24h Le Mans
The 3rd 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual will be held online this Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 January. The finale of the 2022-2023 Le Mans Virtual Series boasts 45 cars driven by 180 professional drivers and simracers.
Since its inaugural running in 2020, the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual has become the biggest esports event in the world. Held in January, the race serves as the first highlight of the upcoming endurance racing season for teams, drivers and fans – particularly this year with 2023 marking the Centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (10-11 June).
The starting grid for this 3rd running will see 45 cars in two classes, LMP and GTE, driven by 180 professional drivers and simracers. Major manufacturers will compete, namely Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari and Porsche. Some LMP teams will be supported by Alpine, Mercedes, Peugeot, Porsche and Vanwall as well.
Times below are GMT+1.
The 24 Hours Virtual will be held on the rFactor 2 platform. The race includes driver changes, weather variations and day/night transitions. The 45 cars will compete in one of two classes, LMP or GTE. The LMP class is "one-make" reserved for the ORECA 07 whereas four cars are available in GTE: the Aston Martin Vantage GTE, BMW M8 GTE, Ferrari 488 GTE or Porsche 911 RSR GTE.
If a driver leaves the track, any damage incurred affects the car and can be repaired during a pit stop. The simulation reflects fuel consumption and tyre wear. Testing allows outfits to tune their car to optimise its performance. Each team must be composed of four drivers with at least two international FIA (Pro) licensees.
The winners of the 24 Hours Virtual will earn 50 points, 36 for second, 30 for third, 24 for fourth, 20 for fifth, 16 for sixth, 12 for seventh, 8 for eighth, 4 for ninth and 2 for 10th. One point is awarded to every car that finishes beyond 10th place overall.
Competitors must be equipped with a high-performance Internet connection. If a team is disconnected from the server, the car is returned to pit lane with no penalty imposed if reconnected. Drivers must have a PC capable of supporting rFactor 2, a compatible wheel and pedals.
The 2023 24 Hours Virtual will offer a new qualifying format. On Friday from 18:10 to 18:40, all 45 teams will take part in a collective qualifying session after which the top six in each class will have earned their spot in the Hyperpole. The 15-minute session will let drivers focus purely on speed without worrying about traffic management. All they have to do is clock the best possible lap.
Last year, Realteam Hydrogen Redline's #70 ORECA 07 scored the LMP pole with a time of 03:21.219 and Red Bull Racing Esports' #111 Corvette the GTE pole in 03:46.438.
The 3rd 24 Hours Virtual entry list includes an impressive grouping of professional drivers and simracers. Current Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen will once again take the start with Team Redline (#1 ORECA 07 LMP2), not to mention Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich of Team Redline and defending Formula 3 champion Victor Martins of Alpine Esports. Former F1 driver, and future Lamborghini representative in Hypercar, Romain Grosjean will take the wheel of an ORECA 07 for his own R8G Esports team. IndyCar driver Felix Rosenqvist will take charge of Team Redline's #2 ORECA 07. Endurance racing veterans set to compete include Yifei Ye (Arnage Competition's #100 ORECA 07), Job van Uitert (Panis Racing's #65 ORECA 07), Vincent Capillaire (Graff by ATRS eSports' #39 ORECA 07), and Gustavo Menezes and Malthe Jakobsen (Peugeot Esports' #93 ORECA 07).
You will see many of the best simracers in the world in the 3rd Virtual 24 Hours. Current champion, Kevin Siggy, will take the wheel of the #71 BMW entered by BMW Redline GTE. Two-time Porsche Esports Supercup champion Joshua Rogers will share Porsche Coanda's #20 ORECA 07 with Virtual Rallycross world champion Mitchell deJong. The 2020 Virtual 24 Hours winners, Jakub Brzezinski and Nikoden Wisniewski, will drive AMG Team Williams Esports' #53 ORECA 07.
>> 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual | Entry List <<
>> 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual | Spotter's Guide <<
The 24 Hours Virtual serves as the final round of the Le Mans Virtual Series season. Full-time championship teams have already competed in the 8 Hours of Sakhir in September, the 4 Hours of Monza in October, the 6 Hours of Spa in November and the 4 Hours of Sebring in December.
Team Redline's #1 ORECA 07 is currently leading the LMP classification with an 18-point advantage on Floyd Vanwall Burst's #4 ORECA 07 and 20 points on Porsche Coanda's #20 ORECA 07.
BMW Team Redline's #72 BMW is currently at the helm of the GTE classification ahead of Oracle Red Bull Racing's #99 Porsche and SF Velas Esports Team's #51 Ferrari 488 GTE.
The 24 Hours Virtual has been widely broadcast since its first running in 2020. This year, qualifying and the race will stream live on the 24 Hours of Le Mans YouTube channel, the FIA WEC app, Traxion.GG's Twitch channel, Eurosport Player, Motorsport.TV and Live Timing.
One of the hydrogen-electric prototypes from the MissionH24 programme developed jointly by the ACO and GreenGT has been chosen by the organisers as leading car for the event and will open the track to the 45 cars before the start.
Ahead of this weekend's 3rd 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual, check out the highlights video from last year's race.
