After previewing the GTE classes, it is time to look at the two prototype classes competing in the 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This year's race marks the inaugural appearance for the Hypercar class. Five entrants make up the premier class, but with Le Mans being an unknown for these cars, there is a belief one of the 25 LMP2 entrants could pullout an overall victory.
Along with the 30 cars between the two prototype classes, this preview will also feature the one innovative, Garage 56 entrant. This year's Garage 56 entrant is a specially adapted Oreca 07-Gibson allowing two disabled competitors to take part in this year's race.
Like with the GTE preview, we will look over each entry, the drivers listed for each car and provide a little background on those lineups.
Hypercar
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
Drivers: Mike Conway (8th), Kamui Kobayashi (7th), José María López (5th)
About This Team: The #7 Toyota has opened the season with finishes of third, second and first and the defending world champions are currently second on 69 points. Le Mans has been the one race that has escaped the #7 Toyota team. This car has been on the podium the last three years. The #7 Toyota has been snake-bitten more than its sister car, but Le Mans is bound to fall for this trio one of these years. The car is an unknown and Toyota has expressed concerns about if it can make it the distance without any issue, but Toyota can still pull out a victory.
Test Day: 2nd
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
Drivers: Sébastien Buemi (10th), Brendon Hartley (8th), Kazuki Nakajima (10th)
About This Team: The #8 Toyota has won two of the first three races of the FIA World Endurance Championship season and leads the World Endurance Drivers' Championship with 75 points. Buemi and Nakajima have won Le Mans the last three years and Hartley won the race last year, the second time in his career. The car ran into fuel pressures at Monza, knocking it out of contention for victory.
Test Day: 3rd
#36 Alpine Elf Matmut Alpine A480-Gibson
Drivers: Nicolas Lapierre (14th), André Negrão (5th), Matthieu Vaxivière (5th)
About This Team: Alpine opened the year with three podium finishes, including two runner-up results. The car has had its maximum stint energy allowance reduced, which should give Toyota a greater advantage. What plays into Alpine's hands is this car is Le Mans tested and gone 24 hours. The Toyota is unknown. Alpine has been in the ballpark the entire season. If Toyota slips up, even with the energy reduction, Alpine should be there. Lapierre has been one of the best LMP2 drivers at Le Mans with four class victories in the last six years. Two of those were with Negrão.
Test Day: 4th
#708 Glickenhaus Racing Glickenhaus 007 LMH
Drivers: Pipo Derani (6th), Franck Mailleux (7th), Olivier Pla (14th)
About This Team: Glickenhaus has been respectable in its first two races. This entry's Monza race ended with gearbox issues. Glickenhaus has completed a 30-hour test at Aragón. This car led the Le Mans test day, but one-lap pace is different than an entire stint. Derani has an overall 24 Hours of Daytona victory and three 12 Hours of Sebring victories. All these drivers have plenty of Le Mans experience, but Mailleux has not been in the race since 2014.
Test Day: 1st
#709 Glickenhaus Racing Glickenhaus 007 LMH
Drivers: Ryan Briscoe (7th), Romain Dumas (21st), Richard Westbrook (11th)
About This Team: The #709 Glickenhaus was fourth overall at Monza after a lengthy stop for a brake change. Dumas has won Le Mans twice overall. Briscoe and Westbrook ran four Le Mans together with the Ford GT program and they even had a class victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Briscoe does have an overall 24 Hours of Daytona victory.
Test Day: 5th
LMP2
#1 Richard Mille Racing Team Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Tatiana Calderón (2nd), Sophia Flörsch (2nd), Beitske Visser (2nd)
About This Team: This is the second year for the all-female lineup. Their best finish was sixth at Portimão. Calderón has also paired another season in Super Formula with this WEC effort. Visser is competing in W Series, where she is ninth in the championship on 18 points after four races. Flörsch is running an Audi in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and her best result is 15th.
Test Day: 18th
#17 IDEC Sport Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Ryan Dalziel (6th), Dwight Merriman (1st), Thomas Laurent (5th)
About This Team: Laurent was a late change to the lineup as Kyle Tilley had to pull out due to a shoulder injury. Laurent won in the LMP2 class on his Le Mans debut in 2017 and as second overall that year. He was third overall the following year. Dalziel and Merriman won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Daytona earlier this year. Merriman ran in the Asian Le Mans Series and is currently running in the European Le Mans Series. His best finish in ELMS competition is 11th. Dalziel returns to Le Mans for the first time since 2016. He won in LMP2 with Starworks in 2012.
Test Day: 24th
#20 High Class Racing Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Dennis Andersen (2nd), Marco Sørensen (7th), Ricky Taylor (7th)
About This Team: High Class Racing is splitting its deck for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Andersen has finished ninth in all three WEC races this season. Sørensen's previous Le Mans starts were all with the Aston Martin GTE program. Taylor has retired from his last two Le Mans starts and in four starts in the LMP2 class, his best class finish is ninth.
Test Day: 14th
#21 DragonSpeed USA Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Henrik Hedman (5th), Ben Hanley (5th), Juan Pablo Montoya (3rd)
About This Team: DragonSpeed's best finish this year in WEC is sixth and its best finish in ELMS competition is 12th. It has never been competitive at Le Mans with two retirements and its best class finish being 12th.
Test Day: 15th
#22 United Autosports USA Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Filipe Albuquerque (8th), Phil Hanson (4th), Fabio Scherer (1st)
About This Team: Albuquerque and Hanson have been on a tear in LMP2 competition since the end of 2019, and not just in WEC, but also the European Le Mans Series. Hanson leads the LMP2 championship on his own, as he had to run in the #23 United Autosport Oreca at Portimão after the #22 Oreca had to withdraw. Scherer has stepped in and kept up the pace. It is hard not to like this car at Le Mans. It cannot win every race, but it shows no sign of slowing down.
Test Day: 5th
#23 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Wayne Boyd (1st), Alex Lynn (5th), Paul di Resta (4th)
About This Team: Boyd has spent four of the previous five years in ELMS' LMP3 class and he won the championship last year with Tom Gamble and Rob Wheldon. Boyd did drive in LMP2 in 2018 but did not run Le Mans as Juan Pablo Montoya took his seat. Lynn won the GTE-Pro class at Le Mans last year and he just won his first Formula E race back in July. This will be Lynn's first time in an LMP2 car since 2017. Di Resta won in LMP2 last year at Le Mans, and he won four races with Albuquerque and Hanson last season.
Test Day: 5th
#24 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Gabriel Aubry (4th), Patrick Kelly (1st), Simon Trummer (5th)
About This Team: Kelly won the IMSA LMP2 championship last year and Aubry and Trummer were two of his co-drivers. However, Kelly's only start this season was the WEC round at Spa-Francorchamps, where he, Aubry and Trummer were 11th in class. Trummer's only other competition this year was Asian Le Mans in February, where he was third in three of four races. Aubry has been driving for Starworks in IMSA's LMP2 class.
Test Day: 9th
#25 G-Drive Racing Aurus 01-Gibson
Drivers: Rui Andrade (1st), John Falb (3rd), Roberto Merhi (3rd)
About This Team: Andrade is in his first year in sports cars. He spent the last few years in Formula 4 and Formula Renault series with no notable results. Merhi was 14th in LMP2 last year at Le Mans. Falb has been in the top ten in LMP2 the last two years at Le Mans.
Test Day: 16th
#26 G-Drive Racing Aurus 01-Gibson
Drivers: Franco Colapinto (1st), Roman Rusinov (11th), Nyck de Vries (3rd)
About This Team: This entry is currently second in the ELMS championship, and it won at Circuit Paul Ricard. Rusinov won the Asian Le Mans Series championship this year. De Vries won the Formula E championship last week and he had two victories. The Dutchman has been 15th in the LMP2 class in two Le Mans starts. Colapinto is 18 years old, and he was third in the Formula Renault Eurocup championship last year.
Test Day: 21st
#28 Jota Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Tom Blomqvist (2nd), Sean Gelael (1st), Stoffel Vandoorne (2nd)
About This Team: Blomqvist and Gelael won two races in the Asian Le Mans Series and they have two podium finishes in WEC this season with Vandoorne. Vandoorne had a respectable Formula E season, winning a race with Mercedes, while Blomqvist was stuck at the rear of the field with NIO, but Blomqvist did pick up a point in the finale last Sunday.
Test Day: 20th
#29 Racing Team Nederland Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Frits van Eerd (5th), Giedo van der Garde (5th), Job van Uitert (3rd)
About This Team: Van der Garde and van Uitert missed Monza due to positive COVID tests. The Dutch team has always been respectable, and it had four podium finishes last season, but it won only one race and in the last three trips to Le Mans, its best finish is seventh in class.
Test Day: 7th
#30 Duqueine Team Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: René Binder (3rd), Tristan Gommendy (12th), Memo Rojas (6th)
About This Team: Currently fifth in the ELMS championship, Gommendy has been runner-up in the LMP2 class three times at Le Mans. Rojas' best class finish at Le Mans was fifth in 2019. This is the third different team Binder has driven for in three Le Mans trips.
Test Day: 10th
#31 Team WRT Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Robin Frijns (1st), Ferdinand von Habsburg (1st), Charles Milesi (2nd)
About This Team: While they were second in LMP2 at Monza, this is a young trio with Frijns leading the way. Habsburg has been transitioning to sports cars and won two races and the Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 championship with G-Drive Racing. Team WRT's foray into prototypes has gone well and it has much endurance race success, albeit all in GT3 competition.
Test Day: 8th
#32 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Jonathan Aberdein (1st), Nico Jamin (3rd), Manuel Maldonado (1st)
About This Team: Jamin and Maldonado drive this car full-time in ELMS and while they finished third at Circuit Paul Ricard, their next best finish is ninth. Aberdein drives the #22 United Autosport Oreca in ELMS and he is third in the championship with runner-up results in the last two races.
Test Day: 11th
#34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Alex Brundle (8th), Jakub Śmiechowski (3rd), Renger van der Zande (4th)
About This Team: Inter Europol has been good since it moved up to LMP2 competition in WEC. Brundle and van der Zande are solid professional drivers to build around, though Brundle's recent years at Le Mans have not been great. He has finished outside the top ten in LMP2 in each of those years. Van der Zande has retired from two of his previous three starts.
Test Day: 17th
#38 Jota Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: António Félix da Costa (4th), Anthony Davidson (13th), Roberto González (5th)
About This Team: United Autosports' foil, Jota won in Portugal and has been an LMP2 stalwart for years. It has won this race before. Davidson really should at least have a class victory at Le Mans considering how well he has done here in the past. Da Costa remains one of the least respected drivers in the world. González will be capable of competitive lap times among the amateur drivers. The #38 Oreca was second and first in the first two WEC races, but these drivers are 18 points behind Hanson in the championship.
Test Day: 19th
#39 SO24-DIROB By Graff Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Vincent Capillaire (8th), Arnold Robin (1st), Maxime Robin (1st)
About This Team: This is a full-time ELMS entry, but its best finish is 13th through four races. The Robins spent the last few years in LMP3 competition between the V by V Endurance Series and ELMS. Capillaire was second in LMP2 at Le Mans in 2018.
Test Day: 23rd
#41 Team WRT Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Louis Delétraz (2nd), Robert Kubica (1st), Ye Yifei (1st)
About This Team: The #41 Team WRT entry leads the European Le Mans Series championship after winning the first two races. Yifei also won the recent Asian Le Mans Series championship with G-Drive and he was the 2020 Euroformula Open Championship. Delétraz has moved into sports cars after four years in Formula Two. He was eighth in the championship the last two seasons.
Test Day: 3rd
#44 ARC Bratislava Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Miro Konôpka (5th), Matej Konôpka (1st), Oliver Webb (8th)
About This Team: ARC Bratislava skips the even years, as it has run in 2017 and 2019 at Le Mans. This is typically not a threatening entry. Prior to this year, Matej Konôpka had a few starts in the 24H Series. Miro Konôpka did run an LMP3 car in the Asian Le Mans Series, but his best finish was sixth and ARC Bratislava was ninth in the championship. Webb spent the previous five years driving for ByKolles at Le Mans. He has retired in his last seven Le Mans starts. Only one of those entries made completed over 200 laps.
Test Day: 22nd
#48 IDEC Sport Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Paul-Loup Chatin (7th), Paul Lafargue (5th), Patrick Pilet (13th)
About This Team: Running full-time in IMSA, this team's best finish is sixth at Red Bull Ring. Chatin won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Daytona with Era Motorsport. This is the fourth consecutive year Chatin and Lafargue are co-drivers at Le Mans. This is the second consecutive year Pilet is competing in LMP2 at Le Mans. He was 11th in class last year.
Test Day: 1st
#49 Sashi-High Class Racing Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Anders Fjordbach (3rd), Jan Magnussen (23rd), Kevin Magnussen (1st)
About This Team: Fjordbach and Jan Magnussen move to this second entry to allow Kevin Magnussen to drive with his father once at Le Mans. Fjordbach and Jan Magnussen have been ninth in every race. Kevin Magnussen has started his sports car career this year with Chip Ganassi Racing's Cadillac program, and he won at Belle Isle. A flat tire derailed a podium finish in the 24 Hours of Daytona. Kevin Magnussen will be a part of the Peugeot hypercar program next year.
Test Day: 12th
#65 Panis Racing Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: James Allen (4th), Julien Canal (12th), Will Stevens (6th)
About This Team: Panis Racing won the most recent ELMS round at Monza and this car is fourth in that championship. Canal won his class in his first three Le Mans appearances and he was third last year in LMP2 in this entry. Stevens won at Le Mans in GTE-Am in 2017 and he has four WEC LMP2 class victories. He drove for Jackie Chan DC Racing last year and was fifth in the LMP2 championship with a victory and five podium finishes.
Test Day: 2nd
#70 Realteam Racing Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Loïc Duval (10th), Esteban Garcia, Norman Nato (4th)
About This Team: Duval is back after missing Le Mans last year for the first time since 2017. He was third in class in 2019 with TDS Racing, which operates the Realteam Racing effort. Nato was second overall last year with Rebellion Racing. Nato just won his first Formula E race on Sunday in Berlin. Garcia spent the last two seasons in ELMS' LMP3 class and was third in the championship last year.
Test Day: 13th
#74 Racing Team India Eurasia Ligier JS P217-Gibson
Drivers: Tom Cloet (2nd), John Corbett (1st), James Winslow (5th)
About This Team: Cloet returns to Le Mans for the first time since 2006 when he drove for Noel del Bello Racing and one of his co-drivers was Patrick Bourdais, father of Sébastien Bourdais. It was Patrick Bourdais' final of nine Le Mans starts. Cloet drove for ARC Bratislava's LMP3 entry in the Asian Le Mans Series over the winter and he has spent the last few years in LMP3 competition. Winslow has never finished in the top fifteen in class at Le Mans. Corbett started two Asian Le Mans Series races this past season and he has some LMP3 experience.
Test Day: 25th
#82 Risi Competizione Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Ryan Cullen (3rd), Oliver Jarvis (10th), Felipe Nasr (2nd)
About This Team: Risi Competizione is making a switch this year at Le Mans, fielding an LMP2 entry instead of a Ferrari in the GTE-Pro class. Jarvis drove for Risi in 2019. Last year, Jarvis and Cullen paired in a G-Drive Racing entry. Nasr's only Le Mans starts was in 2018 and he was 11th in LMP2 with Cetilar Villorba Corsa. Jarvis and Nasr are both race winners in IMS this year. Jarvis won the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen with Mazda. Nasr has won the last two races with Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac.
Test Day: 6th
Innovative Car
#84 Association SRT41 Oreca 07-Gibson
Drivers: Takuma Aoki (1st), Nigel Bailly (1st), Matthieu Lahaye (5th)
About This Team: This year's Garage 56 entry features two disabled drivers. Aoki competed in grand prix motorcycle racing and was fifth in 1997 500cc world championship behind Mick Doohan, Tadayuki Okada, his brother Nobuatsu Aoki and Àlex Crivillé with his best finish being second in the season finale in Australian. Aoki was paralyzed in an accident during preseason testing ahead of the 1998 season. He has previously competed in the Dakar Rally. Bailly was paralyzed in a motocross accident when he was 14 years old. The Belgian has run in LMP3 competition across a few series since 2018. Lahaye was a late change for François Hériau, who was injured in a fall last week.
Lahaye has twice finished on the LMP2 class podium at Le Mans, but his last Le Mans start was in 2012. He did not compete at all in 2020, but he is running in ELMS this year and Hériau is one of his co-drivers. They have finish fifth in two races this season. Association SRT41 has run two ELMS races this season. The car completed 127 laps at Barcelona and 117 laps at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Test Day: 28th overall (would have ranked 23rd in the LMP2 class)
The first practice session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be at 8:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday August 18. The session is scheduled for three hours. A two-hour second practice will be held later that day at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Hyperpole qualifying will be on Thursday August 19 at 3:00 p.m. ET. A two-hour practice session will follow at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Saturday August 21 opens with a 30-minute practice at 5:30 a.m. ET. The 24 Hours of Le Mans starts at 10:00 a.m. ET.
