After a fabulous 24 Hours of Le Mans, Motorsport Week looked back on five key storylines which made the 92nd edition of the French classic not only unpredictable, but also a memorable race to watch.
The world’s most historic sportscar motor race produced great racing and close wheel-to-wheel battles with a record-high of nine-manufacturers present in the top prototype and GT class.
For the third consecutive year, there was a joint-high of 62 entries across the Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3 classes which meant there was continuous action up and down the field, excluding the heavy rain during the night.
Viewers and spectators may critic what felt like an indefinite four-hour-long safety car period during the nighttime, however, the race was still kept in motion owing to the work of the three safety cars. A fourth Porsche 911 Turbo S was additionally deployed to allow one of the others to refuel, and so on.
With the premier Hypercar class at its own record high 23 participants representing nine manufacturers, an incredible sight never bestowed in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and indeed within Le Mans’ top category in many decades.
There were winners and losers in each category, from the Ford Mustang GT3 finishing strongly on their Le Mans debut to the Whelen Cadillac crashing out. Amidst these noteworthy competitors, there were a number of key storylines which wove deep in the fabric of a rain-soaked 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Quadrant of Lamborghinis accomplish what BMW WRT could not
The fourth round of the FIA WEC was a difficult outing for the BMW WRT operation across their Hypercar and LMGT3 efforts, after seemingly showing promising pace during qualifying.
In the end, only one out of their four cars made it to the end; the #31 BMW M4 LMGT3.
Technically speaking, the #20 ‘Art Car’ also took the chequered flag however completed significantly less than the required 75% race distance of the race winner in order to be classified.
BMW WRT’s difficulties during the race began with Marco Wittman in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, when his fifth-placed running early on was hampered by a self-inflicted spin which put him at the back of the 23-strong Hypercar field.
Meanwhile in the #20 being driven by Robin Fijns, a more critical error was made during the third hour, when the rain was intermittent and track conditions were damp.
Frijns hit the tyre barriers at the Ford Chicane but made it back to the pit lane shortly after his crash, initially prompting driveshaft and brake repairs before a much longer pit stop required the mechanics to check the entire floor.
Later on in the seventh hour, Robert Kubica mistakenly put the #15 – being driven by Dries Vanthoor – heavily into the barrier at high speed in approach to the Mulsanne corner.
Kubica was subsequently penalised as Vanthoor suffered a slight concussion and muscle stiffness, and thus the #15 BMW was out.
The #46 M4 LMGT3 was out after a slight slip at the top of the Dunlop Hill by Ahmad Al Harthy put him into the gravel trap and retirement after 109 laps completed.
As for the #31 BMW, drivers Darren Leung, Sean Gelael and Augusto Farfus ensured that WRT could at least take something positive away from a troubled race.
Not only did the #31 crew finish, but they also took second place in the LMGT3 category ahead of the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3.
Lamborghini Iron Lynx conversely ran a smooth race without any significant driver errors or incidents, apart from when #60 driver Claudio Schiavoni spun his Huracan LMGT3 EVO2 on the exit of the second Mulsanne chicane and was momentarily stranded sideways after some minor contact with the barrier.
On their Le Mans [Hypercar and LMGT3] debut, Lamborghini ran an impressive race with their primary objective set around minimising reliability woes – in which they encountered none – and to reach the chequered flag.
In doing so, they took 10th and 11th positions with the SC63s as the #85 Iron Dames LMGT3 crew of Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey finished fifth in their first Le Mans with the Lamborghini.
Isotta Fraschini quietly finishes on Le Mans debut
It was a quiet yet fundamentally successful outing for the Isotta Fraschini Hypercar team run by Duqueine.
Running with two silver-rated WEC rookies in their lineup ensured that the #11 was unlikely to be fighting at the front.
Their reality, however, was not about fighting at the front but making it to the end of a gruelling fourth WEC race in their #11 Tipo-6 Competizione Le Mans Hypercar.
They finished 14th in the top group of running Hypercars, but ahead of two Hypercars which were running but further down the order.
Needless to say, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the world’s most toughest motorsport events with endurance, teamwork and competition combined into the longest race on the WEC calendar.
Amidst the drama and fighting in the Hypercar category, teams encountered reliability woes and drivers made mistakes whilst Isotta Fraschini made it through all of it.
In comparison to the other teams on their Le Mans debut in Hypercar machinery, the Isotta finished ahead of both Alpines, both BMWs and seven laps behind the #19 Lamborghini SC63.
Despite the lack of competitive form, they deserve to be more than proud of finishing their first Le Mans with Jean-Karl Vernay and youngsters Carl Bennett and Antonio Serravalle.
Ford takes LMGT3 podium on Le Mans return
In a class of 23 LMGT3s, three of the cars were Proton Competition’s Ford Mustangs which would make their first Le Mans appearance for the manufacturer since the Ford GTE programme.
They represent the brand in the WEC with the #77 and #88 entries, but won the 2023-24 Asian Le Mans Series GT title to earn an extra invitation to Le Mans with the #44.
Proton marked the occasion with not only a strong finish for two of their three Mustangs with not only a strong finish, but also its maiden podium, which was a fitting achievement on the 60th anniversary of the Mustang.
With a naturally aspirated V8 soundtrack, the new Mustang caught the ears before the eyes of spectators watching them fly-by.
Ben Barker put the #77 at the front of qualifying practice, as Ryan Hardwick put it in P4 during Hyperpole, prompting a second row start for the Mustang’s Le Mans debut.
Whilst Frederick Schandorff’s #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S retained and built on a strong lead, the #77 took second position and showcased some consistent form in the hands of Barker.
Barker and Schandorff even found themselves nose-to-tail in the pit lane, highlighting how the battles for position continue even in the pit stop cycles, as Barker narrowed down the #70’s lead gap down to one second.
On the track, the pair fought for the lead as the Schandorff fended off Barker with great enthusiasm.
Unfortunately after just four hours in, the #77 fell out of the fight due to front suspension damage which cost the team a lengthy repair job even though they returned to the race.
By the eighth hour, the #70 pole-sitting McLaren encountered issues when coolant steam started pouring from the front end.
These were not opportunities capitalised by Proton’s other cars just yet, but their #88 lurked around the top-five LMGT3 cars whilst it was an even more remarkable climb later on for the #44 which started 14th.
Unfortunately, the #77 with Zacharie Rubichon later had contact with the #24 Nielsen Racing Oreca 07 at the Forest Esses, and so the #77 went back into the garage for more repairs.
Even though the #70 and #77 were still in the race, they were never going to regain their competitive form as simply making it to the end was their main priority.
The #88 and #44 found themselves at the sharper end of the field when daylight returned, having survived the heavy rain during the night.
It was an understated and discreet charge up the field for the two Protons, but they managed a P3 and P4 finish by the end.
Amongst the lineups, factory driver Christopher Mies had not driven at Le Mans before and so his stints in the #44 at the start, middle and the end were a demonstration that not only does a mistake-free drive from the drivers benefit over the long-term of 24 hours, but the Mustang was also a robust machine over the race.
Proton Competition, Multimatic and M-Sport can be all proud on their result on securing a podium finish for the new Mustang.
Heartbreak and disaster for Alpine
For one of favourite French manufacturers competing in the WEC, their Hypercar debut was simply heartbreaking.
Unlike many of their competitors, who had faced troubles born out of driver errors and contact into a barrier or competitor, thus causing issues with the bodywork, Alpine’s woes were premature and unfortunate.
One of the underlying concerns was that their Mecachrome engine, originally used in Formula 2 single-seater racing, had a reputation for reliability issues.
Furthermore, a Mecachrome powertrain was only used once at Le Mans by Ginetta before they decided the engine was unreliable.
Within the development process of the A424, the team acknowledged but dismissed any concerns sighting that their modifications – including turbocharging – negated any reliability worries.
Admittedly, the A424 performed adequately thus far in the season from a reliability perspective although they knew, as many of us did, that Le Mans would truly stress their engines.
In a surprising turn, the #35 seemed competitive with good long-run pace as well as making it to the Hyperpole qualifying shootout.
Their story took a turn for the worst in the race, however, when Ferdinand Habsburg piloting the #35 Alpine was forced to stop at Arnage as smoke bellowed out and their race was ended after just five hours.
As for the #36 just an hour later, it entered the garage after mechanical issues and by just 25% of the race duration, Alpine was completely out of the running.
Ferrari takes back-to-back Le Mans victories
Last but not least, Ferrari experienced triumph once again by taking a back-to-back victory which is an impressive feat as the Maralleno make returned to the top class at Le Mans after a 50 year-absence.
They may have not been the quickest in qualifying, but long-run pace during free practice suggested that them along with Toyota were the possible contenders for the win.
Strategically, Ferrari ran their race smoothly with the exception of a pit stop and a full-course-yellow infringement.
Towards the end, their approach had changed from running the race with caution, as the hours counted down, to defensive.
It came down to a fight between the #50 of Nicklas Nielsen and the #7 of Jose Maria Lopez at the final pit stop, when the #50 was under fuelled on energy to retain track position over the #7.
It was an unpredictable matter of ‘Could Jose and Toyota close the gap?’ and ‘How much would fuel-saving cost the pace of the #50?’
In the end, Ferrari AF Corse had calculated it masterfully and the gap narrowed down to the second-closest between first and second ever seen at Le Mans – 14.221 seconds.
Ferrari has uniquely only won with the 499P at Le Mans so far as Nielsen became the first Dane to win since Tom ‘Mr. Le Mans’ Kristensen did so in 2013.
The #50 crew finally tasted victory since Fuoco marvelously grasped the pole position for last year’s Centenary Edition.
