62 competitors announced for the 2021 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Reprogrammed from its classic date in mid-June to next August 21 and 22, the 89th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, also the 4th round of the FIA ​​WEC World Endurance Championship, saw its entry list unveiled today.

Obviously, we can expect that several changes will occur between now and the first track torus of the prototypes and GTs on the circuit of the west of France, but this 2021 edition will also be the first for the cars of the new Hypercar category (LMH)

5 cars in this Hypercar category are planned, namely two Toyota (wide favorites given their recent success with their LMP1 prototypes), an Alpine (in fact an ex-Rebellion LMP1) and two Glickenhaus, a small craftsman with already experience. rich in European motorsport (mainly at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring).

There should also be 25 LMP2, 7 LMGTE Pro and 24 LMGTE Am at the start of the race on Saturday August 21 at 4 p.m. local time. All this in addition to a prototype registered in the category of cars with innovative technology. This therefore represents a total of 62 competitors.

Among the registrants, we note the presence of a single Canadian driver (Paul Dalla Lana with the official Aston Martin Racing team in the GTE Am class) and two 100% female crews, 1 in LMP2 (Richard Mille Racing Team) and 1 in LMGTE Am (Ferrari of the Iron Lynx team).

In the LMGTE Pro category, Corvette, whose return is hoped for (because the date is not ideal for transporting equipment between two races in IMSA), promises a good battle against Ferrari and Porsche. Remember that these two legendary brands will compete for the general classification in 2023, when they will perform in the Hypercar category.

On the LMGTE Am side, 24 cars will be at the start, which once again represents more than a third of fans in total on the grid. 8 Porsches, 4 Aston Martins and 12 Ferraris will try to succeed the TF Sport team, victorious in 2020 and which again lines up two Aston Martins.

Finally, the SRT-41 sector is back at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and will attempt to write a new page in the history of the event. By aligning a crew made up of two disabled drivers, Frédéric Sausset, the first quad amputee driver to have competed in and completed the 24 Hours of Le Mans (in 2016), is returning to the « Innovation » category.

This list of registrants is to be discovered by clicking here. But it should evolve in the coming months. The organizers expect so much that from this Friday March 12, a period of commitments for competitors wishing to register on the reserve list will be open. This period will end two weeks later, on Friday March 26. Enough to offer unsuccessful teams a second chance, in the event of withdrawal of some of the 62 competitors announced today.

“The 24 Hours of Le Mans is entering a new era this year. With the arrival of the Hypercars, Endurance is preparing to host an extraordinary show on the track. For this 89th edition, 62 cars will be at the start: in this complicated period, this figure is a strong signal for our discipline, which is more attractive than ever. We look forward to welcoming the public once again to experience this historic edition together ”concluded Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, organizer of the event. It should be remembered that one of the reasons why the race was moved to August is to accommodate the public in large numbers in the stands, something that was not possible last year when the 24 Hours du Mans had, for the first time in their history, to be held behind closed doors.