After the bizarre and unusual 2020 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which took place in September and was held behind closed doors for the first time ever, the 2021 edition has thankfully regained something of its normalcy.
While not at full capacity, 50.000 fans will be welcome to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the 89th running of the event, which once again promises to be a race you simply can not afford to miss.
What can be expected from Le Mans this year? MotorsportWeek.com takes a look.
The main reason that the 2021 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is very highly anticipated is that it will feature the Le Mans debut of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s pride and joy: the Hypercar category. It was once announced at this very track several years ago and now the Hypercars look ready to take the central stage.
It’s a cautious start to the class’ new life at Le Mans, with five cars entered from three different manufacturers. Even if that field is set to grow exponentially in the coming years, this first battle for Hypercar top honours has the potential to be very interesting.
Even if the LMP1 cars are no longer around, Toyota Gazoo Racing still come to Le Mans as the undisputed top favorites. They have won the three opening rounds of the FIA WEC season and know the challenges of Le Mans better than almost anyone.
Once again with their two car entry, the #7 GR010 Hybrid is driven by world champions Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez and reigning winners Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima in the #8 sister car.
Their arguably most unexpected challengers are the Alpine Endurance Team. The French squad runs the grandfather ORECA-built LMP1 car under the Alpine A480-Gibson name, with Andre Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere behind the wheel.
The team has proven pace, but with their fuel capacity a lingering question mark, it remains to be seen if they can challenge for victory.
What is also not unimportant is that their car, which previously ran as a Rebellion R13, is a proven commodity at Le Mans and arguably the most solid and reliable car on the grid. That could prove itself to be an extremely important factor.
Finally, there is Glickenhaus. The American squad makes its long awaited Le Mans debut with two of its 007 LMHs. Pipo Derani, Franck Mailleux and Olivier Pla drive the #708 car, while Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and Romain Dumas are set to pilot the #709.
Reliability remains a question mark for the team, but it surprised everyone when it noted the quickest time of the entire Test Day when Pla posted a 3m 29.115 late in the afternoon session, faster than anyone had gone so far. So perhaps the American squad can throw a curveball and surprise everyone…
With the Hypercar category so new and none of the cars on the grid having been bulletproof throughout the early races of the season when it comes to reliability, there is the potential for high drama this weekend.
Le Mans is a notorious car breaker, and with the gap to the LMP2 field much smaller than in the LMP1 days, it will not take much for one of the Hypercar entries to fall away.
Add to that the fact that the LMP2 is extremely strong this year, and there is the real prospect of an upset from the secondary class. Which leads nicely to:
LMP2: Battle of the titans
Much like 2020, LMP2 promises to be a class worth watching. Nearly half (25 of 62) of the cars in the field come out of his class, and it features some exceptional talent and powerhouse squads.
Listing them all is nearly impossible, but let’s start with defending champions United Autosports. The Anglo-American squad is back with three cars and looks nearly unstoppable. It has entered the #22 ORECA 07-Gibson for Filipe Albuquerque, Phil Hanson and Fabio Scherer, winner of two out of the last three WEC rounds.
Its ELMS-based car is driven by Nico Jamin, ex-DTM driver Jonathan Aberdein and Manuel Maldonado and a third all-star car has been entered for Alex Lynn, Paul di Resta and Wayne Boyd.
The opposition, however, is strong. JOTA Sport is back with two cars, including the unchanged #38 crew of Antonio Felix da Costa, Anthony Davidson and Roberto Gonzalez that finished second last year. Their other car, featuring Tom Blomqvist, Stoffel Vandoorne and Sean Gelael, is also a real prospect.
Elsewhere, Belgian powerhouse Team WRT makes its Le Mans debut with a two-car effort that features the likes of Robin Frijns, Louis Deletraz and Robert Kubica.
The beauty of the LMP2 class, however, is that there is strength almost everywhere. IDEC Sport can never be counted out and the same goes for G-Drive Racing.
Father-and-son duo Jan and Kevin Magnussen have been entered together for the first time at High Class Racing, whose second car includes Marco Sorensen and Ricky Taylor.
And then there is Risi Competizione, who are back in a prototype at Le Mans for the first time since their 1998 class victory and have top IMSA drivers Oliver Jarvis and Felipe Nasr in their ranks.
The LMP2 class has long been one of the most competitive categories around in sportscar racing, and with a field this strong, it promises to be another cracker at Le Mans.
Furthermore, as mentioned, with the potential of breakdowns and problems for the five cars in Hypercar, there could be a genuine chance that the LMP2 field could make it onto the overall podium, like we saw in the crazy and unpredictable 2017 edition of the race.
One thing is for certain, whatever happens this weekend, history will be made one way or another.
