Le Mans Tuesday Notebook

***Although there was no 24 Hours of Le Mans track action on Tuesday, fans turned out in force for the autograph session and to watch the fourth annual Pit Stop Challenge.

***The No. 93 Peugeot 9X8 won the Pit Stop Challenge with a time of 8.830 seconds that was some two-tenths quicker than the second-placed No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. The No. 51 Ferrari was ranked third, while Action Express Racing’s Cadillac V-Series.R was fourth and best of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship contingent.

***AXR team manager Chris Mitchum commented: “I think the guys’ execution was good. We wanted to be respectable, and we were respectable because we came here prepared. To change your style from IMSA a week ago in Detroit to do these stops here shows we’re ready for the race.”

***The Manthey-run Iron Dames was quickest in LMGT3 with a 9.530-second time, while the No. 183 AF Corse Oreca 07 Gibson topped LMP2 at 10.440 seconds.

***The 2026 calendars for Formula 1 and Formula E were revealed on Tuesday following a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Macau. The date for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix of June 12-14 is set to clash with next year’s provisional Le Mans date, while Formula E’s visit to Jarama is set to fall on the same weekend as the FIA World Endurance Championship Prologue test in Qatar.

***The WEC Prologue is also set to clash with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, whose date of March 21 was already confirmed by IMSA in March.

***It’s understood that the Qatar 1812km opener is set for a later calendar slot next year and is set to be held on the weekend of March 28-29, due to Ramadan taking place earlier in the year. This year’s race at the Lusail International Circuit was held on Feb. 28, right before the start of the Muslim religious holiday.

***The full 2026 WEC calendar is set to be unveiled on Friday during the ACO press conference, and is not expected to feature any major changes compared to this year’s version, with no significant date revisions other than Qatar.

***Also included in the WMSC bulletin was approval of the FIA’s first-ever set of safety regulations for liquid hydrogen-powered cars, which will apply to the WEC’s future Hydrogen class, devised with the help of industry experts across many sectors.

***The bulletin read: “The new framework […] sets strict standards for vehicle integration, storage systems, and refuelling procedures. Key safety measures include pressure-tested compartments, multi-alert hydrogen leak detection and boil-off limits.”

***It’s unclear if competitors will face a revised Balance of Performance prior to the start of Free Practice on Wednesday. Sportscar365 understands that a manufacturers’ meeting was held this morning in Cadillac’s hospitality complex, although an outcome of any potential BoP changes remains unknown as of Tuesday evening.

***Heart of Racing Team principal Ian James told Sportscar365 that there hasn’t been been a change to the sound limiter specification of the Aston Martin Valkyrie at Le Mans, despite a noticeably quieter sound compared to recent rounds. James reiterated that the car is in the same spec as from the six-hour WEC races at Imola and Spa.

***Kessel Racing Ferrari driver Daniel Serra was a late arrival to the paddock, having raced in last weekend’s Velopark round of the Stock Car Pro Series in Brazil. Rene Rast was also spotted on Tuesday with BMW M Team WRT, having arrived fresh from victory in last weekend’s second DTM race at Zandvoort.

***Last month, the cities of Indianapolis and Le Mans, France officially became ‘sister cities’ owing to its motorsport heritage. Sophie Moisy, deputy mayor of Le Mans in charge of the city’s influence and heritage, joined Indianapolis mayor Joseph Hogsett to make the twining official ahead of the Indianapolis 500.

***One of the most celebrated corners of the 8.467-mile Circuit de la Sarthe is Indianapolis, which was originally paved with bricks.

***The No. 311 AXR Cadillac crew of Jack Aitken, Frederik Vesti and Felipe Drugovich has the youngest average age (25.7 years) in this year’s Hypercar class. The North Carolina-based squad is making its third consecutive Le Mans appearance.

***Five Cadillac factory drivers, including the entire lineup of the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA entry of Jenson Button, Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais — are all left-handed.

***Corvette Racing has so-far sold 17 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs since the program’s launch last year, with 13 of them running full-time around the world.

***Corvette Racing program manager Jess Dane said: “It’s exciting for all of us at Corvette Racing – Chevrolet, Pratt Miller, GM Motorsports – to see the amount of success from our teams so far this season. We are in constant communication with our customers to see what we can provide and do to make their experience with their Corvette better and more successful.”

***AWA Racing’s inaugural Le Mans outing is being supported by fellow LMGT3 competitor TF Sport, which runs a pair of Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs full time in the WEC. The U.K.-based team has supplied AWA with equipment, so as to make the team’s trip to the WeatherTech Championship round at Watkins Glen in one week’s time possible.

***TF Sport has also lent AWA the advisory services of Sophie Bull, the team’s No. 1 Mechanic to help the Canadian outfit adjust to the nuances of racing at the Circuit de la Sarthe and under WEC rules for the first time.

***Peugeot’s Mikkel Jensen confirmed to Sportscar365 that Hunter McElrea will take his place in the No. 11 TDS Racing Oreca 07 Gibson LMP2 car for the IMSA WeatherTech Championship round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park due to the event’s clash with the WEC round in Sao Paulo. McElrea is the team’s 2025 Michelin Endurance Cup driver and helped Jensen and co-driver Steven Thomas to a 2024 Endurance Cup title.

***Toyota Gazoo Racing has moved to a new position on pit road for this year, having traditionally occupied the first permanent garages of the pit lane building. Instead it is now in one of the smaller boxes built in the late 2000s, located near the pit exit. Proton Competition now resides where Toyota used to.

***David Floury, Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director explained: “It is our choice. It is better strategically to be near the pit exit. We were screwed quite a few times last year, so we don’t want to repeat this! We made a request, Lamborghini occupied this pit last year and so it was free, and we so jumped on the opportunity.”

***Official practice for the 24H Le Mans begins Wednesday at 2 p.m. local time (8 a.m. EDT), with first qualifying following later in the day at 6:45 p.m. (12:45 p.m. EDT) for LMP2 and LMGT3 and 7:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. EDT) for Hypercar. Also on track are support categories Porsche Sprint Challenge, Mustang Challenge and Road to Le Mans.

John Dagys and Jonathan Grace contributed to this report