The full field assembled!
The annual collective photo (above) was held on the start/finish straight yesterday evening.
The #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, #7 Toyota Racing TR010 Hybrid and #20 BMW M Team WRT Hybrid V8 were selected to feature on the front row.
Ferrari ready to commit to Asian Le Mans Hypercar
Antonello Coletta, the head of Ferrari’s endurance programmes, made the Italian brand’s stance on entering the planned Asian Le Mans Series Hypercar ranks next season.
“We are waiting for further information,” he said. “Considering the tensions in the Middle East, the calendar is not yet clear and we still do not know what will happen. However, I can confirm that if there is a possibility of competing with a Hypercar and the series takes place, Ferrari will be present with a Hypercar. We are interested in competed there.”
This comes off the back of High Class Racing releasing the surprise news yesterday that it is reviving the Isotta Fraschini Hypercar programme with the intention of joining the Asian Le Mans Series.
Drugovich: “I wish the Action Express guys were here”
Felipe Drugovich is present at Le Mans this week, in the role of Cadillac Racing’s reserve driver for its trio of V-Series.Rs.
“I got invited to do it, and it’s a race that I love, either watching it or racing it, so it’s cool to be here again,” the Brazilian told DSC.
Having raced the car at Le Mans for the past two years with Action Express Racing, Drugovich did not participate in the Test Day. His job, therefore, has focused on integrating himself into both Hertz Team JOTA and Wayne Taylor Racing, incase he is needed for by either for the race.
“I did a seat fit at JOTA, so I got to know the workshop and a few guys there,” he explained, before highlighting that, although he was happy to be involved, he wished Cadillac had once again entered a fourth car so he could have had a race drive.
“I wish the Action Express guys were here, so I could race, but all in all I need to be happy to be here.”
Esnault: Peugeot “cannot be happy” with qualifying performance
Peugeot will be the only Hypercar manufacturer not represented in Hyperpole this year, with its 9X8s qualifying in 16th and 18th respectively.
“It’s extremely frustrating to move from competing for the pole in Imola and Spa, to for the home race to be two tenths per kilometre away from the pace,” a disappointed, but not surprised, team principal Emmanuel Esnault said post-qualifying.
“But that’s racing, so we don’t give up. We’ve got a race to prepare. The key point now, starting from from the back, is to survive and to be opportunistic, to try to execute in the best possible way, and to give a clean sheet in terms of operations, pit stop strategy, etc.
“We’ve got nothing to lose. When you start from the back, it’s ‘let’s be clever, let’s prepare the car properly and put the drivers in the right mindset’, so that’s what we have to do now.”
Esnault estimated that Peugeot’s deficit was roughly four times the margin it was missing to its opposition in the opening races of the FIA WEC season, in a Le Mans dip in form that is all-too-familiar from the past two years.
“It looks like it’s similar from last year in terms of pace, even if the gap was closer than last year, but we cannot be happy with that,” he said.
“As you can imagine, when you are a racer, and when you are representing a brand like Peugeot with such a rich heritage, it’s not the way we want to race.”
Hydrogen Village opened
https://twitter.com/MissionH24/status/2064694446680064114
This year’s Hydrogen Village has been officially opened by ACO president Pierre Fillon.
The space, intended to engage spectators, media and mobility stakeholders, is home to four cars including the Toyota TR LH2 Racing Prototype, Alpine Alpenglow and Ligier Bosch JS2 RH2, all of which will turn demonstration laps later this week.
New FIAWEC+ features
The live timing for FIAWEC+ has received another update ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, adding two new functions.
Fans can now access both virtual energy and tyre data, making the race easier to follow from a strategy perspective.
Habsburg raising money to provide food for Malawi school children
Ferdinand Habsburg was the star of Hypercar Qualifying on Wednesday, but as prepares for his sixth 24 Hours of Le Mans and his third challenge for overall victory, the Austrian driver will once again be racing on behalf of children in need. For the second year, Habsburg is collaborating with Mary’s Meals, which helps feed children living in some of the world’s poorest communities.
Habsburg launched the Race for Meals initiative together with Mary’s Meals last year, and during the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, the campaign raised €38,764 – enough to provide daily school meals for 1760 children in Malawi throughout an entire school year.
The donations supported two schools in Malawi: Nanjere Primary School, where and Mchenga Primary School, which served 1760 children with nutritious food.
Last summer, Ferdinand visited both schools to witness firsthand the impact of the donations made by racing fans and supporters, and to learn more about the vital work Mary’s Meals carries out in the region.
More information about the Race For Meals campaign can be found HERE.
Forestier/Panis ORECA penalised after Qualifying
The #29 Forestier Racing by Panis ORECA 07-Gibson has received a one-position grid drop penalty for impeding in Qualifying, to be applied after Hyperpole on Thursday.
Though the penalty did not prevent Louis Rousset from advancing to tomorrow’s stage of time trials, his co-drivers Esteban Masson and Oliver Gray can start no better than second in LMP2 on Saturday.
Rousset was found to have impeded the #58 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO of Alexander West, who did not advance to Hyperpole. The Stewards’ note reads: “After reviewing the video evidence, the Stewards determined that Car 58 was impeded by Car 29 to constitute an offence of impeding.
“During the hearing, the driver of Car 29 acknowledged his mistake and explained that he was focused on radio communications regarding whether to pit or remain on track and, as a result, failed to remain aware of Car 58, which he had previously overtaken.
“Having considered all the circumstances of the case, the Stewards decided to impose a penalty of a one-grid-position drop on Car 29.”
Newell: Third in Qualifying ‘extra satisfying’ after early struggles
It hasn’t determined where the #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 will start the race, but Gray Newell’s third-place effort in Qualifying this evening was a pleasant surprise after a difficult start to his rookie WEC campaign.
“The first couple of races went well but I feel like I underperformed against my own ability,” admitted Newell. “I was nervous to be honest, this is the top level of endurance racing, everyone in this field is phenomenal and that’s intimidating to come into. But I feel like I’m starting to find my stride so hopefully we can just keep pushing forward and getting faster.”
Only Peter Dempsey – a former high-level single-seater driver – and fellow SRO America alumni Eric Powell went quicker than the former esports athlete-turned-racing driver Newell during Wednesday evening’s 30-minute session among LMGT3 drivers.
“To be honest I wasn’t expecting that,” Newell said after the lap. “I wasn’t expecting it purely because the car was so easy to drive. A lot of the time you think of qualifying as like being on the ragged edge, and you are, but the team did such a good job with the car and it was phenomenal to drive. Huge props to them for giving me something I could go out and do that with.
“It’s funny because you hear people say qualifying doesn’t really matter in a 24 hour race, but that a meant a lot to go in and get that done. I feel like qualifying has always been a kind of weaker point for me, going and getting that one last percent out of the car is always a big challenge, and it’s hard. So extra satisfying for me to have got it right today.”
His effort also garnered high praise from his Team Principal, Ian James, who’s overseen Newell’s rise from GT4 to LMGT3, almost all of it with Heart of Racing. “He just said ‘amazing job,’ and I appreciate that from him. Praise from Ian means he really thinks it, because he saves that for when you’ve done something good.”
Images © dailysportscar.com; additional images courtesy of Ferdinand Habsburg
