Jet lag is the least of it. Oh, sure, six hours’ time difference between Le Mans and Watkins Glen surely has an effect. But compared to the fatigue of a 24-hour race, with a six-hour race starting seven days almost to the hour after that 24-hour …
Jet lag is the least of it.
Oh, sure, six hours’ time difference between Le Mans and Watkins Glen surely has an effect. But compared to the fatigue of a 24-hour race, with a six-hour race starting seven days almost to the hour after that 24-hour race ended, the jet lag is a small part. But it goes way beyond just this weekend and last.
“It’s tough,” says Porsche Penske Motorsport driver Nick Tandy, before clarifying that it’s much tougher for the crew than the drivers. “For our crew, we raced at Laguna for a weekend. The next week, we tested at Watkins Glen for two days. The next week, we went to Detroit to race. The next week, we came [to Le Mans] to test, then we race at Le Mans and then we go straight to the Six Hours of the Glen. So it’s at least a six-, seven-week run where the cars have been running on track, the crew have been obviously working on the cars traveling back and forwards all over the states and to Europe and back.”
PPM has the luxury of a team running in the U.S. out of Mooresville, N.C., and the World Endurance Championship team operating out of Mannheim, Germany. But running a third car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship regulars — Tandy, Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr and reserve driver Dane Cameron — means the Mannheim squad needed some additional help. That’s not just some crew from the U.S. on hand at Le Mans, but engineers in Mooresville monitoring telemetry and in-car camera feeds to assist those on the ground in France.
“We’ve got a pretty deep team and we can rely on the crew that we have back in the U.S.,” explains PPM’s managing director, Jonathan Diuguid. “They’re prepping both race cars for Watkins Glen they did a rollout at the Statesville airport in North Carolina that went really smoothly. The No. 4 car was built in the U.S., but all the spares, noses, gearboxes, suspension… it was all prepped by the WEC program. So it’s it’s all about utilizing the the global team that we have to make it all happen. The drivers have an easy life. They just get on airplanes, go drive race cars, so I’m not too worried about them; but they do a great job and we’ve got a deep driver lineup.”
Having facilities on both sides of the Atlantic helps Porsche Penske Motorsport swing straight from Le Mans to the Glen. Jakob Ebrey/Motorsport Images
The drivers are quick to acknowledge that they have it better than the crews. The positive is that there’s no rush to move cars and equipment across the Atlantic. The cars that U.S.-based teams raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans are extra chassis, and they often employ the help of European-based teams — their own or others affiliated with their program — to make it work. For many drivers, the three-week break after the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen will be most welcome.
“At the end of the day, the drivers are in a luxurious position where people are around you to take care of you, whether that’s physios or just the whole team infrastructure, the hospitality,” says Jack Aitken, driver of the Nos. 311 and 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R at Le Mans and in the WeatherTech Championship respectively. “The mechanics get none of that, and to an extent the engineers as well. So they’ve already had a very hard month-and-a-half because IMSA has been pretty full gas recently. They’ve been prepping and getting the [Le Mans] car ready, doing shakedowns, getting it shipped in time. So they’re gonna be wrecked, I think, by the time we get to Watkins. We’re not the only team in that position, but it’s going to be really tough. After that, we have a few weeks to reset.”
IMSA regulars like Jack Aitken had been on a long grind before they even got to France. Jakob Ebrey/Motorsport Images
Some of the drivers, though, don’t get that reset time. After the Glen it’s off to Belgium for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Then maybe to Italy for the European Le Mans Series round at Imola before WEC returns to action in Brazil or IMSA heads to Canada. And for some drivers who weren’t in Detroit, they were racing the (usually) 24 Hours of the Nürburgring. The summer is a grind for those plying their trade in international sports car racing.
“I’m trying to not think about it, because if you think about it ahead, it’s game over,” says Andrea Caldarelli, splitting his time between Lamborghini’s SC63 GTP/Hypercar and the Huracán GT3 Evo2 in various championships. “I’m taking it one by one. And I will have had a small break at home for like one day after [Le Mans] to see my kid and my family. So I try to break it up, because otherwise it’s going to be hard. It’s going to be really hard and it’s funny that all the major races are back all together.”
There are others, though, who can’t get enough.
“It’s not tough because it’s what I want to do,” says Oliver Jarvis, going from winning LMP2 at Le Mans to the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S in GTD PRO. “ I’m actually really looking forward to getting back in the car and hopefully we can have a good result. I’m really enjoying my time with the Pfaff guys and girls. Watkins is also one of my favorite tracks; I think every driver loves it — it’s fast and fun.”
So, a 1-2-4 for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the combined Le Mans Test Day times yesterday, and no major mechanical dramas or incidents to report from the German marque’s factory program. That’s it then, might as well hand over the trophy and head …
So, a 1-2-4 for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the combined Le Mans Test Day times yesterday, and no major mechanical dramas or incidents to report from the German marque’s factory program. That’s it then, might as well hand over the trophy and head home…
Not so fast!
As ever, drawing firm conclusions from testing is unwise. With each team working towards a different set of objectives, too much shouldn’t be read into the lap times.
There is so much more to come from the pace of the Hypercars as race week wears on, if it stays dry. The pole time last year was a 3:22.982, four seconds faster than the best lap achieved by Kevin Estre in the No. 6 Penske Porsche during the test.
However, you often get the odd hint of where things stand from post-test body language, conversations and lap counts.
On that basis, should we expect the Porsche 963s to be the class of the field this year? After all, Penske won in Qatar, JOTA won at Spa, and the Penske team appeared upbeat after its performance in the test yesterday after its three-car fleet topped the times on pace and completed 196 laps and 2,671 kilometres during the six hours of track time.
Toyota certainly thinks so.
“The hierarchy is clear,” said Toyota Gazoo Racing’s technical director David Floury after the test. “If Porsche doesn’t win they will have done a pretty bad job. No surprise (after seeing the BoP).”
It was by no means a quiet day for Toyota though, despite Floury’s downbeat tone. The No. 7 GR010 HYBRID topped the Morning session and went on to set the third fastest time in the Afternoon run, the best lap just seven-tenths off the No. 6 Porsche.
Jose Maria Lopez has wasted no time getting reacquainted with Toyota’s Hypercar program. JEP/Motorsport Images
Both GR010 HYBRIDs also began to turn up the wick at the end of the afternoon session, with fast individual sector times from Sebastien Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi before the latter brought out a red flag at the end with an off at Indianapolis.
Nevertheless, Floury feels this year’s race will be Porsche out front, with a competitive fight between multiple manufacturers behind.
“I think (Porsche) has the edge on every aspect and I wonder what Ferrari and Cadillac are doing. Clearly, Porsche is looking very strong,” he said. “BMW looks good as well. Behind Porsche, it should be a good fight.”
Toyota is, however, satisfied that Jose Maria Lopez is already up to speed on his return to the Hypercar team on short notice after Conway’s late withdrawal from the event due to injury.
“By the look of the lap time, it was like he drove the car yesterday,” said Floury. “He was up to speed immediately. There were no issues and he was clearly motivated. He has worked hard to get up to speed with the car’s systems and he is on top of things. We are confident there will be no issue in the race.”
Porsche meanwhile, believes it has a real shot at a 20th overall victory this year. The 963 looks like an entirely different animal in Year 2 and looks to be significantly more capable at the Circuit de la Sarthe for the 2024 event.
While Urs Kuratle, Porsche Motorsport’s director of factory racing, doesn’t believe there can be a standout favorite for this race, he was positive about the team’s prospects ahead of practice and qualifying.
“We will be in the mix, we will be there, but I am not sure you can be favorites because so much can happen.
“We had a really easy, relaxed preparation for this one. During the session, besides a rear-right flat spot on the No. 5 car we had no technical issues and are high on the timing board. It will not be representative of the qualifying ranking though, we are realistic.
“The fact we are in the mix with so many other cars is such a nice thing for the whole sport.”
Elsewhere, there were notable performances from some of the cars that are entirely new to Le Mans.
The No.20 BMW M Hybrid V8 set the sixth-best time and completed plenty of mileage (though the sister car did need an engine change during the day) and the No. 63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 ended up seventh after 73 tours.
Peugeot’s 2024-spec 9X8 also got its first taste of the La Sarthe asphalt. Its 9X8s ended up 13th and 21st on lap time, but the team believes that the new car is effective on the circuit and there is plenty more to come from the car in performance terms.
“I’m happy to be here compared to last year when I did not do the Prologue,” No. 93 driver Jean-Eric Vergne told the media. “It’s a massive help to get me acquainted to the car and build confidence.
“I think we have a good indication of where we need to go with the setup of the car, and I am happy with the feeling behind the wheel. There are no areas where we are bad, so that’s a positive.
There could be more to come from Peugeot. Jakob Ebrey/Motorsport Images
“Obviously the lap times are not representative, all I care about is the feeling in the car. We know where we can improve and it should be easy to do. We focused our car on setup, the other car on long runs, so we have a lot of data gathered.
“It seems to have improved last year, but frankly that was not difficult.”
Jean-Marc Finot, the senior VP of Stellantis Motorsport, was also keen to stress that the new car is showing signs of improvement.
“It’s ok. We had a software issue on the No. 94 because we downloaded the wrong file, but everything is going well. This track is very specific and difficult, we have a simulator but it’s hard to anticipate the tuning of the car on the aerodynamic and chassis side.
“We also spent a long time seeing the behaviour of tires on long runs.
“For Le Mans, it’s too early to say (where we are in the pecking order), because we don’t know the run plan of our competitors.”
He did however give some insight into his thoughts on the new “two-stage” BoP process that has been introduced for this event, which regulates power output below and above 250 kph, handing the rule-makers greater control over the top speed of the cars.
The hope is that it will prove to be another valuable tool to balance the cars more effectively, particularly on a circuit like this one, which features long stretches of straight road.
The general consensus appears to be that this addition is a positive one. However, Finot downplayed the difference that the percentage of power gain tweaks above 250 kph will make in practice.
“If you change 1 per cent of the power at high speed it will change the top speed of one-third of a percent. So I don’t think it will change a lot. For instance, five kilowatts should be 1 kph or 1.5 maybe, no more.”
Floury from TGR also raised the point that he’d rather it was introduced earlier in the season, rather than right before Le Mans.
“It would have been more comfortable to run it in a previous event. Generally, It’s a good thing, it was needed and it is doing what it was designed for.”
What about Cadillac and Ferrari? Both manufacturers have been coming up in conversations surrounding the OEMs in the fight for victory.
The 2023 pole-sitting No. 50 499P enjoyed a quiet day that resulted in the fifth-fastest time. Cadillac’s three V-Series.Rs on the other hand, would slot in 14th, 16th and 19th, with the No. 3 Ganassi entry having its track time limited by a fuel line issue.
There doesn’t appear to be any sense of panic within the Ganassi or Action Express ranks at this stage though. After achieving an overall podium last year, the Cadillac has form here, and as we all know, you cannot win the Test Day…
“I think we’ve made a significant step forward on systems,” No. 3 driver Sebastien Bourdais said. “We’ve been focusing on race trims and trying to get the balance where we want it, get good tyre data and make sure that balance and grip stay fairly consistent over two or three stints.
“In general, the track seems a bit harder on tires than last year, so there is a bit more sliding around and that’s where we’re trying to see how much margin we have as far as adjustments on the setup to regain the grip that we’ve lost.
“Overall, the car is responding well and the engine side I feel like we have a better handle on things and the systems in general are a lot smoother and predictable than our first time here last year.
“We just have to fine-tune some things to bet ready for qualifying practice.”
Day 2 of Le Mans Scrutineering at the Place de la République again brought out a large crowd. After the bulk of the Hypercar factory teams visited the city center for technical checks yesterday, just three remained today, with the Porsche, Ferrari …
Day 2 of Le Mans Scrutineering at the Place de la République again brought out a large crowd. After the bulk of the Hypercar factory teams visited the city center for technical checks yesterday, just three remained today, with the Porsche, Ferrari and Toyota Hypercar teams headlining the schedule.
Porsche was first through, with the trio of Penske 963s trailed by the No. 99 from Proton, sporting a tweaked FATurbo Express livery for this race that features green accents.
At Penske, the mood within the camp as they passed through Le Pesage stood out. It was the polar opposite to last year, when the team turned up with the dream of celebrating the 75th anniversary of Porsche with a 20th overall Le Mans win, only to struggle all week long with a set of 963s that clearly needed work.
As we know, it’s a different story now. Porsche Penske Motorsport came out swinging after a productive off-season, winning the IMSA and WEC season openers at Daytona and Qatar and showing race-winning speed at a variety of circuits.
Laurens Vanthoor, who drives the WEC championship-leading No. 6 963, agrees confidence is high this year.
“I thought about that a bit this morning,” he told RACER when asked about being one of the favourites for the win heading into the race. “I mean, I remember last year, coming here was a dream come true.
“You know, being in Hypercar, being a Porsche Penske, driving these cars in Le Mans, and now a year on we’re here, leading the championship. And I agree we are one of the favorites indeed, which is pretty cool.
“I told myself, ‘Enjoy it! It might be a week or a weekend which you’ll remember for a long time. So enjoy the moment.’”
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 8, 2024
Meanwhile, Proton Competition’s new-look 963 is ready for action. The family-run German team is looking to build on its impressive performance at Spa, during which it led a considerable chunk of the race and was in the mix for a podium finish before the red flag.
Harry Tincknell, who is back with the team after being forced to watch the Spa race from afar due to an IMSA clash, said it was fun but hard watching on TV.
“I really wanted to be there!” he admitted. “The team and drivers executed so well and it was amazing to see how far we’ve come. In general, we are preparing for events better now. For instance, we did a session on the Multimatic sim in Detroit before Spa and that was really useful to get us started with a setup. And we’ve done that again for this race.
“We just want to be the underdogs, quietly going about our business. That’s how we will get a good result.”
For Proton the Test Day tomorrow is set to be especially important, as it has not been able to go testing in private this year. It will push to complete as many laps as possible as it has yet to turn a lap with the 963 on the Circuit de la Sarthe.
“We haven’t tested since Qatar, but for us it’s created an underdog spirit,” Tincknell said. “You see online other teams going testing here, there and everywhere and then we rock up and are quick straight away. But on this occasion, we will test with everyone else. We’ve seen what happens when things are stacked against us, so it will be interesting to see what we do on a level playing field.”
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 8, 2024
Ferrari arrives at Le Mans with three Hypercars for the first time, the No. 83 privately entered 499P adding to the team’s prospects for the race.
Robert Kubica, who shares the No. 83 with Robert Shwartzman and Ye Yifei, is keen to finally claim a breakthrough win at Le Mans on his fourth attempt. Back in 2021, his WRT ORECA retired from the lead on the final lap, then in 2022 and 2023 he finished second.
“Every year this race is very demanding,” he said. “It’s one of the biggest challenges in motorsport. I will try to repeat what I did in the past, with improvements here and there. We know in a field like this we will have to execute the race perfectly to have a chance.”
However, to achieve a dream result, he will have to beat the factory cars from AF Corse — a task that will be far from easy. Both the No. 50 and No. 51 crews carry extra motivation with them to win after a rollercoaster ride of a start to the season.
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Alessandro Pier Guidi, who proudly returns to the event as an overall winner, feels it could be a different story this year, with the new “Two Stage” BoP system in play and no tire warmers this time around.
“Statistically, it’s so difficult to win twice in a row,” he said. “It’s nice to come back as a winner but we need to forget what we did and try to repeat last year’s result if we can. I don’t think expect to be as quick as last year, I think Toyota and Porsche will be quick here. After the Test Day we hope it will be easier to understand where we are. We believe it will be a fight between three or more manufacturers.”
Specifically on tire warmers, Pier Guidi and the other Ferrari drivers continue to express safety concerns, a year on from the re-introduction of tire warmers for Le Mans after multiple high-profile incidents at Spa in cool temperatures trackside.
“The only difference (compared to last year) for us is safety,” he told RACER. “I hope the weather is warm because then it won’t be a big issue. But it will be if it is cool or damp. The problem is you have long straights, few corners, not a lot of energy, so it will take a long time to heat the tires, longer than every other circuit.”
On the subject of BoP, while few personalities are keen to discuss anything in-depth on the record (by regulation), in the background there is plenty to discuss ahead of track action.
It seems teams at the top end of the championship standings, like Porsche, are particularly eager to hit the track to see what effect the latest round of Balance of Performance changes, and the addition of the “two-stage” system, have had on their cars.
Opinions are split, though the majority appear to welcome the two-stage BoP process — which regulates power output below and above 250 kph, handing the rule-makers greater control over the top speed of the cars.
In practice, the hope is that at Le Mans it will prove to be another significant tool to help the rule-makers balance the cars on a circuit which features lengthy straights from Tetre Rouge to Mulsanne Corner, from Mulsanne Corner to Indianapolis and from Arnage to the Porsche Curves.
The objective is clear: reduce performance gaps in the field. Will it prove a success? We will have to wait until next weekend to truly find out.
Later in the day, Toyota headed into the city with its GR010 HYBRIDs ahead of its 13th consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours as a top-class contender. All eyes were on Jose Maria Lopez, who has been called up late to replace the injured Mike Conway.
Over at AKKODIS, Lopez’s replacement, Jack Hawksworth, was also present after making a rapid journey to France. But he wasn’t the only LMGT3 driver in a new environment to report on, as IMSA GTP regular Jordan Taylor headed to the square with his new teammates at Spirit of Race ahead of his first Le Mans start in a Ferrari.
“I’ve raced against Ferraris for many years here, and they’ve always been strong competitors so it’s been good to be on the other side,” he told RACER.
“The deal came about because I knew Marco Sorensen and he knew Johnny and Conrad (Laursen), so he reached out to see if I was available (as Kevin Magnussen, the team’s first choice, was not able to take part). Thankfully, I got approval from my team in America.
“The biggest thing was being present for a test in Paul Ricard with the team. It was a really good first chance to get to know everyone and get some mileage in the car. The car is impressive and user-friendly, but there’s a lot to learn with over 40 pages of system information to read.”
With scrutineering wrapped up by mid-afternoon, the next significant item on the schedule included 17 of the cars on the entry and the 1924 winning Bentley 3 Litre Sport completing a road run through the city. The turnout was huge.
The build-up toward the Le Mans 24 Hours got underway today in the city center, with just over half of the field passing through the traditional scrutineering route in front of the public. Held in bright sunshine and in front of a sizeable crowd, …
The build-up toward the Le Mans 24 Hours got underway today in the city center, with just over half of the field passing through the traditional scrutineering route in front of the public. Held in bright sunshine and in front of a sizeable crowd, day one of scrutineering saw many key teams and drivers get a first taste of the pre-race atmosphere.
Team WRT attracted the most attention in the opening hours, as its quartet of BMWs paraded through town, three of them in new-for-Le Mans liveries, including the No. 20 M Hybrid V8 “art car.”
In the Hypercar ranks, just three of the team’s full-season WEC drivers were present — Rafaelle Marciello, Robin Frijns and Dries Vanthoor — due to the clash with the DTM round at Zandvoort this weekend.
That scheduling conflict will be tricky to manage, with Marco Wittmann, Sheldon van der Linde and Rene Rast set to make the 435-mile journey to Le Mans on Sunday directly after the second race of the weekend which is due to finish at 2:30pm.
Nevertheless, all three here in France were keen to speak ahead of what is a hugely significant week for the Bavarian brand at La Sarthe, which is celebrating 25 years since it took its famous win in 1999 with the V12 LMR.
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For Marciello, the initial goal is to finish well and get points on the board for the first time this season. The former Mercedes-AMG factory driver, who made a high-profile move to BMW in the off-season, is yet to hit his stride in Hypercar since his debut at the start of the season in Qatar, and is hopeful that things will turn around soon.
“We are going to try to ensure the car can handle 24 hours,” he told RACER. “It’s difficult to predict the level of performance because Ferrari, Porsche, Toyota and Cadillac are very strong. But we have a new (two-stage) BoP here (which provides the rule-makers with two levels of power control, below and above 250 kph) so you never know what will happen.”
In general, the entire team is expecting to take a step forward in performance terms for Le Mans. WRT boss Vincent Vosse told RACER that its pre-Le Mans test at Paul Ricard was successful. He also hinted that minor upgrades on the software and systems side of the M Hybrid V8 should see it emerge more in the fight.
“We were not happy with Qatar, but the step was quite big in Imola. We made another step in Spa too but we didn’t put that on paper with the result of the race,” he said. “We qualified P6 with Robin, which is good.
“To me, the season is starting now we are at Le Mans. We are expecting to have made a good step, but we don’t know what the others have done or if they have been hiding things. We won’t know until Thursday night.
“We tested recently at Ricard, then did a roll-out in Spa and both went well. We had some rain like we have at I think every test so far, but we expect to be stronger now. It will be a different challenge here for the car compared to Rolex, but progress has been made. We have updates here and we will have to see where we are after Le Mans.”
WRT’s pair of M4 LMGT3s were also present today in their new color schemes. After a disastrous outing at Spa — where both cars retired as victims of multi-car incidents not of their making — the team is looking to secure a strong result at Le Mans and regain ground in the title battle.
For MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who shares the No. 46 M4 with Ahmad Al Harthy and Maxime Martin in the WEC, a podium is the target for his Le Mans 24 Hours debut. It wouldn’t be his first trip to the podium on the full Circuit de la Sarthe though, as last year he scored a famous victory with WRT in the Road to Le Mans support races.
“I’m very excited because the atmosphere is so special,” he said. “Last year’s drive was very important, so for me, this year is not the first time (on the Circuit de la Sarthe) and last year I really enjoyed it.
“It’s difficult to (have expectations) because the class is different from track to track. This season we have been quite competitive though so hope to fight for the podium, we hope to be fast and after we will see.”
WRT wasn’t the only LMGT3 team that generated buzz during the morning, as the Aston Martins were present and TF Sport passed through with its pair of Corvettes. Tom Ferrier, the TF Sport team owner, is hoping that the team will be in the mix during the race after a successful recent test at Silverstone.
“Speed-wise we are getting there,” he said. “At Silverstone, we completed engine development stuff which everyone was positive about. It concerned torque controls and software.”
Lined up and more ready than ever: We have officially started writing a new chapter in our history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 🤝🫶
While TF is still waiting for its first standout result since its partnership with Corvette began, Ferrier made it clear to RACER that his team has been extremely impressed with the factory support it has received so far.
He also revealed that the team has taken delivery of its third car from Corvette, which is on-site at the circuit in France and will be on display in the fan village. After this event, the team is looking to put that car to use in an expansion of its Corvette effort, with programs in both the Asian Le Mans Series over the winter and the European LMS next season both under evaluation.
Later in the day, two of the key French factories made their way through Le Pesage – Alpine Endurance Team and Peugeot TotalEnergies.
— 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 7, 2024
For Alpine, it’s almost a year to the day since it launched the A424 in public at the circuit on the eve of the centenary race. Reflecting on the journey the Signatech team that operates the program has been on, boss Phillipe Sinault told RACER that he feels a huge amount of pride to bring Alpine’s new challenger to the bumper Hypercar class.
As for expectations, they are modest at this stage. “Getting to the finish with both cars is the number one priority — it has to be — then we will see where we are,” he said. “It’s crucial to the project. We have to focus on reliability.
“The Sunday test will be crucial to evaluate the car, as it will be the first time we will run the car with a low-downforce profile.”
One of the storylines within that effort to follow this week is the performance of the returning Ferdinand Habsburg. The Austrian is back in the lineup after missing Imola and Spa due to injuries suffered in an accident during testing.
Jules Gounon, who filled in for Habsburg, is listed for the Test Day on Sunday but according to Sinault will not drive.
“Ferdi is here because he is ready, no doubt. It’s our responsibility and his responsibility to make sure he is OK,” Sinault said. “We have made a common decision that he is ready and we are focused on getting him laps here.”
It appears that Gounon will not be the only driver listed against a Hypercar he will not drive on the Test Day, as when COOL Racing passed through Scrutineering, 20-year-old Peugeot reserve Malthe Jakobsen explained to RACER that he is unlikely to drive either 9X8.
“The plan at the moment is to focus on LMP3 and COOL Racing, which makes sense,” he said. “I feel confident going into this race, more than last year because I have so much more experience.”
Jakobsen expects to be fighting for overall honors in LMP2 this year with Ritomo Miyata and Lorenzo Fluxa, who he competes with full-time in the ELMS this year. He is one of a number of ELMS contenders in the LMP2 ranks hoping to impress at the biggest race of the year.
Another is IMSA GTP racer Louis Deletraz, who is driving the beautifully presented AO by TF ORECA dressed in “Spike the LMP2 Dragon” colors. With no WTRAndretti or Acura/Honda at Le Mans, he is gunning for the LMP2 Pro/Am victory with PJ Hyett and Alex Quinn.
We’ve arrived in Le Mans! 🇫🇷 We’re so excited for Spike’s international debut and the few days of testing ahead of us in preparation for @24hoursoflemans! pic.twitter.com/KGclsFRzFB
“To be able to do this and the six ELMS races alongside my IMSA program is very important,” said Deletraz. “The level in P2 Am is so high now because the quality of Bronze drivers is the same and we have factory drivers from IMSA like Filipe (Albuquerque) in the class too.
“The dream program, though, is to do WEC and IMSA together. I hope there are no clashes next year because I’d love to do both. The more races you do, the better — imagine doing all the IMSA and WEC races in the same car!”
Towards the end of the day, it was Cadillac’s turn to pass through the tunnel, the pair of Ganassi V-Series.Rs and the single example from Action Express. They generated, as expected, plenty of attention from V8-loving locals.
While Alex Palou (who is a guest driver in the No. 2 WEC entry alongside Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn) was unable to take part in today’s festivities due to his IndyCar commitments this weekend, newly-minted reserve driver Tristan Vautier was on site, as was Action Express’ new third driver Felipe Drugovich.
Aston Martin F1 reserve Drugovich, who has been honing his prototype racing skills this year in the ELMS with Vector Sport, heads into Le Mans with a test at Laguna Seca under his belt with Cadillac. At the California circuit, his performance was evaluated after a run of some 30 laps in the car.
“There were not many laps because it was really a test for Pipo (Derani) and Jack (Aitken), but I think I did well in my two outings,” related Drugovich. “I was good enough to fill in for this race. It wasn’t good enough to get fully up to speed, but it was enough to show what I could do.”
Scrutineering continues tomorrow when the remaining cars will complete their inspections ahead of Test Day. Porsche Penske Motorsport, Ferrari AF Corse and Toyota Gazoo Racing are among the teams that will be present.
Toyota Gazoo Racing driver Mike Conway has been forced to withdraw from the Le Mans 24 Hours on short notice after suffering fractures to his ribs and collar bone in a cycling accident on Thursday. The double FIA World Endurance Championship’s …
Toyota Gazoo Racing driver Mike Conway has been forced to withdraw from the Le Mans 24 Hours on short notice after suffering fractures to his ribs and collar bone in a cycling accident on Thursday.
The double FIA World Endurance Championship’s driver’s champion and 2021 overall Le Mans winner will be replaced for the race by long-time teammate José María López, who has been drafted in on short notice. The Argentine’s driving duties will begin on Sunday where he will take part in the Test Day and share the No. 7 with Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries.
Lopez was due to compete with AKKODIS ASP in its No. 87 Lexus RCF LMGT3, after stepping back from a full-time FIA WEC Hypercar seat with the Japanese brand at the end of the 2023 season. His move to LMGT3 with sister brand Lexus paved the way for de Vries to join the Toyota team after leaving Formula 1.
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“Toyota Gazoo Racing shares Mike’s heartfelt disappointment at this situation and will continue to give close support throughout his journey back to full fitness. All team members are looking forward to seeing Mike — part of the team family since 2014 — back in the cockpit at the earliest opportunity,” the team said in a statement.
AKKODIS ASP, meanwhile, confirmed to RACER that Jack Hawksworth will stand in for López at Le Mans. It will be the first Le Mans start for the Vasser Sullivan Lexus driver and former indyCar racer.
This marks the second straight race that the French team has been forced to tweak its lineup at the last minute, as last time out at Spa its No. 78 entry competed with Clemens Schmid and Ritomo Miyata alongside full-season driver Arnold Robin after Kelvin van der Linde was summoned to Formula E and Timur Boguslavskiy fell ill.
For Sunday’s Test Day, Miyata — the team’s nominated reserve driver — was listed on the entry list against both Toyota Hypercars. With López getting the call-up, the Japanese racer looks set to focus on the LMP2 class with COOL Racing.
* This story has been updated following confirmation that Jack Hawksworth would take over the AKKODIS ASP entry.
Next year McLaren will commemorate 30 years since its one and only Le Mans victory, earned with the F1 GTR back in 1995. And with any luck it will have a presence in the 2025 edition of the 24 Hours as part of the LMGT3 class with the GT3 EVO and a …
Next year McLaren will commemorate 30 years since its one and only Le Mans victory, earned with the F1 GTR back in 1995. And with any luck it will have a presence in the 2025 edition of the 24 Hours as part of the LMGT3 class with the GT3 EVO and a shot at another victory on the Circuit de la Sarthe.
But that’s a storyline to revisit in 12 months, because right now celebrations surrounding the Woking, UK-based manufacturer’s heritage at the Grand Prix d’Endurance are already underway. Next week with United Autosports it will make its long-awaited return to the great race for the first time since the F1 GTR program’s final ride with Gulf Team Davidoff in 1998, and everyone involved is pushing hard to ensure it’s a memorable occasion.
Right now, few would point straight to UA as one of the favorites for an LMGT3 class win. However, this is an effort that deserves real attention and shouldn’t be counted out for a strong finish.
Yes, next year is arguably the more important one for the brand and its increasing efforts to recognize past achievements. But United Autosports’ staff has been working overtime to ensure the team is ready for the task at hand in year one of what it hopes will be a long and successful program.
The start to life in LMGT3 has been far from easy for Richard Dean and Zak Brown’s Yorkshire-based team. The program came together “three months late” in October, leaving it with a mountain to climb over the winter.
Signing drivers and organizing a test program was complicated, getting its head around the GT3 EVO was never going to be the work of a moment and the new LMGT3 ruleset — while widely accepted as a step forward for the Balance of Performance-governed formula — has only added to the task list with the addition of torque sensors, mandated power curves and virtual energy tanks.
On top of that, it also shouldn’t be ignored that United Autosports’ is far from just an FIA World Endurance Championship team. Alongside its new-look WEC campaign, it continues to run its title-winning ELMS LMP2 program, a new multi-car LMP2 effort in IMSA’s WeatherTech Championship and a wide-ranging historic restoration and race arm.
United Autosports continues its long run of LMP2 success in IMSA as well as Le Mans, but had to start fresh in LMGT3 to maintain its foothold in the FIA WEC. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
Scaling up for 2024 has been a colossal task but over more than a decade the Anglo-American team has been building itself into a powerhouse in prototype racing at a steady pace, enabling it to accommodate high-level efforts in three major championships at the same time without stretching itself too thin.
This is in part because it now boasts high-level facilities on both sides of the Atlantic, giving the team the capacity to make this big step. Its Wakefield facility serves as a base for its WEC, ELMS and historic programs, while the new shop in Mooresville, N.C. houses its IMSA team via a partnership with Jr III Racing. The impact this has had on both its capabilities and image cannot be understated.
Behind the scenes, the selection process at McLaren headquarters for a WEC partner team last year proved both lengthy and tricky to navigate. Four highly credible teams were understood by RACER to have been in the mix, all boasting previous success in the sport. Yet after much deliberation, United was chosen.
On the face of it, due to Zak Brown’s roles as a co-owner of United and CEO of McLaren Racing, it may look like the obvious choice. But there was so much more to it than that. UA offered something that none of the other teams in the room could: a laundry list of major race and title wins in European and global competition and a longstanding association with ACO racing.
The latter part was crucial, because getting space on the LMGT3 grid was never a guarantee for McLaren, as it was unable to gain priority via a Hypercar program. It therefore needed to put together the case that United Autosports — which had come close to securing a factory Hypercar deal more than once over the past two years — deserved to remain in the WEC for a fifth season in the wake of the LMP2 class being removed. It was an edgy few weeks as everyone waited for the final entry list to be published, but in the end, McLaren’s pitch paid off. Since then, it’s been all-systems-go.
In a technical sense, since receiving its first chassis last October, getting to grips with the nuances of LMGT3 has taken the most time. Jakob Andreasen, United’s technical director — whose background prior to joining the team includes stints in Formula 1 with Force India, McLaren and Williams and in the FIA WEC with Toyota Gazoo Racing — says the team has relished the challenge.
“It’s been intense as we have new technology to contend with,” he tells RACER. “The power and energy management from the torque sensors is new and as a concept is fantastic. But as with any new technology, there’s uncertainty and added complexity that we’ve had to work with McLaren on. And it’s been even tougher for us because many of the manufacturers in the class are already in Hypercar and therefore had previous insight into torque sensors going in, because they’re part of that ruleset too.
“Thankfully, we are happy and the drivers have been happy with the car’s base setup and handling characteristics. That’s enabled us to exploit the car’s performance well. It has also allowed us to focus on software development in the background. This is an area of GT3 racing that is rarely talked about. It has open software so there is potential for developing systems on the car.
“With torque sensors, virtual energy and mandated power curves, there’s nothing really you can do to make the car faster in terms of downforce, power and energy yourself. But there is potential for driver aids in order to make their life easier with more information being shown on the driver display. For instance, this helps drivers manage tires and car temperatures over a stint so we are always in the right performance window.”
As the team has become more familiar with the finer details of operating a WEC GT program, strides forward have been taken consistently. The Prologue test and opening race at Qatar were a baptism of fire, though, the two GT3 EVOs coming home 13th and 14th on their race debut.
“We were all a bit overwhelmed,” team co-owner Richard Dean admits. “In Qatar, there was so much happening in a short period and having the first race in the Middle East, with all the shipping requirements was so difficult.
“A big part of it was kit. When you’re in a category for years and years you build up kit and spares, so you can go testing while shipping cars to races. This time we were sending cars off while we were still trying to gear up.”
Along with learning about its McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo, UA has been exploring the nuances of the LMGT3 ruleset. JEP/Motorsport Images
Since then, progress has been steady. Imola saw the No. 95 of Josh Caygill, Nico Pino and Marino Sato score the team its first points, then at Spa — the red-flagged and extended Le Mans dress rehearsal — the No. 59 of James Cottingham, Nicolas Costa and Gregoire Saucy finished just shy of the podium in fourth.
“It was two significant steps in a row,” Dean says, “and if you’d have said to us in Qatar that by the time we were at the third race, we’d be capable of qualifying on the front row and leading the race, I’m not sure I’d have believed it. It’s a credit to the team.”
The team’s WEC sporting manager Charlie Kemp also feels the hard work is paying off.
“There have been curveballs thrown at us at all three races so far, but we’ve taken them in our stride because we are always looking at areas where there is for room for improvement,” he tells RACER. “The jump we made through the issues we had at Qatar, to fighting for a podium at Spa, has been massive. The car can do the job. We know that. We’ve just had to strengthen our knowledge to get the most out of it.
“There is just so much new with the ruleset that’s alien to McLaren and the team. But we have moved through this very quickly and we feel focused on getting a result at Le Mans rather than surviving it.
“The task has been big for us because you’d be surprised how different a GT3 and an LMGT3 car are. And for McLaren too — we’ve had to work closely with them. They’ve been very consistent in their level of support.”
LMGT3 as a whole has been gradually heating up. Spa produced the best race for the new formula so far, with door-to-door action all the way to the last lap when the two Manthey Porsches exchanged positions for the win. So while most of the attention will be paid to the 23-car Hypercar class at Le Mans, there’s a good chance that LMGT3 gets more than its fair share of air time.
There’s very little GT3 data on the circuit for the teams to refer to going in. There should also be an opportunity to truly stretch the envelope on tire life with Goodyear’s F1 Eagle Super Sports for the first time, experimenting with triple and quad stints overnight. It will all be fascinating to track.
“At Le Mans, you can extend stints and buy yourself strategic time, but you have to be careful,” Andreasen explains. “You need to maintain temperatures because you cannot change compounds like you can in Hypercar. You can’t go soft at night and high during the day, so everyone will need to be careful not to drop out of the window, despite the fact that deg is low.
“We’ll need to be clever during the track time throughout the week so we make the right calls.”
McLaren connections are on full display at UA’s Wakefield, UK shop.
Strolling through United Autosports’ Wakefield base with the GT3 EVOs in their final stages of preparation underscored that nothing about United’s WEC commitment with McLaren screams “one-year wonder.” This is a team that does nothing by half measures and takes great pride in its work.
“To represent McLaren in motorsport is a privilege. It’s a name that has many victories in different categories,” Dean says when asked how it feels to be handed the responsibility of representing a brand with so much heritage in such an important event. “The focus for us, of course, is to replicate the famous victory at Le Mans. That lands on our shoulders, and there’s a lot of expectation around the brand going back after such a successful period in the mid-’90s.
“We are not here to make any definitive claims that we are going to win right now, but we are going to give it a good go. There’s natural pressure because McLaren is doing so well in motorsport, winning in F1, and finishing on the podium in IndyCar and Formula E recently. So all eyes are on us. But thankfully we are working with a partner that is realistic.”
Over the years United has proven time and time again in LMP competition that it is capable of beating anyone. It has LMP2 titles in the WEC, European and Asian Le Mans Series and a Le Mans class win on its résumé. Now, with the support of McLaren for a fight against teams representing seven other blue-chip manufacturers, we will find out if it can deliver the goods yet again in GT3 racing at the highest level.
“With this effort, we’re taking on the motorsport departments at BMW, Ferrari, Porsche and General Motors,” Dean concludes. “It’s a big deal. And we know that if we are successful we can grow everything. We can grow our team and McLaren’s motorsport side in sports car racing. It’s an exciting time.”
The entry list for Sunday’s Le Mans Test Day has been revealed ahead of Scrutineering today and tomorrow in the city center. It features all 62 cars entered in the race from the three classes. As usual, the list of drivers differs from the full …
The entry list for Sunday’s Le Mans Test Day has been revealed ahead of Scrutineering today and tomorrow in the city center. It features all 62 cars entered in the race from the three classes.
As usual, the list of drivers differs from the full entry list for the race itself next weekend, as reserve drivers are called into action for factory teams and drivers with clashing commitments are scratched. As such, in Hypercar there are a number of names in the fourth and fifth driver columns, as the teams gunning for overall victory look to maximize track time and rotate drivers.
At Porsche Penske Motorsport, Dane Cameron is listed for all three 963s. The American is the nominated reserve for Porsche at this event following the selection of Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy from its IMSA stable in the third car.
Meanwhile, Toyota’s roster sees Ritomo Miyata (who will race in LMP2 with COOL Racing) placed against both GR010 HYBRIDs for his first Hypercar run in public. The Toyota team is also making use of the fifth driver column for its entries as full-season drivers Mike Conway and Sebastien Buemi are listed against both cars too.
The BMW’s M Hybrid V8s will be steered by IMSA RLL drivers Nick Yelloly and Jesse Krohn in addition to WRT’s regular WEC sextet. Notably, Sheldon van der Linde, Rene Rast and Marco Wittmann are all expected to take part in the DTM round at Zandvoort this weekend too.
Lamborghini, like Toyota and BMW, has also nominated five drivers for each car for the first day of track action ahead of its first Le Mans with the SC63. Andrea Caldarelli, Jordan Pepper, Edoardo Mortara and Daniil Kvyatt are named against both the No. 19 and No. 63.
While Ferdinand Habsburg is down to make his return to Alpine for the first time since the opening round at Qatar after recovering from his injury sustained in testing before Imola, reserve Jules Gounon is set to feature. After filling in for the team at Imola and Spa, Gounon is down as a fourth driver for the No. 35 A424.
And finally, 20-year-old Peugeot reserve Malthe Jakobsen is named against both 2024 Peugeot 9X8s as well as the No. 37 COOL Racing ORECA which he is set to share with Lorenzo Fluxa and Ritomo Miyata for the race.
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There are also some notable blank spaces on the entry due to the clashing IndyCar Series round at Road America this weekend.
In the full-season WEC Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn will drive without their guest third driver Alex Palou. IndyCar teammate Scott Dixon is also not available to drive the No. 3 IMSA Ganassi Cadillac, so Tristan Vautier will replace him after being nominated as a reserve for the event.
“We are pleased to have Tristan join us as a reserve driver for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Tristan has been part of the Cadillac family in the past and has been friends of CGR for quite some time,” said Mike O’Gara, Chip Ganassi Racing director of operations. “With a race as important as Le Mans, you can never be over-prepared. Having Tristan on stand-by will only make our program stronger.”
In LMP2, Kyffin Simpson will also not be present to test the No. 24 Nielsen Racing ORECA he will share with Fabio Scherer and David Heinemeier Hansson and the No. 22 United Autosports ORECA is down to two drivers due to Nolan Siegel’s absence.
Three cars remain on the reserve list, all with a driver named. These are the No. 79 Proton Porsche 963, and two LMP2 ORECAs from Inter Europol and Staysail, with Gianmaria Bruni, Clement Novalak and Michael Dinan nominated to drive.
The 2024 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is almost here. And for the first time this century, Ferrari heads into the race as the team to beat. After the spectacular centenary edition a year ago, won by Ferrari AF Corse’s No. 51 499P, the 92nd …
The 2024 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is almost here. And for the first time this century, Ferrari heads into the race as the team to beat.
After the spectacular centenary edition a year ago, won by Ferrari AF Corse’s No. 51 499P, the 92nd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is set up to be another one for the ages with 23 Hypercars (19 of which are factory entries), 23 LMGT3s and an LMP2 class with 16 ORECAs make for a well-balanced, high-quality entry.
In the top class, the battle for the overall win promises to be as fierce as ever. After the opening rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship produced three different winners in three races, the expectation is that we’re in for another drama-filled, wide-open contest.
For last year’s race winner Ferrari and its trio of 499Ps, a target has been placed firmly on its back. However, while the fabled Italian marque returns to La Sarthe with its chest out, the reality is that it is in desperate need of a change in fortunes after a frustrating start to the 2024 campaign.
In Qatar, the circuit proved a tough nut to crack and the pace simply wasn’t there. On home soil in Imola it was, but the rapid change in conditions during the race and an error on tire strategy in the rain proved costly.
Then at Spa Ferrari’s factory cars again looked finely poised to finish 1-2 before red flags came out and the race was (somewhat controversially) extended — gifting a lead to JOTA’s No. 12 Porsche which had pitted for fresh tires and fuel just before the race was neutralized.
Digging deeper, the No. 50 Ferrari trio of Nicklas Nielsen, Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina deserve a closer look, as a crew that is considered among the best in the field, despite being winless to this point. Since the start of last season, they have frequently been quickest in the Hypercar field, setting pole three times and leading multiple races, but a breakthrough victory has eluded them.
The race in Imola is a perfect example. There, Fuoco took pole in front of the tifosi and he and his teammates in the No. 50 car led at the four-hour mark before the rain arrived. Everything was going swimmingly before the decision by Ferrari’s strategists to leave both factory cars on slicks in the worsening conditions backfired. Yet again, they headed home without a set of winners’ trophies.
After that error — which Giuliano Salvi, the team’s sports car race and testing manager, took responsibility for post-race — Nielsen told RACER that the team banded together in a lengthy debrief. Heads didn’t drop and as a group, they made a concerted effort behind the scenes to learn from the mistakes and prevent similar scenarios from playing out in the future.
“We are a professional race team,” he explained. “We put all our frustration aside, looked at the facts and took decisions. We aren’t the only team that this has happened to. But what is most important for us is that we know we have the car to win. And we’ve been up front so much, I do believe there are better days coming.”
The No. 50 Ferrari 499P had everything except tactics down in Spa, but the team resolved to learn from its misfortune. Motorsport Images
That brings us to Le Mans. Heading into the race this year, expectations within the team for the No. 50 crew are high. And after coming home fifth after sustaining radiator damage last year while the sister car of James Calado, Antonio Giovanazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi finished on top, they’re carrying extra motivation.
Speaking with Nielsen and Fuoco ahead of Le Mans week, it is clear that there is a collective belief between them. In their minds, it’s a matter of when, not if they will take their first win.
“Last year the important result was for the team, that after 58 years Ferrari won Le Mans again. We wanted to win, but we work for Ferrari and we had to remember this,” Fuoco said. “We were disappointed because we felt we could have finished 1-2, but that’s part of racing.”
“Man, we’ve been so unlucky,” added Nielsen. “We have shown how fast the car is, in Imola, we went from last (after being disqualified from qualifying for being marginally underweight) to second and then the rain arrived.
“Then in Spa, it was the perfect scenario, we had everything in our hands, but it was taken away. So I hope that everything comes together in Le Mans and we can laugh about all this.”
Nielsen and his teammates also have more faith in the 499P than they did this time last year. With a year’s worth of data to work with, it’s a known quantity and the team is far more in tune with its intricacies. Last year it was reliable and blindingly fast, but often struggled to stay consistent over the course of a race.
This year the team is up against stiffer competition, yet remains confident because it is now operating with a more mature and refined package. The decision to hold off on bringing performance upgrades to the car until later in the year to bolster reliability, Nielsen believes was wise.
“We are going back to Le Mans with a different mentality,” he said. “We have a ‘luxury problem’ because us coming back last year after so many years away from the top class of Le Mans, we didn’t expect anything.
“Ferrari is of course here to win, but that’s always been easier said than done. The fact that in 24 hours last year, we didn’t have any major issues with the car and the No. 51 won was incredible. It really surprised me.
“And now we are more confident because we are so much stronger on tire management. We don’t eat the tires as fast as we did. Last year we almost never doubled tires — only if we had to.
“Now, look at Imola: I triple-stinted my first set and it wasn’t a question, I knew the car could do it. And in Spa, we were creative on strategy starting from the back. I doubled the first set and it was OK.
“It’s a balance between working on set up and learning how to manage the car as drivers.”
For any sports car driver, winning Le Mans is undoubtedly as special as it gets. It’s the pinnacle of this area of the sport after all. Nielsen, Fuoco and Molina are a world-class combination, but to reach the next level and write themselves into endurance racing folklore, they’ll need that first Le Mans win.
What would it mean to turn it all around and stand on the top step next week?
“It would be the nicest victory,” Nielsen said. “It would mean everything.”
United Autosports has firmed up one of its two LMP2 lineups for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Ben Keating, Filipe Albuquerque and Ben Hanley set to share its No. 23 ORECA 07 as a Pro/Am trio. “To bring together the experience, skill and …
United Autosports has firmed up one of its two LMP2 lineups for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Ben Keating, Filipe Albuquerque and Ben Hanley set to share its No. 23 ORECA 07 as a Pro/Am trio.
“To bring together the experience, skill and determination of not one but three proven Le Mans winners is phenomenally exciting as we prepare for our debut in the LMP2 Pro/Am class,” says Richard Dean, United Autosports CEO. “Le Mans is always exciting … never straightforward, but with this driver lineup, we are making our intentions very clear.”
This announcement ensures a return appearance by 2023 FIA World Endurance LMGTE Am champion and Le Mans class winner Keating. It will be the Texan’s 10th Le Mans start and his first with United Autosports.
“The Pro/Am field in LMP2 is looking very strong,” said Keating, “with a lot of winners taking the wheel. This is really fun for me. I can’t wait to tackle this challenge with United Autosports, Filipe and Ben. We all have a lot of experience and that makes a big difference in this race.”
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The sought-after Bronze-graded racer will team up with his 2024 IMSA co-driver Hanley in one of six LMP2 Pro/Am entries at Le Mans. The UK driver celebrated LMP2 Pro/Am class victory at Le Mans in 2021 and is currently racing with United Autosports in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and European Le Mans Series.
Albuquerque has raced at Le Mans every year with United Autosports since the team made its debut in 2017, achieving a class victory and three top-four finishes along the way.
“Another year, another Le Mans with United Autosports! It’s just amazing … I’m super happy to be racing with this great team that I’ve been racing with for the last eight years. Ben Hanley … we raced together when we were in go-karts, and now we meet again.
“And Ben Keating… he is a superstar of LMP2. For sure, he has more miles than me and he knows Le Mans really well. He has one more victory than me! I have immense respect for him and his drive to keep pushing harder and harder.”
The Pro driver lineup for the team’s No. 22 entry will be revealed at a later date. In addition to its pair of LMP2 class ORECAs United Autosports will also field a pair of McLaren GT3 Evos in the LMGT3 class as part of its full-season WEC program.
When you look back on the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season, what will you remember most? Toyota’s title? Ferrari’s historic centenary Le Mans triumph? The Iron Dames claiming the final GTE race win? Or maybe, you’ll look back most fondly …
When you look back on the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season, what will you remember most? Toyota’s title? Ferrari’s historic centenary Le Mans triumph? The Iron Dames claiming the final GTE race win? Or maybe, you’ll look back most fondly on the thundering, heavily modified NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that took part in the Le Mans 24 Hours?
NASCAR’s Garage 56 project was undoubtedly one of the sports car racing stories of the year. And upon reflection, it feels even more remarkable and impressive now than it did at the time. Memories of the noise alone still keeps many Le Mans-goers who were trackside in June awake at night!
It was an effort that captured an astonishing amount of attention and won over just about every skeptic, despite the 2023 24 Hours being the event’s centenary running and the top-class battle for the overall win proving to be the most competitive and captivating it had been in years.
For the Hendrick Motorsports crew, which is so deeply embedded in the near-weekly fight for supremacy in the Cup Series, its journey to Europe to run the 5.8-liter V8-powered Chevy was like no other. And despite the buzz and excitement that surrounded the team from the moment it touched down in France and the inconvenience of the race falling mid-way through the racing calendar, the team remained focused and professional and delivered the goods in every respect.
The unique Camaro and its all-star driving team were a hit with the locals before, during and after Le Mans. Nikolaz Godet/Motorsport Images
The Camaro, which ran outside of the four main categories in a class of its own, made the finish after 285 laps and did so in fine style. Its trio of star drivers — Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller — ran the car at a head-turning pace and avoided creating any on-track dramas for the competitors in the other classes. The team did everything it set out to achieve and a whole lot more.
Before, during and long after the 24 Hours, the media attention proved constant. IMSA President John Doonan (who managed the team and program) admitted that he was almost overwhelmed by it.
“My phone keeps buzzing,” he told RACER at Brands Hatch the weekend after Le Mans, where the Garage 56 Camaro was displayed at the British circuit’s American Speedfest. “Every time I look down someone has written about it or posted pictures and videos. It really is amazing.”
The reach of the program was phenomenal, with 12,875 pieces of coverage counted in print and online and 33.4 million social media impressions on its official channels during the year. And it remains a talking point in motorsport circles around the world, months on from its one and only appearance.
However, before the Camaro and its legacy at Le Mans become a distant memory and focus shifts to the 2024 racing season, there’s one more tale to tell, and that is the key work behind the scenes at the FIA to ensure that the car was eligible to compete in the first place. Without determination and willingness to compromise, one of the most quirky and popular cars in the race’s history may have never turned a lap there in race week.
With NASCAR’s safety regulations significantly different to the FIA’s regulations in place for the 24 Hours, there had to be some give and take. From the moment the program was green-lit and revealed in 2022, there was an open dialogue between all key parties to ensure that by the time Le Mans week rolled around the race organizers, competitors, marshals and drivers would be ready to host the Camaro for its first endurance race.
Cooperation between the FIA and NASCAR allowed for the best elements of both rule sets to be incorporated into the Garage 56 ZL1. Nikolaz Godet/Motorsport Images
Xavier Mestelan, the FIA’s chief technical and safety officer, was a key player in the FIA’s relationship with NASCAR, IMSA and Hendrick Motorsports, and recalls it being an exciting project to work on.
“My first thought was that it was a bit strange,” he reflects. “Garage 56 is usually something for new technology. So it was funny, but in parallel it was very exciting for the FIA. It was completely new, and the car is extreme in terms of weight, power and design.”
The FIA’s role in the Garage 56 project was to assess the car’s safety and give feedback throughout its development to the parties working on the car.
It was a two-way relationship, with so much preparation, including the FIA paying Hendrick Motorsports a visit at its shop before the IMSA-WEC Sebring doubleheader for a meeting “to discuss the project with engineers and share concerns” in the months leading up to Le Mans.
“It was a very good collaboration — we wanted to take the best practice from both sides of the Atlantic,” Mestelan explains. “For all the main safety requirements for the car, we clearly asked NASCAR to make all the adaptations needed. But for some other matters like the seat, we concluded that their technical choice was relevant for the car. We tried to take the best elements from each set of regulations.
“For example, the helmets and overalls NASCAR use are the same standard (as the FIA). For the crash structure, though, when you develop a standard you have to take into consideration the whole ecosystem, the types of barriers and each course type. What NASCAR do is something suitable to their tracks, so on our side we have the same for our tracks and our standards.”
The car’s weight turned out to be the most crucial factor in ensuring the car was deemed suitable to race at Le Mans. A standard Cup Series Camaro ZL1 weighs in at 3,200 lbs (1,451kg), which was thought to be too heavy. But the FIA worked with NASCAR to come up with solutions that would reduce the car’s weight to a similar figure to the GTE cars (eventually 496 lbs/225 kg lighter), which the Camaro’s bespoke safety regulations were based on.
Various modifications were then made to the car to meet that target, which — according to Garage 56 chief of staff Jessica Hook in an interview with PMW Magazine — was made more challenging as the car needed weight added initially to accommodate a full data acquisition harness, headlights and additional aero devices, among other things.
In the end, the car was heavily revised to ensure it was compliant. The key changes included a redesigned roll cage, a shift in fuel cell position and a modified steering column. “We put it on a diet,” Jimmie Johnson told RACER at La Sarthe. “We wanted to be able to blend in, and kind of fit the performance levels of the other cars.”
“Weight was a safety concern,” Mestelan adds. “It’s also important for performance. You have to imagine the car sharing the track with LMP2, GTE and Hypercars. So reducing the weight was clearly a target. It was crucial.
“In the end, the minimum weight was something like 1340kg, around 70 kilos more than the GTE cars. So it was very close, but that’s why we modified the roll cage slightly with them, to help achieve the weight.
“NASCAR changed the design of the roll cage to reduce weight and had to perform static load simulations to meet FIA requirements. They also modified the fuel dock because the position was too far away. We put the fuel tank in the middle of the roll cage in front of the rear axle and modified the front and rear impact structure. We also used carbon brake discs — we saved a few kilos. The base of the requirements was GT3 for us, except for the weight.”
Adapting the heavy Camaro to Le Mans was a challenge, but the resulting performance was impressive. Motorsport Images
As Mestelan points out, weight and performance go hand in hand, and in this case, it became crucial to ensure the Camaro sat in a comfortable window that wasn’t too slow for the GTE drivers to deal with or too fast for drivers in Hypercars and LMP2.
“It has something like 700 horsepower, a little bit less than 500 kilowatts, compared to what we have in GTE, which is something like 370 kilowatts (496hp), with completely different tires. The target was to have a NASCAR Cup Series car close to the GT cars, in terms of lap time, top speed and braking ability.
“We didn’t want a big chicane in the middle of the track or a car that was very fast but too slow in the corners. We did work on simulations, especially on downforce and drag, to get a mixture of power, tire efficiency and aero efficiency. Hendrick chose the max downforce setup to improve the pace in certain corners like the Porsche Curves and reduce the top speed so it was close to GTE.”
In practice, the performance actually came as a surprise, the Camaro lapping the circuit in 3m53.761s during the Test Day. This led to a change of plans.
Initially, the team was expected to run in a performance window below the car’s potential to a target time of 3m54s. However, ahead of the race, the team was essentially told to “go for it” after its impressive showing at the test, which resulted in a 3m47.976s qualifying time — multiple seconds faster than the GTE pole time of 3m52.376s — and a 3m50.512s best lap set during the race itself.
In addition to challenges out on track, on pit lane the team’s pit stops were also a key area that the FIA had to take a look at. By performing NASCAR-style pit stops at the event, with a floor jack and drivers climbing into the car via the driver’s side window, there were clear differences to take into account.
“The main topic was the refueling, this was the most dangerous part,” Mestelan recounted. “The equipment and regulations were very close at NASCAR to what we use in Le Mans, so this was not a big concern. The main issue was to make sure that the mechanics were awake for each stop, as they were not trained for that (endurance races), so it may have been difficult at the end of the race. But it worked out.”
The skill and speed of the NASCAR pit crew wowed the crowd…and doing it for 24 hours wasn’t an issue either. Motorsport Images
In the end, however, Hendrick Motorsports’ crew battled through the race and showed no real signs of fatigue by the finish on Sunday. Instead, they relished the experience — which for many of them was their first trip to Europe — and played a key part in the project’s main goal, which Doonan told RACER before the 24 Hours was to “show everyone what NASCAR is about.”
They wowed crowds all week long with their athleticism in the pit lane and even won the Pit Stop Challenge for GT teams before the race with an incredible 10.364s tire change. That was just one snapshot of the week, which went entirely to plan and proved all the naysayers wrong.
The car was fast, loud, proud and in the eyes of the FIA, safe too. While not the most technologically advanced innovative car to run at the Le Mans 24 Hours, it truly captured the spirit of the event, while showcasing NASCAR and its “fan-first” attitude to motorsports on the world stage, raising the bar for all future Garage 56 projects.
It’s going to take something truly special to top it…
