Le Mans 24 Hours Preview: Part 2, LMP2

With increased numbers of Hypercars coming next year, along with the arrival of the new LMGT3 class – 2023 is almost certainly the final year for the sonorous and rapid LMP2 class as a full-fledged member of the FIA World Endurance Championship, at least for now. There will simply not be slots on the WEC […]

With increased numbers of Hypercars coming next year, along with the arrival of the new LMGT3 class – 2023 is almost certainly the final year for the sonorous and rapid LMP2 class as a full-fledged member of the FIA World Endurance Championship, at least for now. There will simply not be slots on the WEC grid available for a class that has entertained royally since the current cars were introduced in 2017.

But that’s not to say we won’t still see these cars at Le Mans – we will. But it will be a smaller grid drawn from the supporting ACO regional series in Europe and Asia, as well as from IMSA, in the future.

For now, we get a bumper crop of 24 LMP2 entries, all ORECA 07 chassis, all with the 4.2-litre Gibson normally aspirated V8 engine.

11 cars are full-time WEC entries including two car entries from previous Le Mans class winners United Autosports, Team WRT and Alpine, plus the growing force of Prema Racing with a pair.  Full-season WEC entrants Inter Europol Competition add a second car, one of nine that feature at least one Bronze-ranked driver in the LMP2 Pro-Am sub-class.

Add in entries of real quality from the European Le Mans Series and via successes for teams in the Asian Le Mans Series and IMSA, and it all comes together for a class that should not be ignored.  The cars may be the same but the teams, and in particular the drivers, certainly aren’t.

Again, this won’t be LMP2’s last dance at Le Mans – but this will be one passage in the final chapter of LMP2 as part of the WEC, and it promises to be a gripping tale!

Prema Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson

#9 Juan Manuel Correa, Filip Ugran & Bent Viscaal
#63 Doriane Pin, Mirko Bortolotti & Daniil Kvyat

The Prema Racing squad stepped up to a two-car full-season WEC effort this season in preparation for their role as the partner for the forthcoming Lamborghini Hypercar effort next season.

Thus far things are going well. The #63 car in particular has been in the mix all season, with Lamborghini factory drivers Bortolotti and Kvyat both very quick, if a little edgy at times. Young Doriane Pin is the Silver-graded driver and is progressing beautifully in her first season in the class. Her form is turning heads throughout the class as she tops the times of her peers, and with every passing race she looks more and more like a future champion and Le Mans winner. That future may be imminent!

The sister #9 car has been steadier throughout the year, if not as spectacular. Ecuadorian-American driver Juan Manuel Correa is aboard for his first start in the big race, four years on from sustaining severe injuries in the Formula 2 horror crash at Spa-Francorchamps, and the lengthy recovery that followed. Ugran and Viscaal are fellow single-seater alumni looking for their big breakthrough.

The effort is set to see something of a tortoise and hare approach, but the drivers will be hoping that the team’s strategy will find the form and luck that has deserted them thus far!

Fastest Test Day time: 3:37.130 (7th in class, set by the #9 during the afternoon session)

Vector Sport – ORECA 07 Gibson

#10 Ryan Cullen, Gabriel Aubry & Matthias Kaiser

It’s a second season in the FIA WEC and a second outing at Le Mans for the still very new UK-based Vector Sport outfit.

Operating under the management of experienced hand Gary Holland, the team has high ambitions – and is set to join the Hypercar class as early as the final round of the current WEC season in Bahrain with the new Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH-C prototype.

The incoming Isotta Fraschini Hypercar, when it arrives, will be fielded alongside Vector Sport’s #10 LMP2 Oreca which has not lacked for pace, particularly in the hands of the mercurial Gabriel Aubry. The Frenchman was unlucky to miss out on the class pole at Portimao by one-thousandth of a second.

In his first year of WEC racing, Mathias Kaiser is showing promise and progress but needs the team’s reliability and luck to turn a corner to give him the best possible opportunity to develop. Ryan Cullen has more experience at this level, but he too shows all the signs of needing more race time to find his pace.

The ambition is there – it’s simply a matter of putting all that potential together when it matters most.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:37.163 (9th in class, set during the afternoon session)

Tower Motorsports – ORECA 07 Gibson

#13 Steven Thomas, Rene Rast & Ricky Taylor (Pro-Am)

Tower Motorsports secured entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans after team owner John Farano won the Jim Trueman Award, given to the highest-ranked Bronze-rated driver in IMSA’s LMP2 category – in addition to winning the LMP2 championship itself last year.

The Canadian squad is partnering with TDS Racing for this entry, Tower’s first at Le Mans as a full-scale racing operation.

Tower has the services of two elite drivers with proven pedigrees: Ricky Taylor, a two-time IMSA premier class champion, and René Rast, a three-time DTM champion from the later years of its silhouette touring formula. Taylor has won the major endurance races at Daytona and Sebring, Rast has likewise won the 24-hour classics at Spa and the Nürburgring.

But the man responsible for putting this programme together will not be at Le Mans. Farano suffered a crash at the most recent IMSA race at Laguna Seca, which has left him unable to take part in what would have been his second outing.

In his place, fellow LMP2-experienced gentleman driver Steven Thomas – a TDS Racing mainstay in IMSA – will take part in his second Le Mans, hoping to go two-for-two as last year’s Pro-Am class winner!

Fastest Test Day time: 3:37.414 (11th in class, set during the afternoon session)

Nielsen Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson

#14 Rodrigo Sales, Mathias Beche & Ben Hanley (Pro-Am)

The 2022 Asian Le Mans Series Championship-winning team are struggling to translate that form into their subsequent European season thus far, as British-flagged Nielsen Racing continue to develop upwards from their thriving LMP3 programme.

Whether through their creative livery designs, amusing approach to social media, or just their flat-out commitment and sportsmanship – this team is quickly becoming a fan-favourite in the LMP2 ranks. This year, they’re bringing a special version of their gold foil livery with original artwork by Mark Morgan to celebrate the Le Mans centenary.

The jovial Rodrigo Sales is the classic gentleman driver – he’s been finding speed with every race but struggling to shrug off the effect of an on-track error or two. But he has a great supporting cast: Mathias Beche joined Nielsen Racing this season and is as rapid as ever, alongside fellow Pro, the always-focused Ben Hanley.

If this trio of Sales, Beche, and Hanley can string together a clean race – there’s no doubt they can compete for the Pro-Am class win!

Fastest Test Day time: 3:38.583 (20th in class, set during the morning session)

United Autosports – ORECA 07 Gibson

#22 Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque & Frederick Lubin
#23 Oliver Jarvis, Tom Blomqvist & Josh Pierson

Multiple championship winners across multiple series, and Le Mans race winners, there are few teams as accomplished in the class as United Autosport. The renowned Anglo-American team a pair of full-season WEC cars again, both with high-quality line-ups.

The #22 sees the now long-time partnership of Phil Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque continue on. This year they’re joined by young British driver Freddie Lubin, who’s been finding his feet quickly – especially after winning on his class debut at Sebring. This driver trio, coupled with excellent strategy from the team need to be considered as real contenders here for the win.

In the sister #23 car there’s arguably an even more impressive trio. Josh Pierson is the youngest driver in the field for a second year, and has real pace.

He’s joined by reigning IMSA premier class champions, Oliver Jarvis and Tom Blomqvist. Jarvis is another world-class talent, and Blomqvist is running here alongside his 2023 IMSA GTP programme with Acura. Blomqvist in particular is proving to be a standout talent, with back-to-back overall wins at Daytona.

If either United car is to win this race, they must not only go head-to-head and wheel-to-wheel with their competition from other teams – they must also battle fair with one another.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:36.915 (6th in class, set by the #23 during the afternoon session)

JOTA – ORECA 07 Gibson

#28 David Heinemeier Hansson, Pietro Fittipaldi & Oliver Rasmussen

Jota’s LMP2 effort dominated its class last year, winning LMP2 for the third time in nine years. Jota returns to LMP2 but with a very different programme.

The #28 now runs as a single-car LMP2 effort alongside the “Mighty ’38” Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963.

There’s no sense whatsoever though of the team dumbing down on this effort – and whilst the #28 has not yet found its full form, Le Mans could be a turning point.

David Heinemeier-Hansson has experience aplenty at Le Mans, among which includes the emotional 2014 GTE Am class win for the Aston Martin “Dane Train”.

Oliver Rasmussen – who finished third in this car last year – is building up his confidence too. If third-generation driver Pietro Fittipaldi can unlock his undoubted speed, this could be a more-than-steady prospect for a good run. Good enough, perhaps, for a fourth LMP2 class triumph.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:35.472 (1st in class, set during the afternoon session)

Duqueine Team – ORECA 07 Gibson

#30 Neel Jani, Rene Binder, Nico Pino

Duquiene Engineering is a presence in LMP3 as a chassis constructor, and here at Le Mans, Duquiene is present as an Oreca customer team with an intriguing mix of drivers.

2016 Le Mans overall winner and World Endurance Drivers’ Champion Neel Jani is the big draw here and the Swiss ace is still capable of real pace. He’s joined by the experienced Austrian Rene Binder and the rapid young Chilean, Nico Pino.

This group is coming off a second-place finish in the ELMS round in Catalunya. The ingredients are here for a better-than-fair run, but the attitude needs to be one of preservation of the effort rather than gaining every possible position at any given time.

If this trio can keep it error-free, they could surprise a few better-fancied runners!

Fastest Test Day time: 3:37.817 (14th in class, set during the afternoon session)

Team WRT – ORECA 07 Gibson

#31 Sean Gelael, Robin Frijns & Ferdinand Habsburg
#41 Rui Andrade, Robert Kubica & Louis Deletraz

Another Le Mans and Championship winning team, again with a two-car full-season WEC effort. The Belgian super-team is scaling up ahead of its incoming role in fielding BMW’s 2024 WEC factory Hypercar programme.

Both crews have huge talents aboard either car – take your pick between Robin Frijns in the #31, or Louis Deletraz in #41. Frijns has the experience of winning this race before, while Deletraz came close last year and is due for a legacy-making win.

Ferdinand Habsburg has found his racing happy place in LMP2 and his upward ascent is a joy to behold alongside Frijns, and super Silver Sean Gelael, whose experience in Formula 2 is translating to eye-opening success in endurance racing.  The #31 has the air of a gathering storm in the class, with potential to dominate if all the ingredients come together. However, the reality is that so far they haven’t!

In contrasts the cards have fallen better for the #41, winners last round in Spa. Angolan-Portuguese driver Rui Andrade has been fast and fault-free, the evergreen Robert Kubica is as keen as ever to ensure the paddock doesn’t forget his electric talent and Deletraz has, thus far, provided the firecracker pace and a new answer to a famous question once asked of his father.

Both WRT cars should be considered real prospects here for victory. They took GT3 racing by storm and have already experienced the highest of highs in LMP2.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:36.243 (2nd in class, set by the #31 during the afternoon session)

Inter Europol Competition – ORECA 07 Gibson

#32 Mark Kvamme, Jan Magnussen & Anders Fjordbach (Pro-Am)
#34 Jakub Smiechowski, Fabio Scherer & Albert Costa

The ‘Racing Bakers’ from Poland are back. Inter Europol Competition – sponsored by a major commercial bakery business in Poland – field a pair of cars in the class.

Without the backing of a current or expected Hypercar programme, the full-season WEC #34 car has had a remarkably competitive season thus far – with a driver squad that did not leap off the page as a prospect at the start of the year. Manager/driver Jakub ‘Kuba’ Smiechowski operates as the Silver and has been error-free, Fabio Scherer is growing a reputation as a hotshoe and LMP2 season debutant, ex-Lamborghini factory driver Albert Costa is a man on a mission – proving to be one to watch.

The team’s #32 Pro-Am car is a late deal to bring Mark Kvamme’s MDK Motorsport effort into the mix.

Kvamme makes his second start at Le Mans, and a first in LMP2. He’s joined by experienced Dane Anders Fjordbach, more familiarly seen in his own High Class Racing team, and the vastly experienced, and still rapid, Jan Magnussen.

Magnussen will make his 23rd start at Le Mans this year, and he’s still hopeful of a 10th class podium (including four class wins). Much though will depend on how well Kvamme does in his biggest racing challenge yet!

Fastest Test Day time: 3:38.036 (17th in class, set by the #34 during the morning session)

Alpine Elf Team – ORECA 07 Gibson

#35 Andre Negrao, Memo Rojas & Oliver Caldwell
#36 Matthieu Vaxiviere, Charles Milesi & Julien Canal

Alpine are in a holding pattern in LMP2 this season: Last year was the end of their grandfathered LMP1 effort in Hypercar, and there’s still a year’s gap before the new LMDh-spec car comes online in 2024 from a new base near the Le Mans Circuit.

The Signatech-run effort has a great heritage in the LMP2 class with Championship and Le Mans wins aplenty. But thus far their two-car, full-season WEC effort has simply not lifted off.

The team seems off the pace of the real frontrunners despite some real quality in their driver line-ups.  Andre Negrao and Matthieu Vaxiviere lacked for little in Hypercar last season and Charles Milesi has been seen as a coming man for a while. Memo Rojas has ELMS Championship-winning form, and Julien Canal is a multiple Le Mans class winner too. Olli Caldwell is the new face, once part of the Alpine Academy in single-seaters, but the lack of form seems like it’s not down to the drivers.

Perhaps a change of chassis for the #36 entry after Spa-Francorchamps could be part of that turnaround. But in any event, Signatech needs to dust off its Le Mans playbook and find their lost form, because the field here is deep and impressive, and Alpine expect better than we have seen thus far.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:36.664 (4th in class, set by the #35 during the afternoon session)

Cool Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson

#37 Nicolas Lapierre, Alexandre Coigny & Malthe Jakobsen (Pro-Am)
#47 Reshad de Gerus, Vlad Lomko & Simon Pagenaud

Behind the so-called ‘Superteams’ in LMP2 there’s another emerging force. Cool Racing, under the leadership of Nicolas Lapierre, has been building a tight-knit and effective operation in LMP3 and LMP2, and looks set to climb the ladder to the top step of the podium.

They field two cars at Le Mans, both full-season efforts in the European Le Mans Series.

It’s likely that their Pro-Am effort is going to be the more visible of the two, featuring the returning Alexandre Coigny who’s been finding more speed than before his self-imposed two-year sabbatical – but still with pace and consistency to find.

He is supported though, by manager/driver Lapierre – a four-time LMP2 class winner who still has elite pace, together with young emerging Danish star Malthe Jakobsen, fresh off the ELMS LMP3 title with COOL Racing and now revelling in the opportunity to show his talents in the faster car – particularly with Peugeot having a vested interest in his development.

The car, and Jakobsen in particular, are ones to watch, don’t be surprised if significant scalps are taken here!

Cool’s #47 car meanwhile sees the team’s ELMS full-season pairing of Reshad de Gerus and Vlad Lomko joined by Indy 500 winner, Daytona 24 Hours winner, and small dog aficionado Simon Pagenaud. In place of Jose Maria Lopez who’s honouring his commitments to Toyota – remarkably, this is Pagenaud’s first time at Le Mans 2011 when he came home second for Peugeot.

He’d love to go one better here. De Gerus showed some impressive one-lap pace during testing but he and Lomko need to keep this up if they’re to be a factor.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:36.409 (3rd in class, set by the #47 during the morning session)

Graff Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson

#39 Roberto Lacorte, Patrick Pilet & Giedo van der Garde (Pro-Am)

The long-lived French team whose roots trace back to the heyday of Group C earned its berth at Le Mans via its LMP3 Championship success in the Asian Le Mans Series.

Patrick Pilet made his LMP2 debut at Le Mans two years ago after a career spent in GT Porsches. He impressed immediately and is a great signing for Graff. Giedo van der Garde switches from yellow to the French Tricolour following the apparent demise of Racing Team Nederland.

The Dutchman is as rapid as anyone in an LMP2 car, has won races in an Oreca, and has ELMS Championship-winning form in the prior generation of LMP2. Graff should be considered a significant prospect for LMP2 Pro-Am honours.

François Heriau was meant to accompany these two top-tier Pros, but suffered a back injury in the days leading up to the race and will not take up his seat. Roberto Lacorte, the Italian entrepreneur behind Cetilar Villarba Corse, will instead make his sixth start after a year’s absence.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:40.091 (23rd in class, set during the afternoon session)

DKR Engineering – ORECA 07 Gibson

#43 Tom van Rompuy, Ugo de Wilde & Maxime Martin (Pro-Am)

The Luxembourgoise team has made a real reputation in LMP3 racing in recent years, with multiple titles in the ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup.

LMP2 has been a tougher nut to crack, but after a one-off at Le Mans with their then-rented, now-purchased ex-Graff Racing car last year, the team are contesting Le Mans alongside a full season in the European Le Mans Series.

DKR’s Le Mans entry this year comes courtesy of an auto-invitation after the team took the overall Championship win in the Asian Le Mans Series in February.

Yes, the driver squad they had in the Emirates was a very different one to the roster they have now. But what the Asian Le Mans Series did prove though is that DKR can prep a fast and reliable car, and they are doing so with what is, undoubtedly, the oldest Oreca on the grid: Chassis number five, built in 2017, out of the 110 Oreca 07s delivered to date!

As for the all-Belgian driver squad -Van Rumpuy is a Le Mans rookie with a lot to learn. Ugo de Wilde is also a Le Mans 24 Hours first-timer, but the Belgian has speed and talent, likely one to watch for the future.

Maxime Martin meanwhile already has a Le Mans class win in GTE Pro with Aston Martin, and has experience in the previous generation of LMP2 cars. He’ll be very solid indeed, but this squad should be aiming for a finish and hoping that luck falls their way.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:39.629 (22nd in class, set during the afternoon session)

Algarve Pro Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson

#45 George Kurtz, James Allen & Colin Braun (Pro-Am)

The multiple Asian Le Mans Series Championship-winning team has become one of the most familiar on the grids of just about every Championship where LMP2 features – no matter the colours, no matter the drivers.

Stewart Cox’s squad, last year’s winner in the LMP2 Pro-Am category, heads to Le Mans with just a single car – continuing a collaboration with Crowdstrike Racing from IMSA.

George Kurtz, the American tech businessman and a devoted backer of sportscar racing, makes his first appearance alongside 2023 Rolex 24 Hours winning driver James Allen – who beat the APR-run car over the line to take the win and the watch!

Amazing as it sounds with his sports car racing pedigree, Acura GTP star Colin Braun, Kurtz’s co-driver in GT World Challenge America, will start only his second Le Mans 24 Hours! He’ll be hoping to go one better than the second in class he scored in GT2 back in 2007 with Krohn Racing, when he was the youngest podium finisher at the time at just 18.

There’s plenty of pace in the team’s two Pros, much will rely on Kurtz finding his feet in LMP2 and keeping it clean if the #45 is to continue a rich vein of form for the Portuguese-flagged effort.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:38.264 (19th in class, set during the afternoon session)

IDEC Sport – ORECA 07 Gibson

#48 Paul Lafargue, Paul-Loup Chatin & Laurents Hörr

IDEC Sport knows how to run a fast LMP2 car, under the guidance of team boss Nicolas Minassian. With the rapid Paul-Loup Chatin and emerging talent Laurents Hörr aboard, they should have pace aplenty for much of the race.

The question surrounds the stamina of Paul Lafargue. His form has not fully recovered after a back injury following his European Le Mans Series title win. In this company, Lafargue might struggle.

The #48 runs in the colours of the revived, historic French marque Delage at Le Mans. It’s been over 70 years since the last Delage raced here.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:37.427 (12th in class, set during the morning session)

Panis Racing – ORECA 07 Gibson

#65 Manuel Maldonado, Tijmen van der Helm & Job van Uitert

Panis Racing produce a well-prepped and rapid car in this class.

The team’s full-season ELMS trio combined well in the opening race of the season to produce a well-fought podium finish. They are a young and ambitious trio but seemingly with egos kept in check.

Manuel Maldonado seems calmer and happier than in his first season in LMP2, Tijmen van der Helm has also found a happy place here – and is also relishing his new role in a customer Porsche 963 in IMSA.

Job van Uitert meanwhile seems a new man. Once regarded as the hottest young talent in the class a couple of years ago, that expectation brought with it pressure, and that pressure became too much to bear. The young Dutchman though went away, thought things through, and returned with a clearer head and a clearer vision – and he’s a much better racer for it.

He’ll be one to watch again and the #65 could be something of a ‘sleeper’ in the LMP2 field.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:37.949 (15th in class, set during the afternoon session)

AF Corse – ORECA 07 Gibson

#80 Francois Perrodo, Ben Barnicoat & Norman Nato (Pro-Am)

Francois Perrodo featured in the race highlights reel last year in a most unwelcome way after a mix-up on the Mulsanne saw him collide with the then race-leading Corvette.

That was an untypical error from a Gentleman driver that is capable of error-free running aplenty. Perrodo now has four WEC class championships, and a Le Mans win in GTE Am to back up that claim!

Alongside him this season in LMP2 Am in the ELMS is Ben Barnicoat and Mathieu Vaxiviere. But Vaxiviere is on duty with Alpine at Le Mans, so his fellow Frenchman Norman Nato fills in in the #80.

With his single-seater experience and sterling record in GT cars, Barnicoat could be amongst the fastest in the whole LMP2 field, and Nato also has real pace and LMP2 experience aplenty – and has also been making a tidy living in Formula E in recent years.

No pressure then, Francois, ahead of your 11th trip to Le Mans!

Fastest Test Day time: 3:37.385 (10th in class, set during the afternoon session)

Racing Team Turkey – ORECA 07 Gibson

#923 Salih Yoluc, Dries Vanthoor & Tom Gamble (Pro-Am)

With the #923 marking the centenary not only of the 24 Hours of Le Mans but also that of the Turkish nation, the TF Sport-operated effort is targeting a win in Pro-Am.

At the centre of this team is Salih Yoluc. Once rough and ragged in GT cars when he started, Yoluc is developing a reputation as one of the quickest of the Bronze drivers in LMP2, and with experience, his form book is less and less blotted with errors.

He’s joined at Le Mans by rapid Brit TomGgamble, whose form with United Autosports in recent seasons was excellent, and by Dries Vanthoor, already a class winner at Le Mans with JMW in GTE AM. He’ll be keen to cement his reputation in a prototype as the pieces fall into place for BMW to join Hypercar in 2024 with Vanthoor as one of its pillars for the future.

This effort should be regarded as a top prospect in LMP2 Pro-Am. But if Yoluc continues to drive beyond his driver categorisation, at the same level that won him an Asian Le Mans Series title this winter, Racing Team Turkey might want to set its sights just a little higher.

Fastest Test Day time: 3:37.151 (8th in class (1st in Pro/Am), set during the afternoon session)