This year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, the 91st staging of the race, is the centenary edition as it marks the 100th anniversary of its first running in 1923.
And the 2023 edition of the centrepiece World Endurance Championship round boasts a leading category of cars befitting of such an occasion, with 16 entries from seven brands in the Hypercar class that the outright winner will, bar a near-unprecedented set of circumstances, emerge from.
Looking through the Spotter Guide for this year I’m sad to say that I don’t see a single South African flag alongside any driver’s name.
The Hypercar class, with its record 16 entries, is packed with a lot of seriously good driver teams. All eyes will be on the Toyotas and Ferraris to see if their BOP weight additions will make for even closer racing than there’s been in the opening rounds of the season.
The original high-res PDF files for both the Spotter Guides are too big to upload here. I’ve added them to my Google Drive if you’d like to have them instead of the converted images.
Ferrari denies Toyota a seventh consecutive 24 Hour of Le Mans pole!
The #50 Ferrari 499P will start the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary in pole position. Antonio Fuoco banked the fastest lap in the half-hour Hyperpole shoot-out. The #51 sister car was second fastest to lock out the front row of the grid in Saturday’s 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary race.
Hypercar
#50 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco*/Miguel Molina/Nicklas Nielsen – 3:22.982
#51 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi*/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi – 3:23.755
#8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid | Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi/Brendon Hartley*/Ryō Hirakawa – 3:24.451
Only Hypercars and LMGT3 machinery will be eligible to enter the WEC next season, with the long-standing LMP2 class a casualty of growing demand for grid slots in the rejuvenated top category.
The impending arrival of Lamborghini, BMW and Alpine in the top class for 2024, as well as boutique marque Isotta Fraschini, is expected to result in a top-class entry of up to 20 cars next season, with the full entry currently standing at 38 cars.
However, series organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest announced during its official press conference on Friday morning that a “minimum” of 15 slots on the grid will be reserved for the category for the Le Mans 24 Hours, as first signalled last December.
Le Mans Live from the Scuderia Glickenhaus Team #708 / #709
Radar and precipitation nowcast for Le Mans
Variable weather for Le Mans from the Start. Dry on the Start, soaking wet around the corner at the first chicane.
4 hours in, 46 laps completed, and 14 of the Hypercars are all still within a lap of each other. The BOP adjustments and the new Safety Car procedures making a big difference.
4 hours to go, and it’s turned into an absolute classic Le Mans, one for the history books. The highlights package is going to be a must watch.
Ferrari back in the lead, but it’s the #51 car. The polesitter #50 had a brake fluid leak after picking up debris from one of the many accidents in the night. That’s put them back down to P7, about 4 laps off the lead.
#8 Toyota is P2, #2 Cadillac is P3. Second Cadi is P4, with a Peugeot and then a Porsche. 5 marques in the top 6, top 2 still on the lead lap, separated by just 2 seconds!
Battles in LMP2 and in GTE too.
@Wyvern, I’ve heard that Stream 2 here may still be working well:
And… it’s gone too. Sorry. Check the YouTube search link in my main post from yesterday. Maybe a stream or two that might survive the last 90 minutes.
A new (old!) challenger is entering the fray…! Aston Martin will join the Hypercar class in 2025 when they field a racing prototype of the Valkyrie.
Aston Martin to return to Le Mans to fight for overall victory with Valkyrie AMR Pro.
Heart of Racing to lead Aston Martin’s hypercar challenge in @fiawec_official and @imsa_racing. From 2025 Aston Martin will be the only manufacturer competing at all levels of sportscar and GT racing, and the @f1 championship, with confirmation of all-new GT3 and GT4 cars which will conform to the 2024 LMGT3 regulations.
It’s true - Aston Martin is officially set to race in WEC & IMSA with its Hypercar Prototype, based on the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro race car, with The Hearts of Racing team. But with their recent successes in F1, will they be fighting for wins and championships in Endurance Racing? What are the tech specifics about their machinery? And who will drive for the team? Martyn Lee chats with Autosport’s Sportscar guru Gary Watkins to find out all the info.
The Porsche & Michael Fassbender Road to Le Mans movie is out on YouTube now.
Road to Le Mans - The Film tells the story of Michael Fassbender’s dream to race against the best teams and drivers in the world at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This is the final chapter of the story following Michael’s journey to compete at the world’s ultimate motorsport event.
