Graham Goodwin: Toyota, after two near-misses, finally regains its crown
Masters of strategy, and with a data and knowledge bank at the race that dwarfs their opposition, Toyota Gazoo Racing will retain the crown they last won in 2022 this year, taking their winning total with the GR010 to three and their overall winning total to six.
Their race pace will be enough, coupled with on-track and pit lane discipline, to see off what will likely be the closest-run Le Mans of the modern era.
RJ O’Connell: Mercedes-AMG will return to the (LMGT3) podium
Two disasters of vastly different magnitudes, generations apart, had endurance racing fans thinking that hell would surely freeze over before the Mercedes ‘Silver Arrows’ would ever return to Le Mans. But you can never say never!
Though, it’s been a tough WEC and ELMS campaign for the Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG (LM)GT3s, and it was a tough lead-in to the race with setbacks for two of the three team cars.
But it wouldn’t be a shock to see the new #61 trio of Berry, Hodenius, and Martin pull off what would be considered a major upset in the context of the 2025 season so far and put one of the retro-liveried Iron Lynx Mercedes on the podium.
Martin Little: AF Corse takes two classes (or more)
My punt would be AF Corse to be the first operation (and in Ferrari, the first brand) to deliver a victory in prototype and GT classes. The Vista AF Corse crew coming good at Spa was an inevitability as the 296 LMGT3 has steadily been unlocked, and the Italian operation has delivered two previous GT victories at Le Sarthe.
The only time that I can recall that a marque has won more than one class is Aston Martin doing GTE Pro and Am in 2020. And AF Corse also has an LMP2 car, albeit a Pro/Am entry but its ‘Am’ in Francois Perrodo is solid – it is quite possible that AF Corse could win all three classes!
Ewan Wane: Six manufacturers take a turn up front
2023 saw an incredible eight cars, representing five manufacturers and six different teams, lead at least one lap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
All of these figures are a WEC-era record, with the eight-car figure subsequently equalled last year.
Lap-by-lap timing data quickly becomes difficult to find once you go beyond 2011, but it is safe to say that if it has happened before, it has been a long, long time since more than five manufacturers have led Le Mans.
With this year’s Hypercar field appearing to be the most competitive yet, I’m predicting that at least nine cars from at least six different manufacturers will lead the race.
Richard James: One of Hypercar’s ‘outsiders’ crashes the podium
While I’d love to predict Porsche gets No. 20 this year, I don’t see that happening, even if I think that’s the manufacturer’s singular focus for 2025 after the Driver’s title last year and the Manufacturer’s.
So, my best kind-of-bold prognostication is three different manufacturers on the overall podium, with one of them coming from outside the “big three” of Toyota, Ferrari and Porsche. In other words, a Peugeot, Cadillac, Alpine or BMW will land on the podium.
Andrew ‘Skippy’ Hall: Alpine lasts the distance and reaches the podium
The Alpine A424s looked quick here last year until they broke down, and they’ve looked quick throughout this year.
Assuming they don’t have another major issue, they look good to get at least make the podium with one of their two cars – and I quite like the #36 car with Mick Schumacher in the form that he’s in, joined by Fred Makowiecki and Jules Gounon.
Stephen Kilbey: 10 or more cars finish on the lead lap
This era has delivered some of the closest racing the sport has ever seen, and last year was a record breaker, with nine cars finishing on 311 laps after 24 hours.
This year looks even closer than last, with every brand bar Aston Martin and Peugeot feeling like they have a shot. So by the end of this one, I reckon we’ll have cars into double figures all still battling it out for the win.
Wouldn’t that be something?
