Neel Jani turns quickest lap in final moments of the session

24H Le Mans

Le Mans Series

24 Heures du Mans

FIA WEC

Reigning Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein is set to make his 24 Hours of Le Mans début in this year’s race (11-15 June). Having joined the Porsche Penske Motorsport team, the German will share the wheel of the #4 Porsche 963 with Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy.

After familiarising himself with the Porsche 963 in January&rsquo;s 24 Hours of Daytona with JDC-Miller MotorSports, Pascal Wehrlein is ready to face a whole new challenge in the French endurance classic. He is joining a top-notch line-up alongside three-time IMSA champion Felipe Nasr and 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Nick Tandy. Veteran Tandy has 12 Le Mans starts under his belt (nine in a Porsche) while Nasr is preparing to make his sixth appearance in the race.

Porsche Motorsport Vice President Thomas Laudenbach says Wehrlein&rsquo;s inclusion in the line-up is a no-brainer. &ldquo;The Porsche driver roster is absolutely top-tier and incredibly deep,&rdquo; he enthuses. &ldquo;Pascal Wehrlein has fully convinced us with his performance in testing and his participation in the 24 Hours of Daytona. As the reigning Formula E World Champion, he has earned his Le Mans debut at the wheel of a Porsche 963.&rdquo;

Taking the wheel of the Porsche 963 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is an accomplishment for the 30-year-old German. &ldquo;Competing for Porsche Penske Motorsport at Le Mans is a dream come true for me,&rdquo; Wehrlein insists. &ldquo;I&#39;m&nbsp;looking forward to this major challenge because, unlike in Formula E, I have to share everything in the Porsche 963 that I would normally tailor specifically to myself: seating position, setup, strategy, and more. My primary goal is to do a strong job for the team and learn as much as possible.&rdquo;

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<h2>Ant&oacute;nio F&eacute;lix da Costa in LMP2</h2>

Unlike rookie Wehrlein, his Formula E teammate Ant&oacute;nio F&eacute;lix da Costa is a familiar face at the race. The Portuguese driver will line up in an Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 this year, his seventh 24 Hours of Le Mans appearance. After winning the class in 2022, he hopes his experience and determination will put his team in with a shout of top spot once again. &ldquo;I am very happy to be back at Le Mans after one year&rsquo;s absence,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;In my last LMP2 appearance, I won the class. That&rsquo;s my goal again this year.&rdquo;

With Wehrlein at the wheel of the #4 Porsche 963 alongside Nasr and Tandy, Porsche Penske Motorsport is banking on a solid, complementary trio to clinch its 20th overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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Pascal Wehrlein joins Porsche Penske Motorsport for 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

Steve McQueen nurtured a passion for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and will forever be one of the race’s most well-known faces, thanks to his film Le Mans. The Automobile Club de l’Ouest and Renaissance Licensing agency joined forces in 2021 to produce a lifestyle collection featuring the US actor and producer.

As we approach the 55th anniversary of the film&rsquo;s release, Chase and Madison McQueen share their memories of their grandfather, his unique bond with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the lasting mark he made on motorsport culture.

What does Steve McQueen&rsquo;s legacy in the world of motorsport and the 24 Hours of Le Mans mean to you and the family?

Chase and Madison: &quot;Our grandfather&rsquo;s legacy in motorsport, especially with Le Mans, is something we hold incredibly close. Growing up, our father shared stories of what this race meant to him and how he wasn&rsquo;t just acting, but striving to capture the true essence of Le Mans. 
To us, it&rsquo;s more than history; it&rsquo;s inspiration. He showed what it means to chase a dream with everything you&rsquo;ve got and risk it all for something he believed in. Le Mans was the ultimate stage for that passion. We&rsquo;re so proud to see his name still light up the faces of race fans and drivers alike &mdash; a legacy of grit, heart, and authenticity that continues to inspire.&quot;

How does the collaboration between the McQueen family and the ACO, in celebration of the 55th anniversary of Le Mans, honor his memory and passion for motorsport?

&quot;Collaborating with the ACO on the 55th anniversary of Le Mans feels like a dream come true &mdash; it&rsquo;s like we&rsquo;re bringing our grandfather&rsquo;s spirit back to the track he cherished most, a place where our family&rsquo;s deep love for racing took root.&nbsp; 
This partnership goes beyond celebrating a film; it&rsquo;s about honoring the race that defined him. The ACO understands what Le Mans meant to him &mdash; the endurance, the intensity, the raw passion &mdash; and they&rsquo;re helping us share that with the world. For us, it&rsquo;s a bridge between his past and today&rsquo;s fans, showing why Steve McQueen and the 24 Hours of Le Mans will always be inseparable.&quot;

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How do you feel about the lasting impact that the film Le Mans continues to have on fans and the motorsport community today?

&quot;It&rsquo;s truly incredible to see the impact Le Mans still has after all these years. Here we are, 55 years later, talking about how this film touched generations of racing fans. Our grandfather poured his heart into it, and you can feel that in every frame. It&rsquo;s a timeless piece that captures the soul of real motorsport &mdash; what racing felt like when drivers were risking it all.&nbsp; 
For the community, it&rsquo;s a benchmark of authenticity that still inspires racers and filmmakers alike. We&rsquo;re so proud&nbsp;that his vision continues to resonate, proving his love for the sport was universal and timeless.&quot;

What do you believe is the special connection between Steve McQueen, the film Le Mans, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, especially as we approach the 55th anniversary?

&quot;The connection between our grandfather, the film Le Mans, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans feels electric &mdash; they&rsquo;re intertwined in a way that&rsquo;s hard to put into words. He didn&rsquo;t just make a movie; he captured the very soul of the race. He became obsessed with Le Mans because it demanded everything he valued. The film brought that to life with real cars, real danger, and raw emotion.&nbsp; 
As we approach the 55th anniversary, that bond feels even stronger &mdash; it&rsquo;s a moment to celebrate how he brought the race to the silver screen for millions to enjoy. It&rsquo;s a story that still resonates, offering the perfect foundation to bring fans closer to that magic, whether they&rsquo;re at the track or reliving the film.&quot;

What do you hope the upcoming collection, built around Steve McQueen&rsquo;s legacy and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will convey to fans and collectors?

&quot;Our grandfather was all about authenticity &mdash; he had no time for anything fake. So, we hope this collection feels like him. Every piece should tell a story, making fans and collectors feel like they&rsquo;re part of his world We want it to reflect his love for racing and the raw passion of Le Mans, creating something that&rsquo;s not just cool but true to who he was. That&rsquo;s what he&rsquo;d want.&quot;

<a href="https://boutique.lemans.org/en/125-steve-mcqueen" target="_blank">&gt;&gt;&gt; The Steve McQueen Collection &lt;&lt;&lt;</a>

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Steve McQueen and the 24 Hours of Le Mans: an authentic heritage

The 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series calendar will see a return to the three circuits seen in 2024/25, with Rounds 1 and 2 in Malaysia, Rounds 3 and 4 in Dubai and Rounds 5 and 6 in Abu Dhabi.

The opening two 4-hour races will take place at the Sepang International Circuit near Kuala Lumpur in December, one week later than 2024 on the 12-14 December 2025.&nbsp; The two races in Dubai will be held on Saturday 31 January and Sunday 1 February, with the season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit a week later on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 February 2026.

There had been a possibility to include Buriram in Thailand in the 2025/26 calendar at the end of November, but, unfortunately, a suitable date that worked for both the series and the circuit couldn&rsquo;t be found.

The Mandalika Circuit in Indonesian had also been considered as an alternative but the upgrades needed to bring it up to the required safety standards for the Le Mans Prototypes couldn&rsquo;t be guaranteed to be completed on time.&nbsp;

Both circuits are being considered for the 2026/27 season.

Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l&#39;Ouest: &ldquo;The Asian Le Mans Series has demonstrated the solidity of its foundations these past few years. The calendar is stable, the circuits esteemed, and the championship is an excellent springboard towards higher goals. For the best in class in LMP2 and GT, the ALMS also opens the door to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We look forward to meeting our competitors in Sepang in December to begin another great season.&rdquo;

Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Lequien, ALMEM and LMEM CEO:&nbsp;&ldquo;After a highly successful season that saw 47 entries for the final round in Abu Dhabi, we were looking to take the series to Thailand or Indonesian next season.&nbsp; However, due to circumstances beyond our control, the decision has been taken to continue with the same format that has proven to be successful for the past two seasons, which has been received positively by the teams and sponsors.&nbsp;

&ldquo;The facilities at the three circuits on the calendar are second to none, with Sepang being home of the MotoGP Grand Prix of Malaysia, the technically challenging Dubai Autodrome circuit that drivers love to test themselves on and the beautiful surroundings at Yas Marina, which hosts the final race of 2025 Formula 1 season.

&ldquo;The 2025/26 calendar has also been designed to avoid the important dates for Chinese New Year and Ramadan and also avoid a clash with the 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Looking ahead we will continue to work with the staff at Buriram and Mandalika to explore the possibility of including one, or both, in 2026/27.&rdquo;

St&eacute;phane Ratel, SRO Motorsports Group Founder &amp; CEO: &ldquo;Stability is key to success. And the Asian Le Mans Series&#39; existing calendar format has been a critical component of that in recent seasons. Maintaining the current combination allows Asian and European customers to compete together in what has fast become a congested period in the year for endurance racing. Consistency is vitally important in our business so I&#39;m happy to see both accounted for in the 2025/26 calendar.&quot;

Provisional 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series Calendar

<ul>
	<li>12-14 Dec 2025 - Race 1 &amp; 2 - Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia</li>
	<li>29 Jan &ndash; 1 Feb 2026 - Race 3 &amp; 4 - Dubai Autodrome, Dubai</li>
	<li>6-8 Feb 2026 - Race 5 &amp; 6 - Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi</li>
</ul>

2025/26 Calendar Announced with Six Races in Sepang, Dubai and Yas Marina

With the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans now less than three months away (11-15 June 2025), Inter Europol Competition showed they will be a force to be reckoned with at the French endurance classic by winning the LMP2 class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. A significant victory for the Polish outfit who took the LMP2 honours at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary in 2023.

The North American season got off to an inauspicious start for Inter Europol Competition with a retirement in Daytona, but the team showed great resilience on the demanding, irregular surface of the Sebring International Raceway.&nbsp; Tom Dillmann, Bijoy Garg and Jeremy Clarke drove a masterful race in the #43 Oreca 07-Gibson to take the LMP2 prize. 
Team linchpin Dillmann was delighted with the performance. &ldquo;Really great feeling to win such an iconic race,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I had pictured that bounce back in my dreams after Daytona and we did it!&nbsp; The race went as planned. We took care of the car for the first 10 hours while staying in the lead group before attacking when it mattered. Thank you to the the whole team and my teammates for the perfect execution.&rdquo;

Fielding a reshuffled lineup for the race, with the arrival of Bronze driver Clarke, the team found the right balance between performance and consistency. American Clarke showed great tenacity on his IMSA d&eacute;but, recovering from an unfortunate spin in qualifying, to put in a solid performance and keep the car in the mix.

<h2>A strong showing in the runup to the 24 Hours of Le Mans</h2>

Inter Europol Competition&rsquo;s win in Florida sends out a loud message to the team&rsquo;s rivals as the legendary French endurance race emerges on the horizon. The Polish outfit will field two LMP2 prototypes in Le Mans &ndash; #34 driven by Nicholas Boulle, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and Luca Ghiotto, and #43 with Jakub Smiechowski, Dillmann and Nick Yelloly &ndash; and are determined to repeat their 2023 showing when they won the LMP2 class in the Centenary race.

The 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans will feature a 17-strong field in LMP2 and promises a closely fought battle for victory. With their experience and grit, Inter Europol Competition will be a serious candidate in the quest for another prestigious triumph.

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Inter Europol Competition sharpens up for Le Mans with stellar Sebring showing

24 Heures du Mans 2017

With an air temperature eclipsing 30C (86F) and track temps 40C (105F) and above, Neel Jani in the #1 Porsche clocked the fastest lap in the first and only official practice session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His lap of 3:20.362 beat out Kamui Kobayashi&rsquo;s (#7 Toyota) time of 3:20.966 in the final minutes of the four-hour session. The #2 Porsche was third with Earl Bamber turning a lap of 3:21.687.

ORECA machines locked out the top eight positions in the LMP2 class, two of them from the Vaillante Rebellion team. Alex Lynn put in the fastest lap, a 3:30.363, for the #26 G-Drive Racing entry. He was followed by the #13 entry, in which Mathais Beche clocked a 3:31.666. Bruno Senna was third quick in the #31, who entered a 3:31.749.

In LMGTE Pro, a pair of AF Corse entries sandwiched an Aston Martin.&nbsp;Sam Bird was fastest in the #71 Ferrari with a 3:54.832. He was followed by Darren Turner in the #97&nbsp;Aston Martin at a 3:55.299. James Calado, in the #51 Ferrari was third, turning a 3:55.504.

Meanwhile in LMGTE Am, it was Aston Martin that led the way, as Pedro Lamy topped the times with a 3:56.082 in the #98 Aston Martin. Two Ferraris followed; the #83 driven by Andrea Bertolini who turned a 3:57.540 and the #84 which entered a 3:57.614 in the hands of Dries Vanthoor.

The first qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place later today, at 10pm local time.

24H LE MANS

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Related News

Pascal Wehrlein joins Porsche Penske Motorsport for 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans

Steve McQueen and the 24 Hours of Le Mans: an authentic heritage

2025/26 Calendar Announced with Six Races in Sepang, Dubai and Yas Marina

Inter Europol Competition sharpens up for Le Mans with stellar Sebring showing

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