For the first time, GT3 regulations are being used at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the inaugural year of the LMGT3 class sees 23 entries representing nine manufacturers. Eighteen of the cars are full-time FIA World Endurance Championship entries. Three European Le Mans Series teams, one IMSA entrant and an additional Le Mans-only participant round out the class.
Twenty-five of the 49 Le Mans debutants are in LMGT3. Fifteen of the 23 cars in LMGT3 have at least one driver making a Le Mans debut. Of the 69 drivers in this class, 52 drivers have made fewer than five Le Mans appearances.
#27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo
Drivers: Ian James (4th), Daniel Mancinelli (2nd), Alex Riberas (2nd)
Test Day: 2nd
About This Team: Heart of Racing is back for a second consecutive year with this lineup. This trio was sixth in GTE-Am last year. After opening the WEC season with a second in Qatar, Heart of Racing is tied for second in the LMGT3 championship on 37 points, but loses the tiebreaker to the #31 Team WRT BMW.
#31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3
Drivers: Augusto Farfus (6th), Sean Gelael (4th), Daniel Leung (1st)
Test Day: 3rd
About This Team: The #31 BMW won at Imola in April. Farfus has never finished in the top five of his class in his first five Le Mans appearances. Gelael makes his first Le Mans appearance outside of LMP2 this year. He was runner-up in the LMP2 class in 2021 with Jota.
#44 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3
Drivers: John Hartshorne (3rd), Christopher Mies (1st), Ben Tuck (1st)
Test Day: 13th
About This Team: This is the only one-off Le Mans entry in LMGT3. Mies makes his Le Mans debut at 35 years old. The German has won the 24 Hours Nürburgring twice and the Bathurst 12 Hour twice. Hartshorne and Tuck are co-drivers in the European Le Mans Series for JMW Motorsports. This is Hartshorne's first Le Mans appearance since 2011 when he drove a Lotus Evora GTE for Jetalliance Racing.
#46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3
Drivers: Ahmad Al Harthy (2nd), Maxime Martin (9th), Valentino Rossi (1st)
Test Day: 9th
About This Team: The #46 BMW opened the season with finishes of fourth and second before being taken out at Spa-Francorchamps. Rossi has spent the last three years competing int GT World Challenge Europe. He and Martin won a Sprint Cup race at Misano last year on their way to fifth in the championship. Martin and Rossi also won another Sprint Cup race at Misano this year. Martin won the GTE Pro class in 2020 with Aston Martin. Al Harthy made his Le Mans debut last year in an Aston Martin and finished second in GTE Am.
#54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3
Drivers: Francesco Castellacci (9th), Thomas Flohr (8th), Davide Rigon (10th)
Test Day: 15th
About This Team: Castellacci, Flohr and Rigon were third in the GTE Am championship last year and won at Fuji. It was Castellacci and Flohr's first WEC victory since Fuji 2017. They were fifth in GTE Am at Le Mans last year.Through three races, the #54 Ferrari has 23 points with its best finish being fifth at Qatar.
#55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3
Drivers: François Heriau (1st), Simon Mann (3rd), Alessio Rovera (4th)
Test Day: 14th
About This Team: Rovera won at Le Mans in GTE Am in 2021. Mann has had two different co-drivers in each of his three Le Mans appearances. Heriau was supposed to make his Le Mans debut in 2021 in the SRT41 Garage 56 entry but an injury kept him from participating. Mann and Heriau were co-drivers in the Asian Le Mans this past winter and were eighth in that championship with Rigon as their third driver.
#59 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
Drivers: Nicolas Costa (1st), James Cottingham (1st), Grégoire Saucy (1st)
Test Day: 5th
About This Team: The #59 McLaren enters Le Mans coming off a fourth-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps. Costa won the Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil championship last year. Cottingham was runner-up in the British GT Championship GT3 class last year. Saucy is a part of the ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am championship leading team.
#60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2
Drivers: Matteo Cressoni (7th), Franck Perera (1st), Claudio Schiavoni (6th)
Test Day: 5th
About This Team: After driving a Ferrari and a Porsche the previous two years at Le Mans, Cressoni is now in a Lamborghini. Perera won the GTD class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2018. Cressoni and Schiavoni were third in the ELMS GT championship last year. The #60 Lamborghini was third at Spa-Francorchamps.
#66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3
Drivers: Giacomo Petrobelli (2nd), Larry ten Voorde (2nd), Salih Yoluç (6th)
Test Day: 18th
About This Team: Ten Voorde has opened the 2024 Porsche Supercup season with two victories. This is the Dutchman's first Le Mans appearance since 2020 when he was fourth in GTE Am. Yoluç won the GTE Am class that year, and the Turkish driver is focused on the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup this season while Petrobelli is running in British GT. Petrobelli and JMW retired after 89 laps last year due to an accident.
#70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
Drivers: Brendan Iribe (3rd), Ollie Millroy (3rd), Frederik Schandorff (1st)
Test Day: 12th
About This Team: Iribe and Millroy did not run Le Mans last year, but they ran the two years prior to that. Schandorff and Iribe are full-time in IMSA and they were sixth in the GTD championship last year.
#77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3
Drivers: Ben Barker (9th), Ryan Hardwick (2nd), Zacharie Robichon (3rd)
Test Day: 21st
About This Team: The #77 Ford has been ninth in the last two WEC races. Barker scored his first class podium at Le Mans last year when he was third in GTE Am. This is the first time Barker is not driving a Gulf/GR Racing Porsche. Hardwick and Robichon fell out after 28 laps in last year's race. Hardwick and Robichon did win the ELMS GT championship last year.
#78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3
Drivers: Timur Boguslavskiy (1st), Arnold Robin (3rd), Kelvin van der Linde (1st)
Test Day: 4th
About This Team: In its first season in WEC, Lexus has only one point between its two entries. Boguslavskiy is a two-time GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup champion while Robin won the Michelin Le Mans Cup GT3 championship last year. Van der Linde is a two-time 24 Hours Nürburgring winner.
#81 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Drivers: Rui Andrade (4th), Charlie Eastwood (5th), Tom van Rompuy (2nd)
Test Day: 10th
About This Team: The #81 Corvette won pole position at the Qatar season opener but failed to score points in two fo the first three rounds of the WEC season. Andrade won the WEC LMP2 title last year while Eastwood was second in the GTE Am class at Le Mans. Eastwood won in GTE Am at Le Mans in 2020. Van Rompuy made his debut in LMP2 last year and finished 32nd overall, 31 lap down and 17 laps off the LMP2 class winner.
#82 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Drivers: Sébastien Baud (1st), Daniel Juncadella (1st), Hiroshi Koizumi (1st)
Test Day: 1st
About This Team: The #82 Corvette has yet to finish better than eighth this season, but it was on top o the test with a lap at 3:59.883. Juncadella was second in the IMSA GTD Pro championship last year. Baud drove in GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup's bronze class last year and Koizumi was in Michelin Le Mans Cup in 2023.
#85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2
Drivers: Sarah Bovy (4th), Rahel Frey (7th), Michelle Gatting (6th)
Test Day: 8th
About This Team: Frey remains in the Iron Dames entry as Doraine Pin misses the race due to a ribs injury suffered in Formula Regional European competition. This trio was fourth in GTE Am last year and they ended up second in the championship. Iron Dames was on pole position at Spa-Francorchamps before finishing fifth.
#86 GR Racing Ferrari 296 GT3
Drivers: Riccardo Pera (4th), Daniel Serra (8th), Michael Wainwright (9th)
Test Day: 11th
About This Team: GR Racing moved to ELMS competition this year and Pera and Wainwright are third in the championship after finishing second and fifth in the first two races. They were third at Le Mans last year. With Rigon driving for AF Corse, Serra moves over from Kessel Racing in ELMS. Serra has been first or second in class in four Le Mans appearances.
#87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3
Drivers: Takeshi Kimura (6th), Jack Hawksworth (1st), Esteban Masson (1st)
Test Day: 16th
About This Team: Hawksworth found a seat in the #87 Lexus lineup after José María López moved to the #7 Toyota in Hypercar after Mike Conway's injury. Hawksworth won the IMSA GTD Pro championship last year, and he won the GTD Pro class in the 12 Hours of Sebring earlier this year. The #87 Lexus has finished 16th, 15th and 14th in the first three WEC races.
#88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3
Drivers: Dennis Olsen (3rd), Mikkel O. Pedersen (3rd), Giorgio Roda (3rd)
Test Day: 19th
About This Team: Olsen returns to Le Mans for the first time in three years. Pedersen's entry has not finished in his first two Le Mans appearances. Roda last appeared at Le Mans in 2019 and, like Pedersen, neither of Roda's first two entries have finished the race.
#91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
Drivers: Richard Lietz (18th), Morris Schuring (1st), Yasser Shahin (1st)
Test Day: 22nd
About This Team: The most recent winners at Spa-Francorchamp, Lietz is looking for his fifth Le Mans class victory. Shahin is a two-time GT World Challenge Australia champion and he won the Pro-Am class in the Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this year. Schuring was fourth in Porsche Supercup last year.
#92 Manthey Pure Rxing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
Drivers: Klaus Bachler (4th), Alex Malykhin (1st), Joel Sturm (1st)
Test Day: 23rd
About This Team: After finishes of first, third and second, the #92 Porsche leads the LMGT3 championship on 72 points, 35 points ahead of the competition. The Pure Rxing group won the Asian Le Mans GT championship this past winter.
#95 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
Drivers: Hiroshi Hamaguchi (1st), Nico Pino (2nd), Marino Sato (1st)
Test Day: 7th
About This Team: Hamaguchi joins this team for Le Mans replacing Josh Caygill, who runs the remainder of the WEC season. Pino was third in LMP2 last year at Le Mans while Sato was second in the ELMS LMP2 championship in 2023 with United Autosports.
#155 Spirit of Race Ferrari 296 GT3
Drivers: Conrad Laursen (1st), Johnny Laursen (2nd), Jordan Taylor (9th)
Test Day: 20th
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About This Team: Taylor makes his first Le Mans appearance in something other than a Corvette. He won the 12 Hours of Sebring earlier this year driving a Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura. The Laursens won the ELMS season opener in the GT3 class at Barcelona. Johnny Laursen's first Le Mans appearance was in 2016.
#777 D'station Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo
Drivers: Erwan Bastard (1st), Satoshi Hoshino (5th), Marco Sørensen (10th)
Test Day: 17th
About This Team: Bastard spent last season in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Silver Cup class. D'station has failed to finish in the previous two years at Le Mans. Sørensen won in the GTE Am class at Le Mans two years ago.
Wednesday Recap
BMW was the surprise fastest in the Hypercar qualifying session as the #15 BMW had the fastest lap at 3:24.465. The #3 Cadillac was second only 0.177 seconds off the leading BMW. The #50 Ferrari was third while the #35 Alpine was in fourth.
The #2 Cadillac rounded out the top five, only 0.056 seconds ahead of the #51 Ferrari. The #6 Porsche was another 0.002 seconds behind the Ferrari in seventh. The #7 Toyota brought out a red flag and had all of its lap times deleted, meaning the Japanese manufacturer will not have a representative in Hyperpole session. With the #7 Toyota knocked out of the top eight, the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche took the final Hyperpole spot. However, the #12 Porsche suffered an accident in Wednesday night practice and the team will be changing over to a spare chassis ahead of Thursday’s sessions.
The #36 Alpine will be starting ninth ahead of the #5 Porsche and #8 Toyota. The #83 Ferrari will start 12th while the best Lamborghini will be the #63 entry in 13th. Proton Competition's #99 Porsche takes 14th on the grid ahead of the #93 Peugeot, #20 BMW and #38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche.
Whelen Cadillac Racing has the #311 Cadillac starting 18th, just ahead of the #4 Porsche. The #94 Peugeot rounds out the top twenty ahead of the #19 Lamborghini and the #11 Isotta Fraschini. With the lap times deleted, the #7 Toyota will start 23rd on race day.
Cool Racing led the LMP2 qualifying session with the #37 Oreca running a lap at 3:32.827, over three tenths faster than the #14 AO by TF Oreca. United Autosport put the #23 Oreca third in the session with the #65 Panis Racing exactly one second off the top time.
The #28 IDEC Sport Race rounded out the top five ahead of the #10 Vector Sport Oreca. DKR Engineering was a surprise in seventh while the #22 United Autosport Oreca took the final spot in the LMP2 Hyperpole session.
Seven different manufacturers took the eight Hyperpole spots in LMGT3, starting with the #77 Proton Competition Ford, which ran a lap at 3:55.263. Inception Racing had the #70 McLaren in second, 0.143 seconds off the top with the #82 TF Sport Corvette in third, 0.842 seconds from the #77 Ford. The #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini was in fourth.
Manthey Pure Rxing had the #92 Porsche in fifth ahead of the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin by 0.054 seconds. JMW Motorsport had the #66 Ferrari in seventh while D'Station Racing took the final spot with the #777 Aston Martin 0.030 seconds ahead of the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini and 0.061 seconds clear of the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus.
Thursday begins with a three-hour practice at 9:00 a.m. ET. Hyperpole qualifying will take place at 2:00 p.m. ET before a one-hour night practice at 4:00 p.m. ET.
There will be a 15-minute warm-up at 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday June 10 with the 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.
