2025 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGT3 Preview

We are wrapping up our 24 Hours of Le Mans previews with the LMGT3 class. Two-dozen entries are in the pro-am class that bring together nine manufacturers and 72 drivers from around the world. Including Hypercar and LMP2, 186 drivers will be competing in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

A few drivers are going to be making their debut. A few drivers have famous last names. Some drivers we have seen for a number of years at Le Mans. 

Who Won Last Year?

Manthey Racing won last year for Porsche with Richard Lietz, Marris Schuring and Yasser Shahin, and that lineup is not together for this year's race. 

Lietz is still with Manthey, and he will be in the #92 Porsche but with Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera as his co-drivers. Shahin has moved to Team WRT, which finished second to Manthey last year at Le Mans. Shahin will be in the #31 BMW with Augusto Farfus and Timur Boguslavskiy. Schuring does not have a ride at Le Mans this year. 

The #90 Manthey Porsche has Klaus Bachler, Antares Au and Look Hartog as its drivers. 

Proton Competition took third and fourth last year with its two Ford Mustangs. The #77 Ford will feature Ben Barker, Bernardo Sousa and Ben Tuck while Dennis Olsen, Stefano Gattuso and Gianmarco Levorato will drive the #88 Ford.

Who is Coming into Le Mans Hot?

The answer is nobody in the FIA World Endurance Championship. 

Three races, three different winners, nine different cars have finished on the podium through three races, and only three cars have finished in the top five in multiple races this season. Your guess is as good as anybody. There is no clear favorite. 

TF Sport leads the LMGT3 championship with 44 points as the #33 Corvette won at Qatar, but Jonny Edgar, Daniel Juncadella and Ben Keating were seventh and 13th in the next two races. AF Corse are four points back as the #21 Ferrari of François Hériau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera won at Spa-Francorchamps but retired from Imola while finishing fifth in Qatar. 

The #92 Manthey Porsche won the Imola round, but it has finished 12th (Qatar) and seventh (Spa-Francorchamps) in the other races. However, Manthey went 1-2 in the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series. Au and Bachler won the championship while Hardwick, Lietz and Pera were second. If there is any reason why Manthey should be excited, it is Bachler is showing up to Le Mans while leading IMSA's GTD Pro championship and he has won twice this season.

Even in European Le Mans Series competition, there have been two winners from the first two races.

Iron Dames won at Barcelona, but then Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Célia Martín were seventh at Circuit Paul Ricard. They will drive the #85 Porsche On the flipside, AF Corse won in France with Custodio Toledo, Riccardo Agostini and Lilou Wadoux but they were ninth at Barcelona in the #150 Ferrari. 

Is Anyone Heading to Le Mans Cold?

AWA Racing won the 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD class, but since then Matt Bell and Orey Fidani have finished tenth or worse in the last three races. Bell and Fidani head to Le Mans to drive AWA's #13 Corvette with Lars Kern, who was also in the Daytona winner squad. 

While United Autosports was second at Qatar with the #59 McLaren, the team has not finished better than seventh this season. Sébastien Baud, James Cottingham and Grégoire Saucy were 14th and 15th in the last two races in the #59 McLaren. Sean Gelael and Darren Leung were second last year at Le Mans in this class with Team WRT. This year, Gelael and Leung are heading to Le Mans coming off a retirement at Spa-Francorchamps with Marino Sato in the #95 McLaren. 

Is Valentino Rossi Competing?

Yes. Rossi is in the #46 Team WRT BMW with Ahmad Al Harthy and Kelvin van der Linde. They were second at Imola. Van der Linde won the Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this year with his brother Sheldon, and with Augusto Farfus. Al Harthy was second in the GTE-Am class in 2023 driving an Aston Martin for TF Sport. 

Last year, Rossi, Al Harthy and Maxime Martin retired after completing only 109 laps. The #46 BMW was second at Imola, but was ninth at Spa-Francorchamps last month.

Which Drivers are Getting Unexpected Opportunities?

Jack Hawksworth wasn't supposed to be at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but an injury to Ben Barnicoat keeps Barnicoat sidelined while Hawksworth will be at Le Mans in the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus. He joins Finn Gehrsitz and Arnold Robin. The #78 Lexus has finished fourth, third and eighth this season. Hawksworth has finished second in three consecutive IMSA races in the GTD class. 

Injuries to Claudio Schiavoni has led to a complete line change in the #60 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG. Andrew Gilbert, Lorcan Hanafin and Fran Rueda will take over the #60 Mercedes-AMG for Le Mans. All three drivers will be making their Le Mans debuts. Gilbert and Rueda are co-drivers in ELMS with Miguel Molina in the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari. Hanafin drive the #63 Mercedes-AMG for Iron Lynx in ELMS, and he was second at Circuit Paul Ricard with co-drivers Martin Berry and Fabian Schiller. 

Are There Any Sons with More Famous Fathers Competing?

Yes, there are two. 

Eduardo Barrichello will make his Le Mans debut in the #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin with Derek DeBoer and Valentin Hasse-Clot. Barrichello is competing in WEC for the first time after spending the last two seasons running in the Stock Car Brasil Series, and he was third in that championship last year. His father Rubens made only one Le Mans start. Rubens competed with Racing Team Nederland in 2017 with Jan Lammers and Frits van Eerd as co-drivers in the LMP2 class. They were 11th in class.

Eddie Cheever III is making his third Le Mans start. Cheever III ran in 2018 and 2019 with MR Racing. This year, Cheever III is driving the #193 Ziggo Sport - Tempesta Ferrari with Christ Froggatt and Jonathan Hu. They won the Bronze Cup championship last year in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.

Who Has Not Been Mentioned?

Seven cars in LMGT3 class.

Heart of Racing Team has the #27 Aston Martin entered for Mattia Drudi, Ian James and Zacharie Robichon. Heart of Racing is coming off its best finish of fifth at Spa-Francorchamps.

Francesco Castellacci, Thomas Flohr and Davide Rigon are together for their third consecutive year at Le Mans in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari.

Kessel Racing is running Takeshi Kimura, Daniel Serra and Casper Stevenson in the #57 Ferrari. Serra has two Le Mans class victories, both in GTE-Pro. Kimura is back in a Ferrari after running an Akkodis ASP Team Lexus in 2024.

There are two other Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMGs entered. Martin Berry, Lin Hodenius and Maxime Martin are in the #61 Mercedes-AMG. Brenton Grove, Stephen Grove and Luca Stolz are entered in the #63 Mercedes-AMG.

TF Sport have a second Corvette entered. Rui Andrade, Charlie Eastwood and Tom van Rompuy will share the #81 Corvette.

José María López leads the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus with Clemens Schmid and Razvan Umbrarescu as his co-drivers.

General Le Mans Facts to Keep in Mind

AF Corse also has at least one entry in each class, just like Proton Competition. AF Corse runs all three Ferrari 499Ps in Hypercar, it has the #183 Oreca entered in LMP2, and then its two entries in LMGT3. AF Corse has not won a GT class at Le Mans since it swept GTE Pro and GTE Am in 2021. 

In ten Le Mans starts, Davide Rigon has yet to score a class victory. Francesco Castellacci has not won a class in nine Le Mans starts and Thomas Flohr is 0-for-8 at Le Mans.

In eight Le Mans starts, José María López, has finished on the overall podium six times. 

Schedule

Sunday June 8 marks the Le Mans test day with two three-hour sessions, the first taking place at 4:00 a.m. ET and the second run at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Practice during race week will begin on Wednesday June 11. The first practice will be held at 11:00 a.m. ET and run for three hours. The first round of qualifying will take place at 12:45 p.m., beginning with the LMP2 and LMGT3 classes taking to the track to determine the Hyperpole participants. The first round of Hypercar qualifying will be held at 1:30 p.m. ET. Each session will be 30 minutes. Wednesday ends with night practice at 4:00 p.m. and running for two hours.

Another three-hour practice will run at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday June 12. Hyperpole qualifying will be run at 2:00 p.m. starting with LMGT3 and LMP2. Hypercar's Hyperpole session will run at 3:05 p.m. The final night practice will be a one-hour session held at 5:00 p.m.

The 15-minute warm-up session will be run at 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday June 14 prior to the start of the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans at 10:00 p.m. ET.

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 Preview

Hypercar is complete, and we move to the LMP2 category. Though no longer included in the FIA World Endurance Championship, 17 invitations were given out to LMP2 teams from across the European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series and IMSA. 

With no championship to worry about, Le Mans is all about the race victory for the LMP2 class, and these teams are turning out their best possible lineups for this one shot at glory in 2025.

How Deep is This Class?

An overall 24 Hours of Le Mans winner.

Six Le Mans class winners.

Five overall 24 Hours of Daytona winners

A Formula Two champion. 

A Formula E champion.

This is without mentioning the likes of Louis Delétraz, Ben Hanley, Pietro Fittipaldi, Jamie Chadwick, Job van Uitert, Luca Ghiotto, Tristan Vautier, Nick Yelloly and Matthieu Vaxivière are also competing in this class. 

LMP2 is 70% top-tier professional class with 20% quality amateurs and 10% regular amateurs. 

We must thank Honda for not bringing its GTP car to Le Mans, otherwise possibly four drivers would not be in this class and that only adds to its strength. There are plenty of exciting names in LMP2. 

André Lotterer is filling out the #18 IDEC Sport Oreca with Jamie Chadwick and Mathys Jaubert, and Chadwick and Jaubert lead the ELMS LMP2 championship through two rounds.

United Autosports won in LMP2 last year in Le Mans, and in its #22 Oreca it has put Fittipaldi, Renger van der Zande and David Heinemeier Hansson together while Hanley, Oliver Jarvis and Daniel Schneider are in the #23 Oreca.

Tom Blomqvist and Tristan Vautier are co-drivers in the #37 CLX - Pure Rxcing Oreca with Alex Malykhin. Antonio Félix da Costa is leading AF Corse's #183 Oreca will Vaxivière and François Perrodo. Vaxivière and Perrodo won the ELMS season opener in Barcelona. Delétraz is driving with Dane Cameron and P.J. Hyett in the #199 AO by TF Oreca.

Algarve Pro Racing has Théo Pourchaire with Lorenzo Fluxá and Matthias Kaiser in the #25 Oreca. Nielsen racing has Colin Braun, Cem Bölükbasi and Naveen Rao in the #24 Oreca. Patricio Pilet is in this class with RLR MSport along side Ryan Cullen and Michael Jensen. Frank Perera is in an LMP2 car for the first time in his career with VDS Panis Racing, and Perera is with a pair of children, 20-year-old Oliver Gray, making his Le Mans debut, and 20-year-old Esteban Masson, who made his Le Mans debut last year in LMGT3.

There are plenty of names in this class. There will be moments in this race where the battle in LMP2 will feel like it should be taking place in the Hypercar class.

Do the LMP2 Entries Have an Advantage Over the LMP2 Pro-Am Entries?

Probably not as big of an advantage as you think. In terms of sheer numbers, yes. Nine of the 17 entries are pro-am entries. 

AF Corse won the ELMS season opener at Barcelona as a pro-am lineup. Two of the three cars on the podium at ELMS' Circuit Paul Ricard round were pro-am entries. Last year, AF Corse was the best LMP2 Pro-Am entry and it was on the same lap as the LMP2 winning #22 United Autosports entry, finishing fourth in LMP2. The next two LMP2 Pro-Am entries were a lap off the class winner. 

The LMP2 entries should have an advantage, but considering that Hanley, Jarvis, Braun, Ghiotto, da Costa, Cameron, Delétraz and Nicky Catsburg are all in LMP2 Pro-Am entries, it would not be a stunner if one of those cars topped the LMP2 class at the end of 24 hours.

How Has the European Le Mans Series Season Been Going?

IDEC Sport leads the championship with Chadwick, Jaubert and Daniel Juncadella, who has LMGT3 responsibilities at Le Mans with Corvette. Second in the championship is Vector Sport, but Vector Sport was unable to secure an invite to Le Mans. That means two of its drivers, Cullen and Fittipaldi, have had to split to other entries. 

Gray and Masson are third in the championship with Charles Milesi as its third driver, but Milesi will be in the Hypercar class at Le Mans with Alpine. 

The top team from ELMS that had its lineup remain intact for Le Mans is the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca of Tom Dillman, Jakub Śmiechowski and Nick Yelloly. Inter Europol was fourth overall at Circuit Paul Ricard last month. 

In Pro-Am, Nielsen Racing leads the championship, but none of those three drivers are entered at Le Mans. TDS Racing has been third in LMP2 Pro-Am in the first two races, and that car remains unchanged for Le Mans. Mathias Beche leads the #29 TDS Racing Oreca with Clément Novalak and Rodrigo Sales. 

Are There Any Other Interesting Stories?

Proton Competition has entries in all three classes. It has the #99 Porsche 963 in Hypercar, Proton runs the two Ford Mustangs in LMGT3, and it has the #11 Oreca with René Binder, Giorgio Roda and Bent Viscaal in LMP2.

Of its four entries, I would say the LMP2 car is the third-most likely to win at Le Mans, behind the two Ford Mustangs but ahead of the Hypercar. 

Then there is the #9 Iron Lynx - Proton Oreca, which has an average age of 20 between its three drivers. Macéo Capietto turned 19 years old in January, Jonas Reid is 20 years old and Reshad de Gerus is 21 years old. Capietteo and Reid ran together last year at Le Mans with Bent Viscaal, but the car only completed 86 laps.

This will be Patrick Pilet's 18th Le Mans and he has yet to win a class. RLR MSport doesn't even run an LMP2 car in ELMS competition. It runs a LMP3 program and earned its invite off its 2024 ELMS LMP3 title. This is very much a one-off lineup and one of the more unlikely collection of drivers for Pilet to potentially claim his first Le Mans victory.

General Le Mans Facts to Keep in Mind

There have been four different LMP2 winners in the last four years at Le Mans (Team WRT, Jota, Inter Europol, United Autosports).

The last team to win the LMP2 class in successive years at Le Mans was Signatech-Alpine in 2018 and 2019.

Jean-Denis Déletraz won in the LMP2 class at Le Mans twice, in the 2001 and 2002.

Nicolas Lapierre leads with four LMP2 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. No other driver has won the class more than twice.

This will be André Lotterer's 14th Le Mans appearance, and it is the first time Lotterer is not in the top class. 

This will be the third time in four years Pietro Fittipaldi and David Heinemeier Hansson are co-drivers at Le Mans, each in LMP2. United Autosports is Heinemeier Hansson’s fifth different team in his last five Le Mans appearances. 

Schedule

Sunday June 8 marks the Le Mans test day with two three-hour sessions, the first taking place at 4:00 a.m. ET and the second run at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Practice during race week will begin on Wednesday June 11. The first practice will be held at 11:00 a.m. ET and run for three hours. The first round of qualifying will take place at 12:45 p.m., beginning with the LMP2 and LMGT3 classes taking to the track to determine the Hyperpole participants. The first round of Hypercar qualifying will be held at 1:30 p.m. ET. Each session will be 30 minutes. Wednesday ends with night practice at 4:00 p.m. and running for two hours.

Another three-hour practice will run at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday June 12. Hyperpole qualifying will be run at 2:00 p.m. starting with LMGT3 and LMP2. Hypercar's Hyperpole session will run at 3:05 p.m. The final night practice will be a one-hour session held at 5:00 p.m.

The 15-minute warm-up session will be run at 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday June 14 prior to the start of the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans at 10:00 p.m. ET.

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans Hypercar Preview

We are approaching the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, and with a busy motorsports calendar, we preview the three classes at this year's race prior to the Le Mans test day. 

Sixty-two entries are spread across the three classes with 21 entries in the Hypercar category. Seven manufacturers are fielding cars in the top class. 

Who is the Favorite?

Ferrari. 

Winner of the last two years at Le Mans, Ferrari has started the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season exceptionally well with three victories from three races. At Qatar, Ferrari swept the podium. Ferrari went 1-2 at Spa-Francorchamps. The three Ferraris hold the top three in the championship. 

The #51 Ferrari of James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi has won the last two races. The #50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen won the opener at Qatar. AF Corse's #83 Ferrari of Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson and Yifei Ye are third in the championship.

The #50 Ferrari won last year and the #51 Ferrari won the year before that. The #83 Ferrari had a great run last year at Le Mans. Take your pick of the Ferraris. 

Who are the Contenders?

It feels like there is a gap between Ferrari and the rest of the field.

The #8 Toyota is fourth in the championship, but it has yet to finish on the podium. It does have three Le Mans winners with Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa. The #7 Toyota has Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries. You cannot rule Toyota out. 

Alpine has been the slight surprise this season with the #36 Apline A424 having finished third in the last two WEC rounds with Jules Gounon, Frédéric Makowiecki and Mick Schumacher. The #35 Alpine with Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi has not been quite as good with its best finish being eighth. 

BMW deserves a shout. The #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 was second at Imola with Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde. The two BMWs are tied on 27 points as #15 BMW with Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor have finished in the points in all three race this season. BMW has also showed great pace in IMSA competition this season.

Is There a Triple Crown in Play?

Yes, but do not hold your breathe.

Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor won the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring this year. Nasr and Tandy will be at Le Mans in the #4 Porsche 963. Vanthoor is in the #6 Porsche. Pascal Wehrlein rounds out the #4's lineup while Matt Campbell in Kévin Estre fill out the #6 Porsche. The #5 Porsche will have Julien Andlauer, Michael Christensen and Mathieu Jaminet. 

This year's title defense in WEC has been horrendous. Porsche hasn't finished better than eighth this season, a complete juxtaposition to this IMSA season where Porsche Penske Motorsport opened with four consecutive victories, eight total podium finishes and its worst race is finishing third and fourth at Detroit. 

Last year, Porsche was on pole position at Le Mans. This could be the the turning point of its season, for better or worse.

What Does the IMSA Contingent Look Like?

Besides, the #4 Porsche, there are two IMSA entries at Le Mans, both are Cadillacs.

Wayne Taylor Racing makes its Le Mans debut with the #101 Cadillc with Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor. Action Express Racing is back with the #311 Whelen Cadillac and a lineup of Jack Aitken, Felipe Drugovich and Frederik Vesti.

Both Taylor brothers have run at Le Mans before. Ricky has made nine starts, but never in the top class. Jordan has also made nine Le Mans starts, all in GT competition. He won the GTE Pro class in 2015 and he has been on a class podium four times. Albuquerque made two Le Mans starts in LMP1 with Audi in 2014 and 2015. Since then, he has made nine LMP2 appearances and won the class in 2020.

Aitken and Drugovich drove together last year at Le Mans, and this will be Aitken's fourth Le Mans start. It was Drugovich's debut, and Vesti made his debut last year at Le Mans in LMP2.

Is There a Chance Felipe Drugovich Misses Le Mans to Make his Formula One Debut?

Why yes, because Drugovich is the Aston Martin reserve driver and Lance Stroll's status for the Canadian Grand Prix remains in question after a persistent wrist injury forced Stroll out of the car prior to the Spanish Grand Prix. 

If Stroll is unable to go and Drugovich gets the call, it is unclear who will fill the #311 Cadillac. It must be emphasized, as it currently stands, Drugovich will be at Le Mans.

What are the Best Stories?

Sébastien Bourdais is the native son of Le Mans. Bourdais is making his 18th Le Mans appearance. He has never won the race overall. Three times he was runner-up. He did win the GTE Pro class with Ford in 2016. That's nice. It isn't overall. 

Bourdais has two-time overall winner Earl Campbell and 2009 World Drivers' Champion Jenson Button as his co-drivers in the #38 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac. Button could become the fifth driver to win Le Mans and the World Drivers' Championship joining Mike Hawthorn, Jochen Rindt, Graham Hill and Fernando Alonso. How is that for company? 

If you like a story, the #38 Cadillac is for you.

It should be noted the #12 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac has scored points in all three WEC races and it has two-time Le Mans class winner Will Stevens (2017 - GTE Am, 2022 - LMP2) with another past Le Mans class winner in Alex Lynn (2020 - GTE Pro), and Norman Nato rounds out the lineup.

There is also the #83 AF Corse Ferrari and an overall Le Mans victory for Robert Kubica, even though he has been regularly competing for nearly the last decade and returned to Formula One in 2019, is still remarkable considering the rallying accident he had in 2011. 

Who is Happy Just to be There?

Peugeot's best finish this season in WEC is ninth. Aston Martin has failed to finish in the top ten this season. Peugeot has the chance to win over the home crowd with a stunning victory. The Aston Martin is loud... at least it has that going for it. 

There is also a fourth Porsche. Proton Competition has entered the #99 Porsche 963 for Neel Jani, Nico Pino and Nicolás Varrone. Proton has yet to score a point in the first three WEC races.

General Le Mans Facts to Keep in Mind

Ferrari reached 11 overall Le Mans victories last year, two behind Audi for second all-time. Porsche holds the all-time lead with 19. 

Toyota is one victory away from tying Bentley for fifth all-time on six.

The United Kingdom has produced the most winners, 42 drivers combining for 45 victories. France is second with 28 drivers combining for 42 victories, but the last French winner was Benoît Tréluyer in 2014.

Davy Jones is the most recent overall American winner, coming in 1996.

Alexander Wurz remains the youngest overall winner in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at 22 years and 91 days old. Two drivers could break that record. Malthe Jakobsen will be 21 years, seven months and 17 days old on Sunday in the #94 Peugeot. Nico Pino will be 20 years, eight months and 25 days old in the #99 Proton Porsche.

There has never been a Brazilian to win overall.

The last time a Le Mans winner had all its drivers from the same country was in 1980 when Jean Rondeau and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud won in the Rondeau M379B. The only Hypercar entry with all its drivers from the same country is the all-British #007 Aston Martin of Tom Gamble, Ross Gunn and Harry Tincknell.

The race winner has started on the front two rows the last ten years. The last time a car started worse than row three was in 2005 when the #3 Champion Racing Audi of Tom Kristensen, JJ Lehto and Marco Werner won from eighth starting spot.

Last year's 311 laps completed were the fewest for an overall winner since the McLaren F1 GTR of Yannick Dalmas, JJ Lehto and Masanori Sekiya won in 1995 with 298 laps completed. 

Michelin will match Dunlop for most victories for a tire manufacturer with 34. This will be Michelin's 28th consecutive Le Mans victory. 

Schedule

Sunday June 8 marks the Le Mans test day with two three-hour sessions, the first taking place at 4:00 a.m. ET and the second run at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Practice during race week will begin on Wednesday June 11. The first practice will be held at 11:00 a.m. ET and run for three hours. The first round of qualifying will take place at 12:45 p.m., beginning with the LMP2 and LMGT3 classes taking to the track to determine the Hyperpole participants. The first round of Hypercar qualifying will be held at 1:30 p.m. ET. Each session will be 30 minutes. Wednesday ends with night practice at 4:00 p.m. and running for two hours.

Another three-hour practice will run at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday June 12. Hyperpole qualifying will be run at 2:00 p.m. starting with LMGT3 and LMP2. Hypercar's Hyperpole session will run at 3:05 p.m. The final night practice will be a one-hour session held at 5:00 p.m.

The 15-minute warm-up session will be run at 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday June 14 prior to the start of the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans at 10:00 p.m. ET.

2025 Sports Car Predictions

We will end this week looking into the sports car world as we have 2025 coming more into focus with each passing second. For the sports car world, competition comes quickly after the calendar flips. It does not take look for us to get into big endurance races from all across the globe. There always seems to be something new in sports car racing, and that will be the case again with the introduction of the Aston Martin Valkyrie program. Aston Martin aside, there are plenty of things to watch across a variety of categories.

FIA World Endurance Championships

1. The pole-sitter will be classified in at least seven of eight races

The fastest qualifier is usually a good car. It might not win all the time, but it is good. It is expected to be competitive. You are more likely to win from pole position than from last place, even in WEC's Hypercar class, which does not feature the greatest number of entries.

However, in 2024, the pole-sitter failed to finish in three of eight WEC races. Because WEC isn't the longest season, three retirements is quite a lot. I think there will be a correction in 2025. We are not going to see the pole-sitter fail to be running as often as we did this past season. 

I will leave the door open that in at least one race the pole-sitter falls out of a race, but not more than that.

2. At least two manufacturers that did not win in LMGT3 in 2024 do win in 2025

The first year with GT3 cars in WEC was rather successful. Four manufacturers were victorious. It should be noted that rather coincidentally that all four winners were past participants in WEC's GTE class. Not sure if there is any correlation but it is a note. 

While four manufacturers won, five did not. Lamborghini, McLaren, Chevrolet, Ford and Lexus all went winless. Lamborghini will not be back, but Mercedes-AMG enters the championship in its place. Those five other manufacturers combined for five podium finishes. Only one of those was a runner-up result. 

At least two new manufacturers win in 2025. TF Sport's Corvettes went second and third in the Bahrain finale. Mercedes-AMG has yet to find a GT3 series it does not win in. Lexus should be competitive. McLaren will have a good shot at a win. Things will change this season.

3. Each Cadillac entry will get a podium finish

In its final season with Chip Ganassi Racing running the program, Cadillac’s best finish was a fourth in Austin. With Team Jota taking over, Cadillac will have two entries in the world championship. The #12 Cadillac V-Series.R will have Sébastien Bourdais, Alex Lynn and Jenson Button behind the wheel. Earl Bamber, Norman Nato and Will Stevens will drive the #38 Cadillac.

Team Jota won at Spa-Francorchamps with the Porsche 963, and the #12 entry was the sixth-best in the championship. 

Cadillac had a good 2023 season in WEC. Its one entry was fifth in the championship. Last year, Cadillac scored 42 points over the eight races, though it won pole position in Fuji. In IMSA, Cadillac has been able to win endurance races and a championship. That success has not translated to WEC yet.

It might not be a championship, but Cadillac should be a little more competitive and it will have two capable entries to get results. Both will shine at times in 2025.

4. There will be at least two overall winners with a driver winning in his home country

Last year, no WEC race featured a victorious native-son overall. The previous two seasons had seen home country winners. Both of those were at Fuji with Ryō Hirakawa in 2022 and Kamui Kobayashi in 2023. Fun fact, the last three home country winners have not been European. Gustavo Menezes won with Rebellion Racing at Austin in 2020. The last European driver to win a race at home was Mike Conway with Toyota in the season opener for the 2019-20 super season at Silverstone. 

While there are eight races on the 2025 WEC calendar, only four will likely feature a natives in the Hypercar class. We are not going to see a Qatari nor a Bahraini. There is a good chance there will not be an American nor a Brazilian either. I like the chances at the other four races.

One, Toyota is going to be competitive at Fuji. Ferrari is a good option to win at Imola. Porsche has two French drivers, one in each of its entries and Porsche has this things with winning at Le Mans. That is also without taking into consideration the two French drivers at Cadillac, four French drivers at Alpine and at least one with possibly more French drivers at Peugeot. Of the 18 full-time Hypercar entries, at least seven will have a French driver. The Vanthoor brothers represent Belgium in the top class and it just so happens there is a race at Spa-Francorchamps.

We had no home winners in 2024. We will see at least two in 2025.

IMSA

5. The overall pole-sitter will win consecutive races at some point

Entering 2025, IMSA has not had a winner from pole position in GTP in 12 consecutive races. The most recent victory was with Meyer Shank Racing at Mosport in 2023. Earlier in 2023 was the most recent time IMSA saw consecutive races won from pole position. That was with Meyer Shank Racing with its illegal tire pressures at Daytona and then with Whelen Racing at Sebring. 

A year after no winners from pole position, IMSA will have one occasions where the overall pole-sitter will win consecutive races.

6. At least three LMP2 races feature a class winner with a Formula One-experienced driver

The LMP2 class will feature a stout collection of drivers in 2025. With a few driver changes and manufacturer alliances changing in the GTP class, LMP2 is much stronger on the professional front, especially with drivers with Formula One experience.

Sébastien Bourdais moves to LMP2 with the Cadillac program leaving Chip Ganassi Racing for Wayne Taylor Racing. Bourdais will be with Tower Motorsports. Pietro Fittipaldi is driving for Pratt Miller Motorsports as the PMM joins LMP2. Fittipaldi made two Formula One starts in 2020. Paul di Resta will be back with United Autosports. Felipe Massa will be back for the 24 Hours of Daytona with Riley Motorsports.

LMP2 will be a sneaky good class and we will see top drivers lead teams to victories. There will be a spell where we see those with history on the grand prix grid.

7. The top three in the GTD Pro Endurance Cup championship will all be full-time entries

In 2024, the top three entries in GTD Pro in the Endurance Cup were the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW (43 points), the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari (41 points) and the #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini (39 points). Risi and Iron Lynx were Endurance Cup-only teams. Risi won the 24 Hours of Daytona and Iron Lynx won at Petit Le Mans.

In 2025, GTD Pro will see the top three in the Endurance Cup all be full-time entries, not a complete reverse from this past season, but a big change nonetheless. There are plenty of capable full-time teams in GTD Pro. They will be tough to beat in the endurance races. The endurance-only teams will hold their own, but they will not be as strong as they were in 2024.

8. Renger van der Zande's winning streak ends at eight consecutive seasons

Perhaps this should not be as big of a surprise, but van der Zande has won an IMSA race overall in eight consecutive seasons. He has also won in 11 consecutive seasons after winning in the Prototype Challenge for three consecutive years. 

As harsh as its sounds, I think van der Zande comes up short in 2025. After seven seasons with Cadillac, van der Zande moves to Acura with Meyer Shank Racing. We know MSR is a capable team and it knows the Acura ARX-06, but this is MSR returning after a year away and it is now a two-car team. The #93 Acura, van der Zande's car, is effectively the new team. Nick Yelloly joins from BMW to round out the program.

This does not feel as strong of an entry as we have seen van der Zande in over the last few seasons. It will be tough for it to be the top Acura let alone the best GTP car period. GTP is a tough class, and we just saw the #31 Whelen Racing Cadillac go winless in 2024 with Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken. If Derani can go winless in a season, van der Zande can go winless in a season. 

All good things must come to an end, and I think we will see something not seen since 2016.

European Le Mans Series

9. At least two different Americans win a race

American drivers combined to win zero races in ELMS last season. For 2025, there are already six Americans confirmed for ELMS participation. 

In LMP2, Logan Sargeant will be with IDEC Sport. Rodrigo Sales and P.J. Hyett will each be in pro-am LMP2 entries with TDS Racing and AO by TF respectively. Wyatt Brichacek is going to be in LMP3 with DKR Engineering. Gustavo Menezes will return to full-time competition with an Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG in LMGT3. Scott Noble will drive a Ferrari for JMW Motorsport. 

The numbers are there. Sargeant is the favorite. It will be tough for Sales and Hyett to win overall as a pro-am in LMP2, but it is not out of the question. Menezes is making a change to GT racing after years in prototypes. However, I think we will see more American winners.

10. LMGT3 will have different British drivers win in consecutive races

Duncan Cameron won at Circuit Paul Ricard with Spirit of Race Ferrari in the LMGT3 class. It was the only victory for a British driver in the LMGT3 class. 

ELMS has not had British winners in consecutive races in the GT class since the first two races of the 2018 season. Liam Griffin and Alex MacDowall won at Circuit Paul Ricard. Cameron then won at Monza.

Cameron will be back in LMGT3 in 2025, but ELMS' GT class, but there will be a few other Brits in the class. Ben Tuck and Andrew Gilbert will each be in a Kessel Racing entry. Michael Wainwright is set for a  ride with GR Racing. There are also a number of open seats that could be occupied by British drivers. If Cameron wins in 2025, he will not be the only one and there will be another Brit not too far behind.

Other

11. The closest finish in an Intercontinental GT Challenge race will be greater than four seconds 

IGTC does have a knack for close races. 

The Nürburgring 24 Hour was decided by 0.603 seconds, and that wasn't even the closest race in the 2024 IGTC season! The Indianapolis 8 Hours saw Team WRT BMW win by 0.260 seconds over the Wright Motorsports Porsche. Even the Bathurst 12 Hour was decided by just over 2.6 seconds. 

After a year of close finishes, we are going to see a year for fewer close finishes. Four seconds is close, but that will be the closest it gets in 2025. 

The upcoming IGTC season will see the return of the Suzuka 1000km. There will be one more chance for a close finish, but I don't think they will be as close as we saw in 2024.

12. Ben Barnicoat will win a proper class on at least three different continents in at least two different championships

Barnicoat is a bit of an under-appreciated driver, but he has been rather successful with the Lexus program  in IMSA. For 2025, we will see Barnicoat move to Lexus' WEC program with Akkodis ASP Team.

It is not clear how much Barnicoat will run in IMSA, but he has won seven races in three full seasons in IMSA. He could lead Lexus to WEC glory to the surprise of no one. Whether or not Barnicoat is full-time in both championships or an endurance driver in IMSA, he is going to be competing in multiple series, and I believe he will be winning in multiple series as well in multiple corners of the globe.

We are beyond halfway in our 2025 predictions. With Formula One and NASCAR also in the bag, we will have some two-wheel predictions come Monday.

2024 Motorsports Christmas List

Christmas will be here in a few days! I hope all of your presents have been purchased and wrapped and you are not caught in the last second scramble to satisfy everyone's dreams. This should be a relaxing next few days before the holiday is here and we are all gathered around Christmas trees. 

Before spending that time with your family and digging into the stockings of your own, it is our annual tradition of giving out gifts to the people, places and events around the motorsports world. Even the most successful and riches drivers in the world need something this Christmas. This is our chance to give them what they need.

With that said, I hope you have your favorite drink and a few cookies next to you as your eyes wander across this list...

To IndyCar: An even geographical spread of races across the United States.

To Formula One: A championship battle that will be appreciated and not result in juvenile bickering online.

To NASCAR: The ability to share.

To the FIA World Endurance Championship: Two more rounds and better competition in Hypercar.

To IMSA: The GTP class competing at every round and two more races.

To MotoGP: Competitive Japanese manufacturers, and fewer cancelled rounds midseason.

To the European Le Mans Series: No broadcast partner in the United States so those races can be streamed on YouTube. Or at least a proper broadcast partner that more than six people have. 

To Formula E: A better broadcast partner in the United States. 

To Amazon: Minimal complaints over how it does broadcasting NASCAR races.

To James Hinchcliffe: Greater sway as a voice in motorsports. 

To Patricio O'Ward: A marketing department that makes the most of his charisma.

To Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel: Results that force McLaren not to make any rash decisions.

To Colton Herta: Enough SuperLicense points to shut everyone up.

To Marcus Ericsson: Smooth oval races.

To Kyle Kirkwood: More fishing rods.

To Álex Palou: The other $500,000 that IndyCar owes him.

To Scott Dixon: Better qualifying form.

To Marcus Armstrong: A few podium finishes.

To Felix Rosenqvist: More races where he finishes better than his starting position than he finishes worse.

To Linus Lundvist: A loving home.

To Conor Daly: A legitimate sponsor that is not financially questionable.

To Josef Newgarden: Results to win back the fan base.

To Scott McLaughlin: Plenty of diapers and infant clothing.

To Will Power: An Indianapolis 500 pole position. 

To Max Verstappen: Enjoyment in what he does.

To Lewis Hamilton: Rejuvenation in red.

To Charles Leclerc: Sound pit strategy and leads to a championship push.

To Yuki Tsunoda: General respect around the paddock.

To Lando Norris: More opening laps led. 

To Oscar Piastri: No races where he is the fastest McLaren driver but the team gives him the less favorable pit strategy and forces positions to be re-addressed.

To George Russell: Cars at the proper weight every post-race.

To Andrea Kimi Antonelli: Confidence. He is going to need it.

To Valtteri Bottas: Permission to run the Indianapolis 500. Mercedes will be fine at Monaco.

To Sergio Pérez: Peace in whatever comes next.

To Fernando Alonso: The ability to hold his tongue.

To Kyle Larson: One sunny day and he gets to select when it happens.

To Alexander Rossi: A time machine back to January 1, 2018.

To Santino Ferrucci: Some aspirin.

To David Malukas: Dialing it back by about 30%.

To Callum Ilott: Carrying Prema to sensational results. 

To Robert Shwartzman: Nobody asking him how to pronounce his last name.

To Prema: No races outside of the Indianapolis 500 where more than 27 cars enter.

To Graham Rahal: A cushion from the last row shootout in Indianapolis 500 qualifying.

To Louis Foster: A guarantee of a second and third year in IndyCar.

To Christian Rasmussen: Less run ins during practice, qualifying and races.

To Romain Grojsean: A return to Dale Coyne Racing. 

To Toby Sowery: A full-time ride with Dale Coyne Racing.

To Dale Coyne: An investor who will gladly take that team off his hands. 

To Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: The resources to return to full-time IndyCar competition.

To Tom Blomqvist: A second chance at the Indianapolis 500 so he can get to say he completed a lap. 

To Colin Braun: A better IndyCar opportunity than one race with limited testing with Dale Coyne Racing.

To Hélio Castroneves: Entry in the Daytona 500. 

To Dane Cameron: An LMP2 championship to go with the three IMSA top class championships and the GTD title he already has. Oh, and an LMP2 class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Big Christmas for Dane Cameron. 

To 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports: A good day in court.

To Kyle Busch: A year that gets him a better ride in 2026.

To Alex Bowman: Three race victories indenting up as the best Hendrick Motorsports driver in the championship.

To Chase Elliott: A shred of personality.

To Denny Hamlin: It being his year.

To Christopher Bell: Not being on the wrong side of race manipulation.

To A.J. Allmendinger: Some early success.

To Wayne Taylor Racing: Results matching its first stint as a Cadillac team.

To all three Cadillac teams in IMSA: 24 Hours of Le Mans entries.

To Felipe Nasr: A few IndyCar races with Team Penske.

To the Porsche Penske Motorsport drivers: No fear in losing their jobs if they win a championship.

To Robert Wickens: Still being quick in a GTD car. 

To Tommy Milner: Carrying over the results from GT World Challenge America back to IMSA's GTD Pro class.

To the Aston Martin Valkyrie: Competitiveness on speed and not because of Balance of Performance.

To Lamborghini: Good results with the SC63 in IMSA and maybe changing its mind on pulling out of WEC.

To Andy Lally: Not getting the itch to get back in a race car once he starts his new role.

To Kevin Magnussen: A few outstanding drives in the BMW M Hybrid V8.

To the Ferrari AF Corse program: A victory for both entry.

To Francesco Bagnaia: More points from sprint races.

To Marc Márquez: Staying on the bike in intense moments.

To KTM: A business lifeline.

To Jorge Martín: Aprilia having respectable pace.

To Pedro Acosta: Strides in his sophomore year.

To Enea Bastianini: Keeping up with Pedro Acosta.

To Franco Morbidelli: A little magic on a year-old Ducati.

To David Alonso: Perspective for when it gets tough.

To Joe Roberts: Avoiding getting injured for the entire season.

To Indy Lights: At least two more teams to spread those entries around.

To the Indianapolis 500: The Miami Grand Prix remaining in early May and the Canadian Grand Prix not running on Memorial Day weekend in perpetuity. 

To Indianapolis 500 qualifying: No format changes because there is a new television partner. 

To Race of Champions: Returning to a yearly competition and occurring at a time where the most possible competitors are available. 

To Rockingham Speedway: A great crowd for its NASCAR weekend.

To Iowa Speedway: Finishing the repave.

To Laguna Seca: Drawing crowds like it once did.

To Mid-Ohio: Facility upgrades that are now well over a decade overdue. Beyond the work that has already been done and actually looks good. 

To Bowman Gray Stadium: Good behavior.

To Mexico City: A respectable first NASCAR Cup race.

To the NASCAR in-season tournament: Five thrilling weekends that keep people engaged.

To the Chicago street race: Let's try this again... sunny weather.

To Bristol Motor Speedway: Understanding why the tires wore how they did in the spring 2024 Cup race.

To Richmond: A combination weekend with IndyCar and the NASCAR modified series. 

To Eli Tomac: A strong season to go out on. 

To Jett Lawrence: No thumb injuries.

To Hunter Lawrence: Making all the Supercross main events. 

To Jorge Prado: Comfort racing in a new championship.

To Chase Sexton: The best of his 2024 Motocross season being the norm going forward.

To Nico Hülkenberg: A improbable podium with Sauber

To Isack Hadjar: Space from Helmut Marko.

To Liam Lawson: Also, space from Helmut Marko.

To Carlos Sainz, Jr.: The best championship finish for a Williams driver in nearly a decade. 

To Alexander Albon: Significant contribution to Williams finishing in the top six of the constructors' championship.

To Esteban Ocon: General appreciation.

To Jack Doohan: Respectable results that does not lead him to be dumped after a season.

To Pierre Gasly: Pace carrying over from the end of 2024 to 2025.

To Franco Colapinto: A year succeeding in a bunch of fun one-off appearances around the world of motorsports. 

To Daniel Ricciardo: A year where he doesn't visits any racetracks and figures out what he loves in his life. 

To Shane van Gisbergen: An average finish around 18th on ovals.

To Joey Logano: Results that warrant a championship.

To William Byron: Jet ski.

To Chris Buescher: An extra 0.01 seconds in his favor that can be used when needed.

To Brad Keselowski: Roombas. 

To RFK Racing: A two-car program for NASCAR's second division.

To Carl Edwards: People stop asking him if he will ever return to NASCAR. 

To Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: People stop asking him if he will ever expanding JR Motorsports into the Cup Series.

To Martin Truex, Jr.: A Daytona 500 victory and that being a walk-off end to his career. 

To Ryan Truex: A full-time seat with Joe Gibbs Racing in NASCAR's second division. How many times does he have to win at Dover to get a full-time shot?

To Tyler Reddick: More consistent results in autumn. 

To Bubba Wallace: A complete day in a race on a 1.5-mile track. 

To Chase Briscoe: The #18. Let the #19 go with Truex, Jr. and have Joe Gibbs Racing return to its original identity. 

To Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric: Sharing a Ford Mustang GT3 in the 24 Hours of Daytona.

To Roger Penske: A clear plan for what his future looks like. 

To Chip Ganassi: Enough sponsors to properly hire three drivers to his IndyCar team.

To Mario Andretti: A few new hobbies that get him out of the house.

To Juan Pablo Montoya: Another Brickyard 400 start.

To the Daytona 500: A finish that does not involve review or a 24-car pile-up. 

To Homestead-Miami Speedway: A NASCAR playoff race because a race in March is attractive to no one.

To World Superbike: Again, more than one round outside of Europe. 

To Toprak Razgatlioglu: A round in Istanbul. 

To Nicolò Bulega: The ability to capitalize on an opportunity.

To Jonathan Rea: A few races where he is competing for victory.

To Super Formula: At least five international drivers to add flavor to the championship. This would actually be a fun place for Franco Colapinto. Frederik Vesti needs more than just a few endurance races as well.

To the Intercontinental GT World Challenge: More than a week between the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the 24 Hours of Spa.

To Supercars: Satisfaction in whatever happens with its new championship format because it has fallen down the rabbit hole and good luck with whatever comes next.

To Mazda MX-5 Cup: A round at Road America. It is criminal it is not racing there... or Sebring... or Watkins Glen... or Laguna Seca. MX-5 Cup might need to be a 12-round championship.

To Jak Crawford: A development contract with the Cadillac Formula One program.

 

To Leonardo Fornaroli: At least one race victory.

To Sebastián Montoya: His best year in a car to date. 

To World Rally Championship: A French manufacturer. Maybe Peugeot pulls out of Hypercar and returns to rallying. 

To Pipo Derani: A fair number of opportunities mixed with his role developing the Genesis LMDh project.

To Jimmie Johnson: Understanding that it is time. 

To Legacy Motor Club: Being in the conversation with the other Toyota teams in the Cup Series. 

To Chandler Smith: A time machine to 2003 when someone would have hired him for his talent. 

To Corey Heim: A time machine to 2003 when someone would have hired him for his talent and would not be stuck in the Truck Series. 

To Ty Majeski, and really all the successful drivers in the Truck Series: A way to move up to NASCAR's second division and have a proper opportunity competing there as well.

To Nazareth Speedway: A time machine to 2003 and someone bringing the pristine facility to 2025 when NASCAR is looking for different racetracks and not living and dying with cookie-cutter intermediate tracks with capacity over 125,000 people. 

To Pikes Peak International Raceway: The same thing as Nazareth Speedway. 

To Layne Riggs: Having his second half of 2024 be his entire 2025.

To Connor Zilisch: A NASCAR Cup Series debut on a road course. 

To Josh Berry: A positive season with the Wood Brothers.

To Justin Allgaier: No championship hangover.

To Sheldon Creed: Just one race victory and it is a race he dominates.

To Jeb and Harrison Burton: No run-ins on track that could cause tense moments in the family. 

To Parker Kligerman: A full-time ride in Michelin Pilot Challenge's GS class with an Michelin Endurance Cup ride in GTD.

To Sho Tsuboi: A leading role in a third Toyota entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Fuji WEC round. 

To Jack Hawksworth: One of the seats alongside Tsuboi in those entries. 

To António Félix da Costa: Again, more than Formula E. 

To Jaguar: No championship collapse.

To Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy: A home race in New Zealand in January 2026. 

To Sébastien Buemi: Waffle maker.

To Mike Conway: A stationary bike and taking up swimming for exercise. More drivers should swim over cycling from how it looks.  

To all the competitors in the FIA World Endurance Championship: No race being extended beyond its run time due to weather. 

To Sam Bird: Indestructible hands. 

To GT America: Officially becoming a series for drivers 50 years and older and add about a dozen more notable names. Scott Pruett! Come on down!

To Théo Pourchaire: A loving team that will get the most out of his talent. 

To Jack Harvey: Cookie sheets.

To IndyCar fans: Understanding why there are no night races.

Also to IndyCar fans: Acceptance of commercials during practice broadcasts.

To Thermal Club: A competitive and uncontroversial IndyCar race.

To Newton, Iowa: High temperatures that do not exceed 84º F on the weekend of July 12-13

To Milwaukee Mile: Tire wear remaining at the same level for IndyCar.

To the Grand Prix of Long Beach: Stability under new ownership.

To Barber Motorsports Park: More visitors because it is the best looking racetrack in the country with a phenomenal museum on the property.

To the IndyCar Toronto race: A modern track configuration around Exhibition Place with a proper pit lane.

To Jacob Abel: One more in Indy Lights but with the results in no way negatively effecting his status as a potential IndyCar driver.

To: Yuven Sundaramoorthy: Having Chip Ganassi Racing realize it has hired the drivers that finished 13th and 20th after only running nine races in Indy Lights in 2024 with a combined zero top five finishes and Sundaramoorthy deserves to be racing after how his season ended.

To Kiko Porto: A full-time ride in Indy Lights.

To Dennis Hauger: Making it clear he was a Formula Three champion and making it hard for any IndyCar team to overlook him for the 2026 season. 

To Myles Rowe: No mechanical issues or opening lap problems.

To Jamie Chadwick: Improving on tire wear over a course of a stint. 

To Juncos Hollinger Racing: Better public relations and crisis management. 

To Zandvoort: Something to fill the void once Formula One is gone in 2026.

To the Belgian Grand Prix: Returning to late-August once the Dutch Grand Prix is gone so the 24 Hours of Spa can return to late-July.

To the Las Vegas Grand Prix: Honestly, a better start time. Something that makes sense for the United States.

To the British Grand Prix: An all-British podium.

To the many young drivers that cannot break into Formula One: A return for A1GP, a series that would give talented drivers rides in proper race cars and could be a springboard for careers while also being a different concept that can fill the winter months.

And, of course, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. If you are somewhere cold, I hope you stay warm. If you are somewhere warm, I hope you enjoy the weather. No matter the conditions, cherish this time with the loved ones around you. Stay safe and healthy!

Peace and love to all!

2024 For the Love of Indy Awards

We have completed another year, and as we enter the final fortnight of 2024, we will use this time to wrap up the outstanding moments in motorsports. It was a year when a few generational talent shined brighter than others. A few unexpected heroes emerged. There were terrific races everywhere you turned, whether it be two wheels on dirt or on street courses carved out between the blinding lights of a metropolis. Some old names returned to the top while a few new names may have made their first steps toward greatness.

Now is the time to highlight the best that happened, from the competitors on track and what they did to the races, passes and moments that will remain in our minds even as we are months into 2025 and possibly even longer. 

Racer of the Year
Description: Given to the best racer over the course of 2024.
And the Nominees are:

Max Verstappen

Sho Tsuboi

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Francesco Bagnaia

Laurens Vanthoor

And the winner is... Toprak Razgatlioglu

Already a world champion, Razgatlioglu made the surprising decision to leave Yamaha for BMW ahead of the 2024 World Superbike season. In the previous three seasons, Razgatlioglu had finished first, second and second in the championship. BMW had one victory, a SuperPole race victory, in that time. Yet, Razgatlioglu made the decision to change his scenery in hopes of something greater. 

It proved to be a wise choice. 

Through the first two rounds, the Turkish rider had a pair of victories and he had four podium finishes from six races. It was the start of something good. From there, Razgatlioglu would go on to win 13 consecutive races, starting with the second full race from Assen through the second full race from Portimão. That covered four consecutive round sweeps for Razgatliolgu. He won eight out of a possible eight races from pole position over that span. The World Superbike championship was nearly wrapped up with five rounds remaining. 

However, there is always a chance for a turn in the script. At Magny-Cours, Razgatlioglu had a startling accident in Friday practice. He collided with the armco barrier and was clearly hurt. Everyone held their breath waiting for word on his condition. 

A back contusion was reported. Not good, but far from the worst it could have been. It did force Razgatlioglu to miss the round from France. He was still not fit for the next round two weeks later at Cremona. He was back for the antepentultimate round in Aragón. Any concern over whether or not the injury would slow Razgatlioglu was quickly erased. 

He was runner-up in all three races and championship rival Nicolò Bulega could not make up any ground. In Estoril, Razgatlioglu won the two full races and was second in the SuperPole race. What appeared could have been a championship lost was practically sealed before the Jerez season finale. To put the icing on the cake, Razgatlioglu finished the season with finishes of second, second and first.

At 28 years old, Razgalioglu is a two-time World Superbike champion. In six seasons, he has never finished worse than fifth in the championship. He had 18 victories this season alone. This lifted him to fourth all-time in World Superbike victories, only two behind Carl Fogarty for third. 

In what was a pivotal season for Razgatlioglu's career, he proved his ability after making an eyebrow raising decision to change manufacturers. We saw him at his best and he overcame unexpected adversity to win a well-deserved championship. 

On the other nominees:

It was another world championship season for Verstappen, as the Dutchman locked up his fourth consecutive championship. This one he clinched early like the two previous seasons, but it was different. He won seven of the first ten races, but in the second half of the season, Red Bull declined. McLaren and Ferrari rose to become the top two in the championship. Verstappen was able to pull out some impressive performances against some tough competition. He won two more grand prix and he ended the season with 21 consecutive points finishes.

Tsuboi completed the Japanese double, the second consecutive year a driver completed the sweep. In Super Formula, Tsuboi won the championship with three victories and seven podium finishes from nine races. He won the title by 30.5 points over Tomoki Nojiri. In Super GT, he defended his GT500 championship. For the second consecutive season, Tsuboi won three races, this year with co-driver Kenta Yamashita. The #36 TGR Team au TOM'S Toyota finished in the points of all eight races.

It did not end in a third consecutive championship, but Bagnaia's 2024 season was an outstanding performance. He won 11 grand prix, a personal best for him and it was the eighth time a rider won 11 races in a season. His 16 podium finishes were also a personal best. He score 498 points, 31 more than last season, but it was only enough for second this year in MotoGP, a valiant effort for a third consecutive title.

Vanthoor had a rather successful season as he was a member of the World Endurance Drivers' Champion winning Porsche team in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Along with Kévin Estre and André Lotterer, Vanthoor won twice in WEC and finished on the podium five times in eight races. Vanthoor's season also started with a victory in the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Past Winners
2012: Kyle Larson

2013: Marc Márquez
2014: Marc Márquez
2015: Nick Tandy
2016: Shane van Gisbergen
2017: Brendon Hartley
2018: Scott Dixon

2019: Marc Márquez

2020: Lewis Hamilton

2021: Kyle Larson

2022: Max Verstappen

2023: Max Verstappen

Race of the Year
Description: Best Race of 2024.
And the Nominees are:

São Paulo ePrix (March)

French motorcycle Grand Prix

Indianapolis 500

Rally Italia Sardegna

British Grand Prix

And the winner is... Indianapolis 500

IndyCar's biggest race suffered a massive setback before the cars could even line up on the grid. Rain put into question whether or not the race would occur on the scheduled date. It wasn't going to happen on time as the rain started just a little over an hour from the scheduled green flag time. However, the rain would clear and allow an Indianapolis 500 like we have never seen before, one that would go against sunset.

It was a race filled with motivated drivers. Team Penske swept the front row for the second time in its history. Scott McLaughlin was on pole position and he was positioned to cement himself as one of the best in the world. Will Power started second and was looking for his second Indianapolis 500 victory. Josef Newgarden had a shot to become the first driver to win consecutive Indianapolis 500s in 22 years. 

Behind them were three McLaren entries with a serious chance of winning between Alexander Rossi, Kyle Larson and Patricio O'Ward. Chip Ganassi Racing had all of its drivers starting outside the top ten, but there was belief Álex Palou and Scott Dixon could pull something off. Colton Herta felt confident in his car. A.J. Foyt Racing was ready to prove last year was not a fluke with Santino Ferrucci. Hélio Castroneves had another chance at a fifth "500" victory. 

It was a choppy start between accidents and mechanical issues, but in the second half, it was clear who the players would be. McLaughlin and Newgarden had been at the front with O'Ward not far behind. Rossi was in the picture. Dixon had climbed his way into contention. Palou was in the background and could not be counted out. 

The final restart came with 46 laps remaining. Everyone would need to make one more pit stop. McLaren was at the front, but Newgarden was lurking. After the final round of pit stops, it was set to be O'Ward vs. Rossi vs. Newgarden. Rossi's team was not sure it had gotten enough fuel in his car and he had to lay back. This set up O'Ward vs. Newgarden as we reach seven laps to go. 

O'Ward and Newgarden went back-and-forth in a breathtaking display of driving. Neither driver was giving an inch. In the final ten laps of the race, the lead changed five times. O'Ward took the lead from Newgarden at the end of lap 199. The Mexican was 2.5 miles from glory, but Newgarden did not gave up. Using the draft down the back straightaway, Newgarden had one final run into turn three. He made his move to the outside and it stuck. 

Newgarden had the lead and momentum heading to the checkered flag. O'Ward could not counter. Newgarden took the checkered flag at 7:42 p.m. local time, 0.3417 seconds ahead of O'Ward.

An incredible day saw Newgarden become the sixth driver to win consecutive Indianapolis 500s as the sun was near gone from the Speedway skyline. It had been a full day and we saw a finish worthy of the wait. 

On the other nominees:

In March, Formula E made its second visit to the streets of São Paulo, and it provided a lively race. Over the first 15 laps, the lead changed eight times. Passing was occurring all over the racetrack. Once the race enter the second half, Sam Bird held control and he and Mitch Evans pulled away. Evans took the lead on lap 28. Bird remained close and made a staggering move to take the lead. Bird would get to the line 0.564 seconds ahead of Evans. Meanwhile, the battle continued for third as Oliver Rowland was able to get ahead of Pascal Wehrlein and Jake Dennis for the final podium position.

The French Grand Prix has produced some memorable races the last few seasons for MotoGP. This year's race set the benchmark for what the 2024 season would be. Jorge Martín was on pole position, but Francesco Bagnaia took the lead from the jump, and it set up 27 fierce laps between Martín, Bagnaia and Marc Márquez, who charged from 13th on the grid. Mártin took the lead on lap 21. Mártin held on for victor as Márquez took second on the final lap. The lead was only greater than a half-second for one lap, lap 13. The top three were within a second for the final seven laps.

After 165.36 miles of competition, the 2024 Rally Italia Sardegna came down to 0.2 seconds, matching the closest rally in World Rally Championship history. Sébastien Ogier and Ott Tänak traded the rally lead over the first day, but Ogier took the lead in stage nine and carried the lead into Sunday. Tänak chipped away at the deficit over the final day. Entering the final stage, Ogier led by 6.2 seconds. Tänak ended up finishing second in the final stage, 2.4 seconds off the stage winner Thierry Neuville. Ogier wound up sixth, 8.8 seconds back, but he lost 6.4 seconds to Tänak allowing the Estonian to pull off an unthinkable victory.

At Silverstone, Mercedes came out in flying colors. Fresh off winning its first race at Austria when George Russell swept through after Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided, the Silver Arrows swept the front row of the grid in Britain with Russell taking pole position and Lewis Hamilton in second. Russell led from the start and the opening portion of the race, but a rain shower saw Hamilton take the lead for a moment. The battle between Mercedes drivers allowed Lando Norris to drive into the lead a few laps later. On lap 34, Russell retired due to a water pressure issue. It felt like this was shaping to be Norris' day. With the track drying, Hamilton put on the soft compound tire on lap 39. Norris stopped a lap later but Hamilton was able to leapfrog ahead of the McLaren. Verstappen drove up to second and the Dutchman spent five laps chasing down Hamilton, but Hamilton held on for a popular victory that many wondered would ever happen again. 

Past Winners
2012: Indianapolis 500
2013: British motorcycle Grand Prix
2014: Bathurst 1000
2015: Australian motorcycle Grand Prix
2016: Spanish Grand Prix
2017: All the races at the World Superbike/World Supersport weekend at Phillip Island
2018: Petit Le Mans

2019: Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

2020: Turkish Grand Prix

2021: Monaco ePrix

2022: British Grand Prix

2023: 12 Hours of Sebring

Achievement of the Year
Description: Best success by a driver, team, manufacture, etc.
And the Nominees are:

Formula One's Number of Multiple Winners

David Alonso's Moto3 Victories Record

Jorge Martín and Pramac Racing's first MotoGP championship for an independent team

Max Verstappen's Fourth Consecutive World Drivers' Championship

And the winner is... Jorge Martín and Pramac Racing's first MotoGP championship for an independent team

Never in the MotoGP era had an independent team and rider won the world championship. Until 2024 when Martín and Pramac Racing took the championship with a customer Ducati. Martín scored three grand prix victories, but in this contemporary MotoGP a championship can be won many different ways. In this case, it was through grand prix consistency, but it was also through sprint race success.

Martín had 16 podium finishes this season in grand prix. He ended the year with seven consecutive podium results. Combined with that was the Spaniard winning seven sprint races. He was on the podium in 16 sprint races! While Francesco Bagnaia led the way with 11 grand prix victories, Bagnaia failed to finish three grand prix and scored zero points. The Italian had only ten podium finishes in sprint races with seven sprint victories. Bagnaia failed to score in four sprint races while Martín failed to score in only two races.

The 2024 season was a thrashing for Ducati. It won 19 of 20 races with three of its four teams winning a race. For an independent team to dethrone the factory outlet with a bike as sensational as the Desmosedici GP24 is quite staggering. One would think the factory Ducati team would have led the way and had the independent teams riding its coattails. You could argue that was the case as the factory Ducati team won 13 times, but Martín and Pramac found a way to win this championship through maximizing points in what is now the sprint era of MotoGP. 

On the other nominees:

Seventy-five seasons is a long time, and never in Formula One history had seven drivers each won multiple times in a season. Until 2024. After two years of sheer Red Bull dominance, Formula One had seven drivers with at least two victories, starting with Max Verstappen, but McLaren had each of its drivers win twice. For both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, it was their first career victories. Ferrari saw Carlos Sainz, Jr. and Charles Leclerc each win multiple times, three victories for Leclerc and two for Sainz, Jr. Lewis Hamilton won twice after going over two years without a victory. George Russell won twice. It was a nice change to Formula One.

Expectations were high for David Alonso this Moto3 season. As a rookie, he won four times and was third in the championship last year. I don't think we anticipated this. Fourteen victories in the 20-race season. He scored 421 points and won the Moto3 title by 165 points over Daniel Holgado. Alonso clinched the title with four races to spare. The Colombian closed the season with seven consecutive victories. His victory in the Barcelona finale earned him the record for most victories in a Moto3 season. An incredible end to a remarkable season with all eyes focused on the 18-year-old's move to Moto2.

It may have been seen as inevitable, but winning four consecutive World Drivers' Championships is a rather tremendous accomplishment. Though Verstappen won this one with a few races to spare, it required him being cutthroat in the opening portion of the season, and then extracting more out of a race car that had fallen behind the competition in the second half of the season. Verstappen won this title, but his teammate Sergio Pérez was 285 points back in eighth. Pérez was on the podium in four of the first five races, and he was in the top five in each of the first six races. He then never finished in the top five again. Verstappen may have made this look easy, but he pulled out some incredible runs that few could likely replicate.

Past Winners
2012: DeltaWing
2013: Sebastian Vettel for winning nine consecutive races on his way to a fourth consecutive title
2014: Marc Márquez: Setting the record for most wins in a premier class season.
2015: Justin Wilson Memorial Family Auction
2016: Jimmie Johnson for his seventh NASCAR Cup championship
2017: Jonathan Rea: For becoming the first rider to win three consecutive World Superbike championships.
2018: Robert Wickens for winning IndyCar Rookie of the Year despite missing the final three races.

2019: Joe Gibbs Racing setting single-season record for most Cup victories by a in NASCAR's modern-era.

2020: Donald Davidson for 55 years of service to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500

2021: Team WRT's championship success across multiple series and disciplines

2022: Max Verstappen achieving the most grand prix victories in a single season

2023: Max Verstappen breaking the record for highest winning percentage in a Formula One Season

Moment of the Year
Description: The Most Memorable Moment in the World of Racing during the 2024 season.
And the Nominees are:

The Indianapolis 500 Post-Storm

Lewis Hamilton ends his winless drought

McLaren's team orders in the Hungarian Grand Prix

Marc Márquez ends his winless drought

NASCAR penalizing Christopher Bell at Martinsville

And the winner is... The Indianapolis 500 Post-Storm

It had been 17 years since the Indianapolis 500 had been significantly delayed due to weather. It had been 20 years since the race start had been delayed. The radar made it clear this would not be a minor inconvenience. The rain was set to be heavy for a few hours. The good news was the rain would clear in time for the middle of the afternoon. An Indianapolis 500 would take place on the scheduled date, but the party had been hampered. 

With any rain storm, it washes out the grandstands. Everyone must seek cover. In this case, the lightning forced the 300,000-plus spectators to seek shelter. With how long the wait would be until the green flag, it was expected that the grandstands would have some bare spots. Some people would accept the loss and head home. They could watch the race from their own living room and dry out after a soaking day out. 

When it was time for the race to begin at 4:44 p.m. local time, there wasn't an empty seat in the building. Everyone stayed. There is no better illustration to the importance of the Indianapolis 500 than that. IndyCar is not close to being the top motorsports series in the United States. The Indianapolis 500 is not close to being one of the top 50 most-watched sporting events every year. Many of the 300,000 spectators only attend and watch one IndyCar race a year. 

The Indianapolis 500 is set up for plenty of fans to leave early without feeling like they are missing much, and yet everyone stayed. That race means that much that people will stick around regardless of their interest in the NTT IndyCar Series. 

The fans staying was enough but then the race lived up to the wait and it turned what could have been a horrible experience into one of the most memorable Indianapolis 500 experiences in recent memory. 

On the other nominees:

For two-and-a-half seasons, Lewis Hamilton had come short of victory, and he appeared to be sliding further away from what was once a familiar spot on the top step of the podium. The 2024 season opened with Hamilton having already confirmed he would move to Ferrari for 2025. In the first 11 races, Hamilton had one podium finish. Mercedes had found something going into Silverstone, and it appeared the man on the other side of the garage would be Hamilton's largest obstacle for victory. When George Russell dropped out of the race, it was on Hamilton to beat Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Though the thought could have been Hamilton might have lost it, he showed in the final half of that race that the magic was still there, leaping ahead of Norris and then keeping a charging Verstappen at bay. There was no better location for this release and relief to occur. Hamilton returned to the top at home in front of countless adoring fans. 

It would not be long for Formula One to have another memorable moment. Two weeks later, McLaren was on top at Hungary. Norris qualified on pole position with Piastri starting second. Piastri got the lead at the start and the Australian controlled the first half of the race. Piastri continued to lead until a decision to stop both McLaren drivers for the medium tire compound. Norris ended up coming out in the lead after the pit cycle. McLaren radio messages to Norris called for the Brit to allow Piastri back into the lead. With each passing lap, it became unclear if Norris would give back the position. On lap 68, Norris allowed Piastri through to lead the final three laps and take his first career victory. In its first 1-2 finish since 2021 and only the second in a decade, McLaren left in a tense state. It had maximized the points for the world constructors' championship, but it had an unhappy driver who believed he had a chance at a championship of his own.

The move to a Ducati customer team revived Márquez's career. It took him the first half of the season to get his legs under him, but Márquez was able to make the year-old Ducati a competitive machine. At the time of the summer break, he was third in the championship, but he had yet to win a grand prix. He was knocking on the door, and the moment came in Aragón. Márquez took pole position. Then he won the sprint race. In the grand prix, Márquez dominated and took his first victory since the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. 

With championship hopes on the line, the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup Series season set up another controversial finish. Ryan Blaney pulled away to take victory and lock up one of the four championship-eligible spots in the Phoenix finale. The final spot would be down to William Byron and Christopher Bell. Bell was trapped a lap down and did not have any positions to gain. Byron was on worn tires and losing positions. Byron had dropped to sixth while Bell was 19th and needed one more points. Toyota driver Bubba Wallace started falling back and off the lead lap. Chevrolet drivers Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon lined up behind Byron, neither attempting to pass. On the final lap, Bell made a move on Wallace into turn three, but bounced off the wall in the process. At the checkered flag, Bell had the final championship four spot on tiebreaker. After over a half-hour of deliberations, NASCAR determined Be had illegally rode the wall to get the positions, and relegated him four spots, the worst finisher among those one-lap down. This knocked Bell out of the playoffs, but it also caused a stir over race manipulation and the playoff format.

Past Winners
2012: Alex Zanardi
2013: 24 Hours of Le Mans
2014: Post-race at the Charlotte and Texas Chase races.
2015: Matt Kenseth vs. Joey Logano
2016: Toyota Slows at Le Mans
2017: Fernando Alonso announcing his Indianapolis 500 ride
2018: Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson battle at Chicagoland

2019: Kyle Kaiser and Juncos Racing knocking out Fernando Alonso and McLaren and Penske Purchasing Hulman & Co.

2020: March 12-13

2021: The entire Formula One season

2022: Ross Chastain's final corner at Martinsville

2023: Shane van Gisbergen winning the NASCAR Cup race at the Chicago street course

Pass of the Year
Description: Best pass of 2024.
And the Nominees are:

Josef Newgarden on Patricio O'Ward for the lead on the final lap of the Indianapolis 500

Alexander Albon's double pass in the Canadian Grand Prix

Tadasuke Makino around the outside of Toshiki Oyu in turn five at Motegi

Colton Herta on Patricio O'Ward for the lead at Nashville

Renger van der Zande on Nick Tandy for the lead at Petit Le Mans

And the winner is... Josef Newgarden on Patricio O'Ward for the lead on the final lap of the Indianapolis 500

It was a move we have seen attempted many times before. The outside of turn three at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is not the best place to make a pass. It could work out. It more likely will not and it will more likely end in heartbreak for whoever is making the attempt. 

For Josef Newgarden, it was the last move he had in this year's Indianapolis 500. Patricio O'Ward had just taken the lead and was playing the greatest defense of his life. It was never going to be an easy move for Newgarden. Newgarden had to trust the car would have enough grip to make it work.

The tires were not that old, but they were far from their greatest strength to pull off a move on the outside. Entering the corner, Newgarden went for it. It was going to be checkers or wreckers, and it stuck. Newgarden pulled off the move and he sailed to the finish line to win his second consecutive Indianapolis 500.

On another day, it could have been the agony of defeat instead of the thrill of victory. It could have been a roll of the dice that came up snake eyes. In this case, Newgarden pulled off a move that will be remembered for many years to come. It is one of the best passes we have seen in Indianapolis 500 history. It is the stuff of dreams. A move on the outside on the final lap. It either work or it doesn't. There was no wondering "what if?" 

Newgarden brought the house down on his way to making history, and we will be seeing this pass for many years to come. 

On the other nominees:

The Canadian Grand Prix featured mixed conditions. As the track dried, a clear dry line formed, but there was no room to step out and make a pass without risking sliding off course. Entering the final chicane, Alexander Albon was drafting behind Daniel Ricciardo. Albon was able to step out of line and slide along Ricciardo. As he was braking into the final set of corners, Albon was catching Esteban Ocon. In quick time, Albon slid to the right in front of Ricciardo and this allowed Albon through on the inside of Ocon. Albon made it through ahead of both drivers and in a flash he was up two positions despite the tricky conditions he faced. 

Makino's pass on Oyu was one that took five corners to complete. Into turn one, Makino made a look up the inside on Oyu. This put Makino on the outside into turn two. Through turn three, Makino slip to the inside and the two remained side-by-side to the right-handed turn four. Something had to give, but both drivers remained side-by-side through the corner. Makino still had the outside into turn five, but he was able to carry more speed out of turn four and complete the pass on the outside. This was for second, but it set up Makino to chase down his teammate Kakunoshin Ohta, only to get the lead when Ohta spun due to a throttle issue coming to two laps to go. Makino wound up taking the victory that started with a daring pass about ten laps earlier.

The IndyCar finale from Nashville Superspeedway exceeded expectations. It help that there was a battle to the checkered flag as Colton Herta ran a different strategy and was chasing down Patricio O'Ward as the lap wound down. Herta was going to make a push, but O'Ward was going to prove to be a difficult driver to overtake. Passing was not impossible on the 1.333-mile concrete oval, but it was tricky. Herta had the speed, but he had to find the moment. It came at an unlikely time. Entering turn two with five laps remaining, the leaders caught the lapped car of Sting Ray Robb. O'Ward went high and Herta went low. It appeared Herta was about to run into the back of Robb, but Herta got his car to stick on the low line and he carried the speed down the back straightaway into turn three. Herta powered into the lead and never looked back, winning the season finale and stealing another one from O'Ward.

Road Atlanta has a number of places that test a driver's nerve. Throw in the darkness of a Petit Le Mans night, and there are many occasions where a driver will be faced to make a daring decision. In the closing minutes, in a Cadillac with electrical issues that already had a headlight out, Renger van der Zande was second but had a run on the Porsche of Nick Tandy into turn one. Not one shy to making a bold move, van der Zande threw his Cadillac up the inside and pulled off what was the pass for the victory. Van der Zande still had to battle the electrical gremlins, losing all his lights on multiple occasions over the final minutes, but the move on Tandy was crucial and it allowed Cadillac to cap off a tough season with a grand result.

Past Winners
2012: Simon Pagenaud at Baltimore
2013: Robert Wickens at Nürburgring and Peter Dempsey in the Freedom 100
2014: Ryan Blaney on Germán Quiroga
2015: Laurens Vanthoor from 4th to 2nd on the outside in the Bathurst 12 Hour
2016: Scott McLaughlin on Mark Winterbottom at Surfers Paradise
2017: Renger van der Zande: From second to first on Dane Cameron at Laguna Seca
2018: Alexander Rossi for all his passes in the Indianapolis 500

2019: Álex Rins on Marc Márquez in the final corner at Silverstone in the British motorcycle Grand Prix

2020: Pipo Derani on Ricky Taylor into turn one at Road Atlanta

2021: Shane van Gisbergen from fourth to second at Sandown

2022: Ross Chastain's final corner at Martinsville

2023: António Félix da Costa on Jean-Éric Vergne in turn eight of the final lap of the Cape Town ePrix

The Eric Idle Award
Description: "When You're Chewing on Life's Gristle, Don't Grumble, Give a Whistle, And This'll Help Things Turn Out For The Best, and...  Always Look On The Bright Side of Life."
And the Nominees are:

Théo Pourchaire

Kyle Larson

Esteban Ocon

Jaguar TCS Racing

Dane Cameron

And the winner is... Kyle Larson

It is difficult to tell the man who won six NASCAR Cup Series races, including the return of the Brickyard 400 as well as winning the Knoxville Nationals to look on the bright side, but the standout memory from Larson's 2024 season will be the one weekend that didn't go to plan. 

For the first time in a decade, a driver was attempting The Double, running the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. Larson had long been seen as the driver most capable of joining Tony Stewart as the drivers to complete 1,100 miles of racing in one day. It was even believed Larson could do better and score the best aggregate finish over the attempt, possibly winning one if not both races.

We knew Larson would be competitive in Charlotte, and the speed was impressive in Indianapolis. Expectations were high for what Larson could achieve. There was only one problem. The weather. 

The entire week leading into the Indianapolis 500 called for rain on race day. The closer we got to race day, the more we saw the storm was set to hit right at the start of the race. Any weather delay would disrupt Larson's plans to run both races in their entirety. Sure enough, at 11:00 am on Sunday, the rain was at the Speedway, and Larson was faced with the tough decision that left many wondering what would be decided for weeks. What would Larson do? Would he stay in Indianapolis or go to Charlotte and forgo attempting the "500?"

Larson stayed, but he knew he would be missing the start of the race in Charlotte, sacrificing points as he would not start the race. It was a good race for Larson, but a bogged down restart and a pit lane speeding penalty left Larson in 18th on debut. The Coca-Cola 600 was underway, but Larson could make it to become relief driver for Justin Allgaier. 

There was one final problem. That rainstorm that hit Indianapolis in the morning and early afternoon kept heading east. When Larson arrived in Charlotte, that storm was on the vicinity of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Larson was on the pit wall ready to enter the race when the rain began to fall and eventual caused the early end to NASCAR's longest race with Larson failing to complete a lap.

Memorial Day weekend could not have gone more against plans than the way it did for Larson in 2024. He will attempt The Double again in 2025, but this time will be different. It doesn't sound like sticking around in Indianapolis is an option.

On the other nominees:

Pourchaire started his season as a Sauber reserve driver who would run in Super Formula this season. When David Malukas' wrist injury kept him out for an extended period, it opened a spot for the Frenchman in IndyCar with McLaren, and Pourchaire had some good results. He looked settled and excited, and he was confirmed to finish out the season in June. Looking forward to Laguna Seca, news broke that Pourchaire would not see out the season and Nolan Siegel took over the #6 Chevrolet. It was a crushing end for a promising talent. 

After four seasons at Alpine, which saw a victory in the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, Ocon announced he would move to Haas for the 2025 season. It had been a trying season for Alpine, but a double podium finish at Interlagos with Ocon in second helped the French make finish sixth in the constructors' championship over Haas and the team formerly known as Toro Rosso. However, Ocon was unceremoniously removed from the team prior to the 2024 season finale from Abu Dhabi. 

Jaguar TCS Racing entered the Formula E finale weekend from London with the top two drivers in the championship. Jaguar had won four races and it had 12 podium finishes. It felt positive that either Nick Cassidy or Mitch Evans would leave London as championship. Instead, Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein went first and second in the doubleheader. Evans was second and third and fell six points shy of the German. Cassidy completed his disaster end to the season with a seventh and a retirement from pole position in the final race. Jaguar took the teams' championship and manufacturers' championship but those were hardly a satisfactory consolation prize.

A 24 Hours of Daytona victory? Check. A 6 Hours of the Glen victory? Check? Seven podium finishes and eighth top five finishes in nine IMSA starts? Check. An IMSA GTP championship? Check. What did that get Dane Cameron? A release from Porsche Penske Motorsport at the end of the season. This was Cameron's third championship in IMSA's top class with a third different manufacturer. Cameron and Nasr even won the Endurance Cup championship, but it was not enough for Cameron to keep a ride in IMSA's top class.

Past Winners
2012: Ben Spies
2013: Sam Hornish, Jr.
2014: Alexander Rossi
2015: McLaren
2016: Toyota

2017: Nick Heidfeld
2018: Brett Moffitt

2019: Dennis Lind

2020: Marc Márquez

2021: Liam Lawson

2022: Linus Lundqvist

2023: Eli Tomac

Comeback of the Year
Description: The Best Comeback in the 2024 season.
And the Nominees are:

Carlos Sainz, Jr.: Appendectomy to grand prix victory

Eli Tomac: From 16th to second at Arlington

Chase Sexton: From last to first in Hangtown

Toprak Razgatlioglu: From midseason injury to champion in World Superbike

And the winner is... Chase Sexton: From last to first in Hangtown

In the second round of the AMA Motocross championship, Chase Sexton won the first race from Hangtown, but in the second race, Sexton went down almost immediately and he was dead last on lap one. This wasn't 22nd in a Supercross round. This was 40th, but there was a half-hour racing to go. 

Never dispirited, Sexton put his head down and worked on passing one rider at a time. He picked his way through some slower competitors, but it would get tougher as he got closer to the top. With 20 minutes remaining, Sexton was eighth, but over 23 seconds off the lead. However, Sexton kept up a staggering pace and continued to move forward. 

With ten minutes remaining, he was 18 seconds back in sixth. With just over four minutes remaining, Sexton moved ahead of Hunter Lawrence for third and was ten seconds off the lead. Sexton took second from Justin Cooper was three laps to go, but Sexton was still five seconds behind Aaron Plessinger in the lead.

On the final lap, Sexton was 1.6 seconds off Plessinger, but the chase continued. Sexton had the energy to swing around on the outside of Plessinger and pull off an improbable victory, which would highlight Sexton's eventual championship season.

On the other nominees:

Not many drivers undergo surgery midseason these days. With the increase in races each Formula One season, it is tougher to find recovery time. In Saudi Arabia, Sainz, Jr. suffered an appendicitis and was forced out of the car for the second round of the season. There was 15 days between Saudi Arabia and the Australian Grand Prix, but Sainz, Jr. did not have the same preparations ahead of that race. Despite the change, the Spaniard qualified second. When Max Verstappen suffered brake issues, Sainz, Jr. swept into the lead and led the final 57 laps to lead a Ferrari 1-2.

Tomac went down early in the Supercross round from Arlington. He was battling for sixth but was sound 16th and 13 seconds off the lead. Over the final 25 laps, Tomac kept climbing up the order. He was into the top five on lap 18. He was third on lap 23. Jett Lawrence's issues in the closing laps allowed Tomac to take second and Tomac finished three seconds behind Cooper Webb.

The World Superbike championship was put in doubt when Toprak Razgatlioglu went down in practice from Magny-Cours and collided with the barrier. What looked to be a potentially devastating injury was a back contusion, but it kept Razgatlioglu out of the Magny-Cours round and the following round at Cremona. In the final three rounds, Razgatlioglu finished no worse than second. He won three more races, and he took his second championship when for a moment it appeared he may have lost it.

Past Winners
2013: Michael Shank Racing at the 24 Hours of Daytona
2014: Juan Pablo Montoya to IndyCar
2015: Kyle Busch
2016: Max Verstappen from 15th to 3rd in the final 18 laps in the wet in the Brazilian Grand Prix
2017: Kelvin van der Linde: From third to first after a botched pit stop in the final 20 minutes in the 24 Hours Nürburgring
2018: Billy Monger: Returning to racing after losing his legs and finishing sixth in the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with four podium finishes and a pole position at Donington Park.

2019: MotoE: For getting to the grid after fire destroyed every motorcycle prior to the first round of the season

2020: The #7 Acura Team Penske: Coming from last in the championship to winning the IMSA DPi championship

2021: Kyle Busch's victory at Pocono

2022: Robert Wickens

2023: McLaren's 2023 Formula One Season

Most Improved
Description: Racer, Team or Manufacture Who Improved The Most from 2023 to 2024.
And the Nominees are:

Porsche 963: From good to great around the world

Winward Racing: From tenth on 2,562 points to first on 3,266 points with four victories in IMSA's GTD Class

Santino Ferrucci: From 19th on 214 point to ninth on 367 points with 12 top ten finishes in IndyCar

McLaren: From fourth on 302 points to first on 666 points in the World Constructors' Championship

BMW: From fourth on 224 points with no podium finishes to second on 606 points with 19 victories.

And the winner is... McLaren

It wasn't long ago where McLaren was one of the worst team on the Formula One grid after taking on Honda engines. In two of three seasons with Honda engines, McLaren ended up ninth in the constructors' championship. It went over five years between podium finishes. After a spell with Renault engines, a move to Mercedes saw strong results. 

McLaren won the 2021 Italian Grand Prix with Daniel Riccardo, its first victory in nearly nine years. Lando Norris saw a rise in competitiveness. Last season, the team turnaround a slow start to fourth in the constructors' championship on 302 points, its most since 2012. With the pace at the end of last season, it felt like McLaren was poised to a big gain in 2024. I don't know if anyone imagined a world championship. 

It wasn't the most blitzing of starts, but McLaren got its first victory of the season in the sixth round at Miami. It was the second race of a 14-race podium streak for the manufacturer, which would include additional victories in Hungary, Netherlands, Azerbaijan and Singapore. This form combined with Red Bull's downturn saw McLaren become the clear favorites for the constructors' championship. With a 1-4 finish in Azerbaijan, McLaren took the lead and never looked back. 

For the first time since 1998, the World Constructors' Championship trophy is going to Woking. 

On the other nominees:

Porsche had a year in sports cars. With the 963, Porsche won the IMSA GTP championship and the World Endurance Drivers' Championship. In 2023, the 963 won zero races in WEC. In 2024, it won three races, including with the Hertz Team Jota operation. In IMSA, Porsche increased its victory total to four, including a triumph in the 24 Hours of Daytona. 

Winward Racing has been a good team across the world of GT3 racing. Last year, it had an ok year in IMSA. It won, but it wasn't that much of a threat. In 2024, Winward manhandled the GTD class. It won the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. Phillip Ellis and Russell Ward would go on to win four of the first five races. The #57 Mercedes-AMG was on the podium six times in ten races, and Winward Racing took the GTD championship. 

Ferrucci has shown promise in his IndyCar career, but he had yet to put together a full season. Unexpectedly, he and A.J. Foyt Racing went from one good day to consistency the likes he and the team have not seen in a long time. This was the first time a Foyt driver finished in the top ten of the IndyCar championship in 22 years.

BMW might have signed one of the best riders in World Superbike, but one rider was not going to turn around the fortunes of the German manufacturer. Prior to 2024, BMW had one victory in the previous decade of World Superbike competition, and that was a SuperPole race. Its most recent full race victory was in 2013. In 2024, BMW won 19 races. It was second in the constructors' championship, its best finish since second in 2013. 

Past Winners
2012: Esteban Guerrieri
2013: Marco Andretti
2014: Chaz Mostert
2015: Graham Rahal
2016: Simon Pagenaud
2017: DJR Team Penske
2018: Gary Paffett

2019: Cooper Webb

2020: Joan Mir

2021: Francesco Bagnaia

2022: Scott McLaughlin

2023: Jorge Martín

And that will do it. Considering all the unexpected we saw in 2024, we must consider what could happen in 2025. For all that we expected from this year, there were many things we didn't see coming. A few things played out as we believed they would, but a number of things we did not have in our scripts. As much as we think we know what is coming, we truly don't have a clue and are open for a surprise. 

Enjoy these days of the holiday season. A new year will be here soon enough. Before we get their, we have some predictions and presents to pass out.