How does the WEC scoring system work?

The base points table

Every WEC round awards points to the top 10 classified finishers in each class. The scale runs 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 from first to tenth, with no fractional points for ties.

This base scale is the same in Hypercar, LMP2 (when run) and LMGT3. The class winner at a 6 Hours of Spa earns the same headline number as the class winner at Bahrain, Sao Paulo or any other regular-length round. The internal cadence of the championship is therefore determined by which manufacturer wins consistently across rounds rather than which one peaks at a single race.

The Le Mans multiplier

The 24 Hours of Le Mans pays double points. A Le Mans class win is worth 50 points rather than 25, second place 36 rather than 18 and third 30 rather than 15, down to 2 points for tenth. The longer 8-hour and 1812 km rounds use a 1.5x scale, with 38 points for the winner.

The larger scale exists because Le Mans is the championship's centrepiece and because the race occupies a full operational week of preparation and execution for every team. The multiplier ensures that a strong Le Mans result is meaningful in the championship outcome even when the rest of the season has gone badly, and that a Le Mans non-finish is severe in the points table even after a good season.

The practical effect is visible in the standings every year. The 2023 Hypercar manufacturers' title was decided largely on Ferrari's Le Mans win, which contributed 38 points to a final tally of 217 (roughly 17 percent of the season's haul from one race). Teams plan their season strategy around the Le Mans multiplier first.

Pole position and pit-stop bonuses

Every class pole-sitter in Hyperpole earns 1 championship point. The point goes to both the team and the driver who sat the pole lap. Le Mans pole earns 1 point (no multiplier on the pole bonus).

Pole points are the smallest line in the championship, but in a close title fight a single point can separate two crews.

There is no fastest-lap bonus in the WEC, unlike Formula 1. The team-level executions that win endurance races (clean stops, perfect strategy, no errors) are rewarded by overall race points rather than a separate fastest-lap line.

Manufacturer scoring

The manufacturers' championship adds together points from the top two cars per manufacturer at each round. A manufacturer running three cars (as Toyota does in some seasons or Ferrari did in 2023-2024 in LMGTE) scores from its two best finishers and drops the third.

This creates a strategic incentive to run multiple entries. A manufacturer with three cars at Le Mans can absorb a non-finish from one car and still score with the other two; a manufacturer with one car at Le Mans is exposed to any single mechanical issue. The 2025 Hypercar season had Toyota and Ferrari running two cars each, Porsche running three cars and Cadillac running two, all in response to this scoring structure.

Driver scoring within a crew

WEC entries run three drivers per car at most rounds and two drivers at sprint rounds (rare in the current calendar). All drivers in the crew score the same points as the car's finishing position. A No. 51 Ferrari that wins a Le Mans round earns its three drivers (Pier Guidi, Calado, Giovinazzi in the 2023 example) 38 points each.

This rewards consistent crews. The most successful WEC drivers in the all-time overall-win records are the ones who stayed in the same car across multiple seasons, accumulating points race after race.

Classification rules

To score points, a car must complete at least 70 percent of the laps run by its class winner and must finish on track at the chequered flag. Cars that retire before the finish are classified as DNF and receive no points. A car that crashes out in the last hour after running in the top five may still score if it had completed enough laps before the crash.

The 70 percent rule is unusually generous compared with most series. It exists because endurance racing routinely produces cars that lose 30 minutes to a repair, return to the track and run for the remaining hours. Without the 70 percent rule, those cars would frequently be unclassified despite finishing the race.

What the scoring tells us about the championship

The combination of consistent per-round points, double points at Le Mans and small pole bonuses produces a championship that rewards full-season consistency punctuated by Le Mans success. A Le Mans win is worth as much as two 6-hour wins, so a crew can win the title without winning the most races. A team cannot win the title without scoring at Le Mans. That is the scoring system's central editorial choice and it has shaped the Hypercar manufacturer roster since 2021.