This is a historic year for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Not only is it the centennial anniversary for the historic endurance race, this year sees 62 entries, 16 in the premier class with seven different manufacturers represented on the grid. Each class would be a strong race on its own and due to the breakdown of the classes, this year for Le Mans we will look at each class individually.
In Hypercar, Toyota has won the first two editions at Le Mans with this class and Toyota has won five consecutive years. This year will be Toyota's toughest test since 2017 when Porsche won a chaotic race. Porsche is back and is aiming for its 20th overall Le Mans victory. Ferrari is back, and the Maranello outfit is looking for its first overall victory since 1965. Cadillac returns for the first time since 2002 and could become the first American manufacturer to win overall since 1969. Peugeot returns after a soft-launch in the second half of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship seaosn, as the French brand chases its fourth Le Mans triumph.
While the new manufacturers received all the attention, Vanwall and Glickenhaus round out the Hypercars grid.
Of the 48 drivers in Hypercar, only one is a Le Mans debutant, and the other 47 drivers have a combined 300 Le Mans appearances.
#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R
Drivers: Earl Bamber (7th), Alex Lynn (7th), Richard Westbrook (13th)
About This Team: Bamber is a two-time Le Mans winner and has won the only two times he has competed in the premier class. This is Lynn's first time in the top class and he won the GTE Pro class at Le Mans in 2020. Westbrook was third overall last year with Glickenhaus. Westbrook has four class podiums at Le Mans, all of them are third-place finishes. The #2 Cadillac has been fourth, fourth and fifth through the first three races of the 2023 WEC season.
Test Day: 8th
#3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R
Drivers: Sébastien Bourdais (16th), Scott Dixon (5th), Renger van der Zande (6th)
About This Team: Bourdais is competing in Le Mans' top class for the first time since 2012. He is a three-time runner-up, but won in GTE Pro in 2016 with the Ford GT program. This is Dixon's first time competing in the top class at Le Mans. Van der Zande retired from the 2018 and 2019 races driving for DragonSpeed. Bourdais and van der Zande won the most recent IMSA race at Laguna Seca.
Test Day: 14th
#4 Floyd Vanwall Racing Team Vanwall Vandervell 680
Drivers: Tom Dillmann (4th), Esteban Guerrieri (1st), Tristan Vautier (2nd)
About This Team: Dillmann has run three times at Le Mans, all with the ByKolles/Floyd Vanwall Racing Team. All three races ended in retirement. Guerrieri spent the better part of the last six years competing in touring cars. Vautier replaced Jacques Villeneueve in this entry. Vautier's only Le Mans start was last year in LMP2. Vanwall has retired from the last two races.
Test Day: 12th
#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963
Drivers: Dane Cameron (2nd), Michael Christensen (9th), Frédéric Makowiecki (13th)
About This Team: Cameron was fifth in LMP2 last year in his Le Mans debut. Cameron could become the first American overall winner since Davy Jones in 1996. Christensen won in GTE Pro in 2018. Makowiecki scored his first Le Mans class victory last year in GTE Pro. The #5 Porsche was fourth at Spa-Francorchamps, the most recent WEC round.
Test Day: 6th
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963
Drivers: Kévin Estre (9th), André Lotterer (12th), Laurens Vanthoor (8th)
About This Team: Estre and Vanthoor won in GTE Pro in 2018 with Christensen. Estre and Vanthoor have been co-drivers at Le Mans five times previously, including in their debuts in 2015 with Chris Cumming in an LMP2 entry for OAK Racing. Lotterer is a three-time overall Le Mans winner and makes his return for the first time since 2019.
Test Day: 2nd
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
Drivers: Mike Conway (10th), Kamui Kobayashi (9th), José María López (7th)
About This Team: The #7 Toyota has finished on the podium the last five years at Le Mans and in six of the last seven years. This entry has won two of the first three races this season in WEC, the 1000 Miles of Sebring and Spa-Francorchamps. The 2021 overall Le Mans winners were also twice world champions in the 2019-20 and the 2021 seasons.
Test Day: 3rd
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
Drivers: Sébastien Buemi (12th), Brendon Hartley (10th), Ryō Hirakawa (4th)
About This Team: Buemi has won at Le Mans four of the last five years, the last two of his victories were shared with Hartley, who also won in 2017 with Porsche. Hirakawa won in his premier class debut last year. The defending world championship, the #8 Toyota won at Portimão in April and currently lead the world championship. Buemi could become the sixth driver with at least five Le Mans overall victories.
Test Day: 9th
#38 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963
Drivers: António Félix da Costa (6th), Will Stevens (8th), Ye Yifei (3rd)
About This Team: Da Costa and Stevens won in LMP2 last year at Le Mans as they also won the LMP2 championship with Jota Sport. The team received delivery of its Porsche just ahead of the Spa-Francorchamps round and the #38 Porsche was sixth overall in that race. Stevens also won in the GTE Am class at Le Mans in 2017. Yifei had his Team WRT Oreca breakdown on the final lap in the 2021 race while leading in LMP2.
Test Day: 11th
#50 Ferrari - AF Corse Ferrari 499P
Drivers: Antonio Fuoco (3rd), Miguel Molina (7th), Nicklas Nielsen (4th)
About This Team: The #50 Ferrari won pole position at Sebring and was third in that race. Fuoco and Molina were third in GTE Pro last year at Le Mans. It is Molina's only class podium at Le Mans. Nielsen won in GTE Am in 2021 and he was in LMP2 last year.
Test Day: 4th
#51 Ferrari - AF Corse Ferrari 499P
Drivers: James Calado (9th), Antonio Giovinazzi (2nd), Alessandro Pier Guidi (8th)
About This Team: Calado and Pier Guidi have been co-drivers for seven consecutive years at Le Mans, all in GTE Pro. Their finishing positions the last four years were first, second, first and second. They won the last two World Endurance GT Drivers' championships. Giovinazzi's lone Le Mans appearance was in 2018 sharing a Ferrari with Toni Vilander and Pipo Derani. They were fifth in GTE Pro. There has not been an Italian to win overall at Le Mans since Rinaldo Capello in 2008.
Test Day: 1st
#75 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963
Drivers: Mathieu Jaminet (2nd), Felipe Nasr (4th), Nick Tandy (11th)
About This Team: Jaminet's only Le Mans appearance was in 2019 with GTE Pro. He and Nasr won in GTD Pro at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2022 and Jaminet and Matt Campbell won the GTD Pro championship that year. Jaminet and Tandy currently lead the IMSA GTP championship after finishing on the podium in the last three races and winning at Long Beach. Tandy won overall with Porsche in 2015. All three of Nasr's previous Le Mans starts were in LMP2. Nasr could become the first Brazilian to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall.
Test Day: 5th
#93 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8
Drivers: Paul di Resta (5th), Mikkel Jensen (4th), Jean-Éric Vergne (5th)
About This Team: Di Resta won in the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2020 with United Autosports. Jensen spent the previous two years competing in GTE Am. This is Vergne's first Le Mans appearance since 2020. He was first on the road in 2018 with G-Drive Racing, but his entry was disqualified after it was found the team used illegally modified re-fueling equipment.
Test Day: 7th
#94 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8
Drivers: Loïc Duval (11th), Gustavo Menezes (6th), Nico Müller (2nd)
About This Team: Duval was the overall winner in 2013 with Audi and he won the world championship that year with Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen. Menezes was second overall in his most recent Le Mans appearance in 2020. He was third overall in 2018 and won in LMP2 in 2016. Müller was 22nd in LMP2 last year.
Test Day: 10th
#311 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R
Drivers: Jack Aitken (2nd), Pipo Derani (8th), Alexander Sims (5th)
About This Team: Action Express Racing won the 12 Hours of Sebring in March. Derani has won the 24 Hours of Daytona once and the 12 Hours of Sebring four times. Derani spent the last two years competing for Glickenhaus Racing in the Hypercar class. Derani was second in GTE Pro with the Ford GT program. Aitken was 20th in LMP2 last year. Like Nasr, Derani could become the first Brazilian overall winner. Sims has failed to finish in three of his four Le Mans appearances.
Test Day: 16th
#708 Glickenhaus Racing Glickenhaus 007 LMH
Drivers: Ryan Briscoe (9th), Romain Dumas (23rd), Olivier Pla (16th)
About This Team: Dumas is the most experienced Le Mans driver in Hypercar and he has won twice overall with an additional class victory. Briscoe and Dumas were co-drivers in 2021 and Pla and Dumas were co-drivers in 2022. Briscoe was third overall last year. Pla was fourth overall the last two years and his only class podium was second in LMP2 in 2013.
Test Day: 13th
#709 Glickenhaus Racing Glickenhaus 007 LMH
Drivers: Nathanaël Berthon (8th), Esteban Gutiérrez (2nd), Franck Mailleux (9th)
About This Team: Berthon drove for Rebellion Racing in LMP1 in 2019 and 2020 with his best result being fourth in 2020. Gutiérrez was 13th last year in LMP2. Mailleux was third overall last year.
Test Day: 15th
Practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans will begin at 8:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday June 7 and last for three hours. Qualifying practice will be for one-hour at 1:00 p.m. ET with night practice lasting two hours and beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Thursday begins with a three-hour practice at 9:00 a.m. ET. Hyperpole qualifying will take place at 2:00 p.m. ET before a one-hour night practice at 4:00 p.m. ET.
There will be a 15-minute warm-up at 6:00 a.m. ET on Saturday June 10 with the 91st 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.
