Category: Le Mans/WEC

An inside look at Garage 56’s unique Goodyear tires

Goodyear has taken its NASCAR Cup tire and developed a unique solution for the Garage 56 Chevy Camaro ZL1 that’s racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Have a look at what’s been changed and how it all works. Or CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube.

Goodyear has taken its NASCAR Cup tire and developed a unique solution for the Garage 56 Chevy Camaro ZL1 that’s racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Have a look at what’s been changed and how it all works.

Or CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube.

LM24, Hour 10: Peugeot holding steady as Ferrari, Porsche falter

Nico Muller and Peugeot were in control of the 24 Hours of Le Mans after ten hours. Muller inherited the lead of the race after Ryo Hirakawa brought the No. 8 Toyota GR010 to the pits during a full course yellow period that encased the second half …

Nico Muller and Peugeot were in control of the 24 Hours of Le Mans after ten hours. Muller inherited the lead of the race after Ryo Hirakawa brought the No. 8 Toyota GR010 to the pits during a full course yellow period that encased the second half of the hour.

Perhaps more noteworthy, however, was the No. 50 Ferrari that was wheeled into the garage in the closing minutes of the hour. Antonio Fouco was running fourth when the car was brought in. The team set to work on the front of the car in search of a leak. The car was still in the garage at the end of the hour and is two laps down but likely to lose more.

Coincidentally, it was the second Hypercar with a leak of some form after the No. 5 Team Penske Porsche 963 suffered a water leak and dropped down the order.

The developments in recent hours have meant Toyota, Ferrari, and Porsche all have just one car left in contention for the second half of the race.

Earlier in the hour, Hirakawa had gained the top spot after he pounced on Peugeot’s Muller once the field resumed green-flag racing following a safety car for an incident that had resulted in the retirement of Toyota’s No. 7 GR010.

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Hirakawa followed Sebastian Bourdais past the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 on the start at the Dunlop Chicane. Bourdais was regaining his status on the lead lap for the No. 3 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R while Hirakawa was moving through to take the race lead.

The No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R is second but much of the field is cycling through pitstops after a full course yellow.

A pair of LMP2 runners ran into trouble with the most consequential incident befalling the No. 63 Prema Racing ORECA 07. Daniil Kyvat was at the wheel when circuit cameras captured the car sliding backward through the Porsche Curves with heavy damage to the rear of the car after impacting the barrier on driver’s left. Kyvat climbed from the car uninjured, but the incident meant the end of that team’s race.

Earlier in the hour, the No. 28 Jota ORECA 07 of Pietro Fittipaldi found himself beached in the gravel at the first chicane after contact with the No. 65 Panis Racing ORECA 07. Fittipaldi was running fifth at the time of the incident.

It’s still the No. 34 Inter Europol Competition ORECA 07 in the lead of the race in LMP2. The No. 30 Duqueine ORECA 07 of Rene Binder is second and the No. 41 Team WRT ORECA 07 of Rui Andrade is third but pitstops are complicating the always-close running order in LMP2.

In GTE Am, Matteo Cairolli in the No. 56 Project 1 – AO Porsche 911 RSR passed Francesco Castellaci in the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE for the lead of the class. Ahmad Al Harthy in the No. 25 ORT by TF Racing Aston Martin Vantage was third.

HOUR 10 STANDINGS

LM24 Hour 9: LMP2 looks to heat up after hour-long safety car

The ninth hour was held entirely under the safety car, while marshals cleaned up the mess from the multi-car incident at Tertre Rouge at the end of the previous hour. As the hour began the No. 7 was formally retired, Kamui Kobayashi jumping out of …

The ninth hour was held entirely under the safety car, while marshals cleaned up the mess from the multi-car incident at Tertre Rouge at the end of the previous hour.

As the hour began the No. 7 was formally retired, Kamui Kobayashi jumping out of the car, throwing in the towel after multiple attempts to restart his GR010. The No. 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari also was also an on-the-spot retirement from its damage in the incident.

With the race neutralized, heading into Hour 10 the race is still being led by Peugeot’s No. 94 9X8. Nico Muller will have to defend hard from the No. 8 Toyota of Ryo Hirakawa when the race resumes. The No. 8 crew, having picked up the baton from the No. 7 after its retirement, represents Toyota’s only hope of claiming a sixth victory at Le Mans in a row, and stay unbeaten this season in the FIA WEC.

There are five cars on the lead lap, though, with the No. 2 Cadillac still very much in the fight, with Alex Lynn (sporting his Derek Bell tribute helmet) now aboard. The No. 50 and No. 51 Ferraris are also still on the lead lap despite their recent setbacks and will hope to find a way back to the front as we approach the halfway mark.

In LMP2, WRT’s No. 41 ORECA has taken the lead from the No. 34 Inter Europol ORECA. The Panis Racing ORECA is third. But LMP2 is set to be a dogfight when the race returns to green — with the gaps closed, there will be a train of 10 cars on the lead lap together.

Iron Dames’ Porsche now holds the GTE Am lead after the most recent stops. The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari has risen to second, while the ‘Rexy’ Project 1 Porsche is down to third. There will be a six-way fight for the GTE lead after the safety car pulls in.

HOUR 9 STANDINGS

Garage 56 Le Mans 1976 NASCAR display tour with John Doonan

Garage 56 program manager John Doonan takes us for a tour of the NASCAR display at the 24 Hours of Le Mans where the two cars sent over by NASCAR to race in 1976 – which inspired the return in 2023 on the series’ 75th anniversary – are on display. …

Garage 56 program manager John Doonan takes us for a tour of the NASCAR display at the 24 Hours of Le Mans where the two cars sent over by NASCAR to race in 1976 — which inspired the return in 2023 on the series’ 75th anniversary — are on display.

Or CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube

LM24, Hour 8: Heartbreak for No. 7 Toyota and others at Tertre Rouge

Almost eight hours into the Le Mans 24 Hours, the race finally felt like it was settling into a rhythm before drama at the end of the hour brought us to one-third distance. Much to almost everybody trackside’s surprise, it was Ferrari vs. Peugeot …

Almost eight hours into the Le Mans 24 Hours, the race finally felt like it was settling into a rhythm before drama at the end of the hour brought us to one-third distance.

Much to almost everybody trackside’s surprise, it was Ferrari vs. Peugeot for the lead in Hypercar. The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari led over the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8, preventing the 499P from extending its lead gap.

It was Alessandro Pier Guidi vs. Nico Muller, and Muller was rapid after climbing aboard, reeling in Pier Guidi gradually, bringing the gap down to just 12s from 80s at the start of the hour. It looked to be game on, but just before the ninth hour began, Pier Guidi had a spin at the first Mulsanne Chicane, just behind the No. 911 Proton Porsche. Pier Guidi was in the gravel and needed to be craned back on the track.

This handed the lead to the No. 94 Peugeot, adding to the car’s simply astonishing run so far.

Moments after the No. 51’s off that cost Ferrari the lead, there was a multi-car pile-up at Tertre Rouge on the entry to the slow zone for the stranded Ferrari.

Kamui Kobayashi in the third place No. 7 Toyota slowed for the zone, and was hit hard at the rear of the JMW Motorsport Ferrari of Louis Prette and the No. 35 Signatech Alpine ORECA. The Ferrari then cannoned off the No. 7, going airborne and into an unidentifiable LMP2 car.

The damage to the rear of the GR010 HYBRID was significant, as Kobayashi was unable to pull away and get back up to speed, the car’s battery without enough power to get the car going.

This meant the No. 94 Peugeot leads into Hour 9 by over two minutes over the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari and the No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R.

Earlier in the hour, trouble hit the LMP2 leader also. The No. 23 United Autosports car, straight after taking the lead over the No. 34 Inter Europol ORECA, had an off when Tom Blomqvist had a brake failure. The front and rear of the car were damaged and the car has now dropped to 17th losing two laps due to the repairs.

“It seemed like a series of unfortunate events,” Blomqvist told RACER. “I went wide at Mulsanne, through the gravel, I was on slicks and it was wet. I did Indianapolis and Arnage fine, but when I got to Porsche, I had no brakes. I was a super fast corner, it was wet off line, but I had to look for an escape road. Eventually, I spun out and hit the barrier. It’s a huge shame because we were in such a good position. I’ve been through the gravel so many times in my career, not once have I had a brake failure from it.”

This means Polish team Inter Europol is back in the lead, with the No. 41 WRT ORECA and the No. 80 AF Corse example second and third.

In GTE Am, the No. 56 Project 1 AO Porsche leads the Iron Dames Porsche. The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari is third. A rare hour with no changes to the top three in the class.

HOUR 8 STANDINGS

LM24, Hour 7: Rain throws teams another curve

The seventh hour of the Le Mans 24 Hours brought darkness and more rain, lots of it. Another heavy rain shower, this time mainly over the pit lane and run to Tetre Rouge, caused another round of panicked pit stops for wet tires, and unfortunately …

The seventh hour of the Le Mans 24 Hours brought darkness and more rain, lots of it. Another heavy rain shower, this time mainly over the pit lane and run to Tetre Rouge, caused another round of panicked pit stops for wet tires, and unfortunately more incidents.

Thankfully there were no major accidents, though a handful of key cars ended up damaged. The first to be spotted off-track was the JMW Motorsport Ferrari 488, which had just taken the lead of GTE Am. Giacomo Petrobelli lost control of the car at Karting, and ended up stranded in the gravel.

Seconds later a Toyota and Ferrari 499P went off at the same place, but avoided hitting any barriers and had to use the access road to get back on track.

Rain then began to hit Indianapolis and Arnage. Frederick Lubin had an off without contact in the No. 22 United ORECA, before the No. 9 PREMA OREECA stopped in the same runoff area and was t-boned by the Racing Team Turkey ORECA of Salih Yoluc, the Turk a passenger sailing over the track, straight-lining the apex. Both cars made it back to pit lane for repairs.

Once the field came in and took wet tyres, the rain eased and cars stopped going off track. The No. 2 Cadillac was the only car to suffer a notable off later in the hour, Richard Westbrook spinning at Mulsanne Corner, losing a chunk of time and describing the conditions as “dangerous.”

There was a significant car to hit mechanical trouble, though. Adding to Porsche’s series of unfortunate events in the race so far, the No. 75 ground to a half with a loss of power. Mathieu Jaminet did get the car fired again, before stopping again before the end of the hour. The IMSA guest-entered car has since been officially retired. Porsche now doesn’t have a 963 on the lead lap.

As for the running order. The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari now has a clear lead. Alessandro Pier Guidi has been masterful in the wet, pulling away from the No. 94 Peugeot which remains the surprise package of the race. Loic Duval put in a huge effort to keep the car in contention. He did, however, drop from 27 seconds behind to 1m24s behind Pier Guidi during the hour. The No. 51 is fully in control at the moment.

What about the No. 50 sister Ferrari? It is down to fifth having lost 30 seconds at its most recent stop due to an unplanned car reset.

The No. 7 and No. 8 Toyotas are third and fourth behind the No. 94 Peugeot.

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In LMP2, the hour saw a lead battle between the No. 34 Inter Europol ORECA of Fabio Scherer and No. 23 United Autosports ORECA build up, with Tom Blomqvist in the No. 23 reeling in Scherer throughout the hour. It will be interesting to see if the No. 23 will take the lead on pit lane or on track.

After JMW’s woes in the rain, GTE Am is now led by the “Rexy” Project 1 Porsche. The fan favourite has enjoyed an impressive run in the opening hours and has stayed out of trouble. With Matteo Cairoli now back aboard, his mission is to pull away from Michelle Gatting in the Iron Dames Porsche that is currently 22 seconds behind. The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari is third.

Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 has also stayed out of trouble and run a steady race. It is 43rd overall.

HOUR 7 STANDINGS

Garage 56 Walk & Talk with Jenson Button, Mike Rockenfeller and Jimmie Johnson

Walk with Jenson Button, Mike Rockenfeller, and Jimmie Johnson as the Garage 56 drivers bring us inside their unique world that unites NASCAR, F1, and FIA WEC champions at Hendrick Motorsports for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Or CLICK HERE to watch on …

Walk with Jenson Button, Mike Rockenfeller, and Jimmie Johnson as the Garage 56 drivers bring us inside their unique world that unites NASCAR, F1, and FIA WEC champions at Hendrick Motorsports for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Or CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube

LM24, Hour 6: Ferrari in command

We’ve reached the quarter mark of the centenary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, and in every class, it’s been a drama-filled race, with no team about to build any sort of comfortable lead through the safety car periods and rain showers. In …

We’ve reached the quarter mark of the centenary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, and in every class, it’s been a drama-filled race, with no team about to build any sort of comfortable lead through the safety car periods and rain showers.

In Hypercar, the race finally settled down somewhat, and Ferrari emerged as the true leader, its pair of 499Ps running strongly in first and second, pulling away from the chasing pack through much of the hour.

But as Hour 7 started it was the No. 75 Porsche that inherited the lead, as the two AF Corse Ferraris pitted at the end of the sixth hour. Nick Tandy is ahead of the two Ferraris, but the Briton is set to pit shortly after the start of the next hour and drop back down the order.

As it stands, it’s going well for Ferrari, and for the No. 94 Peugeot and No. 2 Cadillac. Clean runs for all four cars, with no dramas or misfortune, have put them firmly in contention as the sun sets over the circuit.

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The No. 94 Peugeot, which led earlier in the race, ran third throughout the hour with Loic Duval pushing hard to keep up with the Ferraris. The pace isn’t there, though, as the Ferraris ended up matching and bettering the Frenchman’s pace. Duval is 20 seconds off the No. 51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi, which has recently leapfrogged the No. 50 of Nicklas Nielsen.

The Cadillac Racing No. 2 V-Series.R, the only Caddy to have a clean run so far, is within a minute of the lead, and running well. Cadillac, like Ferrari and Toyota, will hope to make progress overnight when they likely attempt to triple and quadruple each set of tires.

Although HOTA’s Hypercar hopes are gone, its No. 28 ORECA 07 – Gibson of David Heinemeier Hansson, Oliver Rasmussen, Pietro Fittipaldi looks strong in LMP2. Rainier Ehrhardt/Motorsport Images

In LMP2, JOTA’s No. 28 ORECA of Oliver Rasmussen holds a 28-second advantage over the No. 34 Inter Europol ORECA, which has had an impressive outing so far. The No. 23 United Autosports ORECA is third.

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GTE AM is now being led by JMW, with the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari second and the Iron Dames Porsche third. The TF Sport No. 72 was the latest car in the class to crash out. Arnold Robin, while running eighth ran wide through the Porsche Curves, hit the wall at the double left-hander and went sailing backwards into barriers, taking off the car’s rear wing.

The Am class so far has been incredibly hard to read, with so many cars hitting trouble. Just eight of the 21 cars are on the lead lap, and six cars have retired.

If you thought this race was about to enter a quiet phase, think again, as the rain began coming down hard at the pit lane area as Hour 7 began.

LM24, Hour 5: Hero to zero for JOTA Porsche

After a lengthy safety car period for heavy rain, the Le Mans 24 Hours is green and frantic once again. Peugeot’s lead from the previous hour didn’t last long once the race resumed, as a hard-charging Yiefei Ye quickly passed the No. 94 of Gustavo …

After a lengthy safety car period for heavy rain, the Le Mans 24 Hours is green and frantic once again.

Peugeot’s lead from the previous hour didn’t last long once the race resumed, as a hard-charging Yiefei Ye quickly passed the No. 94 of Gustavo Menezes in the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche. Ye took the lead between Mulsanne Corner and the Porsche Curves after running side by side for the entire stretch in what was yet another thrilling sequence.

It was a dream start to the hour for the British team, which in only its second race with the 963 in Hypercar, started 60th, and found itself leading the Le Mans 24 Hours. But Ye would go from hero to zero before the end of Hour 5, when he made an error at the final section of the Porsche Curves and went sideways into the tires at high speed. The impact ripped the rear assembly and engine cover off the car, and damaged the right front with a secondary impact.

Ye then had to dash back to the pits, where the mechanics pushed the car back into the garage for substantial repairs. Ye was understandably distraught as he climbed out.

“We have the front end, rear end, rear wing all damaged and the floor too. The suspension seems OK. We are repairing the bodywork and we will go again. He just lost it in the Porsche Curves,” team principal Dieter Gass related.

Overall it was a disastrous hour for Porsche in Hypercar, as the two factory WEC full-season Penske 963s both hit trouble too. The No. 6 of Dane Cameron suffered a right-rear puncture shortly after the restart while running second, and the No. 5 was handed a drive-through for overtaking a car under the safety car.

It’s all unravelled so fast for the German marque, although the No. 5 Porsche is still third after its penalty, ahead of the No. 75 IMSA-crewed car that’s fourth. The No. 6 is down to 11th and is a lap down after coming in for a replacement tire.

With JOTA’s hopes of victory over, the pair of AF Corse Ferrari 499Ps are back up front. The No. 50 of Miguel Molina leads the No. 51 of Antonio Giovanazzi, who climbed the order after Menezes pitted the No. 94 and Ye had his off. Although it’s still early, of course, it’s been a very quiet and promising opening five hours from the Italian marque.

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In the other classes, the No. 41 WRT ORECA has emerged as the LMP2 leader with Louis Deletraz now aboard. The No. 41 is having a much better run than the sister car, which has dropped to 18th in class after its off in the rain earlier and required a front and rear end change.

It’s a similar story for United Autosports. Its No. 22 is five laps down from the leader after Frederick Lubin’s incident, while the No. 23 is second with Oliver Jarvis putting in a strong stint. The No. 28 JOTA ORECA is third.

GTE Am has had its front-running order changed, as the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 of Francesco Castellacci has moved to the front, with Martin Rump in the No. 911 Proton Porsche second. The No. 85 Iron Dames car, which led under the safety car, is now down to third.

At the back of the Am field, Corvette Racing remains off the lead lap, the team confirming to RACER that a front damper failure was the cause of the No. 33’s earlier trip to the garage. Initially, the C8.R was two laps down after rejoining but has since recovered a lap since the safety car. Next on the job list is gaining the second lap back. If it can do it on pace, or a safety car hands the team a break, then the No. 33 can get back into contention.

“It was very strange. Everything was going fine. The car was running great and was all good. Out of nowhere, prototypes passed me and after that I had a weird feeling,” explained Nicky Catsburg. “Maybe this was because I had to go off-line and had some pickup, but it wouldn’t disappear. The car was moving around a lot under braking and at all speed. So I told the guys that I think we had an issue. When we got it into the pitlane, it was the damper and we lost two laps. The crew still did an awesome job and couldn’t have done it quicker.

“It’s really tough, though, to come back from this spot. It seems like a disastrous race with the safety cars. But our main competitors in the championship are out of the race, so even with zero points we will still lead the championship. So we need to focus and get as many points as possible. Maybe we can get back on the lead lap. I kind of doubt it, but we will never give up. The car is definitely fast, and everything went well. So I know we have a good car.”

HOUR 5 STANDINGS

LM24, Hour 4: Peugeot holds station up front

The fourth hour of the Le Mans 24 Hours saw things settle down, but only because the safety car period called for rain and incidents in Hour 3 lasted the entire hour. The biggest headline of the hour was the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 holding the lead under …

The fourth hour of the Le Mans 24 Hours saw things settle down, but only because the safety car period called for rain and incidents in Hour 3 lasted the entire hour.

The biggest headline of the hour was the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 holding the lead under safety car conditions after the most recent Hypercar pit stops early in the hour. Californian ace Gustavo Menezes’s efforts climbing the order on slick tires in the rain paid off, the French marque is an unlikely early leader in this race.

While the No. 94 was enjoying life at the front, it was not a good hour for the sister car. After changing to slicks under safety car, Jean-Eric Vergne in the No. 93 had a spin at Mulsanne Corner while tip-toeing and came to a stop in the gravel. The Frenchman ended up beached and required outside assistance to rejoin as Hour 5 approached. He is now two laps down and 14th in Hypercar after losing so much time being extracted by a manitou.

By the end of the hour, the No. 94 Peugeot retained the lead with Menezes still driving. The No. 6 Penske Porsche of Kevin Estre was up to second, with the No. 7 Toyota of Jose Maria Lopez third. The No. 8 Toyota and No. 75 Porsche made up the top five.

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In LMP2, it’s an Alpine 1-2 as we head into Hour 5. The No. 35 of Memo Rojas leads the No. 36 of Julien Canal. The No. 23 United Autosports ORECA of Oliver Jarvis is third.

GTE Am has the No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche now at the front. The “Rexy” Project 1 Porsche is second and continues to be an early contender. The No. 911 Proton Competition Porsche, with Martin Rump now aboard in place of Richard Lietz who took the start, is third. The Pescarolo-liveried TF Sport Aston Martin is fourth with the bright orange ORT by TF Vantage fifth.

The Hendrick Motorsports Camaro is 44th overall, behind the 10th-place GTE Am team. Jenson Button is now in the car for his first stint in the race.

Crucially, the rain has now stopped, the track is drying and the expectation is that we will go green again very soon.

HOUR 4 STANDINGS