What Did We Learn From The Centenary Le Mans 24 Hours? (Part 2)
After a whirlwind of a centenary Le Mans 24 Hours week was capped by one of the best races at the Circuit de la Sarthe in recent memory, the DSC editorial team has put together some analysis of the major points that arose from the event.
After a race meeting as significant as this one, there is simply too much to discuss, so DSC has written up a two-parter. Here is the second instalment.
Missed Part 1? Catch up HERE >>>
WEC title races becoming clearer
The stunning victory for the #33 Corvette Racing crew, coupled with misfortune again for a number of their title rivals, has put the GM brand and its drivers on the brink of wrapping up the GTE Am title in Monza. The lead for Ben Keating, Nico Varonne and Nicky Catsburg is now 74 points over the newly second placed ORT by TF effort.
In Hypercar, a double points win for the #51 Ferrari crew of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovanazzi has put them firmly in title contention with three races to go.
The #8 Toyota finishing second did much to soften the blow, but the lead for Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa is just 25 points over the #51 trio, who have recovered well from seventh and sixth-place finishes in the races at Sebring and Portimao.
The steady improvement of Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook has seen them consolidate third overall, a further 12 points a drift but still just about in the hunt.
In the Hypercar manufacturer title race, Toyota leads but the gap to Ferrari is just 19 points. With both manufacturers having two strong cars to draw their strongest points results, third place Cadillac must rely on the form of the #2 alone.
In the Hypercar manufacturer title race, Toyota leads but the gap to Ferrari is just 19 points
As with the Hypercar class, results from Le Mans in LMP2 are currently still provisional, with several cars in the top class and the winning car from Inter Europol in LMP2 having components examined by the FIA at the time of writing. (This is not an unusual part of the process)
The second-place finishers in the #41 WRT ORECA lead the championship by just four points from Inter Europol Competition’s #34. The Polish team’s first Le Mans, first FIA WEC and only second-ever LMP2 win has provided them with a real boost.
The United Autosports cars have dropped back in the order, but are still in title contention.
LMP2 dogfight produces surprising results
Inter Europol’s results this season in the FIA WEC have been truly head-turning. The team has been in the mix everywhere and scored two podiums in the first three races, followed by a famous win at Le Mans, netting double points. This puts them the team in real contention with just three races to go.
The depth of competition in this final year (for now) of LMP2 in the FIA WEC leaves the teams looking for fine margins. It also raises eyebrows when truly standout performances occur.
That is perhaps why the results remain provisional, but should not take away from an astounding performance, in particular by the visibly injured Fabio Scherer.
If the result is confirmed, it will continue to leave the established LMP2 ‘Super Teams’ bewildered about just what it is that the long-standing LMP team from Poland has managed to find in the cost-capped and performance-limited package. Judging by several aspects of the data from Le Mans, the #34 07 Gibson had an edge.
Efforts to improve fan experience pays off
From the moment DSC arrived for Test Day, it was clear that the significant investment in fan facilities at Le Mans made a difference not just visually, but also in terms of the ability and comfort of fans to move around and view the action.
A new bridge crossing the circuit before the Ford Chicane, new entrance facilities at the north and south gates, further enhancements to the fan village and not least a significant re-sculpting of the viewing areas before the Dunlop Bridge, all helped to add more quality to this special event.
We hope to see further improvements in future years to ensure that the current boost in popularity of the sport is sustained by even higher quality fan experiences in the future.
On the wishlist for the future should be a full review and revamp of the mobile phone and data networks, including on-site wifi for racegoers. This is an increasingly essential aspect to help ensure fans trackside get the very most out of an event with as much depth as the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The FIA WEC app, and its functionality when in use trackside where data and wifi signals can be spotty also needs further enhancements and improvements. Numerous race-going fans have made it clear to DSC that the difficulty in accessing an audio-only feed and live timing without a permanent over-the-top video player was a source of real frustration when phone signal was at a premium.
The news avalanche!
The world debut of two significant new cars, (Alpine’s LMDh and the Ford Mustang GT3), full calendar details for the FIA WEC and Asian Le Mans Series, new hydrogen-powered cars from both Toyota and Ligier and significant updates on future class structures all made for an exciting week for news followers. It was a busy and exhausting one though, for news gatherers.
Le Mans is always busy on this front, and whilst it’s always good to get such an avalanche of news, perhaps thought needs to be given to whether the majority of it being released on a single day is the right move for all concerned.
More eyes than ever on the WEC and Le Mans
The centenary event, the explosion in factory representation in the top class and not least the historic win from Ferrari combined for a dream result for the ACO and the FIA WEC in both media attendance and the breadth and depth of news and feature coverage. This was unimaginable in recent years.
TV and or online viewers in many territories have a choice of broadcast. There were representatives both in the media room and across the paddock from a vast array of daily, weekly and monthly online, print, broadcast and new-media outlets too.
The FIA WEC’s YouTube channel, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans social media outlets, received huge boosts in numbers. We can report too from DSC’s own experiences that it was clear that the 2023 race was more popular than ever.
This is the point where the truly hard work should really begin
It seems that across the board, interest and positivity are higher than ever. Whilst it’s quite correct that all involved to allow themselves a moment of self-congratulation, the reality is that this is the point where the truly hard work should really begin in maintaining as much as possible of that interest in the longer term.
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