The DSC team has arrived at Circuit de la Sarthe this morning – where the most anticipated endurance race in many, many generations is set to begin – the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 91st running of the Grand Prix d’Endurance.
Conditions are cloudy this morning, and a bit humid. And there’s the looming threat of rain showers from mid-day, until the start of the race at 16:00 local time.
In the warm-up, though, there were only small spits of rain falling. We’ll see how it all develops…
The crowd on hand is splendid – this race has been sold out for months, and no matter the conditions, the atmosphere of the start in front of an estimated 300,000 plus spectators will be electric.
Before we get locked into our hourly updates, and other stories that will unfold throughout the day – here’s a final catch-up on some of the stories from the past 36 hours!
PMW offers Hypercar technical preview
If you’re unfamiliar with the Hypercar class, and have a few minutes to sit down before the race, our friend Lawrence Butcher has contributed a top-notch technical preview of the top class for Professional Motorsport World (PMW).
Le Mans 100: Hypercar Technical Preview >>>
It’s also filled with wonderful pictures of all the ins and outs of all the cars that will be fighting for the overall victory!
DSC has also written up bumper previews of the entire field, which can be found below:
HYPERCAR PREVIEW
LMP2 PREVIEW
GTE & G56 PREVIEW
Hertz Team JOTA moved to back of grid
Hertz Team JOTA’s Porsche 963 didn’t set a time in Qualifying Practice and was placed 16th on the provisional starting grid on Thursday, behind the 15 other Hypercars.
The official starting grid has been amended last night, and now the #38 Porsche will start 60th out of 62 cars – behind all but one LMGTE Am car.
Also starting out of position is the #13 Tower Motorsports Oreca-07 Gibson, which must serve a three-minute penalty stop at the beginning of the race due to Steven Thomas’ crash into Casper Stevenson and the #777 D’station Racing Aston Martin Vantage GTE on Wednesday.
The @nascarg56 program has assembled three drivers who’ve stood atop the world’s greatest podiums. @m_rockenfeller, @JimmieJohnson, and @JensonButton share their stories from the @FIAWEC’s #LeMans24, @NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, Daytona 500, and @F1’s Monaco GP. pic.twitter.com/6qihiehVKr
— Marshall Pruett (@marshallpruett) June 9, 2023
Corvette Racing penalty rescinded
If you were worried about a notice that the Corvette Racing team would have to serve a five-minute stop-and-go penalty during the race, fear not!
Ben Keating was given a penalty for failing to reduce his speed under the yellow flag.
Speaking with Radio Le Mans before today’s race, he says the team has argued its case that no penalty needs to be served – because they believe they served it at the end of the prior session, and it had been rescinded anyway.
Solution F, GCK reveal Foenix H2
The Toyota GR H2 Racing Concept and Ligier/Bosch joint-developed JS2 RH2 weren’t the only hydrogen combustion racing vehicles unveiled at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Green Corp Konnection (GCK) group and its Provence-based subsidiary Solution F debuted the Foenix H2, which GCK says will confirm its “industrial ambitions in the development of hydrogen combustion engines.”
The Foenix H2 is powered by a 6.2 litre V8 engine which boasts 450 kW of power at 6500 rpm, and 700 Nm of torque at 4500 rpm, and also features a direct hydrogen injection system that allows dihydrogen gas to be used as fuel through a 700-bar storage tank with an 8 kg capacity.
GCK is also aiming to keep running costs as low as possible for potential customers and promoters of a one-make racing series.
GCK and Solution F say that the Foenix H2 will take part in various events throughout 2024 for further demonstrations.
Vilebrequin’s ludicrous “Miltipla” hits the track
Between Qualifying Practice and Free Practice 2 on Wednesday evening, a car took to the track that had almost everyone at DSC wondering something to the effect of, “what in the blue hell is this? It sounds and drives like an absolute demon but looks horrible!”
It’s a super silhouette version of the eccentrically-styled Fiat Multipla MPV, known as the 1000tipla (“Mil-tipla”).
The car is the brainchild of YouTube personalities Sylvain Levy and Pierre Chabrier, whose channel Vilebrequin reaches over two million subscribers as of publication.
It took nearly 1.1 million EUR, raised through a crowdfunding initiative, to bring the 1000tipla to life. Under the bonnet of this strange car is a supercharged 6.2L Chevrolet V8 engine, sourced from the seventh-generation Corvette Z06, and modified to produce the car’s eponymous 1000 horsepower figure.
The 1000tipla was transformed into a purpose-built track vehicle by French tuning garage W-Autosport – located near Circuit Magny-Cours – and Kei Miura, the founder of provocative automotive styling group Rocket Bunny, designed a unique wide body kit which places this strange vehicle further into uncanny valley.
Ferrari fastest in Warm Up
The #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P was quickest in the morning Warm Up session in Hypercar – and also, not far behind, was the #3 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R which was back on track after its fire in Hyperpole Qualifying and subsequent engine change.
The United Autosports #23 Oreca 07-Gibson was quickest in LMP2, and the #57 Kessel Racing (CarGuy) Ferrari 488 GTE EVO was quickest in GTE Am in a session with no significant incidents to report.
Drama at Glickenhaus
DSC understands that the #708 Glickenhaus 007 Hypecar won’t make the grid for today’s race, the team currently fixing a gearbox leak. We wait to see if it manages to make it out at the start.
All of us at DSC would like to wish everyone a safe and happy 24 Hours of Le Mans…
