This weekend, the French Le Mans will host one of the most famous races in the world for the 93rd time: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With a jam-packed field, Dutch contenders in all three classes, and the constant battle of attrition, it promises to be a memorable edition.
First, a quick briefing for Le Mans beginners
The 24-hour race features three categories. The highest class is Hypercars, followed by the LMP2 class, and then the LMGT3 class, derived from street cars. In principle, only the Hypercars compete for the overall victory, while the other categories compete for the win in their respective classes.
The Hypercars are the main attraction at Le Mans, with 21 cars starting on behalf of manufacturers Ferrari, Porsche, Toyota, BMW, Peugeot, Alpine, Cadillac, and Aston Martin. These are the fastest cars, with a maximum power of 680 hp. In the seventeen-car LMP2 field, everyone has the same car and engine, which is slower than the Hypercars. The 24 GT3s feature street car-based participants like the Porsche 911, Ferrari 296GTB, and the Corvette.
The race on the 13.6-kilometer Circuit de la Sarthe starts on Saturday at 4:00 PM and finishes on Sunday at 4:00 PM.
Ferrari is the top favorite
Ferrari enters the race as the favorite, a role based on the last two editions. Since the Scuderia returned in 2023, it has won twice in a row. The bad news for the competition: the Italians have only gotten stronger since then. In the overarching World Endurance Championship, the team leads with three cars. All races in 2025 (in Qatar, Italy, and Belgium) were won by one of the red Ferrari 499Ps.
Nevertheless, the Ferrari 499Ps did not fare so well in qualifying at Le Mans, with only a seventh starting position for last year’s winners (Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen). The winning car in 2023 of Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi, and James Calado even has to come from eleventh place. It should be clear that the starting grid is not very important for a 24-hour race. The strength of the Ferrari must lie in the race itself.
De Vries and Frijns on Ferrari hunt
The competition for Ferrari is fierce. Toyota is not having a great season, but is always one of the top favorites at Le Mans. Nyck de Vries will man one of the two cars that wants to compete with Ferrari. The Frisian former Formula 1 driver shares the number 7, painted in a special red livery, with the experienced Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway.
The other Dutchman drives for BMW. Robin Frijns shares a car with the German René Rast and the South African Sheldon van der Linde. BMW is in its second year since returning to Le Mans and is slowly creeping forward in the field.
Frijns already finished second in the WEC race at Imola and also competed at the front in the last race at Spa-Francorchamps. A victory for BMW, which has a second car in the field with, among others, Kevin Magnussen behind the wheel, would nevertheless be a surprise.
Well-known names throughout the field, sound treat in Aston Martin
A fiercely contested battle is especially expected BEHIND the Ferrari-Toyota duel, with, among others, the somewhat disappointing Porsche (four cars), the lightning-fast Cadillac in qualifying (also four cars, including the number 38 of, among others, Jenson Button), and Alpine (two cars, one of which is driven by Mick Schumacher). Peugeot also has two cars at the start, but the French have struggled since their return to the WEC in 2022 and can be happy if they make it to the finish.
The latter also applies to the absolute showstopper of this edition: the Aston Martin Valkyrie. This street car designed by Formula 1 legend Adrian Newey (Max Verstappen also owns one) has been prepared for Le Mans by the American The Heart of Racing teams and appears twice at the start.
The highlight is the old-fashioned naturally aspirated V12 engine from Cosworth in the back, which treats the fans to a beautiful symphony. The Aston Martin is not really fast yet, but the project is still in its infancy.
Also Dutch contenders in LMP2 and GT3
Because everyone in the LMP2 class has the same car, anything can happen there in a sense. Yet there are real top formations. United Autosport, for example, from McLaren boss Zak Brown. Renger van der Zande drives on one of the two cars (number 22) of this team and starts fifth. Job van Uitert (number 28) is in action for IDEC Sport, with which he finished third in LMP2 last year. Nicky Catsburg (number 45) is in action for Algarve Pro Racing, while Bent Viscaal participates in a car from Proton Competition (number 11).
In the crowded GT3 field, only two Dutch drivers are in action, both of whom are debuting. The 22-year-old Loek Hartog does so for the renowned Manthey in a Porsche 911, a formation that won among the GT3s last year. The second debutant is the eighteen-year-old Lin Hodenius, who is experiencing the return of Mercedes-Benz in Le Mans with a Mercedes AMG GT, including a thick rumbling V8 engine under the hood.
Hartog drives with number 90 and starts twentieth in his class. It went much better for Hodenius. His Mercedes with number 61 starts the classic as fourth.
Le Mans is mainly about start numbers. And the most important start number is on the BMW M4 of the Belgian WRT team: number 46. For the non-MotoGP enthusiasts who don’t recognize it yet; that car is driven by, among others, seven-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi. It is the second participation for the Italian motorcycle legend.
Weather seems less influential this year
The previous edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was plagued by heavy and prolonged rain showers, causing enormous distances to be covered behind the three – in Le Mans there are three – safety cars. This year will be different. The prediction is that this edition will be dry.