The rain that had threatened to fall on the Circuit de la Sarthe finally broke out of the overcast clouds, causing the last qualifying session to be hampered by a wet track. Due to this, the majority of the 24 Hours of Le Mans grid order remains the same as it was set at the start of the […]
Montoya teaming with IMSA rival Filipe Albuquerque in Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans always makes for some interesting driver lineup combinations. It should come as no surprise, then, that two drivers who are rivals in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship are teammates this week in France — or that the team they’re […]
There’s a lot more to the Le Mans 24 Hours than Toyota’s quest for elusive victory. Jack Phillips unpacks the myriad of stories before this year’s endurance race This is Toyota’s Le Mans to lose. Scratch that, this is Alonso’s Le Mans to lose. That’s the general consensus. But Toyota knows as well as anyone that it’s […]
The 86th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours next week provides the perfect opportunity for Toyota to prepare a trio of one-off versions of its own famous “86”, the GT86 coupe. Each car sports a different livery celebrating some of Toyota’s great Le Mans cars of the past. And what better date for the […]
Toyota is on the brink of an historic first victory at Le Mans with two hybrid race cars competing in the 86th edition of the classic French endurance race next weekend. The Toyota GAZOO Racing team is the race favourite and expects to fight for victory after 25,000km of pre-season testing designed to enhance the […]
United Autosports has confirmed that Juan Pablo Montoya will join the team for the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours.The former F1 racer will join Will Owen and Hugo de Sadeleer in the #32 Ligier JS P217 for his debut at the prestigious endurance race.Although Montoya will be making his debut at the 24 Hours of […]
With Porsche’s July announcement of an exit from the World Endurance Championship, both Toyota and organizers of the series were left with the dilemma of there going to be just one manufacturer in the premier LMP1 class next season. The organizers, which include the ACO and FIA, have responded by changing the rules for the […]
Audi’s stunning exit from LMP1 endurance racing last year put the whole class in limbo. With only two manufacturers participating—Porsche and Toyota—and with no others expressing interest, it seemed like the LMP1 class could be on the way out. That might happen sooner than we thought: German media andSportscar365 report Audi’s corporate stablemate, Porsche, will […]
Joest Racing technical director Ralf Juttner has a favorite word to describe the team’s new alliance with Mazda: chemistry. It speaks volumes about the sequence of changes for Audi Sport’s former LMP1-Hybrid partner. “It goes back to Daytona earlier this year when I met with John Doonan and Mazda, and it’s the feeling you have, […]
Toyota Gazoo Racing boss Toshio Sato says his team is ‘devastated’ to see its hopes of securing an elusive Le Mans 24 Hours win ruined for another year as technical issues and on-track accidents sidelined all three cars. A year on from the manufacturer’s heart-breaking loss within sight of the finish, Toyota returned in 2017 […]
The #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid has claimed a dramatic victory in the 85th Le Mans 24 Hours in a race of attrition for LMP1 challengers which saw the LMP2 #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca leading with 65 minutes to go. Both Toyota and Porsche saw cars leading comfortably only to tumble into retirement with […]
Former F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi gave Toyata pole position provisionally after the first qualifying session of the Le Mans 24 Hours. Kobayashi, driving the #7 TS050 Hybrid , clocked his time of 3m18.793s around 15 minutes into the qualifying session and that time stood for the remainder of the 1 hour 40 minute session. […]
Porsche LMP1 team principal Andreas Seidl has downplayed reports that the German manufacturer could exit the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of the year, amid concerns over the car’s competitiveness and increasing questions on LMP1’s long-term future. German motorsports publication Motorsport Aktuell reported last week that Porsche’s current commitment through the end of the 2018 […]
This week marks a significant milestone for the Asian Le Mans Series – 11 cars from 8 teams that have competed in the series will take part in the premier endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The success of the ACO’s Asian Series as a stepping stone to the premier event is clear […]
One year ago, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing – specifically its U.S.-based No. 68 Ford GT team of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Le Mans native Sebastien Bourdais – accomplished its stated mission: to return on the 50th anniversary of the Ford GT40 victory in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans and win. A book […]
Toyota has admitted that it has emerged as favourite for victory in this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours prior to the start of practice and qualifying on Wednesday. The Japanese manufacturer believes that its performance in the official pre-race test at Le Mans earlier this month has installed it in that position ahead of Porsche. […]
Ford Motor Co. originally proposed making its racing return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Mustang, not a GT.Prior to the company’s decision to secretly build the Ford GT supercar to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Blue Oval’s victory in the famed French race over Ferrari, Raj Nair, head of global […]
This St Helens man was blown up twice by grenades and shot six times while fighting in the Middle East but is now on a come back as a racing driver.Tony Williams (second from left) was serving as a corporal in Afghanistan when his Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing team were subject to attack by […]
An injured soldier from Braintree who suffered such extreme damage after a motorcycle crash that he thought he had died and was in purgatory will join a racing team at Le Mans.The team of four is set to make sporting history as the first-ever disabled drivers pack to compete in Le Mans.Warren McKinlay is […]
Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella have been confirmed for Risi Competizione’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the highly competitive GTE-Pro class. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-long pairing will be joined by a third, yet-to-be-announced driver at the wheel of the Ferrari 488 GTE car in the French endurance classic. The […]
While the Australian racing community’s focus is on this weekend’s Bathurst 12-Hour, there’s news from abroad on the world’s biggest endurance race and a man who won five enduros at Mt Panorama.Toyota, devastated at having victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans slip away from it in the last minutes 7½ months ago, has […]
With just 10 days to go to the announcement of the complete list of teams selected for the 85th Le Mans 24 Hours on 17-18 June, 14 teams have already won an invitation to participate in qualifying for the 2017 Sarthe Classic. These have been awarded taking into account the results of the 2016 […]
Audi’s upoming departure from the FIA World Endurance Championship could provide rivals Porsche and Toyota with newfound driver options. Stocked with multiple Le Mans winners and pace setters, the long-term fate of Audi Sport’s Andre Lotterer, Marc Fässler, Benoît Tréluyer, Oliver Jarvis, Lucas di Grassi and Loic Duval is presently unknown. While some drivers are […]
A factory GTE entry marks BMW’s return to the 24 hour classic.You might not believe it, but BMW hasn’t raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2011. This is a manufacturer that was once synonymous with sports car racing and has been an overall winner of the 24 endurance race. Thankfully, the manufacturer […]
All of the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship’s Prototype-class cars are being retired after this year in favor of the new DPi spec, so why not go out with a bang? Besides, well, the total heartbreak of losing an almost certain podium for the unluckiest team on the grid. IMSA Radio commentator John Hindhaugh called this […]
Among the entries at Petit Le Mans is the historic DeltaWing, making its final WeatherTech Championship appearance. There are also big-name IndyCar drivers taking part, from current series champion Simon Pagenaud to Scott Dixon.IndyCar drivers, including 2016 champion Simon Pagenaud, add star power to season finale Road Atlanta, host of the annual Petit Le Mans […]
BMW will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018 with a new GTE challenger that is also eligible for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America. The German manufacturer has announced an entry into the GTE Pro class of the World Endurance Championship, which includes Le Mans, with a successor to […]
One of the cooler things about the 24 Hours of Le Mans is called Garage 56. The name dates to 2012, when Le Mans only had room for 55 cars in its pitlane, but the ACO (the race organizers) added one extra spot for a car which, according to the ACO’s Sporting Director Vincent Beaumesnil, […]
Toyota’s number five TS050 Hybrid LMP1 prototype is the subject of this year’s saddest story of motorsport. While we are aware the year is far from concluding, we are hoping we will not see such an emotional event in this sport, as it was excruciatingly painful to watch. We have seen race endings close to this […]
Le Mans – Aston Martin Racing came away from the 84th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours leading the FIA World Endurance Championship GT Manufacturer’s title.After running a near-faultless race, both the #95 and #97 GTE Pro entries finished in fifth and sixth place respectively. With the team focused on ensuring a safe and […]
The Ford vs. Ferrari battle is rekindled at Le Mans LE MANS, France, June 19, 2016 – The #68 Ford GT of Sébastien Bourdais (FRA), Joey Hand (US) and Dirk Müller (GER) crossed the finish line at Le Mans at three o’clock on Sunday, as the overall GT winner of the 2016 Le Mans 24 […]
Porsche sealed its 18th overall victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours as the leading Toyota, which had look nailed-on for the win, ground to a halt with less than four minutes remaining of a classic encounter at La Sarthe.At the end of a gruelling race-long battle that saw the lead swap back and forth […]
Porsche has swept the front row for the 84th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Porsche has swept the front row for the 84th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Neel Jani claiming his second consecutive pole for the twice-around-the-clock French endurance classic. Thursday’s two qualifying sessions was mostly a […]
When quadruple amputee Frederic Sausset explained his dream—racing the 24 Hours of Le Mans—to the French classic’s powers that be, he could easily have got a firm “non.” Instead, he got tears in his eyes and a tentative “oui.”Vincent Beaumesnil, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO—the Le Mans organizer) sporting manager, was bowled over by […]
According to three-time Le Mans winner Allan McNish, Audi’s brand-new R18 chassis, which incorporates a move to the more powerful 6 megajoule energy recovery system class, could be the hot ticket to knock Porsche off its perch.The veteran Audi man, who retired after the 2013 season where he scored his final LM24 victory, remains active […]
A light rain was falling and grey clouds hung low over the rolling French countryside, producing premature twilight as three sleek prototype automobiles rolled across the finish line to end the 24 Hours of Le Mans for 1966. So began the last press release that Ford issued from Le Mans in 1966. That race became […]
Mark Webber’s number 1 Porsche 919-Hybrid heads the entry for this year’s Le Mans 24-Hour Race that takes place in France in just over three weeks. The race organising Automobile Club de l’Ouest have confirmed the starting list for entrants and drivers ahead of the Pre-Test that will take place at the Circuit de la […]
This year’s World Endurance Championship is just getting started with official testing, known as the Prologue, currently underway at France’s Circuit Paul Ricard.Audi has been the dominant force in top-level endurance racing for the past decade but has lost out to rivals in recent years: Toyota in 2014 and Porsche in 2015. To get back […]
It’s 50 years since Flying Kiwis conquered the Le Mans 24-Hour race in the Ford GT40. Now, Ford is heading to the iconic event with its all-new GT supercar. Ford is settling for half-measures as it gears up for its landmark assault on the Le Mans 24-Hour endurance race. The organiser of the race, […]
For the first time in history, old music is now outselling new releases – which means that defunct classic rock gods like Pink Floyd are raking in more royalties than ever before. And Floyd drummer Nick Mason is certainly not short on cash. Already known for his killer collection of classic Ferraris, Mason recently splashed […]