Before the race
After the centenary last year, the 92th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans organized by the FIA WEC took place on 15th and 16th June 2024. 62 cars – 23 hypercars for 9 constructors, 16 LMP2 and 23 LMGT3 – and 186 drivers for a new twice round-the-clock race: it has been a long time that so many cars have taken the start of the most famous endurance car race in the world.
Let’s focus on the hypercar category: Ferrari, with its 499P, the fastest one in straight line, came back after their victory last year. Two factory cars were engaged with the same drivers as last year (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen on the #50 and Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi on the #51), while a private 499P (#83) was driven by the ex-Formula One Polish driver Robert Kubica for the AF Corse team.
Porsche, along with Ferrari, was the other favorite of the 2024 edition after their victories at Daytona, Laguna Seca (ISMA), Qatar and Spa-Francorchamps (WEC) this season. While the factory car #6 driven by Kévin Estre won the hyperpole (1)(the experimented André Lotterer, 3 times winner at Le Mans with Audi, was also on the #6), four other 963 were engaged (#4, #5, and the #12 and #38 for the Hertz Team Jota private team), featuring the British 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button on the #38.
Toyota, after a frustrating 2023 edition despite a second place for the #8 (weighed down cars a few days before the race due the BoP*, drop out of the #7 in the night), the Japanese firm came back in the Sarthe with their two GR010 Hybrid and the experience of their five consecutive victories between 2018 and 2022 (López/Kobayashi/de Vries on the #7 and Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa on the #8).
Cadillac, after their third and fourth place last year, the American constructor was a serious challenger, with a trio of experienced drivers from the Chip Ganassi Racing roster on the #3 that finished second at the hyperpole: the Le Mans-born Sébastien Bourdais (16 participations at Le Mans), the New-Zealand multiple IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon and the Dutch driver Renger van der Zande, double winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. Two other V-Series.R were engaged: the #2 and the #311 (the latest for the Whelen Cadillac Racing team).
On the French side, Peugeot arrived with a modified version of their 9X8 (bye bye the wingless bodywork) and a stable team compared to last year, including the French ex-Formula One driver Jean-Eric Vergne (on the #93) and the experienced Loïc Duval (on the #94, eleven starts at Le Mans). Alpine presented a new car this season, the A424, hoping that one of their two cars (#35 and #36) won the race as the Renault-Alpine A442B did 46 years ago, with Mick Schumacher on the #36.
BMW, 25 years after their victory during the ‘century edition’, the German constructor is back with two M Hybrid V8 (#15 and #20) – featuring an Art Car livery made by the American artist Julie Mehretu for the #20 – which realized promising lap times during the free practices. With the SC63 (#19 and #63) , Lamborghini came for the first time with factory cars at Le Mans (private cars had been engaged in the past), bringing the French ex-Formula One driver Romain Grosjean on the #19. Eventually, Isotta Fraschini, the Milan-based manufacturer was the minnow of this edition with its hybrid Tipo 6 LMH-Competizione (#11).
To complete this exciting casting, the nine time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion Valentino Rossi was at the start on a BMW M4 in the LMGT3 category.
The BoP* published by the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) two weeks before the race had reduced the maximum power over 250 kph of the Ferrari 499P and the Lamborghini SC63, whereas the Porsche 963 and the Cadillac V-Series remained unchanged and the other hypercars won a bit of power. (2)
The race
On Saturday 15th June, at 4:00 pm, the legendary French football player and trainer Zinédine Zidane started the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans. Whereas they were on the fourth and fifth place on the start grid, the Ferrari #51 and #50 quickly took the control of the race. At 5:40 pm, the first showers began, forcing the teams to change their tires.
As the sun went down, the Ferrari #83 joined the two other factory 499P, yet the Porsche #5 and #6, the Toyota #7 and #8 and the Cadillac #2 and #3 were at more or less one lap far of the leaders. Before 10 pm, the race was already finished for the both Alpine which suffered engine issues.
The night was not the most exciting: around midnight the rain was so heavy that the safety car had to go on track and freezed the positions during more than four hours. Nevertheless, what makes Le Mans so unique is probably the ambiance around the circuit, especially when the night falls down. Having a drink at the Village, assisting to the concert (Simple Minds this year) or having fun at the attractions while the cars keep running over 300 kph is such a thrilling experience. Or you can just snooze on your folding chair all night long, rocked by the sound of the motors.
In the Sunday morning, Ferrari, Toyota, Porsche and Cadillac could still pretend to the victory. However, the Cadillac #3 got a fuel leak at midday and the Ferrari #83 had to give up after its brakes went on fire and its battery went down in the pits, whereas Robert Kubica had led the race for much of the evening. For the last couple of hours, Ferrari and Toyota were struggling for the first place until the Ferrari #51 bumped the Toyota #8, leading the Ferrari #50 to the victory.
Result
With nine hypercars in the same lap at the arrival, these 24 Hours of Le Mans were very tight. The awaited three-way fight between Ferrari, Toyota and Porsche occured, even if the German constructor was not on the podium for the second time since its come back last year. One cannot imagine the most successful manufacturer at Le Mans will not work hard to improve its 963 to try to get its twentieth victory in the Sarthe next year. Toyota, despite the reservations on its potential, has reminded to everybody that its GR010 was still competitive three years after its first victory at Le Mans. Ferrari has added an eleventh victory to their palmares with the other 499P (the #50 won in 2023), but the race has been more contested than last year.
For the French manufacturers, the 92th edition has been difficult, to say the least: the Alpine spent less time on the track (less than six hours) than the safety car, and the two Peugeot carefully drove but finished at the eleventh and twelfth positions, 2 laps behind the winning car.
It has been a very difficult race for the drivers (and the spectators!) due to the weather conditions, especially during the night, as mentioned by most drivers after the arrival. José-Maria Lopez, on the Toyota #7, well summarized it: “It was the roller coaster, you were going to sleep, your car was second and when you were coming back two hours later you were fallen fifteenth.” (3)
Final ranking
Hypercar category:
- Ferrari AF Corse #50, 499P, Fuoco-Nielsen-Molina, 311 laps,
- Toyota Gazoo Racing #7, GR010 Hybrid, López-Kobayashi-de Vries, +14 seconds,
- Ferrari AF Corse #51, 499P, Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi, +36 seconds.
LMP2 category:
- United Sports #22, Jarvis-Garg-Siegel, 297 laps,
- Interpol Europol Competition #34, Smiechowski-Novalak-Lomko, 297 laps
- IDEC Sport #28, Lafargue-van Uitert-de Gerus, 297 laps
LMGT3 category:
- Manthey EMA #91, Porsche 911 GT3 R, Shahin-Schuring-Lietz, 281 laps,
- Team WRT #31, BMW M4 GT3, Leung-Gelael-Farfus, 280 laps
- Proton Competition #88, Ford Mustang GT3, Roda-Pedersen-Olsen, 280 laps
* Balance of Performance, that allows the organizers to adjust the weight and other parameters of the cars to reduce the gap of performance between the competitors.
Source:
(2) BoP 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024, L’Equipe, June 3rd 2024
(3) 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024 report, L’Equipe, June 17th 2024
Photos credits: @elegantinparis
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