How Is the Champion Determined in WEC? The Points System, Explained
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The champion in the WEC is determined by the total of points accumulated in every race held throughout the season; a win in a 6-hour race earns 25 points, in 8-10 hour races that figure rises to 38, and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans it reaches 50 under the double-points system. In other words, a single big win is not enough: the championship is the mathematical total of the entire season. Moreover, the same team is entered in two different championship tables in the same season.
Highlights
- A win in a 6-hour race 25 points, in an 8-10 hour race 38 points, at Le Mans 50 points in value
- Le Mans awards double the normal points scale
- The team taking pole position in each round +1 bonus point earns
- In Hypercar there are two separate world championships, while in LMGT3 there are FIA Endurance Trophy titles
- Cars finishing outside the top 10 half points receive
How Does the WEC Points System Work?
Now let's get to the heart of the matter, because this is the core of it all. In the WEC, scoring at the end of each race applies only to the top 10. The scale is exactly the same as F1's classic 25-18-15... layout: the winner gets 25 points, second 18, third 15, and tenth just 1 point. So in a standard 6-hour race the calculation goes: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1.
But here is where the fun begins: not every race is worth the same. The longer the race, the more inflated the points distributed. Imagine the difference between studying for two hours and studying for a week for an exam - the reward grows with the effort.
Points Scale by Race Duration
| Race Type | 1. | 2. | 3. | 10. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6-hour race | 25 | 18 | 15 | 1 |
| 8 or 10-hour race (e.g. 1812 km) | 38 | 27 | 23 | 2 |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | 50 | 36 | 30 | 2 |
8-10 hour races reward roughly 1.5 times the normal scale; a 25-point win jumps to 38. Le Mans is in a league of its own: it awards 50 points to the class winner, exactly double a normal win. The season's longest and most brutal race is also the most rewarding in points.
There are also small but sweet details. In each round, the team that wins pole position in its category in Hyperpole +1 bonus point receives; this point is credited to the drivers' and manufacturers' classifications. Cars that finish and are classified 11th or lower go home with half points - like saving a game after a power cut, it exists but doesn't quite satisfy.
Does the Le Mans Winner Automatically Become Champion?
No! This is the most frequently asked question by those new to endurance racing, and the answer is clear: a Le Mans win is a massive advantage but not enough on its own. 50 points is of course a huge contribution; but if you get poor results in the rest of the season, a rival who skips a Le Mans win but consistently collects points in every race can overtake you.
Think of it like an exam season: getting full marks on the final is great, but if your midterm grades are terrible, you risk slipping in the overall ranking. The WEC championship works exactly like this - the season total speaks, not a single race That is why Ferrari's success in 2025 - winning Le Mans for the third consecutive time and closing the season with both the Manufacturers' and Drivers' World Championship titles - is once again precious; the Italian team managed not only the great race, but the entire season.
This balance has been debated in history: in 2018, the idea of awarding 1.5 times the points instead of double at Le Mans came up, and it was proposed that the class winner would receive 37.5 points instead of 50. The official table in force today, however, is clearly a double-points system, i.e. the 50-36-30... sequence.
Double Championship: Same Season, Two Separate Trophies
Perhaps the most surprising structure distinguishing WEC from F1 is this: two classes race on the same track at the same time, and each class collects points in its own championship. Hypercar cars and LMGT3 cars do not mix; the categories are evaluated independently.
The Hypercar Side
At the top class there are two separate world championships: the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship for manufacturers and the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Drivers' Championship for drivers. In other words, a team can double up in the same season as both a brand and its drivers - which is exactly what Ferrari did in 2025. The current driver champions are Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado (the #51 car).
The regulations are also strict in Hypercar: all drivers must be of Silver, Gold or Platinum class, and Bronze drivers are prohibited. Prototypes are built to LMH or LMDh regulations, and this class is the apple of the manufacturers' eye. Equal to a record in 2026 14 manufacturers are on the grid: Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, newcomer Genesis, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota.
The LMGT3 Side
In LMGT3, which replaced LMGTE in 2024, the picture is a bit different: the titles here do not carry world championship status but are awarded as the FIA Endurance Trophy - for both teams and drivers. This class uses the FIA GT3 technical platform, private teams and Pro-Am line-ups compete, and Goodyear tires are mandatory. Each line-up must include at least one Bronze driver and one Bronze or Silver driver; in other words, amateur-semi-professional mixed teams are also fully within the championship math.
There is also a bonus award: the Goodyear Wingfoot Award is given to the driver who sets the fastest average lap times throughout the season. It is not a championship, but it takes its place on the prestige list.
How Are Driver Points Calculated?
In the WEC, a car is shared by three drivers and points are awarded to the car/line-up - meaning every driver in the line-up receives exactly the same points that go to the car. This is very different from F1 logic: here your teammates are not your rivals, but the partners with whom you share points. Drivers also have to compromise on seat and chassis settings; a cockpit that fits one perfectly can discomfort another. That is why in endurance saying "the car is fast" is not enough - the line-up must also be in harmony.
Let's do a concrete calculation, so it comes to life in our heads: a driver wins a 6-hour race - 25 points - plus the pole bonus, 26 in total. The next round is a 10-hour race, they win again: +38. If they also reach victory at Le Mans, +50. So even a three-race streak alone can bring 114 points. Do you see how the championship is accumulated and built over the long season?
How Did the 2026 Season Change the Points Math?
Here comes the current and somewhat turbulent part of the story. 2026 is the WEC's 14th season and it set out with an 8-race calendar; the opener was the 6-hour race at Imola. But the Qatar 1812 km was postponed to October for geopolitical reasons, and then in July the Qatar 1812 km and the 8 Hours of Bahrain were cancelled altogether. In their place came two 6-hour European races: the 6 Hours of Barcelona for the first time in history (October 18) and the 6 Hours of Monza for the first time since 2023 (November 8).
In terms of points, this change is significant: the long races that awarded 1.5x points disappeared and were replaced by standard 25-point 6-hour races. Now only a single high-multiplier round remains on the calendar - Le Mans. This means the championship will mostly take shape with the standard scale, with the 50 points at Le Mans becoming a more critical springboard than ever. For teams dreaming of a comeback after a big bad result, the math has narrowed a bit.
One more interesting detail: from 2026 onward, the FIA no longer publishes the BoP (Balance of Performance) tables publicly; the data is shared only with the teams, aiming to prevent speculation. So alongside the points table, performance balancing is also being played out under new rules this season.
Where Does the Table Stand Right Now?
After Le Mans 2026, in the LMGT3 Teams' Championship TF Sport #33 leads by a wide margin with 72 points; Vista AF Corse #21 with 40 points and Akkodis ASP #78 with 37 points are chasing it. On the Hypercar side, Ferrari, having closed 2025 with a double crown, is challenging the challengers: Toyota has come to answer with its new TR010 Hybrid. Porsche, meanwhile, has gone down in history as the holder of four drivers' and two manufacturers' titles; the 2024 Hypercar world champion Porsche Penske Motorsport withdrew from Hypercar in 2026 to focus on IMSA and Formula E.
What Really Determines the Championship?
Let's wrap up: in the WEC, the championship is not a moment of brilliance but a matter of season-long accumulation. The points scale swells according to race length, Le Mans doubles everything, and fine details like the pole bonus and half points shape the table. A team scoring the same races in both the manufacturers' and drivers' classifications means that while watching an endurance race, you are following two separate stories at once. If it were you, which would you watch more - the battle of the brands or the duel of the drivers? In my opinion, keep both tables open, because at the end of the season one of them always returns with a surprise story.