24h Le Mans
There are 186 drivers at the start this year, and as many profiles and destinies in the mix. Whether they’re first-timers or favourites, heading out with high aspirations or an axe to grind, these asphalt athletes have one goal: to shine in the world’s greatest endurance race in 2023... or later. Here’s how the drivers are feeling on the eve of the Le Mans 24 Hours in its centenary year.
They are torn between wide-eyed wonderment and the pressure of the occasion. Like most years, a host of newcomers will be adding their names to the legendary race’s roster. Big names from other disciplines will line up alongside ambitious youngsters caught up in the excitement surrounding the Hypercar class.
>> How do drivers approach their first 24 Hours of Le Mans? <<
Tomorrow is looking bright. As Le Mans hosts an impressive grid of Hypercars, a new golden age is clearly dawning for endurance racing. At Test Day, the thousands of spectators in attendance got their first look at the diverse line-up, which includes some of the world’s most prestigious manufacturers. In the LMP2 and LMGTE Am classes, a number of fast, ambitious and highly determined young drivers are patiently waiting for their time to come, hoping that sooner or later that they’ll get a full-time seat in one of these prototypes.
>> The drivers set to steer endurance racing into the future <<
Every year for the past 100 years, a single car and a single team have their hard work rewarded with overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only a select handful of drivers get to revel in glory, while others leave licking their wounds.
Le Mans can bring out the best in a driver, just as it can put them through the wringer. Isn’t it said that the 24 Hours chooses its winner?
>> These drivers have a score to settle at Le Mans <<
The stakes are high for drivers in the Hypercar class this year, whether they have an outside chance or feature among the favourites. Some are here to shine in a new discipline while others have a reputation to defend. And some are chasing a crown that has so far escaped them. Here’s what they have to say.
