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If you've ever been to the 24 Hours, you've noticed British spectators come out in droves, bringing with them excited enthusiasm and everything from tents to supercars in the colours of past Le Mans icons. Why are Brits such big fans? It’s a story as old as racing.

<h2>Less French, More Brits</h2>

To gain&nbsp;a better understanding, let&#39;s&nbsp;go back in time. The 24 Hours attracted a British fan base right from its maiden running in 1923 thanks to the conspicuous presence of a Bentley on&nbsp;the decidedly French starting grid. Race founders Georges Durand and&nbsp;Charles Faroux&nbsp;preferred not to restrict this test of production cars solely to French marques. The next year proved key in their&nbsp;international approach after&nbsp;Bentley&#39;s shocking win skyrocketed the race&#39;s reputation&nbsp;across the Channel.

Dynamics began shifting&nbsp;during the Roaring 20s. Lorraine-Dietrich dominated the 24 Hours in&nbsp;1925 and&nbsp;1926, but the number of manufacturers&nbsp;from Italy, the UK and even the US continued to grow. The ACO felt&nbsp;the&nbsp;more the merrier!&nbsp;Race director at that time,&nbsp;Charles&nbsp;Faroux: The high number of entrants representing America, England, Italy, France&hellip;places the Endurance Grand Prix at the very top of the world&rsquo;s major automobile events.

After the withdrawal of&nbsp;Lorraine-Dietrich in 1927 and the stock market crash two years later, a plethora of small French constructors, regulars at Le Mans, were forced to&nbsp;close their doors. Bentley took advantage of the&nbsp;absence, kicking off&nbsp;the era of the famous&nbsp;Bentley Boys, a group of well-to-do gentlemen drivers&nbsp;led by three-time 24 Hours winner&nbsp;Woolf Barnato. Bernard Rubin, Glen Kidston, Henry Birkin and other British (or from countries under crown influence) drivers won every running&nbsp;of the race&nbsp;between&nbsp;1927 and&nbsp;1930, all for Bentley.

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The Brits were welcomed with open arms in France during those extremely difficult times, but the ACO nevertheless regretted&nbsp;not having&nbsp;serious French competitors to give them a run for their money. This period saw the emergence of Lagonda, Alvis and Aston Martin (who jumped to tag certain&nbsp;models with the moniker&nbsp;&ldquo;Le Mans&rdquo; in lower categories). Spectators from across the country flocked to the race to cheer on their heroes. The 24 Hours of Le Mans was without a doubt&nbsp;the biggest British event of the season...run in France.

<h2>The British Invasion</h2>

In 1935, Luis Font&eacute;s and&nbsp;Johnny Hindmarsh claimed the top step on the podium with their&nbsp;Lagonda M45R Rapide, bringing the&nbsp;win scoreboard&nbsp;to Britain 6-3 France. A nine-hole golf course was&nbsp;constructed in&nbsp;1935 as an additional&nbsp;draw for enthusiasts across the Channel.&nbsp;The British press was unanimously supportive of&nbsp;the role played by the race&nbsp;during this period. As published in MOTOR magazine: No race has pushed our sports cars to the front of the global automotive stage with more prestige than the 24 Hours.

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After WWII, which caused&nbsp;the 24 Hours to go on hiatus from&nbsp;1940 to&nbsp;1948, Brits still held a strong foothold at Le Mans, and it was Jaguar&#39;s turn in the spotlight. The innovative&nbsp;Type C was the first racing car equipped with disc brakes (1953), and the iconic lines of the&nbsp;Type D marked a generation.&nbsp;Le Mans has always played a major role in British motorsport culture, and Jaguar&#39;s five victories from&nbsp;1951 to&nbsp;1957 only strengthened those unbreakable ties.

Aston Martin won the race in 1959, and even Ferrari&#39;s domination failed to&nbsp;dampen British passion for the 24 Hours. The same can be said for&nbsp;Porsche&#39;s reign of seven consecutive wins between&nbsp;1981 and&nbsp;1987. And when the&nbsp;Jaguar XJR-9LM won the race in&nbsp;1988,&nbsp;a massive crowd flooded the track with Union Jacks as far as the eye could see. Team principal&nbsp;Tom Walkinshaw and his guys managed to defeat the titan that was&nbsp;Porsche at that time. It was a celebration for the ages.

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<h2>The Greats&nbsp;Live On Forever</h2>

No matter the state of car&nbsp;manufacturing&nbsp;at any given time, the Brits&nbsp;have always answered the call of Le Mans. The Volkswagen Group, owner of the likes of&nbsp;Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini, chose in the early 2000s to evoke the Bentley Boys&#39; glory days. The famed&nbsp;Bentley EXP Speed ​​8s competed against the&nbsp;legendary Audi R8s&nbsp;equipped with the same engine. In 2003, Tom Kristensen/Rinaldo Capello/Guy Smith won Le Mans&nbsp;at the wheel of an&nbsp;iconic British racing&nbsp;green prototype a stunning 73 years after the marque&#39;s last triumph&nbsp;at the race. Fans went wild.

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The 24 Hours of Le Mans sees Brits arrive&nbsp;in staggering numbers every year&nbsp;to relive cherished memories and create new, unforgettable ones. Events like the <a href="https://www.classicbw.org/en/homepage/" target="_blank">Classic British Welcome</a>, created in&nbsp;2001 and held at&nbsp;Saint-Saturnin, allow everyone to enjoy and embrace this extraordinary atmosphere.

The&nbsp;unwavering loyalty of British fans will soon be rewarded. This year, <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/aston-martin-to-compete-in-hypercar-with-the-heart-of-racing-57907" target="_blank">Aston Martin is set to&nbsp;make its big return to the top category with the&nbsp;Valkyrie&nbsp;Hypercar</a>&nbsp;fielded&nbsp;by the&nbsp;Heart of Racing team!

Aston Martin Valkyrie to fight for Le Mans Victory in 2025

L'Aston Martin Valkyrie se battra pour la victoire lors des 24 Heures du Mans 2025

Why are Brits such diehard 24 Hours of Le Mans fans?

“Rexy” the Dinosaur was last year’s big hit with younger race fans. AO Racing is back at Le Mans this June with “Spike”. The #14 Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 will be decked out in the dragon’s colours.

AO Racing has joined forces with TF Sport to enter Spike the Dragon&nbsp;in the LMP2 class at the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans. PJ Hyett, Louis Del&eacute;traz and Alex Quinn will share the wheel of the orange and purple-coloured prototype.&nbsp;&ldquo;Rexy racing at Le Mans for the 100th anniversary was an incredible experience, but we have some unfinished business at the Circuit de la Sarthe,&rdquo; said Hyett, AO Racing Team owner and driver.&nbsp;&ldquo;We&rsquo;re coming back this year with Spike, our LMP2 dragon, to delight fans on the way to the top spot! Allons-y [Let&rsquo;s go]!&rdquo;

AO Racing put in a solid performance in the Centenary race. The #56 Porsche was in the running for LMGTE Am victory until a mechanical setback relegated Rexy to seventh place. This year, the Chicago-based outfit will be determined to improve on that showing with Spike.&nbsp;&ldquo;We are hugely excited to bring our partnership with AO Racing to Le Mans,&rdquo; said Tom Ferrier, owner of TF Sport.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s such a fantastic event and we have a brilliant line-up. PJ is one of the best bronze drivers in the world and with Alex and Louis we have the drivers to back him up. A 24-hour race is always hard but we plan to be there at the end and fighting for the win.&rdquo;

AO Racing and TF Sport have already forged a partnership for the European Le Mans Series, picking up a third place at the Circuit Paul Ricard recently with&nbsp;Del&eacute;traz.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very excited to take part in my fifth Le Mans with AO by TF,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to share the car with PJ and Alex. I feel like we have a strong crew between the teams and the drivers&rsquo; experiences. Le Mans is a very special event. The prep has started months ago and, of course, we want to do well&nbsp;so the motivation is high!&rdquo;

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Spike the Dragon to run at the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans!

Following a first track experience that will take place tomorrow Saturday, May 11 at the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, 3rd round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, The MissionH24 H24 and the Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 will meet on Saturday 15 June on the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit, in the presence of other hydrogen sports vehicles, a few hours before the start of the Endurance classic.

A world premiere will take place on Saturday, June 15, 2024, between 12 and 13 hours, on the occasion of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024: the H24, prototype of hydrogen electric race of MissionH24, will evolve on track a few hours before the start of the 92 th edition, as it has already achieved in recent years, but in 2024, a significant change is to be noted: it will not be alone since several other hydrogen prototypes will accompany it for this pioneering demonstration. Evidence that MissionH24, the collaborative program between CAO and H24Project, is actually pursuing its goals. 
 
Alpine will line up on the legendary Mancelle track the Alpenglow Hy4 which will have completed its first laps in public during the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this May 11, part of the 3rd round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. In the Belgian Ardennes, the deployment of hydrogen in competition has been encouraged for several years, through collaborations between the circuit and the Automobile Club de l&#39;Ouest. 
 
Presented last year during the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the static model of the Alpine vehicle was exhibited in the Hydrogen village, organized within the circuit and dedicated to this new energy vector. 
 
This year again, the Hydrogen ACO H2 village will host many activities dedicated to this technology. A novelty is to be noted for 2024: a paddock H2 will present to the public the zero emission competition with different precursor prototypes as well as the mobile station H2 designed by TotalEnergies. A visit to this future competition world is a must.

MissionH24 H24 and Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 on track Saturday 15 June

The entry list of 186 drivers destined for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans (12-16 June) has been announced, including several Formula 1 alumni.

In just a few weeks, multiple F1 stars such as&nbsp;Mick Schumacher, Romain Grosjean, Antonio Giovinazzi, Nyck de Vries, Jenson Button, Robert Kubica and&nbsp;Daniil Kvyat will hit the track at the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans.&nbsp;The presence of Toyota, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, Peugeot and&nbsp;Isotta Fraschini in the&nbsp;Hypercar category has proved a&nbsp;massive&nbsp;draw for single-seater drivers.

<h2>A Wealth of Top F1 Names&nbsp;</h2>

<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/mick-schumacher-alpine-i-admit-having-a-closed-cockpit-was-somewhat-claustrophobic-58302" target="_blank">Mick Schumacher</a> (age 25) is getting ready&nbsp;to take the start in his rookie&nbsp;24 Hours at the wheel of Alpine Endurance Team&#39;s #36 Alpine A424 shared with&nbsp;Nicolas Lapierre and&nbsp;Matthieu Vaxivi&egrave;re. Schumacher&#39;s legendary father, Michael, raced at Le Mans in&nbsp;1991 with&nbsp;a&nbsp;Sauber C11 Mercedes.

<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/romain-grosjean-lamborghini-we-ll-be-trying-to-pull-off-a-good-result-58049" target="_blank">Romain Grosjean</a> (age 38) returns to the 24 Hours&nbsp;14 years after his sole&nbsp;participation to date. He boasts&nbsp;179 F1 Grand Prix starts and has been recruited by&nbsp;Lamborghini Iron Lynx to join Andrea Caldarelli and&nbsp;Matteo Cairoli&nbsp;in the #19&nbsp;SC63.

<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/nyck-de-vries-joins-toyota-gazoo-racing-58052" target="_blank">Nyck de Vries</a> (age 29) will represent&nbsp;TOYOTA GAZOO&nbsp;Racing, a team he knows well after serving as its reserve driver from&nbsp;2020 to&nbsp;2022. The Dutchman&nbsp;has four participations in the 24 Hours under his belt, with&nbsp;Racing Team Nederland (2019 and&nbsp;2020), G-Drive Racing (2021) and&nbsp;TDS Racing X Vaillante (2022).

Jenson Button (age 44), the 2009&nbsp;F1 world champion, is competing full time in the&nbsp;FIA WEC this season on behalf of&nbsp;Hertz Team JOTA, teaming up with&nbsp;Oliver Rasmussen and&nbsp;Philip Hanson in the #38&nbsp;Porsche 963. Last year, the British F1 veteran drove the&nbsp;Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entered by&nbsp;Hendrick Motorsports. His first 24 Hours dates back to&nbsp;2018 and SMP Racing&#39;s&nbsp;BR Engineering BR1-AER.

Robert Kubica (age 39) has competed in endurance racing since&nbsp;2021. He won the European Le Mans Series that year with&nbsp;Team WRT and in 2022&nbsp;finished second in LMP2 at Le&nbsp;Mans with&nbsp;Prema Orlen Team. Kubica&nbsp;is set to share AF Corse&#39;s #83 Ferrari 499P with&nbsp;Robert Schwartzman and&nbsp;Yifei Ye this year.

Joining&nbsp;Romain Grosjean in Lamborghini Iron Lynx&#39;s arsenal&nbsp;is&nbsp;Daniil Kvyat (age 30). The former&nbsp;Red Bull F1 driver made his debut in the 24 Hours in 2023 at&nbsp;the wheel of Prema Racing&#39;s #63 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson&nbsp;(retirement after leaving the track).

Last but not least is&nbsp;Antonio Giovinazzi, the former&nbsp;Sauber F1 Team and Alfa Romeo Racing driver who won the 24 Hours Centenary last year with&nbsp;Ferrari AF Corse. He will join&nbsp;Alessandro Pier Guidi and&nbsp;James Calado once again to defend their title.

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<h2>Major Assets</h2>

Why are teams entered in the Hypercar category turning to former&nbsp;F1 drivers to fill their ranks? The advantage&nbsp;of&nbsp;recruiting&nbsp;drivers from the world of single-seaters is not limited to skills on the track. Their fame and ability to attract media attention offer undeniable exposure, and they also provide&nbsp;invaluable expertise. Their experience at&nbsp;challenging&nbsp;circuits, ability to perform under&nbsp;pressure and capacity to make informed decisions in extreme conditions are huge assets for endurance racing teams. F1&nbsp;drivers&nbsp;also bring a disciplined work ethic, analytical approach, the ability to communicate effectively with engineers and the desire to maximise&nbsp;their car&#39;s&nbsp;performance:&nbsp;all prerequisites to winning&nbsp;Le&nbsp;Mans.

The presence of Formula 1 drivers at the 24 Hours is a long-standing&nbsp;tradition. Around 20 F1 champions have taken on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/formula-one-drivers-take-on-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-56810" target="_blank">iconic classic</a>&nbsp;at various stages of their careers.

As the 92nd 24 Hours approaches, one thing is for sure: the action on the track promises to be as outstanding&nbsp;as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/who-are-the-186-drivers-set-to-compete-in-the-2024-24-hours-of-le-mans-58574" target="_blank">186 drivers</a>&nbsp;battling to add a win at Le Mans to their career highlight reel.

Former Formula 1 drivers gearing up to take on the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans

For the second year in a row the Road To Le Mans event has attracted a maximum grid of 58 cars, with 40 LMP3s and 18 GT3s due to take to the full 13.6km Circuit de la Sarthe next month in support of the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The 39 Michelin Le Mans Cup full season entries will be joined by 12 race by race entries in the LMP3 category and a further 7 GT3 entries for the two 55-minute races on Thursday 13th&nbsp;and Saturday 15th&nbsp;June.

A total of 116 drivers and 35 teams, representing 23 different nations from all corners of the world, will compete in the 9th&nbsp;edition of the Road To Le Mans which began in 2016 with a single 55-minute race. Since 2017 there have been two 55-minute races, with the first on Thursday and the second race on Saturday a few hours before the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The LMP3 field will consist of 40 cars, 34 Ligier JS P320s and 6 Duqueine M30-D08s, all powered by the same Nissan V8 engine.

The 28 full season entries are led by the current championship leader Adrien Chila and David Droux after winning last weekend in Le Castellet in the no97 COOL Racing Ligier. David Droux also won the second Road To Le Mans race in 2023 and Adrien Chila did the same in 2019, so they both know what it is like to stand on the top step of the podium at Le Mans.

COOL Racing are tied on 35 points with the no85 R-ace GP and their drivers Fabien Michal and Hadrien David, but the all French outfit are classified in second due to COOL Racing&rsquo;s race win in Le Castellet.

Round 1 winners High Class Racing are on 33 points with Jens Moller and Tommy Foster finishing 6th&nbsp;in Le Castellet. Reigning LMP3 Champions Team Virage are fielding a total of four cars, with two race-by-race entries alongside their two full season cars, with the no44 Ligier Jamie Falvey and Mihnea Stefan in 5th&nbsp;overall thanks to the second-place finish in Le Castellet, one point behind the 4th&nbsp;placed no34 Inter Europol Competition Ligier of Alex Bukhantsov and Rik Koen.

2023 Vice Champions Audunn Gudmundsson and Colin Noble are also on 18 points, but the Team Thor crew are classified as 6thoverall due to the no44 Team Virage&rsquo;s podium finish in Round 2.

2022 LMP3 and 2023 GT3 Team Champions Racing Spirit of L&eacute;man return with an entry in each category. Other additional entries in LMP3 come courtesy of some of the other ELMS regulars with four-time MLMC champions DKR Engineering entering a single Duqueine, while 2021 team champions Nielsen Racing will field a second Ligier for Road to Le Mans.

WTM by Rinaldi Racing will join the grid with a single Duqueine, Eurointernational will field two Ligiers and Haegeli by T2 Racing will run a second Duqueine alongside their full season entry. The race-by-race entry no9 Graff Ligier that was seen at Le Castellet will also enter Road To Le Mans and the no50 Reiter Engineering Ligier that raced at Barcelona and Le Castellet is also entered for RTLM.

<h2>Six GT3 Manufacturers for Road To Le Mans</h2>

The 11-car full season entry is booted to 18 for Road To Le Mans this season, with three teams racing the Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO alongside the season regulars &ndash; Aston Martin, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche.

The GT3 entry is led by double race winners Matthew Kurzejewski and Alessandro Balzan, the no51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 having secured 51 points out of a possible 52 from the first two races in Spain and France. The two American drivers are 18 points ahead of their nearest rivals in the no74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, with Fran Rueda and Andrew Gilbert on 33 points thanks to two podium finishes in the first two races.

The no83 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan is currently third with C&eacute;lia Martin and Karen Gaillard on 25 points thanks mainly to the pole position and second place finish in Le Castellet. The no12 Kessel Racing Ferrari of David Fumanelli and Frederic Jousset is one point behind in 4th&nbsp;on 24 points and the no88 AF Corse Ferrari of Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini is on 21 points in 5thoverall after two rounds.

Full season entrants Steller Motorsport will run the only Audi R8 on the grid, while High Class Racing and Proton Huber Competition will run the two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs.

Kessel Racing will run a third Ferrari 296 GT3 along the Swiss teams two full season entries, while AF Corse will go one better and run two Ferrari 296s on a race-by-race basis alongside their two full season cars.

The two full season Aston Martin Vantage GT3s run by British team Blackthorn are due to be in Le Mans and the third Vantage will be run by reigning MLMC Team Champions Racing Spirit of Leman, with 2023 drivers&rsquo; champion Valentin Hasse Clot being joined by his 2024 ELMS teammate Derek Deboer.

Three Mercedes AMG GT3 EVOs will join the grid in Le Mans, two run by German teams Getspeed and Heart of Racing SPS, while the third Mercedes will be run by Team Motorpark from Austria.

The points awarded for each of the two 55-minute are reduced from the 25-18-15 points for first, second and third in the 110-minute races. The winner of each race in Le Mans will receive 15 points, 9 for second, 7 for third and then 6 points down to 1. Only the MLMC full season entries are eligible to score points in each race.

Qualifying for the two Road To Le Mans races will be held on Thursday 13 June, with Q1 at 10h30 CEST followed by Q2 at 11h05. Race 1 will be held the same day at 18h30 in the evening, while race 2 will be held at 10h35 on Saturday morning ahead of the 92nd&nbsp;edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

<a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/doc-prod/RZJKbh9o_3j908N5YkHXK2D2.pdf" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;for the entry list for the 2024 Road To Le Mans, Round 3 of the 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup.

Road To Le Mans grid maxed out once again with 58 entries

The administrative and technical checks, known as Scrutineering, for the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans (12-16 June) will be held on 7-8 June in the city centre. Here is the programme for the 62 teams entered in the race.

This year, Proton Competition&#39;s #44 Ford Mustang LMGT3 will kick off&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-scrutineering-57500" target="_blank">Scrutineering</a>&nbsp;on Friday&nbsp;7 June at&nbsp;10:00 local time. Crowdstrike Racing by APR&#39;s #45 ORECA&nbsp;07-Gibson is set to close out the checks&nbsp;on Saturday&nbsp;8 June at&nbsp;14:50 local time.

Scrutineering, which is free to attend, will be held at the place de la R&eacute;publique in the Le Mans city centre. This is&nbsp;the first major event, and always a highlight, of race week at the 24 Hours. Fans are able to get *this* close to their favourite racing cars and drivers ahead of Test Day on Sunday 9 June.

Find the schedule for the&nbsp;2024&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans administrative and&nbsp;technical checks below:

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Scrutineering schedule for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans

The world’s biggest carmakers are gearing up for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship season, on 15-16 June. With the list of drivers set to take part unveiled today, here’s a rundown of all you need to know.

<h4 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://mcusercontent.com/b5f125906fc10a7f9e846de69/files/4cd0fa6d-a2ed-2596-c4ba-5f319feaae50/24H_LE_MANS_2024_Provisional__Entry_List_v6_06052024.pdf">ENTRY LIST</a></h4>

Hypercar reaches new heights

The premium class of endurance has attracted a bumper field of 23 cars entered by nine different manufacturers: Ferrari, Alpine, BMW, Isotta Fraschini, Peugeot, Lamborghini, Cadillac, Toyota and Porsche. The drivers list features some of the most experienced racers in the business with a glittering array of achievements to their name. They include four-time Le Mans winner Sébastien Buemi, three-time winner André Lotterer, and Kévin Estre, winner of the FIA WEC championship title and the LMGTE Pro class at the French endurance classic. All the makings of a historic battle!

LMGT3 enters the fray

While the spotlight will be on the Hypercars, the new LMGT3 class is shaping up to be just as exciting. It will also comprise 23 cars built by nine leading manufacturers: Aston Martin, Ford, BMW, Lamborghini, Porsche, Lexus, Corvette, McLaren and, with a brand new model, Ferrari. The mix of LMGT3s and Hypercars promises a level of diversity rarely seen at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The LMGT3 driver contingent will feature Le Mans veterans such as Thomas Flohr, set to make his eighth appearance. At the other end of the scale, Kelvin van der Linde will make his first start in the race despite more than a decade of GT experience.

A treat in store in LMP2

The LMP2 class is always hotly contested and the 16 prototypes set for to compete this year will undoubtedly put on a superb show. Former 24 Hours class winners, such as Ben Keating and François Perrodo, will have their work cut out to fend off an armada of hungry young talent led by Louis Delétraz, hoping to go one better after two second places. Meanwhile Fabio Scherer, now with Nielsen Racing, will attempt to double up after his 2023 success. With high-flying teams of the calibre of United Autosports and Inter Europol Competition in the field, fans will undoubtedly be treated to a top-level race.

From Formula One to the 24 Hours

Since the premier single-seater championship was created in 1950, a host of Formula One heroes have taken up the Le Mans challenge and 2024 will be no exception. The 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button will fly the Hypercar flag for Hertz Team Jota and Antonio Giovinazzi, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary race in a Ferrari, will be back to defend his team’s crown. They will be joined by other former Formula One stars who have made the switch to endurance at Le Mans, including Robert Kubica, Nyck de Vries, Romain Grosjean and Mick Schumacher this year.

A pink Lamborghini

The Iron Dames are back with a new line-up and a new car. The outfit has chosen to run a Lamborghini Huracán LMGT3 Evo2 for the 2024 FIA WEC. Rising French star Doriane Pin, who has already raced at Le Mans, will share the wheel with Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting. Last November, the Iron Dames won the 8 Hours of Bahrain – a first for an all-female trio of drivers at this level of competition. On 15-16 June, they will be among the favourites to add a new line to their already impressive track record.

A nine-time world champion on the grid

Valentino Rossi, nine-time world motorcycle GP champion, will make his 24 Hours of Le Mans début in LMGT3. Since appearing at the Circuit des 24 Heures in the 2023 Road To Le Mans support race, Rossi has joined forces with Ahmad Al Harthy and Maxime Martin in a BMW M4 LMGT3 for Team WRT. The three men made the podium in the second round of the 2024 FIA WEC, the 6 Hours of Imola. The 24 Hours of Le Mans challenge is on a different scale, but the Italian is no stranger to the spotlight and can count on the support of thousands of fans.

Final tickets available to see Free Practice and Qualifying, the Hyperpole session and concerts by Louise Attaque and BigFlo &amp; Oli! 
 
The ACO has already announced that Race Week and Race Weekend admission tickets are sold out and is now advising that there are only a few tickets remaining for the Free Practice &amp; Qualifying and Hyperpole sessions plus the concerts on Wednesday and Thursday. These tickets are compatible with the Green Ticket offer, which urges spectators to use sustainable forms of transport.&nbsp; 
 
Head to&nbsp;<a href="https://ticket.24h-lemans.com/content">https://ticket.24h-lemans.com/content</a>&nbsp;to book your tickets! 
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Who are the 186 drivers set to compete in  the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich will take the start in the 92nd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (12-16 June) at the wheel of Action Express Racing's #311 Cadillac V-Series.R.

Action Express Racing has announced that 2022 FIA Formula 2&nbsp;champion Felipe Drugovich will join Pipo Derani and Jack Aiten in the #311&nbsp;Cadillac V-Series.R for the 92nd 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans, fourth round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance&nbsp;Championship.

For the past two seasons, Drugovich (age 23) has served as a test and reserve driver for&nbsp;Aston Martin&#39;s&nbsp;Formula&nbsp;1&nbsp;team. He will continue&nbsp;in that role in addition to representing Vector Sport in the European Le Mans Series&#39; LMP2 category.

Action Express Racing team manager Gary Nelson: Felipe has been on our radar for a couple of years. After watching him race a sports car in the ELMS recently, we finally got a chance to meet him and work with him in some simulator testing. We were impressed by his maturity, discipline and knowledge. Next, we took Felipe to a track test, where he shared our car with Pipo and Jack. We are very excited to take the next obvious step and enter Felipe alongside Pipo and Jack at Le Mans. His record speaks volumes.

In F2, Drugovich (of Austrian decent with&nbsp;dual citizenship in Brazil and Italy) scored eight wins and five&nbsp;pole positions in 73 starts, winning&nbsp;the championship in 2022 with five victories, four&nbsp;poles and&nbsp;11 podiums. He earned 14 wins in 16 races to clinch&nbsp;the&nbsp;2018 Euroformula Open trophy&nbsp;and was also crowned&nbsp;MRF Challenge Formula 2000 champion in 2017 and 2018 with 10 victories in 16 races. Drugovich has&nbsp;competed in the FIA Formula 3&nbsp;championship and in Spain&#39;s F3 championship.

<h2>Two-Time Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans&nbsp;Winner</h2>

Felipe Drugovich: I am only 23 years old, and I am having the most important opportunity in my racing car career until now thanks to Action Express and Cadillac.&nbsp;The 24 Hours of Le Mans is impossible to define in words, such is its magic and importance for cars in general and motor racing in particular. I am having the opportunity to live this 100-year&nbsp;history for the first time with AXR and Cadillac.&nbsp;I barely touched the magic of the 24 Hours of&nbsp;Le Mans, winning twice the Virtual editions. Now I am going to plunge into it for real with the #311 Cadillac of Action Express Racing&nbsp;with my fellow Brazilian Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken. What a privilege having another dream coming true.

Action Express Racing&#39;s&nbsp;#311 Cadillac is participating&nbsp;in its second&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans. The American team finished 10th in the&nbsp;Hypercar category last year after Jack Aitken left the track early in the race at the&nbsp;Michelin chicane.

Cadillac finalises driver line-ups with Felipe Drugovich

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The 2024 edition of the 4 Hours of Le Castellet certainly provided plenty of entertainment for the thousands of spectators that travelled to the Circuit Paul Ricard. They witnessed a dramatic race that saw the no43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson take the chequered flag for the Polish team's first ever LMP2 victory in the ELMS.

Extended highlights | 4 Hours of Le Castellet 2024 | ELMS

The extended highlights of the 2024 6 Hours of Imola, round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Extended Highlights I 2024 6 Hours of Imola I FIA WEC

Hans Herrmann announces his retirement after the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours, as promised to his wife.

Hans Herrmann at the Le Mans 24 Hours 1970

Team Peugeot TotalEnergies has revealed the upgrades to the 9X8 for its second full FIA World Endurance Championship season, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans (12-16 June 2024). The French carmaker is now expecting to play a leading role in the highly competitive Hypercar class.

Team Peugeot TotalEnergies unveils the Peugeot 9X8 2024

A video from British Pathé summarizing the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Summary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1954

A look back at the 1812 Km of Qatar in the Toyota Gazoo Racing clan.

2024 WEC Qatar: Toyota Gazoo Racing race recap

Team Peugeot TotalEnergies experienced a “difficult” start during the 1812 Km of Qatar, first round of the 2024 FIA WEC

Qatar 1812KM Race Film: great movie, bad ending

Experience the highlights from the inaugural round of the 2024 FIA WEC championship in Qatar. Witness intense battles on one of the most abrasive tracks, where the exceptional performance of MICHELIN Pilot Sport tires enabled Michelin partners to triple their stints with the same set of tires.

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