Before we get to discussing our race of the year for 2024, there are a number of honourable mentions to cover from what was a true standout year for the sport, globally.
One of them, came earlier this month at Sepang International Circuit, when the Asian Le Mans Series season opener produced grandstand finishes in all three classes.
The fight for the final podium spot in GT3 would have been reason enough to cheer, but then LMP3 saw an epic fight with High Class Racing’s two-man crew (including 73-year-old Mark Patterson) just falling short on the final lap of snatching the win from Ultimate.
Even that though, was eclipsed by one of the closest finishes in ACO rules racing history, as Tristan Vautier and Matthieu Vaxiviere battled for the overall win.
Vaxiviere took the lead at the penultimate turn in his AF Corse ORECA, before being pressured into an error at the very final corner by Vautier in the debuting RD Limited ORECA. The Frenchman crossed the line just 55 thousandths of a second ahead.
Another late-season race, this time in America, also deserves its fair share of praise. The IMSA finale at Road Atlanta was as spectacular as ever, with Chip Ganassi Racing and Renger van der Zande – both in their final races with Cadillac – mounting a stunning comeback.
The Dutchman snatched the lead with a stunning pass on Nick Tandy, before fighting to the line with malfunctioning headlamps.
That wasn’t the only standout IMSA enduro this year, as the Sebring 12 Hours featured a nail-biting sprint finish headlined by a stunning move for the win by Louis Deletraz on Sebastien Bourdais.
The European Le Mans Series’ final race was also a nailbiter, with titles in all four classes up for grabs at Portimao in the final half hour and two of those settled on the very final lap with a mix of stunning speed from some and outstanding strategy from others.
If you’re picking a race to watch during the off-season to get you in the mood for 2025, and you don’t know how it unfolded, look no further!
Another race worth watching for the first time, or rewatching with a coffee on a cold, rainy night this winter, is the Main GT World Cup race at Macau. It featured a stupendous battle for the lead, multiple race-defining incidents and a tense finale. A true classic on the iconic street course!
It must be said though, that none of these, quite reached the level of intensity and drama as the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours, DSC’s race of the year.
Dailysportscar’s 2024 Race of the Year
The Le Mans 24 Hours
This year’s encounter featured an even deeper field of Hypercars than the centenary edition last year and provided some astonishing sequences throughout.
The action was as intense as ever, in part because of the changeable conditions, which ranged from dry, to tricky, to borderline underivable, and back again, setting up an all-time duel between Ferrari and Toyota that will live long in the memory.
Short of the lead car conking on the pit straight on the final lap, it was a race that had everything, and will surely be forever looked back on as a true classic.
The ACO’s showpiece event, for two years in a row now, has demonstrated perfectly that the current ruleset works and is set to work for years to come.
Bring on 2025!
