THE 24 hours of Le Mans 2024, 92nd edition of the largest automobile endurance race in the world, started this Saturday, June 15 at 4 p.m. He’s a football legend Zinédine Zidane who gave the start. After the centenary in 2023, this year again the race is sold out and more than 300,000 spectators are expected. France Bleu Maine brings you the event in all its dimensions from its studios located on the circuit.
Click on the “player” to listen to our special show from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Sunday.
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The essential
- Toyota No. 8
- Porsche No. 6
- Ferrari No.50
Spectacular accident for an Aston Martin
Spectacular crash for the #27 Aston Martin GT in Indianapolis. Italian driver Daniel Mancinelli was unhurt. Return of the safety car.
The race resumed at 8 a.m. this Sunday
After an endless safety car procedure due to the weather conditions on the circuit, green flag! The race finally resumed just after 8 a.m. this Sunday morning. A new race is beginning: 11 cars are on the same lap and can still hope to win. Toyota #8, Porsche #6 and Ferrari #50 make up the provisional podium.
Safety car due to rain
The forecast rain fell in the middle of the night and the track quickly became very tricky. The race management decided as a precaution to launch a safety car procedure at 3:40 a.m. At daybreak, the cars are still forced to drive behind the three safety cars. The first 11 are in the same lap, all the main favorites are in the group, the restart will inevitably be spectacular when the neutralization is lifted. But when ? A little before 8 a.m., the race management announced the procedure for ending the safety cars. Despite these difficult weather conditions, there have been “only” eight retirements since the start of the race. Among the cars withdrawn: the two Alpine hypercars, the #15 BMW and the #46 GT of Valentino Rossi.
Toyota heads into the night as a leader
Long in the lead after an excellent tire strategy during the 18-hour downpour, the #83 Ferrari was found guilty of an accident which caused the #15 BMW to retire. A 30-second stop & go penalty dropped the Italian to 6th place at the start of the night. It was the Toyotas, although poorly placed on the grid, which took the lead, but chased away by the Porsche n°6 (part of pole position), the Cadillac n°2 and the three Ferraris. But the night promises to be perilous with possible showers.
Game over for Alpine
Shortly before 9 p.m., Ferdinand Habsburg had to jump out of the Alpine No. 35 whose engine caught fire at Arnage. “It’s game over for us” confided his teammate Paul Loup Chatin to our colleagues at L’Equipe TV, “but we must not have regrets to have arrived there and we will now be fully behind the No. 36“.
Except that the Alpine No. 36 also retired barely an hour later. The two French women had nevertheless completed the first three rounds of the world championship, but that is the cruelty of the 24 Hours. In a press release, the manufacturer indicates that it can confirm that “Cars #35 and #36 are out of the race due to a Suspected engine problem. This is the team’s first year in the Hypercar class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which we knew from the start would be a steep learning curve. We will explore the matter further and we will come back stronger and more determined next year at Le Mans. The car showed good pace to reach the Hyperpole during qualifying, we had a good start to the race and this encourages us for the future“.
At the head of the race, as night fell, the Ferrari 83 reaped the rewards of a perfect strategy for managing the rain tires. The choices at the start of the race pay off.
In GT, Valentino Rossi was in the lead in this category at a time when the 24 Hours of Le Mans is changing its atmosphere. The bet has been won at this stage regarding the reconversion of the “Doctor”.
Great battle over the first four hours
For a time miraculously dry, the start was marked by a great fight and saw the hierarchy shaken up from the first minutes. Highly publicized and closely followed by viewers around the world, this start of the race is also an image issue for the manufacturers who have every interest in appearing well there. While they were in 3rd and 4th position on the grid, the Ferraris moved back into the lead ahead of Porsche and Cadillac. The Italian brand, faster, did not wait long to take the reins but the hierarchy remains fluid in these first hours of the race.
The rain finally arrived shortly before 6 p.m.which can quickly widen the gap depending on the strategy adopted by each team… especially since it was ultimately not very abundant, which ultimately penalized those who chose to return to the pits to change the tires.
To 19hthe sun returned between still numerous clouds to salute Toyota’s great comeback: the No. 8, driven by Sebastien Buemi, was hot on the heels of the No. 83 Ferrari, the third (private) car of the Italian brand.
Shortly before 8 p.m., Valentino Rossi took his first stint in this 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Public favorite, the nine-time moto GP world champion who is launching a car in the GT3 category is eagerly awaited. He drives the BMW No. 46, the number which was already that of the “Doctor” on a motorcycle.
On site, everyone noticed at the start of the evening the phenomenon which had already marked people’s minds from the start of the tests: there are crazy people! In aisles black with peopleit was difficult to make your way during the first hours of racing of this 92nd edition which took place to a sold-out crowd. Some spectators deplore it moreover in messages to France Bleu Maine.
Yann Lastennet
A spectacular departure ceremony
In front of the teams lined up on the track, the official trophy of the 24 Hours of Le Mans arrived by helicopter, before the performance of the Marseillaise by the Le Mans singer Yoann Launay and the thousands of spectators on the circuit as backup singers. It was then the tricolor which arrived by helicopter and was then transported under close surveillance by the military to be entrusted to the “starter” Zinédine Zidane.
The drivers then returned to their cars to position them in the order determined during the Hyperpole Thursday evening. These last minutes before the start of the double clock are always marked by tension and excitement perceptible by the spectators gathered in the stands and in front of the screens.
“Pilots, start your engines!“ : once the established formula is pronounced by Zinédine Zidane, deliverance is near. It’s time for the formation lap before the safety car moves aside to free the 62 cars.
Which stars are present for the start?
It’s a tradition at Le Mans: familiar faces are always visible among the privileged people who have the chance to walk the track before the start, alongside the cars symbolically arranged in a herringbone pattern like in the era of “Le Mans-type” starts. . For this 2024 vintage, our reporters spotted the comedian Gad Elmalehactor and director Matthew Kassovitz or even the actor Vincent Cassel. We can also cite the actor Michael Youn and the former tennis player and singer Yannick Noahnext captain of the French para-tennis team at the Paris Games.
Also very popular with the public, Alpine’s F1 drivers Pierre Gasly And Esteban Ocon were also present. Thursday, during a meeting in Le Mans city center with the fans, they created a riot.
Rain on everyone’s mind before departure
With the alternation of leaden skies, showers and clearings, it’s difficult not to be feverish at the mention of the weather, as Philippe Sinault, the boss of Alpine, told France Bleu before the departure : “Everyone will be monitoring the situation very closely. We can’t make a risky choice because we have to last 24 hours but I think everyone will stop their strategy at the last moment.“.
Loïc Duval, Peugeot driver, admits that he is also very focused on the weather conditions: “This always opens up opportunities, then you have to know how to seize them. It’s a double-edged sword to take risks“, he explained on France Bleu. Enough to perhaps reshuffle the cards for the Lion brand, which disappointed during the tests.
Zinedine Zidane in high demand
Football legend Zinédine Zidane was chosen to start this 92nd edition. Ambassador of the Alpine brand, present for the first time this year in Hypercar, Zizou took a lap of the track with the Alpenglow, the prototype hydrogen from the French manufacturer.
Before that, he went through the booth of the official 24 Hours speaker Bruno Vandestick, host on France Bleu Maine. Difficult for the 98 world champion to take two steps without complying (visibly with good grace) to the selfie game.
At midday, the public flocks under a threatening sky
Several hours before the start, the public was already numerous and the best and most coveted places were already taken to enjoy the warm-up. THE trams, whose service has been strengthened, were already full before 9 a.m. as noted by a reporter from France Bleu Maine. With windbreakers and rain capes, the spectators seated well in the stands or behind the fences on their camping seats seemed indifferent to the gray of the sky and the showers. The rain will be one of the key elements of the race this weekend.
Léa Dubost
A global event
While waiting for the final figures at the end of the weekend, we can already say that more than 300,000 spectators are expected on the Sarthe circuit for this 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Broadcast around the world, the event attracted nearly 113 million viewers during the record centenary edition in 2023, an audience which reflects the craze that endurance seems to be enjoying again. This year, the village alleys on the circuit were crowded from Wednesday tests and the traditional pilots’ parade which is held on the eve of the start attracted the crowd.
A particularly challenging plateau
The 2023 edition, the centenary of the 24 Hours, had already seen the return to Le Mans of several major manufacturers such as Ferrari. The 2024 edition confirms this renewed interest in endurance: 14 manufacturers are entered in the event and the premier Hypercars category alone has no less than 23 cars. Ferrari, which is fielding three cars in Hypercar, will have a lot to do to retain its title against an armada of competitors.
Among the most followed drivers, we can cite the German Mick Schumacher, son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, who races in Alpine Hypercar colors. This is his first participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, like the star Valentino Rossinine-time MotoGP world champion entered in the LMGT3 category. Romain Grosjean, returning to Le Mans after 14 years of absence, also caused panic throughout the week before departure. The 38-year-old Frenchman, a former Formula 1 driver now involved in Indycar, defends the colors of Lamborghini in Hypercar.
