Le Mans 24 Hours 2024: Ferrari triumphs (again) with the 499P
The 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours was a thriller, with a record-breaking number of Hypercars, changeable weather and the new LMGT3 class making its debut
Not long after the (shortest ever) Nürburgring 24 Hours, Circuit de la Sarthe hosted the biggest endurance race on the 2024 calendar: the Le Mans 24 Hours. The flag dropped on Saturday June 15, with a record-breaking 23 Hypercars taking to the track alongside a fleet of LMP2 cars and the new LMGT3 class. Ferrari came out on top for the second year running in the 499P, with its #50 car beating Toyota to the finish. United Autosport won in the LMP2 class and while Porsche fell short in the Hypercar category, Manthey-Porsche won in LMGT3.
While the new LMGT3 class made its debut in this year’s race, the variety of cars was hardly lacking. A total of 23 cars from 9 different manufacturers hit the track from this category, including Ferrari with the 296 GT3, Ford with the new Mustang GT3 and the McLaren 720S GT3. While the Lamborghini SC63 made its Le Mans debut this year, we’ll have to wait until next year to see the Aston Martin Valkyrie join the club, after it was finally confirmed to be making its competitive debut in the WEC.
> It's confirmed: the Aston Martin Valkyrie is racing at Le Mans in 2025
Including the LMP2 class, a total of 62 cars driven by 186 drivers tackled Circuit de la Sarthe for 24 hours, covering the 8.46-mile track in all weather conditions. With plenty of rain and overall temperatures lower than last year, it wasn't an easy race. Speaking with Ferrari's Hypercar drivers on the eve of the race, we learned that the track conditions made for considerably slower times than the previous year, with rain making the race a spectacle...
Unusually, Toyota wasn't the favourite for this year, with the Penske Motorsport Porsche #6 Porsche 963 driven by Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor coming out on top in Hyperpole. The Cadillac also proved its worth with a second place finish in Hyperpole, but the #50 Ferrari 499P came out on top overall for the second year running, with United Autosports taking the win in LMP2 and the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 finishing first overall in the LMGT3 class.
There were a number of big names at Le Mans for this year’s race, with Romain Grosjean, Mick Schumacher, Robert Kubica and Antonio Giovinazzi just a few of 18 former Formula 1 drivers on the grid. The usual favourites such as Estre and Nick Tandy all made an appearance too, alongside Valentino Rossi in a BMW M4 GT3.
