This Saturday, at 4:00 pm (Eurosport), when Zinedine Zidane take over from LeBron James and move the French flag from the sideline to the legendary starting line La Sarthe Circuitthe race begins the race begins and the race begins. 92nd edition of the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans. A very special edition after this event turned 100 years old last year. And it is for the simple fact of having a grill with an amazing present and future where there are more and more official brands because of how attractive the sport has become. Endurance World Cup for the car companies and for the equality of regulations in the American Endurance Championship (IMSA), making its best competitors also cross the pond to not miss this unique event.
In total, there will be 9 official brands in the highest category of the current regulations, in the class of Hypercars. Theirs, Ferrariwhich returned to the premier class last year after a 50-year absence and surprised everyone with pole position for its number 50 car (from the Catalan Michael Molina) and the last victory of its prototype 51, 58 years after its last victory in the highest class. Historical. A year later, Ferrari wanted to repeat, and above all, Molina He will search with his crewmates in car 50, Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuocorevenge after saying goodbye to his 2023 options due to a rock in the radiator.
And it is on Le Mans, you will never know. Nothing can be taken for granted in a race where many factors come into play. Rain can appear at any time, especially on the always difficult Sunday morning. And the Hypercar They will have to work hard as they have to avoid many slower cars from other categories, where there is also the risk that some ‘gentleman driver’ (paid driver) will make a mistake that will be with the best.
And in Le Mans, held on a 13.6 km route, most of it on the road, you are not only fighting against your rivals, but also against the hardness of the race itself. Any failure or oversight can leave you, and of course, a failure of reliability in mechanics that must reach the maximum for a whole day, with almost no rest. An atrocity.
Who is the favorite to win?
In addition to Ferrari, in the top category there is Porsche, a brand that everyone points to as favorites, Cadillac, with Alex Palou who is new to racing in IndyCar last week, as well as BMW, Lamborghini and Isotta Frasschini.
Peugeot seeks to be popular at home
Besides these brands, Peugeot and Alpine deserve a special chapter, the two companies that will defend French pride. Above all, the signature of the lion, who returned last year to the top category of Le Mans after 12 years, and they did it, leading to the rain and remaining two and a half hours away from the dreamed Top- 5. They will try again, even with a lot of competition.
How many Spaniards compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans?
There will be up to 5 Spanish drivers in contention at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and there are options to succeed in different classes.
Beyond Miguel Molina (Frerri) and Alex Palou (Cadillac)debuting at Le Mans just days after competing in the ongoing battle for the IndyCar crown, Lorenzo Fluxá (Cool Racing number 37) will be the only Spaniard in the silver category (LMP2) in the last year of the said class in this career. In GT3, Dani Juncadella of Barcelona will participate with the Corvette #82 and Alex Riberas with the Aston Msrtin #27
Valentino Rossi’s debut
In 2022, Valentino Rossi revealed to MD whose purpose is “run the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024”. And he will keep his word. The 9-time world champion in the global categories of the motorcycle world championship made his debut in the mythical 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GT3 category at the wheel of an impressive BMW M4 LMGT3 with Team WRT.
From 2022, this is his goal when he partners with this team to prepare his training and development on four wheels in endurance racing, first through the GT World Challenge Europe, with the aim of Le Mans, a race if where will he seek to continue. raising his legend and his record.
At 45 years old, he is perhaps only experiencing the beginning of a long career behind the wheel, where after his debut in GT3 at Le Mans, may continue in the future. For now, despite the goodbye MotoGP in 2021the figure of ‘Dottore’ continues to grow passions among fans of Le Mans. This is one of the great attractions of this edition, the most media.
So far, on Friday his crew was left out of the race for the Hyperpole by not being among the top 8 of the first qualifying round. He will start 12th in a BMW who couldn’t find a rhythm. He will try to come back with his number #46, because it can’t happen
Where can I watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans on television?
The 24 Hours of Le Mans 2023 can be followed from 3:00 pm on Saturday on Eurosport, where they will start the preview for the start of the race, scheduled for 4:00 pm
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
