Connect with us

24H Le Mans

Le Mans Friday Notebook

Sportscar365’s notebook on the eve of the 100th anniversary 24 Hours of Le Mans…

Photo: Jurgen Tap/Porsche

***While there was no track action Friday for the cars taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, there were a number of activities at Circuit de la Sarthe and in the city center, including two driver parades, a pit walk as well as a number of announcements and reveals, including Alpine’s new LMDh car and the Ford Mustang GT3.

***An official ceremony was held at the pit straight in the evening, featuring cars and drivers from the Great Centennial Exhibition. It included a Le Mans-style start for the drivers who are taking part in parade laps with the former Le Mans-winning machinery, as well as a flyover from the Patrouille de France.

***The NASCAR Garage 56 car will start the race from the back of the LMP2 grid, rather than the back of the overall grid as originally planned. Hendrick Motorsports’ heavily modified NASCAR Next Gen car has consistently out-paced the GTE-Am cars all week.

***In addition, the WEC Committee has removed the Camaro’s ability to take the wave-by procedure under a safety car. When the field is then ordered to file into class order, it will be instructed to drop back after the LMP2s.

***Click Here for the provisional grid. A final 15-minute warmup session is on tap for Saturday at 12 p.m. CEST, followed by the 4 p.m. race start.

***Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach told Sportscar365 that he wasn’t surprised by Ferrari’s pole, having expected the factory LMH cars to have been quicker on single-lap pace. He indicated Porsche Penske Motorsport’s best chances of victory will hinge on performing a trouble-free and well-executed race.

***Laudenbach said: “We’ve seen it throughout the season. We know the adjustments that have been made… I wouldn’t overestimate it because we are talking about a 24-hour race. We’ve seen this more often in the past. Once you realize we don’t have to find tenths of a second for a pure lap time performance, you really concentrate on getting your car right, on making it drivable, on really getting the confidence for the drivers. Now our philosophy is let’s come through the race.”

***Laudenbach dismissed any Balance of Performance concerns in GTE-Am, which saw none of the Porsche 911 RSR-19s make Hyperpole. The No. 77 Dempsey Proton Racing entry was the highest-placed Porsche in ninth.

***Seven-thousand people took up the special ‘Green Ticket’ for this year’s Le Mans. The sustainability-driven ticket gives a discounted price and further benefits to spectators who travel to the event using an electric or hybrid car, a carpool, a train, a tram or a bicycle.

***Porsche Penske Motorsport won the Sustainable Endurance Award presented by DHL, for its ‘Racing for Charity’ initiative. Ferrari AF Corse picked up second place for obtaining ISO 20121 certification, with Corvette Racing third, thanks for optimizing its freight transport.

***The ACO has signed a ten-year contract extension with Rolex as the official timepiece of the race.

***There will be one date clash between the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next year according to WEC CEO Frederic Lequien and IMSA president John Doonan who both confirmed the fact to Sportscar365.

***The 6 Hours of Imola takes place on the same weekend as the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. “It’s not a surprise for them and it’s not a surprise for us,” said Lequien. “We discussed that before the release of the calendar. We all know that we did our best to avoid that. Unfortunately, for logistics and TV broadcast reasons, we will have only one [clash].”

***Imola is replacing Monza as the Italian WEC round because the latter circuit is undergoing improvement works in the first half of next year. It is understood that Imola has a one-year deal with an option to extend that into the future. “We need to enjoy 2024 with Imola and then we will see what we do in Italy,” said Lequien.

***ACO President Pierre Fillon confirmed that Circuit of The Americas has signed a one-year deal with the WEC. He then declined to comment when asked if the WEC is still in discussions with Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is widely believed to take over the slot beginning in 2025.

***Lequien added that the WEC will “continue the discussions” with Silverstone about the British circuit potentially returning to the calendar in the future. Silverstone was not part of Friday’s 2024 schedule reveal, although it’s understood the venue remains in contention for a 2025 slot.

***Ford Performance global motorsports director Mark Rushbrook indicated that fans will see “a lot more” of the colors displayed on the Ford Mustang GT3 during its unveil on Friday. The livery, designed by Troy Lee Designs, is understood to also feature on the upcoming launch of the Ford Mustang GT4, which will occur at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa later this month.

***The livery is part of a rebranding of Ford Performance, which debuted a new ‘FP’ logo that will now be featured on all of its racing vehicles.

***Rushbrook said the enlarging of the M-Sport-tuned, Coyote V8 engine from 5.0 to 5.4 liters was a decision made “very early” in the program, citing a “rogue press release” that may have been sent out in January 2022 during the car’s initial announcement that indicated it would be a 5.0-liter powerplant.

***Salih Yoluc told Sportscar365 that Racing Team Turkey’s plans for next year are “a bit in the air” at the moment with both the European Le Mans Series and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under consideration. Yoluc’s program operator TF Sport has already indicated a potential Rolex 24 at Daytona attempt in January.

***Yoluc added that he plans to keep racing in LMP2 through to the end of the current regulations cycle: “[LMGT3] would be the only option [to do WEC] but I don’t really want to do that just yet, maybe not until the end of 2025… and then beyond that we will see.”

***Several notable cars from Le Mans’ past are on display in the Fan Village, including a Courage C60 from 2004, Toyota TS030 Hybrid from 2012 as well as a 2016 Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro and the No. 91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 that took class honors in GTE-Pro last year. Additionally, the Ferrari 499P, Peugeot 9X8 and Chevrolet Corvette C8.R can also be found.

***Porsche, meanwhile, has brought the 961 from 1987 as well as one of its American Le Mans Series RS Spyders to its Experience Center located at Virage du Raccordement.

Daniel Lloyd & Davey Euwema contributed to this report

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

Click to comment
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

More in 24H Le Mans