What Next?
From a race-eve airfield shakedown to the debut of a two-wheel rockstar, the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans has no shortage of compelling stories.
The Hertz Team Jota No. 12 Porsche 963 team came to Le Mans on a roll. It scored Team Jota's first-ever WEC top-class win four weeks ago at Spa, and full-time drivers Callum Ilott and Will Stevens were second in points behind a trio of Porsche Penske pilots.
Some good fortune in qualifying Wednesday seemed to extend their streak, as the team advanced to the Hyperpole session and a shot at the pole for the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans.
But late Friday night, the team found itself at nearby Le Mans Arnage Airport, watching Ilott conduct a special, 30-minute shakedown in a freshly built No. 12 Porsche 963.
The No. 12's airfield performance didn't earn it any points, but it was a win all the same. It concluded a 48-hour whirlwind that started when Ilott looped in the esses and bounced nose first off the barrier late in Wednesday's night practice.
Ilott was fine, but the car's chassis was done. Team Jota sourced a spare Porsche 963 chassis from Team Penske and got to work transforming it into a new Team Jota No. 12, using as many parts from the crashed primary car as possible.
A job that Team Principal Dieter Gass says usually takes about three weeks was pulled off in a day. Barring a late setback, the No. 12 963 will line up eighth on the grid Saturday afternoon at Circuit de la Sarthe.
The No. 12 team's resurrection is yet another compelling storyline in a race that had a paddock-full before a single car hit the track this week.
Start with the Hypercar class. Just two years ago, the top class saw just five entrants. This year, there are 23--18 factory-backed efforts and five customer teams, including two Team Jota Porsches.
The second Team Jota entry includes former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button alongside a pair of blossoming young stars, Oliver Rasmussen and Phil Hanson. Button's success and fame are indisputable, but he's neither the most accomplished nor renowned non-sports car regular in this year's race.
Both of those crowns go to Valentino Rossi, the nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion, making his Le Mans debut in Team WRT's BMW M4 GT3 No. 46 LMGT3 class entry. The 46-year old Italian legend was already in the MotoGP Hall Of Fame when he announced his plans to drive full-time for WRT in 2022. By yearend, he hopes to be driving a BMW Hypercar.
How big a deal is Rossi? The rockstar-like crush of humanity around him during this week's pre-race autograph session prompted WRT officials to express concern over their star's security.
"You watch big hip-hop artists perform and singers perform and see what it's like when the crowd starts pushing," teammate Ahmad Al Harthy told Motorsport.com. "And I never would have thought I'd see it right in front of my face."
While Rossi chases his first taste of Le Mans glory--he's set the goal of a podium finish for the No. 46 trio of Maxime Martin, Al Harthy, and himself--other famous names are looking to make history of their own.
Porsche Penske Motorsport has three 963s in the top class, including the pole-sitting No. 6. A win by any of them would be not just Penske's first Le Mans triumph, but the 20th overall win for Porsche.
The German carmaker is powering eight teams this year--six in the Hypercar class and two in LMGT3.
Ferrari AF Corse is back to defend its 2023 win, fielding two of the three Ferrari 499Ps in the Hypercar field.
Remember Toyota Gazoo Racing, winners of five straight until the No. 51 Ferrari pulled off last year's stunner? They're back, too, with a pair of cars.
Looking for a feel-good story in Hypercar? Look no further than Isotta Fraschini, the legendary Italian luxury car maker that is the proverbial small fish in a massive WEC pond.
The No. 11 Tipo 6 LMH-C, the factory effort's lone entry, qualified five seconds off the No. 6 Porsche's pole-winning pace, and two seconds slower than the next-slowest car, the No. 19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini.
Nevertheless, optimism abounds.
"We’ve only explored about 50% of the car’s potential so far," said co-driver Jean-Karl Vernay. "We need more resources to continue developing it and move up to the middle of the field. I reckon we’ll be in a position to do so by the end of the season."
Among the 23-car LMGT3 field are a trio of McLaren 720s LMGT3 Evos. One of them, the Inception Racing No. 70 driven by Brendan Iribe, Ollie Millroy and Frederik Schandorff and no stranger to IMSA fans, took the top qualifying spot among LMGT3 entries.
Wedged in between the 23-car Hypercar and LMGT3 classes are 16 LMP2. All the cars are the same, but the driver lineups mean the class is split into two eight-car groups: one with all pro drivers and a pro/am that must have at least one bronze amateur who must drive at least six hours during the race.
Among the pro drivers are a handful with well-established bona fides in WEC or IMSA, including Filipe Albuquerque, Colin Braun, Louis Delétraz, Nicky Catsburg, and Oliver Jarvis.
Those filling bronze seats include Ben Keating, who has shared in two class wins in the last two years, and George Kurtz, who was part of last year's winning LMP2 Pro/Am entry.
"I would say all of the cars in the LMP2 category are in contention to be able to fight for the win,” Malthe Jakobsen, co-driver of the No. 37 Cool Racing LMP2 entry and reigning European Le Mans LMP3 class champion, told Autosport. “There's super good teams, first of all, but also super good driver line-ups."
If all that isn't enticing enough, check the Le Mans weekend weather forecast. It's probably going to rain.
References
Team Jota shakedown--https://www.dailysportscar.com/2024/06/14/rebuilt-12-jota-porsche-completes-special-shakedown.html
Rossi attention--https://us.motorsport.com/lemans/news/safety-concerns-over-crazy-rossi-attention-at-le-mans/10622696/
Rossi Hypercar aspirations--https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2024-24-hours-of-le-mans-bmw-is-back-58710
Jakobsen on LMP2 field--https://www.autosport.com/le-mans/news/lmp2-as-competitive-as-its-ever-been-at-le-mans-despite-wec-demotion/10623101/
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