By Carlo Platella
The 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has all the potential to be even more exciting and competitive than last season. The reigning champions Ferrari they challenge the world champions of Toyota, in addition to the current world leaders of Porsche. Peugeot and Cadillac hope to have their say, while the priority for the rookies is to get to the end without reliability problems. Here are the hopes and concerns of the probable protagonists of the French marathon.
Ferrari
The winners of the Centenary edition are the team that has most convinced in terms of performances at the start of the season, despite collecting less than they could. The new BoP system depowers the 499P at high speeds, depriving them of their deadly speed in a straight line emerged on several occasions, above all the victorious 24 hours of 2023. The Cavallino, however, does not despair, aware of having filled its gaps and strengthened its strengths thanks to the experience acquired over the last year.
The Maranello Hypercar continues to be incisive on the flying lap, as evidenced by the hat-trick in qualifying at Imola and the pole position, later cancelled, at Spa, thanks also to an exceptional performer such as Antonio Fuoco. Despite the speed in qualifying, the 499P also shows excellent race pace, indicative of good tire management. “I would say that the race pace is excellent, we always did well in the second stint. It’s positive, because it was an area we had to work on last year”confirms James Calado.
Another Ferrari strong point it is the mechanical and aerodynamic absorption of curbs and roughness, an advantage that emerged in Imola and which will be useful in Le Mans when cutting Porsche variations and curves. Last, but not least, the 499P is among the best braking cars, giving drivers an important tool with which to attempt overtaking. In France the Cavallino will try to repeat the success of 2023 by leveraging the experience doubled since then, as well as the third semi-official car managed by AF Corse.
Toyota
The world champions have their great strength is operational efficiency. On more than one occasion Toyota has demonstrated its ability to manage unforeseen events and best interpret evolving scenarios, taking advantage of the experience accumulated over years of participation in the World Championship. The GR010, however, suffers from the disadvantage of being the oldest car on the grid, designed for regulations that were originally supposed to be very different.
Nonetheless, the Japanese Hypercar can leverage excellent downforce and balance, invaluable qualities in Porsche cornering. Compared to the 2023 BoP, Toyota drops from 16 to 10 kg more than Ferrari, but loses the 3 kW power advantage. On the other hand, the power bonus granted above 250 km/h should limit the delay that the Japanese accumulated on the straights last year. Finally, 27 kg less from the last edition they will benefit the already excellent tire management of the GR010who in France will have all it takes to return to the top step of the podium.
Porsche
It is an unrecognizable Porsche that presents itself at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024 when compared to the one that made its debut in the last edition. The reliability problems would seem to be just a distant memory, while they have been accomplished important steps forward in development. At the opening of the championship Porsche dominated in Qatar, a track that is decidedly friendly to the characteristics of the 963, but in general the Zuffenhausen prototype has delivered convincing performances in all the races held so far.
There is still work to be done in the aggression of curbs and roughness, moderate but still not negligible at Le Mans, while the drivers complain that they are not yet able to sink the braking points like Ferrari and Toyota, complicating overtaking maneuvers. On the other hand, on a couple of occasions the 963 demonstrated its competitiveness as temperatures dropped, giving us hope for the French night. Last, but not least, the possibility of fielding 6 cars, 3 of which are official, significantly increasing the chances of victory.
Peugeot and Cadillac
It would be premature to exclude the other two manufacturers who already have a year of experience in the World Championship from the fight for victory. With the evolutionary package introduced in Imola, Peugeot has improved significantly in traction, without however losing the incisiveness in braking and the precision of the front end typical of the old car. The 9X8 also now tends to break down less on curbs, boasting a wider operating window in general, with more set-up options. Another help comes from no longer turning to the extremes of the Balance of Performance, leaving some margin with which to optimize performance. The lion’s new Hypercar did not impress at Imola and Spa, however denoting a decent level of reliability which could yield a good result in France.
Cadillac he is fresh from a podium finish on his debut at Le Mans in 2023, but also from a disappointing start to the championship in terms of results, dictated above all by episodes and bad luck. The V-Series.R is not among the most effective cars in quickly bringing the tires up to temperature, which is fundamental in a Le Mans where heaters will be abolished for the first time, also demonstrating at Daytona that it loses competitiveness during the night. On the other hand, in France the brand of General Motors will field three carswidening the strategic options and the possibility of absorbing the blows of bad luck.
The others
Le Mans is by definition the race of surprises and if there is anything that Ferrari’s victory in 2023 teaches it is that even a rookie can have his say. However, given the number and preparation of the candidates for victory, it seems unlikely that one of the three rookies will climb onto the top step of the podium.to BMW, Alpine, Lamborghini and Isotta Fraschini. For these, the first 24 hours will above all be a precious opportunity to accumulate data and for Lamborghini it will also be an opportunity to experiment with the set-ups, fielding two SC63s for the first time. The goal is to stay out of trouble to be ready to seize any opportunity that presents itself, but even more so to gain experience and then attack in 2025.
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