24 Hours of Le Mans Preview: LMGT3

Benjamin Crundwell
2 days ago
3 min read

Written by Benjamin Crundwell, Edited by Morgan Holiday

Hailed as the greatest race on the planet, the 93rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place this weekend. For the second time in its history, the LMGT3 class will be racing for the ultimate motoring prize.

62 cars will take the green flag next Saturday at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT), split across three separate classes: Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3. The 24 hour race will finish at 16:00 local time on Sunday.

The track stretches across 13.626km through the French countryside. Half of the circuit takes place on public roads, most of which is the Mulsanne straight which has been split by two chicanes since 1990.

Although these chicanes slow the cars down, they provide good overtaking opportunities for each class to make passes on one another. These two chicanes are not the only places for drivers to make moves, as most corners provide a good chance for close racing.

The LMGT3 class are challenged with being the slowest class, meaning they have to race with their eyes on their mirrors as LMP2 and Hypercars will be flying past for the full 24 hours.

Some corners swell the danger for traffic, such as the Esses d’Indianapolis, a fast right hander followed by an immediate 90 degree left hander. At that corner last year an Aston Martin finished its race upside down after drifting off line while letting one of the Ferrari Hypercars past.

The weather is due to be calm, however, there is a small chance of rain on Saturday and overnight. Any rain could cause strategic challenges as the track has a large span so it can be wet in one place but dry in another.

The LMGT3 class is the biggest of the three, with 24 entrants set to start the race. Of the 24 cars, there are nine manufacturers: Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin, McLaren, Corvette, Porsche, Lexus, Ford and BMW.

With balance of performance (BoP) in play, any of the manufacturers could win the race as the overall pace of the car will depend on how the drivers and team set up the car rather than the core design. This feature allows the cars to look like their road-going alternatives, without compromising its pace.

In the first test session last Sunday, the No.87 Lexus RCF went fastest in the hands of Bronze driver, Petru Umbrarescu. A significant second and a half back from the Lexus, Simon Mann did a 3:56.8 in the No.21 Ferrari 296, just beating the sister No.57 Ferrari.

The first non-Ferrari or Lexus car in testing was Antares Au in the No.90 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R who was two and a half seconds off the lead Lexus. The No.90 is a favourite to win, as Au is partnered with Loek Hartog and Platinum driver Klaus Bachler.

Breaking the hearts of many fans, Michelle Gatting was forced to pull out of this years 24 Hours of Le Mans after an ankle injury during driver change practice. The Iron Dames squad have replaced the Danish driver with Sarah Bovy, who is a regular in the all-girl team.

Moto GP legend Valentino Rossi will star in the No.46 Team WRT BMW M4, looking to find redemption after his crash in last year's race. Rossi will team up with Ahmad Al Harthy and Kelvin van der Linde.

Last year, Rossi’s teammate was Maxime Martin who has now switched from BMW to Mercedes, who are making their first attempt at Le Mans since 1999. Martin will race in the No.61 Iron Lynx Mercedes which will race with a special retro livery.

Last year’s winner in the LMGT3 class was the No.91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R at the hands of Richard Lietz, Morris Schuring and Yasser Shahin. While Schuring won’t compete this year, Lietz will drive the No.92 car while Shahin has switched to BMW, to drive the No.21 car.

Qualifying will kick off on Wednesday at 18:45 local time (16:45 GMT), and Hyperpole for LMGT3 will take place from 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT) the next day on Thursday.

The first qualifying session takes place after FP1, meaning drivers only have a short period of time to learn the setups on the track before they have to set fast laps.

Two days after the final qualifying session, the big race will begin at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT), and 24 hours of exhilarating action will ensue. The race can be watched from WEC TV with a 17.99 euro subscription.

With potential variable weather and one of the most competitive grids in history, the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans is set to be an exhilarating race.