The FIA World Endurance Championship and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest have published the list of 62 entries for the 2024 edition of the 24h of Le Mans.
This year the historic race taking place on the Circuit de la Sarthe will take place in the week of 12-16 June and will be valid as the fourth round of the maximum endurance series.
Obviously places were guaranteed to all 37 of the protagonists of the World Championship, to which are added the guests who benefited from automatic entry due to the results achieved on the track in the other championships taken as reference (European Le Mans Series, Le Mans Cup , Asian Le Mans Series and IMSA SportsCar Championship) by the organizers, or which have emerged in a particular way according to the judgment of the latter.
As happens every year, and especially since the advent of the new Hypercar/LMDh prototypes, the French Selection Committee obviously had to deal with the flood of requests received from teams and manufacturers, and in the end 23 Hypercars, 16 LMP2s came out and 23 LMGT3s ready to battle along 13,626km of the transalpine route.
The start of the 24H of Le Mans
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
HYPERCAR: hunt for Ferrari and Toyota
4 are added to the 19 cars taking part in the entire WEC season. Like last year, Cadillac will have two more V-Series.Rs, one entered with the #3 by Chip Ganassi Racing with Sébastien Bourdais/Renger declared at the wheel Van Der Zande/Scott Dixon and the other is Action Express Racing's #311 for Pipo Derani/Jack Aitken and a third to be decided, a car which benefited from the invitation through IMSA.
It should be noted that Alex Palou will become the companion of Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn on the #2 of CGR which races throughout the World Championship.
Porsche will add the #4 Team Penske 963 from IMSA, while Lamborghini has secured the approval of the #19 of the American trio Romain Grosjean/Andrea Caldarelli/Matteo Cairoli.
#80 AF Corse Oreca 07 – Gibson of Francois Perrodo, Ben Barnicoat, Norman Nato
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
LMP2: 16 Orecas in battle
This year LMP2 is no longer part of the World Championship, so ACO has given the OK to 16 Orecas, of which 5 were already secured through invitations. We are talking about United Autosports, two of Algarve Pro Racing (which gave up the third), Cool Racing and AF Corse.
United will then have a second 07-Gibson, while Proton Competition, Vector Sport, AO by TF, Nielsen Racing, Idec Sport, Duqueine Team, DKR Engineering, Inter Europol Competition, Cool Racing and Panis Racing are included in the list.
#86 GR Racing Ferrari 296 GT3: Michael Wainwright, Benjamin Barker, Riccardo Pera
Photo by: Asian Le Mans Series
LMGT3: many Ferraris among the 23
With the 18 in the World Championship already assured of their place, five more cars were entered. Those that had already received an invitation are Proton Competition (Ford Mustang #44) and Inception Racing (McLaren #70).
These are joined by the Ferrari 296 GT3s of JMW Motorsport #66 (Giacomo Petrobelli confirmed), GR Racing #86 (Michael Wainwright the first driver) and Spirit of Race #155 (Duncan Cameron/Matthew Griffin/David Perel).
#5 Proton Competition Porsche 963: Gianmaria Bruni, Neel Jani, Alessio Picariello, Romain Dumas
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
THE RESERVES
As every year the ACO and FIA obviously have a reserve list to call in case one of the teams on the primary list cannot take part in the event.
For 2024 we will have the second Porsche 963 #79 of Proton Competition 'on the bench' which Gimmi Bruni drives in IMSA as first in the order of priority.
In second place is the Oreca LMP2 #43 of Inter Europol Competition, in addition to those of Richard Mille by TDS #29 and the #41 of Staysail Motorsport, in sixth and seventh place respectively.
In between we find the LMGT3s of Racing Spirit Of Leman (Aston Martin #72), Kessel Racing #74 and Formula Racing #52, both with their respective Ferrari 296s.
“The 24 Hours of Le Mans has rarely seen a starting grid like this in over a hundred years. The world's greatest car manufacturers will be at La Sarthe this June. I am grateful to our partners and teams for coming together to give us another superb episode in the history of motorsport”, declared Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA President, added: “The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most iconic events in the history of motor racing and the traditional focal point of the FIA WEC season. Last year I had the pleasure of attending this fantastic race on the occasion of its centenary and I can't wait for this year's edition, which celebrates 120 years of the FIA.”
“The entry list is incredibly strong, with 23 Hypercars from 9 different manufacturers leading the 62-car field and 23 LMGT3s promising an ultra-competitive GT battle. Endurance racing is in good health today and this list registered shows that the right regulatory approach will lead to strong interest and great competition.”
Richard Mille, President of the FIA Endurance Commission, echoes him: “The announcement of the list of participants in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is always a very special moment and it is this year too. The participation is incredibly rich both in terms of numbers and quality. The numbers of the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes are simply astonishing.”
“I would say this is perhaps the strongest entry ever in terms of competing for both overall victory and GT car honours. Having a strong LMP2 representation enter the fray will also give fans something extra to look forward to. to follow and get excited about. We are ready for another memorable edition, there's no doubt about it.”
Frédéric Lequien, CEO of the WEC, comments: “This year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, the fourth round of the FIA WEC, will be nothing short of spectacular. With 14 manufacturers taking part in the WEC this season, plus additional entries, everything is poised for a golden era in endurance racing. After last year's memorable Centenary celebration, I am confident that Le Mans will be one of the most exciting races of the 2024 motorsport season.”
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