24 Hours of Le Mans Preview: Hypercar
- Aaron Carroll
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
It is once again every Sportscar racing fan's favourite time of year. It's time for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 18 Hypercars will take to the Circuit de la Sarthe this weekend, all of which fighting for overall honours.
Entry List
All 17 of the full season World Endurance Championship (WEC) entrants are in the paddock this weekend, with the addition of the No.101 Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) Cadillac V Series.R.
Brothers (and sons of Wayne Taylor) Jordan and Ricky Taylor will be piloting that car, alongside Felipe Albuquerque. All three drivers will be well known by IMSA fans around the world, driving across WTR's two line-ups in the championship.
The two latter drivers are currently teammates in the No.10 entry, and just took their first podium of the year in Detroit just over a week ago. Jordan drives the No.40 entry alongside Louis Delétraz, with that duo coming out sixth in Detroit.
The same trio competed in last years event, starting 14th, but would ultimately not finish the race due to an engine failure after completing 189 laps of racing.
Elsewhere on the entry list, Louis Delétraz will take the place of Alex Lynn, who is still dealing with an injury and awaiting surgery. He was expected to return for this race, but a rescheduled operation has pushed his return date back further.
Championship Standings
In the Hypercar manufacturers standings it's BMW at the top after their 1-2 finish last time out in Spa. They sit on 59 points, just seven points ahead of second placed Toyota. Ferrari are only slightly further adrift on 42 points.
It's a much larger gap back to Aston Martin and Alpine tied on 14 points in fourth and fifth. Then comes Peugeot in sixth on nine points, Cadillac in seventh with eight and Genesis bringing up the rear after their first ever points finish in Spa gave them six points.
In terms of the drivers standings, the No.20 BMW is on top after their stellar win in Spa. Their 35 points has them nine clear of the No.8 Toyota and 10 clear of the No.7. You only have to go back another point to the No.15 BMW, and just one more again to the No.50 Ferrari.
Then comes the sister No.50, the No.007 Aston Martin and the No.35 Alpine rounding out the list of cars that have scored more than 10 points.
The rest of the teams stack up as follows: No.83 Ferrari, No.93 Peugeot, No.17 Genesis, No.38 Cadillac, No.12 Cadillac, No.94 Peugeot, No.36 Alpine, No.19 Genesis and No.009 Aston Martin.
All of this is likely to change though, as double points are offered in Le Mans and manufacturers are awarded one extra point for each car that reaches the end of the 24 hours.
The headlines
Can Ferrari make it four in a row?
The No.51 won in 2023, the No.50 won in 2024 and the No.83 won in 2025. Each of the three 499P line-ups have taken home the winners trophy at Le Mans in the last three years. Can one of them win their second?
They certainly head into the weekend as one of the favourites, despite not winning either of the opening two rounds. They are the only manufacturer to stand on both podiums so far this season (P2 for No.51 in Imola and P3 for No.50 in Spa).
Both factory cars do have a shot, but the No.83 hasn't quite shown the pace it had last year. 10th in Imola and sixth in Spa give them two points finishes, but they never quite looked like they'd challenge the front runners for victory, or even a podium.
Despite the absence of Porsche - one of their biggest competitors in the last two years - this seems to be the most competitive field Ferrari have faced at Le Mans in this Hypercar era, so any result will be tough.
Could it be Toyota back on top?
In Ferrari's three winning years, Toyota have finished second, second and fifth. Such a devastating string of results for a team that had won the last five editions in a row.
This year, they're back, and with an updated car. The TR010 has already proved to be on par with the outgoing GR010, securing first and third place in it's first ever race.
Most consider them to be in quite a favourable position for the win this Sunday. They've got the car, the drivers and the winning experience, but at Le Mans it's all about execution, and an ample amount of luck.
Can BMW continue their Spa form?
A 1-2 in Spa isn't just a fluke, BMW do have some pace. The No.20 crew played their strategy cards right, and in clean air the car flew. But in such a competitive field, with the addition of the LMP2 cars (which are usually quicker than the Hypercars in the Porsche curves), finding clean air won't be so easy.
If either of the two M Hybrid V8s pull off a victory this weekend, it'll be BMWs first overall win since 1999, and just their second ever.
Ones to watch
No.009 Aston Martin
With what is still a pretty new car, Aston Martin have shown a lot of signs of speed so far. Spa really was the peak of that, with the No.007 finishing fourth and the No.009 crashing out of a great result late on.
Importantly though, they were very quick in a straight line in Spa, which is important there, but even more important down the Mulsanne and the run down to Indianapolis.
If luck stays on their side - and that's a big if - both cars will be well within range for some good points, and potentially even a podium.
No.38 Cadillac
Cadillac haven't been particularly competitive so far this season, but we do have to remember they locked out the front row last year in qualifying. Granted, pole man Alex Lynn is out this year dealing with an injury, but that doesn't mean they don't have the pace.
Jack Aitken joins the No.38 crew this year, after Jenson Button's retirement at the end of 2025. The Briton has been in the form of his life in the No.31 Whelen GTP entry in IMSA, so a standout performance is on the cards.
Pair that with the ever reliable Sebastian Bourdais and Earl Bamber, you've put together a great line-up. If they can find their pace, and keep it consistent, they'll surely be in the top 5, and maybe even more.
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