Le Mans 24 Hours gears up for a thriller on Saturday

The most anticipated Le Mans 24 Hours race in many years takes place at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France this weekend. With 62 entries in three classes, including two SA drivers, local motor racing fans will have many reasons to tune in for the race start at 4pm on Saturday.

There are 18 former Formula One drivers on the start list, including 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button who will be in a Porsche 963.

After domination by Porsche and Toyota in recent years, and a historic victory by Ferrari in its comeback last year, the top-tier Hypercar class has a record entry of 23 cars with Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Isotta Fraschini, Lamborghini, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota facing off at the 92nd running of the world’s most famous endurance race.

After three rounds of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Porsche leads Toyota in the manufacturer’s championship, with Ferrari in third place.

After a disappointing Le Mans last year, Porsche has improved its 963 in search of a 20th victory and the German brand has won in Qatar and Daytona this season. It is the prerace favourite after topping the times in the pre-event test day on Sunday.

In addition to a three-car Porsche Penske works team the brand will count on two private teams (two Hertz Team JOTA cars and a Proton Competition entry) for a total of six 963s, giving Porsche a numbers advantage.

Toyota, which finished second at the 2023 Le Mans and won the 6 Hours of Imola earlier this year, has a two-car team with its GR010 Hybrid and is looking to clinch a sixth Le Mans victory.

BMW is making its debut in the Hypercar category at the 24 Hours with two M Hybrid V8s, 25 years after the victory of the BMW V12 LMR. One of the M Hybrid V8s is being driven by SA’s Sheldon van der Linde, partnering with Robin Frijns (Netherlands) and René Rast (Germany).

Ferrari AF Corse won last year’s Le Mans 50 years after its last appearance in the race. Looking to defend its triumph, the Italian carmaker is sticking with the fast and reliable 499P, with two factory entries and a third car fielded by private Italian team AF Corse.

Lamborghini is a new entrant to the Hypercar class with its SC63 and will field two cars. The Italian brand is looking to gain experience, and making it to the finish line at the 24 Hours will be considered an encouraging result for the future.

Peugeot has a two-car entry and is hoping to move up the grid with its 9X8 car, which has undergone radical modifications.

Alpine is returning to the Hypercar category with a two-car entry of its A424. The French constructor won the 1978 24 Hours and lies fourth in this year’s WEC manufacturer title chase.

Cadillac is looking to build upon its third place in last year’s Le Mans and has entered three Cadillac V-Series.R cars.

Isotta Fraschini is a prestigious Italian luxury carmaker making its return to competition this year and will field a single Tipo 6 LMH-C hybrid Hypercar.

Further down the grid, the LMP2 category will have a 16-car field of identical Oreca 07 Gibson prototypes run by different teams.

The new GT3 class has 23 entries and is contested by production-based sports cars such as the Aston Martin Vantage, BMW M4, Ford Mustang, Lamborghini Huracán, Ferrari 296, Corvette Z06, Lexus RCF and McLaren 720S.

Drivers to watch in GT3 include SA’s Kelvin van der Linde in a Lexus RCF fielded by the Akkodis ASP Team, and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi in the WRT BMW M4 Coupé.