To contest one of the best races in the world is a dream, and to be able to win it even more. After taking pole on Thursday night with Kobayashi, the Toyota 7 is the best placed to do it, but anything can happen in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Of course, to start Toyota Gazoo Racing secured a new double in qualifying and will start with its two cars in the front row at 16:00 on Saturday (‘Eurosport’). The Japanese manufacturer maintains its dominance among the ‘Hypercar’ with an iron fist and intends to continue like this. It arrives with the 8 of Buemi, Hartley and Nakajima, leader of the Endurance World Cup with 75 points, followed by the 7 of López, Conway and Kobayashi with 69, and the Alpine 36 of Negrao, Lapierre and Vaxiviere closes the podium with 60.
The two Toyota appear in top form for the big event after having left behind, or so it seems, the problems they had in Monza, where number 8 had mechanical problems that prevented him from fighting for the podium and number 7 had the odd failure that was resolved in order to win the race. Both Alpine and Glickenhaus will try to prevent the Japanese brand from achieving a double on the podium as it already happened this year in Portimao.
The 89th edition of the most prestigious race of the World Endurance Championship will have a Spanish presence. This time they will be three drivers competing at Le MansLast year they were one less due to the absence of Antonio GarcÃa. Roberto Merhi will run in LMP2, the Spanish rider after replacing Fittipaldi in the G-Drive 25 at Spa. The one from Benicasim will start 19th in his class with his teammates John Falb and Rui Andrade. It will be the third participation of the Valencian in the test.
The other two Spanish participants will perform in the class LMGTE Pro. Miguel Molina in the Ferrari 52 of AF Corse in his fifth participation, with the premiere of the Ferrari 488 GTE unit, and also, will race as first driver for the first time at La Sharte. He managed to get into the ‘Hyperpole’ and will be second in his category. Meanwhile, Antonio GarcÃa, will try to put Molina in trouble and get the victory, although it was not one of the best classifications for Corvette Racing and the Madrid. He will be the last of his category in a very special date for him, where he will pay tribute to his mentor Adrián Campos with the design of his helmet.
A poster full of illustrious
Le Mans will feature great racers from the world of motorsport, with a large majority in the LMP2 category. One of them will be the recent Formula E champion, the dutch Nyck de vries in the G-Drive 26 along with other drivers of said FIA championship such as Da Costa, Sam Bird (Molina’s partner) or Stoffel vandoorne. They will also run historic F1 drivers like polish Robert Kubica, the Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya or the british Paul Di Resta.
What’s more, this edition will repeat the team formed by three women, will be Richard Mille Racing Team’s # 1 in LMP2 that will have at the controls Tatiana Calderón, Sophia Floersch and Belstske Visser. Everything prepared to live the most demanding race of the World Endurance Championship and at the same time, the most beautiful (especially this year with the return of the public) where all the drivers dream of achieving one of the most prestigious victories in motorsport.
Alonso will also be at Le Mans
The two-time world champion will return to La Sarthe, where he managed to win two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and won the World Endurance title. This time, the Asturian will make an exhibition with an Alpine F1 on the track. It will be a ‘parade’ of the different Alpine models, where alongside the F1 will be the A470, A110 GT4, A110 Rally and A110S, prior to the prestigious event.
Also in the parade will be his teammate Esteban Ocon with the Alpine A110 GT4. The car that Fernando will carry It will be an old Renault, which will be decorated in the current colors of the French brand. The demonstration will be in support of a program from Alpine to Le Mans and the WEC, where it also seeks to continue in the fight with the current dominator of the Endurance World Cup, Toyota.