After Mazda followed Nissan through the exit door at the end of 2021, last season's DPi class was contested exclusively between Cadillac and Acura teams, but the move to all new LMDh cars running spec hybrid systems for 2023 has attracted Porsche and BMW to join the renamed GTP division.
All four manufacturers have won a race this season, with Porsche's 963 LMDh taking three victories, the Acura ARX-06 and Cadillac V-Series.R managing two apiece and BMW M Hybrid V8 breaking through at Watkins Glen.
Albuquerque and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti team-mate Ricky Taylor enter next month's Petit Le Mans season finale three points shy of the championship lead, despite having yet to win a race this season.
They are one of four crews split by just 38 points in the standings, with Action Express Racing's Cadillac of Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims leading the way, the #6 Penske Porsche of Nick Tandy and Matthieu Jaminet trailing them by five points and Team RLL's #25 BMW of Connor Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly also in the mix with 385 points still up for grabs.
Speaking to Autosport, 2021 and 2022 championship runner-up Albuquerque said the shake-up had been refreshing after entering weekends towards the end of the well-matured DPi regulations that began in 2017 fairly confident of how the competitive order would form.
"That’s the curiosity and how wild it is in the first year of a new regulation," Albuquerque said.
"So you don’t know who will be competitive, you don’t know how competitive you will be at each event and reliability [problems] can strike you at any time. And that’s what is happening to all of us.
Source: Autosport