McLaren says LMDh rules are "extremely appealing"
McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown has described the LMDh rules that will be used in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from 2022 onwards as "very appealing".

The new regulations, which will replace IMSA's existing DPi regulations in 2022 and sit alongside the WEC's Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) formula, were announced at this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona by IMSA and WEC promoter the Automobile Club de l'Ouest.
A follow-up announcement featuring more details of the rules was planned for the 'Super Sebring' weekend in March, but was delayed owing to the global coronavirus pandemic.
McLaren ultimately decided against building a car to LMH rules last year but expressed strong interest in what would become the LMDh rules, wanting to be able to compete for a first Le Mans 24 Hours victory since 1995 at a lower price point.
With the rules announcement now understood to be imminent, Brown underlined McLaren's enthusiasm for a return to sportscar racing's top flight - but admitted the uncertainty surrounding motorsport as a whole as a result of the COVID-19 crisis would likely prevent any immediate commitment from being made.
"I think the rules are great," Brown said speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com in the latest of our #thinkingforward series of interviews with leading figures in motorsport.
"There was a big technical meeting [last weekend] and I think between the ACO, FIA and IMSA, they've landed in an ideal state. So congratulations to them on landing on a unified set of rules that I think are extremely appealing.
"McLaren entering new forms of motorsport is not a conversation we're having today because of what's going on [with COVID-19]. Put that aside, do the rules make it much more attractive to McLaren, our desire to want to come back to sports car racing? Absolutely.
"Now what we need to do is see, when we get through this crisis, what the new world looks like, what does Formula 1 look like, and then any time we enter a new form of motorsport it's all about timing, being prepared, [the rules] being affordable.
"But the rules as they've been laid out, are definitely something that gets McLaren excited. Now we have just got to see how the world plays out around us."
Should a McLaren LMDh entry materialise in future, it would fit alongside the Woking-based outfit's long-standing Formula 1 team and its new-for-2020 IndyCar programme with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsport.
Brown had previously stated that McLaren would aim to be competitive with an annual budget of around $20m, around half the figure it estimated it would have needed in LMH.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Noble and James Allen

Previous article
Alonso claims 2021 plans are "more or less" set
Next article
ACO, IMSA reveal LMDh regulation details

About this article
Series | WEC , IMSA |
Author | Jamie Klein |
McLaren says LMDh rules are "extremely appealing"
Trending
Ferrari enters LMH from 2023
Peugeot in sportscars
WEC: 2021 Entry list revealed!
WEC: What is a Hypercar?
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing: GR010 HYBRID HYPERCAR
Why Ferrari is ending its 50-year top-flight sportscar racing exile
Making a return to top-flight sportscar racing after 50 years away, Ferrari will enter the Le Mans Hypercar ranks in 2023. The Italian marque denies the link with Formula 1's new cost cap that frees up resources, but it's certainly no coincidence...
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
The ground-up refresh behind Toyota's new Le Mans challenger
Toyota's new GR010 contender for the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar era has little in common with the LMP1 TS050 that preceded it. But within the confines of the scaled back new rules, its latest challenger will be no less formidable a prospect
The tiny increments that decided the final LMP1-era WEC
The system of success handicaps devised by the FIA World Endurance Championship to level the LMP1 playing field in the category's swansong season ended up having a counterproductive effect, as COVID cancellations also played in the champions' favour.
Why Audi’s shock return promises a new age for sportscars
OPINION: The news that Audi will return to Le Mans means we'll at last get to see the fight promised in 2012 against Peugeot and Toyota. It also gives LMDh a tangible form, which could open the floodgates for more like-minded marques to follow suit…
The eternal debate revived after the 2019/20 WEC season
It may have been missed amid the clamour over Lewis Hamilton's seventh F1 title, but Britain had another world champion crowned last weekend. Mike Conway's WEC crown raises an old conundrum - does title glory make up for the pain of Le Mans defeat?
The 10 greatest LMP1 races ranked
As the LMP1 class prepares to bow out of top-line sportscar racing at the World Endurance Championship season finale in Bahrain this weekend, Motorsport.com looks back over the past two decades to pick out the 10 of its best contests
Why COVID-19 didn't stop Peugeot's Le Mans commitment
When the global pandemic hit, Peugeot was given the perfect excuse to back out of its stated intention to return to Le Mans in 2022. That it hasn't done so is telling both of its unfinished business and the opportunities presented by the Hypercar rulebook