1953 to 1961 In the early years, now legendary races such as the
Mille Miglia,
Carrera Panamericana and
Targa Florio were part of the calendar, alongside the
24 Hours of Le Mans, the
12 Hours of Sebring, the Tourist Trophy and Nurburgring 1000 km. Manufacturers such as
Ferrari,
Maserati,
Mercedes-Benz,
Porsche, and
Aston Martin fielded entries, often featuring professional racing drivers with experience in
Formula One, but the majority of the fields were made up of gentleman drivers (
privateers) in the likes of
Nardis and
Bandinis. Cars were split into two main categories: purpose-built
sports prototypes which were the highest level in sports car racing, and production-based
grand tourers (GT cars) which were based on road-going models and therefore, in general, not as fast as sports prototypes. These categories were further divided into
engine displacement classes. The Ferrari and Maserati works teams were fierce competitors throughout much of the decade, but although Maserati cars won many races the make never managed to clinch the World title. The Mercedes-Benz work team pulled out of the championship after 1955 due to their
crash at Le Mans, while the small Aston Martin factory team struggled to find success in 1957 and 1958 until it managed to win the championship in 1959. Notably absent from the overall results were the
Jaguar works team, who did not enter any events other than Le Mans, despite the potential of the
C- and
D-Types.
1962 to 1965 In 1962, the calendar was expanded to include smaller races, while the FIA shifted the focus to production based GT cars. The World Sportscar Championship title was discontinued, being replaced by the
International Championship for GT Manufacturers. They group cars into three categories with specific engine sizes; less than one litre, less than two litres, and over two litres.
Hillclimbs, sprint races and smaller races expanded the championship, which now had about 15 races per season. The famous races like Le Mans still counted towards the prototype championship, however, the points valuation wasn't very tabular so the FIA returned to the original form of the championship with about 6 to 10 races. For 1963 the three engine capacity classes remained but a prototype category was added. For 1965 the engine classes became for cars under 1300 cc (Class I), under 2000 cc (Class II), and over 2000 cc (Class III). Class III was designed to attract more American manufacturers, with no upper limit on engine displacement.
1966 to 1981 The period between 1966 and 1971 was possibly the most successful era of the World Championship, with S (5 L sports cars ) and P (3 L prototypes) classes, and cars such as the
Ferrari 512S,
Ferrari 330 P4,
Ford GT40,
Lola T70,
Chaparral,
Alfa Romeo 33, and Porsche's
908 and
917 battled for supremacy on classic circuits such as
Sebring,
Nürburgring,
Spa-Francorchamps,
Monza,
Targa Florio, and
Le Mans where the Fords won four years in a row, in what is now considered the Golden Age of sports car racing. In 1972 the
Group 6 Prototype and
Group 5 Sports Car classes were both replaced by a new Group 5 Sports Car class. These cars were limited to 3.0 L engines by the FIA, and manufacturers gradually lost interest. The new Group 5 Sports Cars, together with Group 4 Grand Touring Cars, would contest the FIA's newly renamed
World Championship for Makes from 1972 to 1975. From 1976 to 1981 the World Championship for Makes was open to
Group 5 Special Production Cars and other production based categories including
Group 4 Grand Touring cars and it was during this period that the nearly-invincible
Porsche 935 dominated the championship. Prototypes returned in 1976 as
Group 6 cars with their own series, the
World Championship for Sports Cars, but this was to last only for two seasons (1976–1977). In 1981, the FIA instituted a drivers championship.
1982 to 1992 In 1982, the FIA attempted to counter a worrying climb in engine output of the Group 5 Special Production Cars by introducing
Group C, a new category for closed sports-prototypes (purpose built racing cars) that limited fuel consumption (the theory being that by limiting fuel consumption, engine regulations could be more relaxed). While this change was unwelcome amongst some of the private teams, manufacturer support for the new regulations was immense. Several of the 'old guard' manufacturers returned to the WSC within the next two years, with each marque adding to the diversity of the series. Under the new rules, it was theoretically possible for
normally aspirated engines to compete with the (expensive to maintain)
forced induction engines that had dominated the series in the '70s and early '80s. In addition, most races ran for either 500 or 1000 km, usually going over three and six hours, respectively, so it was possible to emphasize the "endurance" aspect of the competition as well.
Group B cars, which was a GT class, were also allowed to race, but entries in this class were sparse; combined with fatal accidents in rallying where the Group B class saw more popularity, the class (and European GT racing altogether) disappeared from the series, with
sports-prototypes dominating the championship. Porsche was the first constructor to join the series, with the
956, but soon several other makes joined the series, including
Jaguar Cars,
Mercedes-Benz,
Nissan,
Toyota,
Mazda and
Aston Martin. As costs increased, a C2 class (originally named C Junior) was created for privateer teams and small manufacturers, with greater limits to fuel consumption. In this lower class, most cars used either the
BMW M1 engine or the new
Cosworth DFL, but, like in the main class, a variety of solutions were employed by each individual manufacturer.
Alba,
Tiga,
Spice and
Ecurie Ecosse were among the most competitive in this class. While the Group C formula had brought manufacturers back to the sport, it was again Porsche - with its 956 & 962 Group C line - that continued their domination of the sport. For 1986, the World Endurance Championship became the
World Sports-Prototype Championship. Although the Group C formula was a success, with regular crowds of 50,000 to 70,000 at WSC events (a modern Grand Prix in Europe will have similar crowds), and upwards of 350,000 at the 24 hours of Le Mans, the
FIA introduced new rules for 1991 at the behest of FIA vice president Bernie Ecclestone; 750 kg machines with contemporary normally aspirated engines, which were purpose-built 3500cc racing units. The new classification, known as
Group C Category 1, was designed to mandate Formula One engines. Although power was generally less than existing Group C cars (around 650 bhp compared to around 750 bhp upwards) the new cars are considered to be among the quickest sportscars ever. However, the take up of these new regulations was slow and only a handful of Category 1 cars were ready for the 1991 season. Consequently, the FIA also allowed cars complying with pre-1991 Group C rules to contest the championship (as
Group C Category 2 cars) during the one transitional year. They were however seriously handicapped in terms of weight, fuel allocation and grid positions. For 1991 the championship took on yet another new name, the
FIA Sportscar World Championship and the new 3.5 litre rules took full effect for the 1992 championship with the old Group C cars no longer included.
1993 demise The new generation of WSC racing engines, with the stated intent of cost reduction and improved competition, quickly proved disastrous. Costs rose massively as works teams developed cars capable of qualifying around halfway up a Formula 1 grid, despite weighing some 200 kg more. Manufacturers again abandoned the sportscar series, realising they now had an engine suitable for F1. In particular, Mercedes and
Peugeot elected to either concentrate on or move solely to F1. The more exotic engines were unaffordable for teams like Spice and
ADA, thus after the manufacturers left the top class of sportscar racing, the series essentially collapsed. A lack of entries meant the 1993 season was cancelled before the first race. In 1994, the World Sportscar title would return, this time in the hands of the
International Motor Sports Association in North America for use in the
IMSA GT series. The name would be used for the series' top class of prototypes until 1998 when the series ended. 1994 also signaled the return of an international GT series after an absence of over a decade with the introduction of the
BPR Global GT Series. The success of the series lead to a friendly takeover by the FIA in 1997, becoming the
FIA GT Championship. Prototypes were mainly absent from European tracks (Le Mans being the sole notable exception) until 1997, which saw the creation of the International Sports Racing Series which evolved into the short-lived
FIA Sportscar Championship in 2001 until 2003. Sports prototypes then came exclusively under the control of the
Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and their sanctioned series, the
American Le Mans Series in North America and the
Le Mans Series in Europe. The FIA's championship for GTs was eventually promoted to
world championship status in
2010, while the ACO launched their own international championship, the
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the same year.
2012 rebirth Following the success of the ACO's
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC), the FIA reached an agreement with the ACO to create a new
FIA World Endurance Championship for 2012. The series shares many elements of the ILMC, including the use of the
24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the series schedule. The series continued to utilise the ACO's two primary classes,
Le Mans Prototypes and
GT Endurance (GTE). Hypercar replaced LMP1 as the primary class in 2021, running LMH and LMDh cars, the same as used in the
IMSA Sportscar Championship's top class
GTP. Championship titles are awarded for constructors and drivers in prototypes, while a constructors cup are awarded in the GTE categories. From 2017 championship titles are awarded also for constructors and drivers in GTE category.
LMGT3 replaced GTE in 2024. == Championship winners ==