LAST NINE LE MANS WINNERS 🏆

 

FASTEST TOP SPEED EVER RECORDED BY A CAR AT LE MANS

 

In 1988, Roger Dorchy’s WM P88-Peugeot was clocked during the Le Mans 24 Hours at an unbelievable 405 km/h in the Mulsanne Straight.

That’s 251mph! 🤯

It is a record that will probably never be beaten.

At the time, the Mulsanne was a true straight, without the chicanes installed in 1990 for safety reasons.

YOUR 2026 LE MANS 24 HOURS WINNERS! 🏁

 

The No7 Toyota Racing TR010 HYBRID driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries! 

What. A. Race!! 🤩

TOYOTA RACING | CAR #7 | 24 HOURS OF LE MANS 2026 | WARM-UP | ONBOARD

 

EIGHT FERRARIS | TWO CLASSES | ONE RACE | 24 HOURS OF LE MANS

 

TR LH2 RACING PROTOTYPE LE MANS DEBUT

 

As the first-ever liquid hydrogen-fuelled race car at Le Mans, the TR LH2 Racing Prototype has made its debut laps around the La Sarthe. 

With its hydrogen combustion engine, fans could enjoy the raw sound and sensation around the track! 🤩

#TOYOTARACING #WEC FIA WEC

MOST LE MANS 24 HOUR STARTS | BY AN INDIVIDUAL DRIVER

 

Circuit de la Sarthe legend Henri Pescarolo started in an incredible 33 Le Mans 24 Hours - 30 of those being consecutively between 1970 and 1999 😲

The Frenchman won Le Mans four times outright in 1972-4 and 1984, with a further two class wins in 1976. and 1992.

Pescarolo also started 57 F1 world championship grands prix between 1968 and 1976.

#LeMans24 #MotorSport

APRILIA MAKES HISTORY | LE MANS 2026

 

LE MANS SET FOR FORD V FERRARI 2 - ONCE AGAIN IT'S PERSONAL

Two of racing's biggest rivals are on collision course once more, with the Ford v Ferrari battle for overall Le Mans victory due to resume in 2027 after six decades — and Ford is already talking up the fight

 "So, more good news in the world of sports car racing this week. Ford has sprung a happy splurge of fresh headlines in confirming its return to Le Mans in 2027, in an all-out attack for its first overall win since 1969.

Ford v Ferrari battle of the 1960s spawned a Hollywood film. Now comes the second round

That’s 10 manufacturers in the top tier if we still count wound-licking Lamborghini, with possibly McLaren still to come. It really is the golden era that keeps on giving.

It is wonderful news to welcome Ford back to the top level of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time in almost 60 years,” gushed ACO president Pierre Fillon. Woah, hold your (prancing) horses! What about the Group C Ford C100 of 1982? Inconvenient history, given how ill-starred that campaign proved. Details, details… Far better to sweep that one away, while also overlooking the Cosworth DFV-powered victories of 1975 (Mirage) and ’80 (Rondeau) too.

- Damien Smith

LE MANS H24EVO HYDROGEN RACER SWITCHES TO LIQUID STORAGE

The latest demonstrator car that could help pave the way for hydrogen-fuelled machinery at the 24 Hours of Le Mans will now store the element in liquid form rather than gas.

Mission H24, a project backed by Le Mans organiser the ACO, has been exploring hydrogen fuel as a low-emission solution for endurance racecars since 2018.

The H24EVO is the third car to be built under the initiative; its technical details were first announced without a car name in October 2023 and the vehicle design was publicly unveiled at Le Mans last year.

The initial plan for the LMP3-based H24EVO was for it to run on hydrogen stored in gas form, like its predecessors the LMPH2G and the H24. It was to have two storage tanks with a combined capacity of 7.8kg.

The gas was to be injected into a fuel cell stack, where an electrochemical reaction would generate electrical energy that the single, rear-mounted motor could use to power the wheels.

Now, the hydrogen will be stored as a liquid, with the car’s developers targeting 11-14kg of fuel on board.

This, they estimate, would enable the H24EVO to run for 40 minutes: more than the half-hour duration projected when the concept was launched over a year ago.

One major reason for switching from gas to liquid storage is that the latter has a greater power density, meaning increased power from the same size of fuel cell.

The liquid density of 71kg/m3 at 1bar is close to atmospheric pressure, whereas hydrogen gas is compressed to 40kg/m3 at 700bar.

However, a challenge of storing the hydrogen as a liquid is that must be kept at extremely low temperatures, around 254degC, compared with 20degC for gas. The liquid also needs to be evaporated to be used as a gas in the fuel cell.

The cell is set to generate electrical energy in the way that was first announced. It will contribute some of the generated energy to the motor, but a 400kW, 3.4kWh battery will help the car reach its stated 650kW (870bhp) maximum output through regenerative braking.

Mission H24 is targeting a track debut for the H24EVO in the first half of 2026, which is a year later than originally planned.

The car’s functions will be controlled through a McLaren Applied VCU and it will run on Michelin tyres that will soon be adopted by the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA Sportscar Championship’s top classes.

‘We’re facing a pioneering and sustainable challenge to create zero-emission automobile racing and the mobility of the future, with the deployment of the hydrogen solution,’ says Bassel Aslan, Mission H24 technical director.

‘After demonstrating the potential of gaseous hydrogen, we’re embarking on a new challenge: introducing liquid hydrogen into racing.

‘With an experienced partner in the field of on-board liquid hydrogen storage, and with all our partners, we are starting an exciting and promising collaboration.’

The supplier for the liquid hydrogen storage tank is to be confirmed. OPmobility, formerly Plastic Omnium, was down to supply the gas tanks but was not listed as one of the project’s partners in a recent press document about the updated car.

The ACO is set to welcome different types of hydrogen technology to Le Mans, including fuel cell cars and vehicles that run on hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engines.

‘After introducing gaseous hydrogen to the racetrack, MissionH24, with the H24EVO, is now embarking on a crucial new phase with a dual challenge: to engage liquid hydrogen in competition and to rival the competition from conventional combustion engines,’ says ACO president Pierre Fillon.

‘This mission is essential to achieve zero CO2 emission in motor racing.’

- Daniel Lloyd 

24 HOURS OF LEMANS HISTORY | 24H LE MANS 2024

 The #LeMans24 race was the first time more than two cars finished on the same lap as the leader 🤓 

In fact, the top nine finishers were all on 311 laps at the chequered flag!

#WEC

TRIPLE CROWN RACES | AMAZING WEEKEND IN MOTOR SPORTS

 

VETTEL BACK ON THE WHEEL FOR PORCHE PENSKE LE MANS TEST

 

Retired four-times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel is getting back behind the wheel to test a Porsche Penske Le Mans hypercar in Spain next week.

The world endurance team said the 36-year-old, a 53-times grand prix winner who left Formula One at the end of 2022, will drive the Porsche 963 hybrid prototype at the Motorland Aragon circuit as part of a 36-hour test.

The German has already spent time in the simulator as well as carrying out some test laps at Porsche's Weissach test track on Thursday.

"I've always followed other racing series and my curiosity for endurance events encouraged me to just give it a shot," said Vettel, who won his F1 titles with Red Bull and whose last race was with Aston Martin.

"Now I’m excited about the long run in Aragon and I’m looking forward to my time behind the wheel. It’ll definitely take an adjustment and some getting used to but everyone in the team is very open and helps me.

"This will be a new experience for me. We will then see what happens next in this respect -- at the moment there are no further plans for the future."

Vettel, who is outspoken on the environment and has campaigned for renewable energy, said in 2022 that climate change had made him question his F1 job.

Le Mans cars run on 100% renewable biofuel derived partly from wine industry residues.

The Le Mans 24 Hours race is on June 15-16 with Porsche aiming for a 20th outright victory at the Circuit de la Sarthe and the factory team entering three 963 cars with the third lineup as yet undecided.

FORMER F1 CHAMPION BUTTON TO RACE IN WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

USA TODAY Sports 

Former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button will drive a Jota Porsche 963 in the World Endurance Championship next year.

Button, 43, is set to race in the world's top hypercar category, which includes the famous Le Mans 24 Hours race.

FORMULA ONE, FIA AND EXTREEM H SET UP HYDROGEN WORKING GROUP

Reuters/Mark Blonch

Formula One, governing FIA and a rebranded Extreme H series announced on Thursday they were setting up a joint hydrogen working group to evaluate the technology's future use in motorsport.

Extreme H will be the new name of the existing Extreme E electric off-road series which plans to switch to hydrogen from 2025.

The series, which launched in 2021 with identical SUVs and male and female drivers in every lineup, features teams owned by Formula One champions Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg as well as another owned by McLaren.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the jewel in the crown of the world endurance championship, will have a new hydrogen category from 2026 with cars either using fuel cell technology or combustion engines running on hydrogen.

Le Mans, an historic proving ground for manufacturers and innovative technology, aims to have the entire top category powered by hydrogen from 2030.

ASTON MARTIN TO ENTER LE MANS WITH VALKYRIE

Reuters

Aston Martin will fight for overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2025 with a racing prototype of its Valkyrie hypercar, the British-based sportscar maker announced on Wednesday.

Backed by endurance partner Heart of Racing, Aston will enter at least one Valkyrie in the hypercar category of the FIA World Endurance Championship and U.S.-based IMSA sportscar championship.

The two series include Le Mans, the Daytona 24 Hours and 12 Hours of Sebring.

MCLAREN SIGN LE MANS WINNER HIRAKAWA AS F1 RESERVE FOR 2024

Toyota Gazoo Racing

McLaren have signed Japan's 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Ryo Hirakawa as a Formula One reserve driver for next season, the team announced on Friday.

The 29-year-old won last year's Le Mans with New Zealand's Brendon Hartley and Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi as well as the endurance world championship with Toyota, a series the trio currently lead in the Hypercar category.

McLaren said Hirakawa would support them in the simulator as well as track testing while continuing to race for Toyota in world endurance.

FERRARI HYPERCAR #51 STEPS TO THE PODIUM | 24H LE MANS

RACE START | 24 HOURS LE MANS | FIA WEC

RACE HIGHLIGHTS AFTER 5 HOURS | 24 HOURS LE MANS | FIA WEC