The 94th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is almost upon us, with the Test Day in the books and the capacity 62-car field all ready and present at the Circuit de la Sarthe for race week.
The first part of DSC’s Le Mans preview covers Hypercar, which will of course receive the bulk of the attention from the fans trackside and at home, and the media. These are the cars that are gunning for the overall win, and in 2026, it’s 18 cars, representing eight brands, with the full 17-car WEC field joined by a Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac from the IMSA GTP ranks.
Choosing a winner, has never been harder. The past seven WEC races have won by six different factories, with Toyota the only OEM to win two races in that span (notably with two different cars, the GR010 at Bahrain and TR010 at Imola), and Ferrari, the dominant player at La Sarthe since 2023, hasn’t won a race since this event last year.
The BoP, which has been kept secret this year, has produced two highly entertaining races to kick off the season. Here’s hoping this weekend’s race continues that trend, and we see multiple factories in the fight for the win, and plenty of on-track battles to keep the TV crew on their toes.
With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of the class, factory by factory, in podcast and written form:
Alpine A424 (LMDh)
#35 Alpine Endurance Team 🇫🇷 WEC
António Félix da Costa ☆🇵🇹 (G) / Ferdinand Habsburg ☆🇦🇹 (G) / Charles Milesi ☆🇫🇷 (G)
#36 Alpine Endurance Team 🇫🇷 WEC
Victor Martins 🔰🇫🇷 (G) / Frédéric Makowiecki ☆🇫🇷 (P) / Jules Gounon 🇫🇷 (P)
With Alpine walking away from Hypercar at the end of the season, this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours represents the team’s final opportunity – for now at least – to win the great race for the first time since 1978.
The decision from the Renault group to move away from sportscars is, of course, an enormous shame, and it comes at a time when there’s both excitement for the incoming debuts of McLaren and Ford and concern for the future with the global economic picture for automakers looking more murky by the month. This though, isn’t the place to dive deep into Alpine’s exit, instead it’s a chance to put forward the case that this year’s 24 Hours has the potential to be a memorable one.
In 2026 the A424 looks like it finally has all the ingredients to shock the world. Yes it’s now won a race, as at Fuji last year, aided in part by luck, it triumphed in the 100th WEC race. But in 2026, with an aero update focused on making the car more suited to the aero window and the two-stage BoP process, it’s quick and crucially, is more likely to be rapid at La Sarthe.
Two years on from the Signatech-operated factory team’s disastrous debut at the race with the car, so much has changed to the A424, mechanically and aerodynamically, and it feels like it’s all coming together. Perhaps the greatest disappointment is that the team has reached this moment right at the point when the brand has given up on the programme. Like Porsche’s withdrawal last year, it’s always frustrating to see a top-performing car extracted from a championship.
Beyond the package itself, the driver roster has been tweaked since the team last competed at home. With Mick Schumacher in IndyCar and Paul-Loup Chatin now at Genesis, António Félix da Costa and Victor Martins have been welcomed into the fold. Both have had their moments, though with the small sample size we have to work with, Da Costa (leaving his scary Raidillon off at the end of the Spa race to one side) has looked the most at home so far and a major asset to the team and the #35 crew. This should come as no surprise though, as Martins is still very new to the discipline.
The best news is that both sides of the garage boast major talent for the A424’s final scheduled dance at Le Mans.
Aston Martin Valkyrie (LMH Non-Hybrid)
#007 Aston Martin THOR Team 🇺🇸 WEC
Harry Tincknell ☆🇬🇧 (P) / Tom Gamble 🇬🇧 (P) / Ross Gunn 🇬🇧 (P)
#009 Aston Martin THOR Team 🇺🇸 WEC
Alex Riberas 🇪🇸 (G) / Marco Sørensen ☆🇩🇰 (P) / Roman de Angelis 🇨🇦 (G)
Aston Martin’s second crack at Le Mans with the non-hybrid Valkyrie concept is a challenging one to analyse. On one hand the car itself is identical to last year, barring improvements to software. On the other, with a year of data from WEC and IMSA competition at its disposal, and a Test Day topping performance from the #007 crew last Sunday to pore over, its prospects for a strong result seem to have improved dramatically.
On paper, the Circuit de La Sarthe is a course that plays to the Valkyrie’s strengths, as it features long straights and fast flowing corners. The Valkyrie is a car that has long struggled on bumpy surfaces, around show sharp bends and over brutal kerbs. Thus, beyond the chicanes at the end of the lap, this is a track that will have been long circled on the calendars in the Heart of Racing’s offices as one that could bring out the best in its V12-powered chariots.
Standout results in IMSA at the end of 2025 aside though, it still seems like Aston Martin has a way to go before it can be considered a front-runner in this era. In WEC competition, the team often hasn’t found a way to remain a factor over the course of races, though nobody should ignore how the #007 came alive at the end of the Spa race and nabbed fourth. This is also, lest we forget, still early days for the programme.
As the team behind the scenes draw up plans to update the Valkyrie for 2027 with an Evo Joker or two, what should we expect from it the most important race of the season in 2026? Long run pace and the car’s performance as the conditions change and Michelin’s different compounds come in and out of favour will likely be the deciding factor. If the drivers can deliver strong, consistent double stints, and single lap performance can be found, then there’s a chance we’re discussing a second consecutive ‘best WEC finish’ for the Valkyrie after the race.
It will not be easy though, as this remains one of the toughest fields to race against in motorsport. A lot of pressure will fall into the laps of the drivers, and the team dynamic is something we should all be monitoring.
Though not the first time they’ve all raced together as a unit, Le Mans will be the first time that all six of its drivers have worked together this season, following Qatar’s delay, the clash between Long Beach and Imola and the team’s decision to run with two drivers per car at Spa. THOR’s IMSA GTP drivers Ross Gunn and Roman De Angeleis are therefore being thrown into the deep end here. Will this strategy prove to be the right call?
Whatever happens, there’s the potential for it to be looked back on in the coming months as the factories weigh up the pros and cons of parachuting drivers in for the longer races in the future.
BMW M Hybrid V8 (LMDh)
#15 BMW M Team WRT 🇧🇪 WEC
Dries Vanthoor ☆🇧🇪 (P) / Raffaele Marciello 🇨🇭 (P) / Kevin Magnussen 🇩🇰 (P)
#20 BMW M Team WRT 🇧🇪 WEC
Sheldon van der Linde 🇿🇦 (P) / Robin Frijns ☆🇳🇱 (P) / René Rast 🇩🇪 (P)
Few would have had BMW down as the Hypercar Manufacturers’ Championship leader ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours, or Robin Frijns and René Rast as the holders of a nine-point lead in the Drivers’ table when Prologue got away in Imola. But that’s the reality, and with the 2026-spec M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT heads to the biggest race of the season optimistic that a special result may just be possible.
Last time out at Spa, the team executed a bold strategy for the #20 crew to perfection, taking it off-sequence to run it in clear air. Over the six hours it paid off enormously, allowing the team to assume the lead when safety cars reset the field, and control the field until the end. While a call like that is unlikely to be on the table or as effective for Le Mans, what it did show is that WRT has grown into the class, become open to taking risks and is now confident that its car has the ponies to fight with the best machinery in the field.
The M Hybrid V8, with its latest aero update, does look to be a more well-rounded package, as early results in IMSA have also shown promise. Though it must be noted that nobody within the team considers themselves favourites just yet. Spa felt like a major step forward and a statement of intent, rather than a changing of the guard.
Le Mans as a circuit is a different animal, and the truth is that nobody knows just what games are being played up and down the field in an attempt to manipulate the BoP for the race. One wonders if the decision to run the #20 off-sequence in clean air for almost entire race will actually have a negative impact on the team’s parameters for this one, if clean lap times end up playing a vital role in the methodology behind setting the table?
Regardless, the whole WRT operation is beginning to look more like itself in Hypercar now, in its third season with its LMDh package, and the driver unit as a whole seem to be more at one with the car and capable of producing standout performances more regularly.
This event is a major test. If WRT can pass it, not only would it be historic for the Bavarian brand, which hasn’t won at La Sarthe since 1999, but it would set up an intriguing title battle later in the year.
Cadillac V-Series.R (LMDh)
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA 🇬🇧 WEC
Will Stevens ☆🇬🇧 (P) / Norman Nato 🇫🇷 (G) / Louis Delétraz ☆🇨🇭 (P)
#38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA 🇬🇧 WEC
Sébastien Bourdais ☆🇫🇷 (P) / Earl Bamber ⭐️🇳🇿 (P) / Jack Aitken 🇬🇧 (P)
#101 Cadillac WTR 🇺🇸 IMSA
Ricky Taylor 🇺🇸 (P) / Jordan Taylor ☆🇺🇸 (P) / Filipe Albuquerque ☆🇵🇹 (P)
As one of only two brands this year with more than two cars in the field, Cadillac once again will benefit from strength in numbers at Le Mans this year if it becomes a war of attrition, chaotic or a race in which inter-team tactics can play a role late on.
Analysing its prospects is tough. Hertz Team JOTA, with the updated V-Series R, is now a race-winning combination in the WEC Hypercar era, and has looked dangerous at both Imola and Spa, but went almost entirely unrewarded for flashes of speed. In the standings, the #38 crew, remarkably, is the better-positioned of the two, but in 14th, with just four points after an eighth-place finish at Imola and retiring from Spa. The #12 has often looked the quicker of the two, but has only managed to score two points. Speed on Qualifying day has not translated into race day results.
And that’s the narrative for the team as a whole for Le Mans. In 2025, Cadillac locked out the front row, led by the #12 following a masterful Hyperpole performance from Alex Lynn. But in the race, the General Motors contingent relinquished control immediately and failed to get it back, with all four cars finishing off the podium. The inability for Cadillac to properly take the fight to Ferrari and Porsche came as a surprise.
However, there’s reason to believe that if Cadillac’s WEC challengers qualify well this time, it won’t be the same story, as the 2026 aero package appears to be improving the car’s ability to run in dirty air; a major factor in the team’s struggles last year during the race. The new Brembo brake package, anecdotally at least, appears to have gone down well with the drivers too.
It’s another case of: can it all come together? Can the team execute perfectly? Its tweaked driver line-up is well balanced, though one wonders if the continued absence of Alex Lynn (who is still recovering from his neck injury) will be felt in the #12 camp on the grandest stage? Thankfully, in his place, Louis Delétraz has shed loads of experience with the car and bags of talent to boot.
Thus far Wayne Taylor Racing hasn’t yet been mentioned. That’s because the team requires an individual assessment as the only IMSA team making the pilgramidge this year. Last year, on debut at Le Mans, was a struggle all week for a team which ended with a DNF after 189 laps. On its second visit, it will surely stand in better stead as it has valuable experience to draw from, and its driver line-up of the Taylor brothers and Filipe Albuquerque is just as punchy.
But its form in IMSA, on home turf, remains a cause for concern five rounds into its second season back with GM in the top class. Cadillac’s other GTP team, Action Express, leads the championship after a win and five podium finishes in as many races. Only recently did WTR score its first podium of the season, a third place in Detroit.
One wonders if sending Action Express’s team over to race with WTR drivers would have been a better compromise to please both outfits and deliver a stronger result for the proud GM organisation? Wayne Taylor’s team should never be counted out as it has decades of success to show for its efforts, yet it feels like it’s the team with the most to prove this week in France.
Ferrari 499P (LMH Hybrid)
#50 Ferrari AF Corse 🇮🇹 WEC
Antonio Fuoco ⭐️🇮🇹 (P) / Nicklas Nielsen ⭐️🇩🇰 (P) / Miguel Molina ⭐️🇪🇸 (P)
#51 Ferrari AF Corse 🇮🇹 WEC
Alessandro Pier Guidi ⭐️🇮🇹 (P) / James Calado ⭐️🇬🇧 (P) / Antonio Giovinazzi ⭐️🇮🇹 (P)
#83 AF Corse 🇮🇹 WEC
Robert Kubica ⭐️🇵🇱 (P) / Ye Yifei ⭐️🇨🇳 (G) / Philip Hanson ⭐️🇬🇧 (G)
Can Ferrari write more history at the 24 Hours and make it four wins in a row at Le Mans with the 499P? It is perhaps the biggest question going into this year’s race.
The 499P itself hasn’t been tweaked or changed for 2025. But it’s performances last year, particularly during its tour de force of opening rounds of the season, essentially left the manufacturer with no serious cards to play in applying for additional performance Jokers with the rulemakers for 2026.
That’s not to say that we should expect Ferrari to deliver another beat down though, as for the first time since 2023, it doesn’t appear to be the standout favourite heading into the race weekend. Its rivals have been playing catch up, with car upgrades and improvements operationally in a bid to dethrone the ‘Prancing Horse’. And it shows in the results. There was no famous win on home soil in the season opener and no winners trophies collected at Spa, a circuit which has always suited the car well.
Instead, the factory cars from AF Corse have been competitive, but lacking a killer edge, and the defending Le Mans winners in the satelitte #83 car are yet to deliver a standout performance.
Write Ferrari off at your peril though. All three crews, unchanged for this year, have won this great race and are hungry for more. The reigning world champions in the #51 in particular – who finished second at Imola – may be the ones to watch, as they’ll be looking to get their season back on track following their (unlucky) DNF at Spa.
The 499P has been the car to have at Le Mans during this era. And if it wins again, not only will it have its place in the history of the event further cemented, it will undoubtedly raise questions about the quality of the other prototypes in the field and the measures put in place to balance them. It would be a joyous occasion for the Italian concern, but it may ultimately prove to be uncomfortable.
Genesis GMR-001 (LMDh)
#17 Genesis Magma Racing 🇰🇷 WEC
André Lotterer ⭐️🇩🇪 (P) / Pipo Derani 🇧🇷 (P) / Mathys Jaubert 🇫🇷 (S)
#19 Genesis Magma Racing 🇰🇷 WEC
Mathieu Jaminet 🇫🇷 (P) / Paul-Loup Chatin 🇫🇷 (G) / Daniel Juncadella 🇪🇸 (P)
Beyond Ferrari storming to pole position at Sebring on its Hypercar debut back in 2023, it’s hard to think of a new manufacturer that has enjoyed a better start to life in the category than Genesis Magma Racing has this year.
The aspirant Korean brand, which has built its motorsport division from stratch in under two years, has turned up in 2025 with two handsome LMDh prototypes, a well balanced driver line-up, a highly capable band of engineering staff and a well executed test programme in its back pocket. The result? Zero retirements and a points score at Spa in only its second outing.
DSC has documented the GMR-001’s story in depth since the programme was launched back in December of 2024, and throughout the car’s entire developmental process – including its decision to include an ELMS programme as part of its preparation – everything has seemingly fallen into place beautifully. ORECA was, undoubtedly, a strong choice for its chassis partner, the decision to marry two Hyundai WRC engines together looks increasingly like a well-calculated and sensible shortcut, and under the leadership of Cyril Abiteboul, the atmosphere within the team has been almost exclusively upbeat.
As for Le Mans, it’s clearly a huge test for the team and its new car. To this point, with the 1812KM Qatar race postponed, we’ve only seen the GMR-001 compete over six hours, and even in the WEC’s shortest format, there have been gremlins that have forced cars into the garage. There’s been no show-stoppers, no major engine issues that have raised alarm bells, but that doesn’t mean that anyone within the Magma Racing camp will feel overly confident before taking on a race four times as long for the first time.
It would surprise nobody to see neither car make it to Sunday afternoon, as Le Mans remains a tough place to take a new car. However, after two strong performances, nobody would be shocked to see Genesis make it to the finish, and that’s a mark of just how impressive this effort has looked at such an early stage.
It’s clearly too early to expect fireworks from Genesis, but this is just the start of what looks to be a long journey in sportscar racing for the brand. To get through Le Mans week unscathed, looking like it belongs in such a competitive field, should be considered a victory in itself.
Peugeot 9X8 (LMH Hybrid)
#93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 🇫🇷 WEC
Paul Di Resta ☆🇬🇧 (P) / Stoffel Vandoorne 🇧🇪 (P) / Nick Cassidy 🇳🇿 (P)
#94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 🇫🇷 WEC
Loïc Duval ⭐️🇫🇷 (P) / Malthe Jakobsen 🇩🇰 (G) / Théo Pourchaire 🇫🇷 (P)
Peugeot’s visit to Spa last month followed the same script as so many WEC outings for the brand in the past few years. The 9X8s were fast, Malthe Jakobsen stormed to pole, then in the race the #94 fell back and retired with accident damage after the Dane ended up a victim of someone else’s accident. Meanwhile, the #93 collected points in a rather forgettable run to seventh. Seemingly every time Peugeot’s higher ups believe they can see light at the end of the tunnel with the 9X8 programme, it turns out to be an oncoming train.
But writing off its prospects for the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours while we eagerly wait to hear more about its long-rumoured new concept for 2027 feels like a mistake. The 9X8, though results have often failed to show it, has taken strides forwards over the years, and particularly since the 2024 update was introduced at Imola that season. The appointment of Emmanuel Ensault as programme boss this year in the wake of Olivier Jansonnie’s promotion also looks like a smart move that could pay dividends this month when the pressure is at its highest.
Late in races since the tail end of the 2024 season, Peugeot has managed to climb the order and emerge out of nowhere to score points. The #93 finished in the top 10 six times last year, and as high as second at Fuji. The sister car too had its moments, finishing sixth in Sao Paulo and third at CoTA. It just hasn’t yet come together for Le Mans, the race which the proud French brand has become oh so desparate to win.
Like the Valkyrie, on paper, this is a circuit that should produce some of the best results for the 9X8. But the team has to show it can fight at the sharp end for 24 hours. BoP will play a role, and to compensate for the car’s weaknesses, the Peugeot team has often benefitted from a more favourable set of numbers to keep it in the ball park. This year at Le Mans though, we won’t get to see any of that. We’ll have to analyse the team’s progress, in the same way we will everyone else’s: based on feel, body language, alkamel laptime data and carefully worded statements to the press.
If Peugeot’s cars can stay reliable, the strategy desk can execute an optimal strategy and the drivers avoid costly errors, then will we look back on this year’s twice-around-the-clock bout as the event where the French marque finally turned a corner?
Toyota TR010 HYBRID (LMH Hybrid)
#7 Toyota Racing 🇯🇵 WEC
Mike Conway ⭐️🇬🇧 (P) / Kamui Kobayashi ⭐️🇯🇵 (P) / Nyck de Vries 🇳🇱 (P)
#8 Toyota Racing 🇯🇵 WEC
Sébastien Buemi ⭐️🇨🇭 (P) / Brendon Hartley ⭐️🇳🇿 (P) / Ryo Hirakawa ⭐️🇯🇵 (P)
Has Toyota got its mojo back?
2025, by the Japanese brand’s lofty standards, was a mess, with a number of uncharacterstic errors during the season that cost vital points, and hugely disappointing outing at Le Mans with the GR010 that saw it trudge to the finish as a mid-pack contender with no role in the fight for victory.
The first two races in 2026 though, have seen Toyota hit its stride again, armed with an overhauled racer, now named the TR010, and confidence brought on by a strong end to last season in Bahrain, followed by a winter of reflection and action.
Imola showcased the best the team has to offer: a double podium and a win for the #8 built on tyre strategy and consistency from its drivers, to crash Ferrari’s house party. And Spa may have been a similar story had the #8 not lost out to the timing of safety cars late in the race after adopting a similar pit strategy to BMW’s winning car.
Ask Toyota and they’ll lean into the TR010 meeting the brief in terms of styling cues as the biggest change (it is a far better looking car after all!), but the new aero package has clearly made the car more consistent and easy to drive.
It is true that the performance window the Hypercars must fit into, and the two-stage BoP system that controls top and bottom-end power, make bringing a new aero package with the sole purpose of extracting top end speed out of a car for Le Mans practically impossible. Yes, top speed is still a valuable commodity, but that, when it comes down to it, is often an element of performance that’s out of the team’s hands. That’s why Toyota, who have long held the belief that their car is the most well-rounded in the field, won’t be celebrating early.
Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that the mood music has changed in recent months at Toyota. The drivers are all performing to a high standard, the team in the garage is too. If the pace is there, then there’s a strong chance that 10 years on from its biggest heartbreak, we’ll see Toyota deliver its greatest triumph at the same site.
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