Firstrd The 24 Hours of Le Mans began with the presence of starter Zinedine Zidane, who was able to launch the famous "Drivers, start your engines!" phase at the end of the grid, before presenting the checkered flag at 16 p.m. this Saturday, June 15.
This year 62 cars took the start for 24 hours of racing, and 186 drivers challenged themselves by participating in this legendary race.
Firstrd round of the FIA WEC, brings together 3 categories: Hypercar, LMP2, GT3, all competing for the title of World Champion at the end of the season.
This title is the one that car manufacturers dream of winning to ensure their reliability with their customers, and it's a great sporting showcase!
A 24-hour battle between the teams is what racing on the Le Mans circuit is all about, but this year there was one obstacle to consider: the weather and, consequently, the juggling of tires.
Two manufacturers are present in this race, Goodyear and Michelin, and with their specificities, each was able to assist the Teams in combating the rain, the big guest of the weekend!
Before the start of the car grid process, the show was on throughout the site and previously in the city center, with 329 visitors, a figure announced by the ACO.
Le Mans, the world capital of the automobile industry, has experienced some great moments over the past two weeks.
First of all, the weighing with the highlighting of each Team and cars to the general public, all gathered in the city center as well as the driving of the Hypercars.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans week features a full schedule of events between the city center and the circuit. The big Drivers' Parade on Friday afternoon is a popular event, with a delirious crowd welcoming the teams and collecting goodies from each team.
The opening of the stands with the pit-stop challenge, on Tuesday of the week of the event, is becoming an increasingly popular moment and is frequented by week ticket holders because they can have a glimpse of the Teams' garages and get autographs from the drivers.
On the driver side, there were new celebrities in the Teams, this year the eyes were on Valentino Rossi in BMW in GT3, Romain Grosjean in Lamborghini Hypercar and Sébastien Bourdais in Cadillac Hypercar. Only one women's Team is present on the track, the Iron Dames, there are 3 of them and they put on a show, the public is a fan!
The concert evenings during the trials were also very well attended, with Louise Attaque, Big Flo & Oli, Offenbach, Synapson and Simple Minds all giving fans a great time.
Before the race's grand start on D-Day, a three-hour ceremony was held on the track, with the arrival of numerous celebrities. Everyone was able to stroll the asphalt to enjoy this unique atmosphere, including Estéban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Gad Elmaleh, Vincent Cassel, Yannick Noah, and Mathieu Kassovitz.
Other celebrities were spotted at the receptions over the weekend, some from the world of television and the web, including YouTubers from GP Explorer and journalists from the mechanical TV Shows.
There was also a very special Marseillaise this year, sung by Yohann Launay, the Sarthe native who participated in the TV show The Voice, which ignited the audience.
At 13:30 p.m., the competitors began lining up on the starting grid. The French Navy then took part in a Rafale, before the 24 Hours of Le Mans Trophy was presented to everyone on the starting grid. As is tradition, the outgoing winners (Ferrari) took it home, once again up for grabs in front of the crowd.
The Patrouille de France then flew over the track, as it does every year, signaling that the drivers are positioning their cars for their formation lap; this is when the pressure mounts in the pits. Kazuki Nakajima, the Grand Marshal of the edition, led the competitors for a final lap before the 16 p.m. start.
Cars from all Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3 categories took to the track as they approached the starting line of the world's greatest endurance race.
As a reminder, Le Mans is 13,629 km, with a straight section on the Mulsanne Line or on the pit lane, and winding sections on Indianapolis, Mulsanne Corner, then Arnage, not to mention the numerous chicanes... Le Mans is a race apart for the drivers, all of whom dream of finishing it and getting on the podium.
Unfortunately, some are forced to abandon, others resist and fight, sometimes by a few seconds, to be at the top of their category. The clock does not stop, and the minutes tick by, we see duels forming until these last moments when, in the pouring rain, the safety car intervenes to regulate the race and make it "safer". The track being synonymous with an ice rink, interventions in the pits multiply, tire changes occur, and it's back to life to the fullest until the end of the race.
Numerous interventions by the track marshals were carried out with panache, particularly in the early hours of the morning when the Heart of Racing driver lost control of his No. 27 Aston Martin.
While sliding over the kerbs to make way for a Hypercar, Mancinelli found himself thrown into the circuit's safety tires a few meters ahead. The driver emerged unharmed from this very frightening crash and was able to join the safety teams. The operation to extract the exploded car, which had flipped like a pancake on the side of the track, was carried out in a few minutes, with quite impressive professionalism.
Unfortunately, the two Alpine cars had to retire quite early in the race, the Peugeot and Cadillac had mechanical problems and the two Ferrari Hypercars were fighting for the podium with Porsche and Toyota, the ones who have been at the top of the Le Mans 2 Hours rankings for some time.
Same fight on the LMP2 and GT3, each Team had one objective, to finish this race, in the best way to differentiate themselves from the other teams!
It was at 16h and 24 seconds that the Ferrari N°50 finished this rainy race ahead of the Toyota N°7 and the Ferrari N°51. Victorious in their 11rd success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the drivers of this Team join the winner of the 2023 edition in the list of winning teams.
Ferrari was highly anticipated this year to confirm their superiority and achieve their 2023/2024 double in the prize list of this legendary race, they sublimated the event with their tenacity.
In the other categories, the podium was taken by Team United Autosports in their No. 22 Oreca in LMP2, and in GT3, the No. 911 Porsche 91 of Team Manthey EMA.
A true technological laboratory for over 100 years, the event is an opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their advances in sustainable mobility. This year again, the Mission H24 prototype was able to take to the track ahead of the race. In 2028, a dedicated category will be created for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, allowing zero-emission cars to compete for the sublime trophy.
See you in 2025 for the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, on June 14 and 15, the Hypercar category will see the entry of Aston Martin alongside Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Isotta Fraschini, Lamborghini, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota.
Stephanie Grasteau
For Luxe Infinity Magazine
Photo credits @aco
