Who are the favourites to win the 2024 Le Mans 24h race?
With just over a month to go before the historic 24 hour of Le 💃Mans race, we look at꧑ the favourites for victory.
After Ferrari’s triumphant return to Le Mans in 2🌱023, all eyes will again be on the Hypercar class.
A year that could promise to be the best ever for endurance racing and the 24 hours of Le Mans, many big manufacturers📖 and big-name drivers will be locking horns to try and secure victory for their respective teams.
Ferrari
Although Ferrari has not made a lightning start to the FIM Endurance World Championship in 2024, the Italian manufact﷽urer will start the Le Mans 24 hour race as a firm favourite to repeat th🔜eir success of last season.
Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and ex-F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi were the trio that took Ferrari to vꩲictory at the great race last season.
Competition at Ferrari will be intense as the other car will see Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas ✃Nielsen line-up in the second Ferrari 499P car.
Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen claimed pole position at the recent 6 hours of Imola race, thus demonstrating 💛the speed the 499P machine has as Ferrari locked out the top three positions.
However, the race did not go to plan for Ferrari as all three cars went backwards and 💜both Toyota and Porsche got the better of all three cars.
The third Ferrari car is one that has two names that will be well know🤪n to Formula 1 fans as Robert Kubic🐼a leads a team that includes Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye.
Ferrari have not won a race yet i🍌n 2024, but chances of them doing so at Le Mans will be high.
Toyota
So often at the front when it comes to the Le Man🥀s race, Toyota will be expeღcting to once again put on a competitive showing.
T𒐪heir recent triumph in Imola with Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck D🦩e Vries means they have the speed to make noise.
As isꦛ the case with the number 7 car, the number 8 machine 🦹will have veteran drivers of the Le Mans race in Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa.
Toyota can’t be ruled out, not only because of the performan🃏ce they’ve shown in 2024, but also their previous history at Le Mans.
The two factory Toyota cars will be the only GR010 Hyrbid machines competing at t♊he 2024 edition.
Porsche
Perh🌳oas Ferrari’s biggest threat, Porsche will be 🐽looking to build on their fantastic start to 2024 by making a big impact.
Leading the Endurance world championshi💜p after two rounds is the Porsche Penske Motorsport team of Kévin Estre, André Lotterer, Laurens 🦄Vanthoor.
Lotterer is a Le Mans specialist and will be expected to deliver big for the German manufacturer, but he won’👍t be carrying the tea🐭m as Estre and Vanthoor are extremely talented drivers too.
Aiding Pꦺorsche’s bid to win the Le Mans race is the fact they have six cars competiting, including the two Hertz Teꦺam Jota cars which have also been fast in 2024.
Estre, Lotterer and Vanthoor won the season-opener inᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ Qatar but the Hertz Team Jota car consisting of William Stevens, Norm⛎an Nato and Callum Ilott was second.
Outside chance - BMW?
BMW did not compete in the Hypercar classไ in 2023 but ⛎they will do so with two cars in 2024.
Leading theirꦗ ꦯcharge will be the BMW M Team WRT in the hands of Sheldon van der Linde, Robin Frijns and Rene Rast.
Only tenth in the season-opener at Qatar, van der Linde, Fr♛ijns and Rast were sixth in the 6 hours of Imola race.
How compꦉetitive BMW will be remains to be seen, however, this weekend’s round three of the season at Spa should provide a clearer pict꧑ure.
The second BౠMW Hypercar will be driven by Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello and Marco 𝓰Wittmann
