24h Le Mans
Every year, we take the chance to revisit 24 Hours of Le Mans history – and attempt to predict the future – when we dip into the illustrious race’s voluminous record books. More than a few manufacturers and drivers are coming to La Sarthe with an eye on causing a stir in the exceptional edition that is in store for 2024. So let’s take a look at three major records that are in the competitors’ sights this year, as well as a few other key facts and figures that will come under the spotlight over the coming days.
One particularly remarkable record has been held by a single driver for 28 years. When his TWR-Porsche took the chequered flag at the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans, Alexander Wurz became the youngest winner in the history of the race, at just 22 years and 91 days. Despite a raft of increasingly precocious talent making the grid across all motorsports in recent times, no driver has yet to eclipse the Austrian’s benchmark.
This year’s Hypercar roster will feature two drivers who are younger than Wurz was in 1996 and, as crazy as it may seem, they will be in the same line-up. Isotta Fraschini is certainly playing the youth card! Jean-Karl Vernay may be just 36 years of age, but he is a veteran compared to teammates Antonio Serravalle and Carl Wattana Bennett, who will respectively celebrate their 22nd and 20th birthdays in September.
Victory at the 2024 Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps went to private outfit Hertz Team JOTA. Such a feat occurs very rarely in the FIA World Endurance Championship, but with the discipline currently in a particularly buoyant state, customer vehicles can certainly rival factory cars for top spot. Porsche Penske Motorsport will be backed up by two teams at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: Hertz Team JOTA who will run two Porsche 963 hypercars, and Proton Competition with a single entry.
Should one of them win the race, it would be the first Le Mans victory by a private team since 2005 when an Audi R8 fielded by American outfit ADT Champion Racing shaded out Pescarolo Sport. Although Audi had no official representation 19 years ago, this victory was nonetheless a remarkable achievement.
The Hypercar class is taking the race into another dimension. Several manufacturers harbour credible hopes of an outright win, promising a breathtaking race and a nail-biting climax. Incidentally, never before has more than one car been on the same lap as the winner at the finish. With 23 hypercars on track, coupled with the natural unpredictability of the race, this record could well fall. Since the Hypercar era began in 2021, less than one lap has separated the first two prototypes on two occasions (2022 and 2023), whereas it has happened just 13 times since the inaugural 24 Hours in 1923.
Records aside, a few drivers and manufacturers have the opportunity to join some highly exclusive clubs at this year’s race. Should a GR010 Hybrid clock the fastest Hyperpole time, for instance, Toyota will overtake Audi in the manufacturer rankings for the number of pole positions achieved. Both currently share second place in the table with eight, some way behind Porsche’s mark (19).
Hertz Team JOTA driver Jenson Button is the only Formula One world champion on the grid. Should the #38 Porsche 963 seal victory, Button will become the sixth F1 title winner to taste success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, following in the footsteps of Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, Jochen Rindt, Graham Hill and Fernando Alonso.
Meanwhile, Le Mans legend Sébastien Buemi will be looking to join a different set of elite drivers. Only five men have achieved the feat of winning the race at least five times. They are Derek Bell, Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro (five wins each), Jacky Ickx (six) and, of course, Tom Kristensen (nine). A win would see Buemi move clear of the other four-time winners Yannick Dalmas, Olivier Gendebien and Henri Pescarolo.
Two track records – the fastest lap and the total distance covered – will be particularly difficult to beat, although not totally impossible. Kamui Kobayashi has held the lap record since 2017. He claimed pole position in a record qualifying time of 3:14.791 in the Toyota TS050 Hybrid – an average speed of 251.881 kph.
The Audi R15+ TDI has held the distance record since 2010: 5,410.713 kilometres in 24 hours. A car would need to complete 398 laps of today’s circuit to improve that benchmark. Prior to 2010, the previous record had stood since 1971!
The 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans promises to be a suspense-packed affair and, like every year, victory will require a combination of outstanding performance and a certain measure of good fortune.
