at major circuits both in Japan and Asian countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. With average attendance of more than 40,000 every year, the series is now established as one of the largest and most popular among the Japanese racing fans.
There are two classes of cars competing: the GT 500 and the GT 300. The latter is open to cars designed to meet either the FIA GT3 specifications or the JAF GT 300 regulations, allowing a variety of vehicles to be able to compete in the series. With the FIA GT3 alone, there is a full range of Japanese and non-Japanese supercars competing, including the Lexus RC F, the NISSAN GT-R, and the HONDA NSX as well as the MERCEDES-AMG GT, the AUDI R8 LMS, and the BMW M4.
The GTA-GT 300 also features Japanese cars, including the Lexus LC500h, the GR SUPRA, and the SUBARU BRZ. The Balance of Performance (BoP) system applies to the Super GT, resulting in a number of thrilling battles down to the last race. This is why the GT 300 class is known as "the most competitive class in the world".
SUPER TAIKYU (S-TAI) SERIES
Previously known as the N1 Endurance Series, Super Taikyu (Super Endurance) is a Japanese endurance racing series for commercial race cars and minimally modified production cars, which began in 1991. Called the 'S-Tai' among the passionate fans, it is one of the largest and most popular races in Japan, attracting both professional and gentleman drivers.
In 2024, a total of seven races will be held at the major circuits in Japan. All of them will be endurance races of three hours or more with the Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours - the series' longest race – being a special event of the series, starting in 2018.
Another feature of the S-Tai is that the series is divided into different classes of cars (from ST-X to ST-5) depending on an engine displacement or drive system as a wide variety of teams - from privateers to manufacturer-sponsored teams - enter their cars with different objectives. In the ST-X class - the highest class of the S-Tai - many teams choose their favorite cars from the models approved as GT3 cars under FIA regulations, ranging from the Lexus RC F to NISSAN GT-R, HONDA NSX, MERCEDES-AMG GT, ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE and others.
The Lexus RC350 is also taking the Super Taikyu challenge in the ST-3 class for rear-wheel drive vehicles with an engine displacement of 2400–3500 cc.
Baja 1000
Started in 1967, the Baja 1000 is North America’s largest off-road race and runs through Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, which is situated near the border with San Diego on the US West Coast. As the final event in the SCORE World Desert Championship series, the race is held in November over a punishing course of approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km).
This competition has a longer history than the Dakar Rally, and the race format is even more challenging. Unlike rally raids, interspersing competitive and noncompetitive road sections, entrants in the Baja 1000 are expected to complete the course with no set rest periods. Each team positions temporary service areas along the route for tire changes and refueling, as well as maintenance and driver changes as necessary. Moreover, the drivers are out on hard gravel roads in this grueling timed run. Various famous names have been drawn to take on this challenge in the past, including Hollywood stars, such as Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, and F1 drivers, such as Jenson Button and Mario Andretti.
Another unique aspect of the Baja 1000 special is the sheer variety of vehicles taking part in it. There are purpose-designed models, such as prototype pickup trucks and buggies with spaceframes, along with a wealth of production SUV models. The Japanese entrants Team JAOS have been participating in this race since 2022, driving the Lexus LX600.
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