The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2021 will go down in history as the edition in which the new hypercar (LMH) prototypes debuted, even if the test is held in August and with a limited capacity. The premiere of the new generation of prototypes at La Sarthe is an event in itself, even if Toyota and Glickenhaus hypercar still coexist with Alpine’s LMP1. Below them, the LMP2 category is a true ode to the unpredictable, in which many teams arrive with victory options in the face of the enormous talent and baggage of some of their pilots.
Hypercar: The debut of a new era
Pending the conjunction of the LMH and LMDh categories in 2023, as well as the landing of Peugeot in 2022, the WEC queen class is drawn as a five-game duel between the two Toyota GR010 Hybrids, the two Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMHs and the Alpine LMP1. Battle that in terms of classification begins with the Toyota # 8 in front, although it is true that Le Mans has its own idiosyncrasy. In fact, the goal above all else within the Japanese firm is that the Toyota GR010 Hybrid achieves its first victory at La Sarthe.
Toyota closed the LMP1 era of the WEC – although it is still partially open – with three consecutive victories. A track record of success that the Japanese firm wants to replicate with the new Toyota GR010 Hybrid, its hypercar prototype. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Kazuki Nakajima will drive the # 8 Toyota, while eAt # 7 will be Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and ‘Pechito’ López. At Glickenhaus # 708, Pipo Derani, Franck Mailleux and Olivier Pla will compete, while at # 708 Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and Romain Dumas will ride. For its part, the Alpine will be under the command of André Negrao, Nico Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxivière.
LMP2: Talent in abundance
A total of 25 prototypes will compete in the LMP2 class. A large roster of participants that makes it difficult to predict which prototype may be victorious. All in all, there are structures to follow very closely. United Autosports are the reigning champions with up to three LMP2s at Le Mans. In Oreca # 22 will be Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque and Fabio Scherer, with Paul Di Resta, Alex Lynn and Wayne Boyd at # 23 and Nico Jamin, Jonathan Aberdein and Manuel Maldonado at # 24. Structures like IDEC Sport or G-Drive Racing -both with two cars- will try to overshadow the benchmark team in the category.
The two High Class Racing prototypes also aspire to everything, with special attention to # 49 in which Jan and Kevin Magnussen compete together. JOTA Sport, RealTeam Racing or Panis Racing also have driver lineups capable of fighting for victory., a situation that they share with teams that have just arrived in the LMP2 category or that have a greater background in GT racing. This is the case of Team WRT with Robin Frijns and Robert Kubica leading Oreca # 31 and # 41 Of the information. For his part Risi Competizione, present with the Oreca # 82, will compete with Ryan Cullen, Oliver Jarvis and Felipe Nasr.