24 Hours of Le Mans 2024 – The final entry list made official, what should we remember?

NEWs in hypercar

• Cadillac V-Series.R n°311 / Whelen Cadillac Racing – The American team has formalized the identity of its third man and which you already know if you are a regular reader of Endurance-Info: Felipe Drugovich.

NEWS in LMP2

It is in this category that there were the most missing boxes, even if United Autosports, Inter Europol Competition, DKR Engineering, Panis Racing AO by TF or Duqueine Team had already announced that they had completed their trio the last days.

• Oreca 07 n°9 / Proton Competition – Only Jonas Ried was announced on this car. The young German will be accompanied by the Dutchman Bent Viscaal and French Maceo Capiettowho are part of the ELMS workforce.

• Oreca 07 n°10 / Vector Sport – In accordance with what we revealed to you, Patrick Pilet ⬆️ is the expected reinforcement within the British team to support Ryan Cullen and Stéphane Richelmi. On this occasion, the Frenchman will compete in his 16th 24 Hours of Le Mans.

• Oreca 07 n°14 / AO by TF – Once hoped for, Antonio Félix da Costa did not receive approval from Porsche. So it’s the 23-year-old Briton Alex Quinn who will come to lend a hand to Louis Delétraz and PJ Hyett, as we announced to you this morning.

• Oreca 07 n°24 / Nielsen Racing – With the outgoing LMP2 winner Albert Costa ruled out, we couldn’t wait to know the identity of the two men accompanying the Dane David Heinemeier Hansson. Finally, the British team’s sights were set on the veloces Kyffin Simpson (which defends the interests of Ganassi in IndyCar) and Fabio Schererdefending champion in LMP2 with Inter Europol Competition.

• Oreca 07 n°25 / Algarve Pro Racing – Who to support Matthias Kaiser and Olli Caldwell? The lucky person’s name is Roman De Angelis, close to The Heart of Racing, which will discover the Le Mans classic. The officialization took place this morning.

NEWS in LMGT3

• Ford Mustang LMGT3 n°44 / Proton Competition – Christian Ried was announced and… surprise, he will be there even though he had announced that he had hung up his helmet! The two men who took over from him at the wheel of the car were the German Christopher Mies and the British Ben Tuck.

• Ferrari 296 LMGT3 n°66 / JMW Motorsport – Bronze Driver, Giacomo Petrobelli is joined by the Dutchman Larry ten Voorde and the Turkish Salih Yoluc.

• Ferrari 296 LMGT3 n°86 / GR Racing – Ben Barker left for Ford, Michael Wainwright kept the speed at his side Ricardo Pera. The third man is the official Ferrari driver Daniel Serra.

• Ferrari 296 LMGT3 n°155 / Spirit of Race – Initially planned on the Ferrari of Formula Racing which was only a reserve, the Laursen father and son found refuge with Spirit of Race, whose mount is also incubated by AF Corse. And for their trip to Sarthe, they will be accompanied by Jordan Taylor. Official Cadillac driver in IMSA, this will be his 9th participation, the first in another car other than a Corvette.

➡️ The complete list of entrants for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans is HERE.

PACKAGE

As was the case during the last three editions, no withdrawals are to be deplored and we therefore remain at 23 cars in the Hypercar category. As we have already announced to you, Richard Mille by TDS (Oreca 07) has withdrawn. The French team was imitated by Formula Racing, whose crew found refuge on another Ferrari 296 LMGT3, in this case the number 155 of Spirit of Race.

The substitutes are therefore only five in number, namely – in order – the Porsche 963 n°99 of the Proton Competition ⬆️, the Oreca 07 n°43 of Inter Europol Competition, the Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 n°72 / Racing Spirit of Léman (even if the team told us otherwise), the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 n°74 from Kessel Racing and the Oreca 07 n°44 from Staysal Motorsport.

In the end, the list of entrants for this 92nd edition therefore includes a total of 62 cars: 23 in Hypercar, 16 in LMP2 (including 8 in LMP2 Pro/Am) and 23 in LMGT3.

The big absentees

Who was there in 2023 and sees their series, almost seamlessly, come to an end? Certainly, the big absentee from this 92nd edition is the name Romain Dumas ⬇️whose series of consecutive starts in Sarthe ends at 23. Credited with three victories including two overall (in 2010 and 2016), the 46-year-old Alesian has had discussions with certain competitors… who ultimately favored more fortunate pilots.

We also deplore the non-presence on this list of Olivier Pla ⬇️who remained on 16 starts in a row, the last three within Glickenhaus Racing. Gianmaria Bruni should not be on the grid on June 15 either. The Italian has a total of 14 starts, one more than Richard Westbrookwhose name does not appear either.

Let’s not forget the local either Julien Canal. Too bad, he remains one of the fastest Silver drivers on the field in addition to having immense experience of the Le Mans classic, where he has started 14 times, for three category victories, without forgetting three podiums. in LMP2.

Furthermore, since 2017, not an edition has taken place without André Négrao. Aged 31, the Brazilian can nevertheless boast of astonishing statistics, namely four category podiums in seven starts, for two victories in LMP2 (2018 and 2019) and a 3rd place overall (2021). And always in Alpine colors.

With six participations between 2016 and 2023, including a victory in LMP2 in 2016, but also a 3rd and then a 2nd place overall in 2018 and 2020, Gustavo Menezes is also well off in terms of statistics. Weary, thanked by Peugeot Sport, the 29-year-old American disappeared from the paddocks.

The case Giedo van der Garde (6 starts) is different since he made the decision to hang up his helmet.