Le Mans news roundup: Hydrogen demos, new drivers and liveries galore
- Aaron Carroll
- 2 minutes ago
- 7 min read
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is fast approaching, with the first test getting underway just this morning, Sunday the 7th of June. There's a lot of news to get your head around in the run up to the event, so DIVEBOMB compiles a roundup of all the news you may have missed in the last couple of weeks.
Toyota announce demo run of re-named Hydrogen car
Toyota Racing will run two demo sessions of the Circuit De La Sarthe next week with their TR LH2 prototype. The runs, taking place on the Thursday and Saturday of race week will also feature a hydrogen powered Ligier JS2 RH2 developed by Bosch, Maserati and Ligier themselves.
The Toyota car is based on the TR010 Hypercar and is fuelled by liquid hydrogen. The Japanese marque have experience with hydrogen race cars, namely in the Super Taikyu series with the GR Corolla H2. That car - introduced in 2021 - initially ran gaseous hydrogen, before moving to liquid hydrogen in 2023. The brand has also completed demo runs with a GR Yaris Rally2 during World Rally Championship (WRC) events.
Both the Toyota TR LH2 and the Ligier JS2 RH2 will be on display in the Hydrogen Village prior to their demo runs.
Delétraz to fill in for Lynn at Le Mans
Cadillac Hertz Team Jota's Alex Lynn has missed the opening two rounds of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) awaiting a planned surgery. The Briton that gave his No.12 crew pole position for Le Mans last year was due to make his return in the great race, but a rescheduled procedure has pushed his return date back.
Delétraz has already completed a Silverstone test with the team ahead of the 24 hour and joined the team in place of Lynn on their way to a ninth place finish in Spa.
AO Racing shuffle driver line-up and introduce Rockie The Pegasus
Delétraz was orignally due to race alongside Dane Cameron and PJ Hyett in the No.99 AO by TF LMP2 Pro-Am entry, but left a gap in the line-up with his switch to Cadillac Hypercar.
2022 and 2023 Le Mans winner and 2023 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) champion James Allen will be filling the gap, in AO's brand new character car.
'Rockie the Pegasus' takes over the car that was 'Spike the Dragon' last year, as the latest edition in AO Racings list of character cars. Rockie is looking to defend Spike's LMP2 Pro/Am win from 2025. This new design stems from the teams Mobil 1 partnership.
“Rockie brings a new presence and energy to the AO universe. Her towering wings and small hooves appear poised for takeoff, ready to take flight. Flared nostrils and a focused expression give her an aggressive edge, accompanied by a flowing red mane and a sharp white blaze running down the bridge of her nose.” say the team.
Rockie also comes with his own set of merchandise for fans to enjoy.
Proton collaborate with Seven x Seven Racing for LMP2 effort
Proton Competition have chosen to collaborate with Japanese Sportscar team Seven x Seven racing for this years race. The crossover effort also completes the cars driver line-up. Harry King and Jonas Reid were originally announced as pilots, and they will now be joined by Kakunoshin Ohta.
Ohta is known for his exploits in the Super Formula championship - where he currently leads the drivers standings are winning two of the first four races - and in the SuperGT GT500 class. He has also competed in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar championship, with Acura in GTP and in LMP2 with Era Motorsport.
Proton is joined by a Japanese team that is just two years old, but has already seen some great successes in the East. They won their first ever race in the SRO Japan Cup and the 2025 Super Taikyu GT3 championship. They also helped Porsche break a 13 year drought in Super GT when King and Kiyoto Fujinami won last October.
News also came from the sister Proton entry in LMP2 Pro/Am. The No.44 entry was originally meant to be driven by Horst Felbermayr Jr., Horst Felix Felbermayr and Stefan Aust, however in a last minute change Aust has been replaced by Lorenzo Fluxá, who competed the Asian Le Mans Series (AsLMS) with the Felbermayr's over the Winter.
Testing driver changes
The test day for the 24 Hours of Le Mans is already underway, and there a few names involved who aren't quite on the entry for the main event next week.
Laurens Vanthoor has been added to United Autosports LMP2 testing line-up, in preparation for his venture into Hypercar with the team and McLaren. He will also complete the required drive time to allow him to be a reserve driver for the main event, should he be needed.
Esteban Masson is set to test and race the No.29 Forestier Racing LMP2, but is also on the entry list to test Toyota's TR010. The young Frenchman has been linked to the brand many times, namely the Bahrain rookie test in 2025.
Full season IMSA drivers Marco Wittmann and Phillip Eng will test the BMW M Hybrid V8s. Meanwhile Sami Meguetounif will test both the No.12 TDS and No.29 Forestier LMP2s, but is not due to be racing next week at all. The same can be said for Ollie Caldwell and Marlon Hernandez who will test the No.25 APR and No.3 DKR LMP2s respectively.
Inter Europol's art car
The world's fastest bakery will return to Le Mans this year to defend their win from last season with a new look. Kuba Śmiechowski, Tom Dillmann, and Nick Yelloly will pilot the No.43 Oreca 07 in a livery which has been designed by Aleksandra and Gustaw Lange.
Sport Director of the team, Sascha Fassbender said "With this Art Car project, we wanted to go further than performance alone. It is about expressing who we are as a team, telling a story, and connecting with people in a way that goes beyond the track.
"Motorsport gives you a unique stage, and we believe it should also be a space for creativity, for bold ideas, and for thinking truly out of the box.”
Iron Lynx return to Silver and Akkodis ASP switch it up
Credit: Iron Lynx and Akkodis ASP
After last year's return to the great race for Mercedes with Iron Lynx, the crew will return to the silver liveries they used last year.
The No.61 car can be identified by it's black rear end, with the No.79 sporting a neon yellow, while the No.62 Qatari entry will reflect the flag of Qatar with a maroon rear.
Lexus and Akkodis ASP have parted ways with their traditional dark red schemes for Le Mans too. The No.78 will have an orange livery, while the No.87 will have a matching green paint job.
In the former of those cars, full-season driver Esteban Masson will step away to focus on his efforts in LMP2, so he will be substituted by Lexus regular Jack Hawksworth.
AF Corse go Brazilian and Kessel try something new
Credit: AF Corse and Kessel Racing
The No.150 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari LMGT3 will take on the green and yellow colours of Brazil, following on from last years French flag livery. Brazilian Custodio Toledo, Riccardo Agostini and Lilou Wadoux will be at the helm of that car.
The No.74 Kessel Racing Ferrari also steps away from it's traditional livery, opting for a prodominantley black and white Ferrari 296 GT3 for the Le Mans event. Dustin Blattner, Lorenzo Patrese and Dennis Marschall are the drivers of the entry that got it's invitation from winning the GT class of the AsLMS.
Genesis go orange and BMW revise their Shell livery
Credit: Genesis Magma Racing and BMW
Both the No.17 and No.19 Genesis Hypercars will race in the brands 'Magma' livery for the first time at Le Mans. The livery is similar to the one shown on the car when it was revealed at Le Mans last year, and takes inspiration from volanic origins of the Korean peninsula.
Team principal Cyril Abiteboul said “It is the toughest test we face during the FIA WEC season, especially as a team in our first season, but it is also our biggest opportunity to show the identity of Genesis and Genesis Magma Racing to the world through racing.
“Since we launched the team in December 2024, Magma has been a key part of our name and our identity, so to be able to bring Genesis Magma fully to life on track is very important. The cars look fantastic, and as a team we will be working to make sure our performance matches the level of attention that has gone into creating the designs.”
Meanwhile BMW and WRT have shaken up the Spa winning and championship leading No.20 machine. It retains the same Shell colours, but with a much smoother gradient, instead of the usual block-ish design.
BMW LMGT3s take on new looks
Credit: Team WRT
Both the No.69 and No.32 WRT BMW M4 LMGT3s will have fresh liveries for Le Mans.
The No.69 continues on it's mission of having a new historic livery at every round of the WEC this season. This time, it's a McLaren tribute livery. This scheme is a throwback to the BMW powered McLaren F1 GTR's that raced at Le Mans in the 90s, specifically the famous Gulf liveries.
The No.32's scheme takes inspiration from artwork from driver Darren Leung's company, Paradine. Incorporating elements from that, and the team's full season livery, they have created their Le Mans car.
75 years of Porsche Motorsport
Porsche will celebrate 75 years in motorsport this weekend with a pair of special liveries for their LMGT3 entries. Both the No.91 and No.92 will be seen in a fully silver scheme, with a '75' sticker on the rear of both cars.
The livery is based on the 1951 Porsche 356 SL Coupé, Porsche's first ever entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That car also scored the brand it's first class victory in the same year.
