Insight: Then There Were Four

With all four LMDh manufacturers for 2023 now up and running, what's next heading into the platform's launch seasons?

The rollout of BMW’s M Hybrid V8 on Monday at Varano in Italy not only signified a major milestone for the German manufacturer but it also now means that all four LMDh manufacturers that are set to debut in the launch year of the platform are now in the on-track testing phase.

While Porsche has gotten a six-month head start with its 963, which completed its first shakedown in mid-January, LMDh models from Cadillac, Acura and BMW have all been rolled out over a three-week span this month.

Coupled with the shakedown of Ferrari’s Le Mans Hypercar, it has led to a flurry of news, reaction and genuine excitement within the sports car racing world, which gears up for the new era of top-level prototype racing beginning in 2023.

Both Cadillac and Porsche are fresh off a five-day test at Sebring International Raceway, in what marked the Dallara-chassied car’s first significant running and the first on U.S. soil for the newly formed Porsche Penske Motorsport organization.