At Le Mans, Automakers Have Expanded the Top Class

Rewind 12 months to the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France, and the big story was the return of Ferrari and Porsche. Ferrari won that event at its first attempt back in the top class of Le Mans for 50 years. Now, three more major carmakers are trying to do the same.

Alpine, BMW and Lamborghini have joined the Hypercar class for this year. These are prototype machines that lead the multiclass racing for which Le Mans has long been famous. Slower LMP2 prototypes and GT cars that more closely resemble road cars make up the rest of the field.

The number of Hypercar manufacturer entrants had swelled to five last year from three in 2022. Now, with the addition of the Isotta Fraschini team, the factory entries from Alpine, BMW and Lamborghini make it nine manufacturers competing for overall Le Mans success. In total, these squads provide the cars that have the best chance of winning the race.

“We will have an event bigger than last year,” said Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which has organized Le Mans throughout its 101-year history.

More established teams head into this year’s race as the favorites. Ferrari is seeking to defend last year’s win in front of about 325,000 expected spectators. Toyota, which won the previous five races, came close to beating Ferrari last year. Toyota has also won one of three F.I.A. World Endurance Championship events this year. Porsche has won the other two.