The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) has announced the provisional entry list for the 2024 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which includes the most diverse top category field in more than 30 years.
In total there’ll be 23 cars running in the LMH category, with entries from nine different manufacturers — the most in the top class since the chicanes were added on the Hunaudieres — as the Hypercar class goes from strength to strength, and with more waiting in the wings.
That will of course include defending champion Ferrari, which returns with two of its 499Ps and with the 2023-winning driver line-up of James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Alessandro Pier Guidi remaining in the #50. AF Corse will run a third example.
Deposed five-time champion team Toyota also returns with the GR010 and five of its six drivers as it looks to recapture the title it had held since 2018 — having won every round of the World Endurance Championship last season except Le Mans.
The most common sight on the LMH grid will be Porsche, which had looked strong in the race last year. In total there’ll be six 963s: three from the factory Porsche Penske team, two from Hertz Team Jota, and one from Proton Competition which makes its class debut. Proton also has a second car on the reserve list.
Cadillac is bringing another pair of its LMDh V-Series.R machines, looking to better its podium finish from 2023, while home favorite Peugeot will also enter a pair of 9X8s promising some big upgrades from the famously wingless car last season.
Only two brands aren’t returning this year, as Glickenhaus has elected not to enter and Vanwall’s entry was rejected by the ACO. However that clearly hasn’t resulted in a shortage of teams as another four new cars will be taking their first Le Mans start.
The most important for home fans will be the Alpine A424. Alpine missed 2023, having raced the grandfathered A480 — a Rebellion R13 LMP1 — in 2021-22, but has now developed its LMDh machine for this season.
Another car making its debut this season is the Lamborghini SC63, another LMDh machine, with two entries under the factory-backed Iron Lynx team. This will mark Lamborghini’s first ever appearance in the top category at Le Mans, after a rather colorful history with the race.
BMW is also set for a return, 25 years after taking its only overall win with the V12 LMR in 1999. Its M Hybrid V8 is already race-proven, with five podium finishes in the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship including a race win at the Six Hours of The Glen.
There’s one final entry which we think might be a secret favorite (or at least a second choice) for many fans. The Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH-C revives a 124-year old brand with a full LMH built to the original spirit of the rules: the company has actually already made a roadgoing, “Stradale” example of the car for limited production!
Outside of the Hypercar field, a major change in the GT classes has also brought a bumper crop of entries which will see nine different cars across 23 entries fighting for victory.
Renamed as LMGT3, the category is unsurprisingly open for GT3 machinery rather than the superficially similar GTEs of recent memory, giving many more manufacturers the option of entry.
That’s allowed for the resumption of some traditional battles, but rather than rotating over several years it’s all in one race. We’ll see the all-new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 facing off with the mid-engined Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Porsche’s 992-generation 911 R taking on the Ferrari 296 GT3, and BMW returning with the M4 GT3 to battle a trio of Ford Mustangs.
If that wasn’t quite enough, there’s also two Lamborghini Huracans from Iron Lynx and Iron Dames, two Lexus RC Fs, and three examples of the McLaren 720S GT3 as the British manufacturer returns to the scene of its remarkable 1995 overall win after a 26-year absence.
That almost relegates the highly competitive LMP2 category to a mere afterthought, but we’ll still get 16 cars — including six Pro-Am — fighting for a class win in what’s traditionally the closest racing out there.
The entry list for the race is provisional and includes seven reserve spots as well as several gaps on the driver list. However at present there’s 14 ex-F1 drivers — including 2009 world champion Jenson Button, returning after his Garage 56 drive in 2023 — in the LMH cars. Gamers may also like to keep an eye out for the #155 Spirit of Race Ferrari 296 GT3, with GTPlanet member David Perel at the wheel.
For 2024 the race will get underway at 3pm local time (1300 UTC) on Saturday June 15, ending — hopefully, if the Rolex 24 at Daytona timekeepers aren’t involved — just over 24 hours later on Sunday June 16.
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