The day began much earlier, however, and the thousands of spectators gathered at the circuit had plenty of track action to enjoy in the run-up to 16:00 when John Elkann waved the French flag to signal the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

The Porsche Sprint Challenge France kicked off this morning’s programme at 09:00 when the event’s 56 competitors gathered on the grid for their only race of the weekend. Twenty-year-old Lilou Wadoux-Ducellier from Northern France took victory in the 45-minute showdown after dominating every session of the Challenge.

Then an event that motorsport fans had been eagerly awaiting – Endurance Racing Legends and its field of GT and prototypes from the 1990s and 2000s on track for a second race from 10:15 to 11:00. Proof, if needed, that the 24 Hours of Le Mans has timeless appeal.

At 11:30, the 61 competitors in the 24 Hours of Le Mans notched up their first laps of the day during the Warm-Up. This final 15-minute practice session is a chance for the teams to make any last-minute checks and tweaks to their cars according to the day’s weather conditions.

Shortly after that, at 12:15, the second Road to Le Mans race got underway. This race, the final curtain-raiser to the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, is the fourth round of the 2021 Michelin Le Mans Cup. 

At 13:45, the grid formation began. Not long afterwards, at 14:10, Alpine treated the crowd to a parade of its cars including a Formula 1 machine driven by two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Fernando Alonso, joined on track by F1 teammate Esteban Ocon, winner of the recent Hungarian Grand Prix. 

With the start of the race fast approaching, several familiar faces were spotted among the 61 competitors on the starting grid including French Olympic champions Maxime Pauty, Charlotte Lembach, Margaux Pinot, Sarah Léonie Cysique and Romane Dicko.

At 15:42, the H24, the new hydrogen prototype developed by H24Racing, completed a lap of honour. It was driven by Stéphane Richelmi, who spoke about the plans to field a hydrogen-powered car at the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans: “For me, hydrogen racing is here and now, ready to drive the future. This lap will be a demonstration. Just imagine – with MissionH24, we’re exploring a new arena for competition. We’re developing the future of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and of motoring.”

Then, finally, it was 16:00 and time to unleash the competitors in the world’s greatest endurance event for a thrilling 24 hours of racing! 

An incident-packed first hour

A wet track met the competitors for the formation lap. Once the safety car left the field of play after a couple of extra laps, the drivers were faced with challenging conditions that caused drama from the start.

• First turn clash – As the Hypercars appeared to be approaching the Dunlop Chicane with all due care, Glickenhaus’s Olivier Pla (#708) slid into the rear tyre of the #8 Toyota of Sébastien Buemi. The Japanese car subsequently stopped on the Mulsanne Straight for a few moments, apparently for Buemi to reset his systems. The irritated Swiss driver then had a skirmish with the #74 Ligier JSP217 driven by Tom Cloet, but with no significant consequences.

• Mishaps for High Class Racing – With Dennis Andersen at the wheel, the #20 Oreca 07-Gibson was unable to move away from the wall at the start of the formation lap. As the jack had been left under the car, assistance from the mechanics was needed to get all four wheels on the track. Andersen eventually joined the back of the field before encountering further issues after Arnage, and again on exiting the Dunlop Chicane. He regained his cool to bring his LMP2 prototype up to something resembling normal racing speed.
• A raft of incidents with no major damage – Following his collision with the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, Pla continued his stint with a damaged #708 Glickenhaus 007 LMH minus a front right headlamp. Nicolas Lapierre was also caught out at the wheel of the #36 Alpine at Indianapolis. The only fallout for the Frenchman was a significant loss of time on the lead car – the #7 Toyota driven by Mike Conway. Idec Sport’s Patrick Pilet had trouble keeping control of the #48 Oreca 07-Gibson. He made contact with the #72 Porsche in the first turn causing both cars to spin and then ended up in the gravel trap at the second chicane on the Mulsanne Straight, losing two minutes before he managed to escape.
• In LMGTE Pro, Kévin Estre was the first to wobble, but his #92 Porsche did not suffer from the setback. The two Corvettes took advantage of the tricky conditions to move to the top of the class standings but, as the tarmac dried out, the Ferraris stepped up to regain control, at least provisionally. The American GTEs pitted a lap earlier than their Italian rivals to switch to slicks. Tommy Milner (#64 Corvette) led the class after an hour of the race.
• LMP2s take on the Hypercars – After sixty minutes of brutal action, a Hypercar in the shape of the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid topped the overall standings. However, a couple of LMP2s had slipped in among the elite class contenders. António Félix Da Costa (2nd) in the #38 Oreca led the challenge, ably backed by the #26 of Nyck de Vries (4th).