Le Mans 24H promises to be one of most competitive in recent history

This weekend’s 94th Le Mans 24-hour in France will be the third of eight races that constitute the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Aston Martin, Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Genesis, Peugeot and Toyota are entered in the top-tier Hypercar class in a battle starting at 4pm on June 13. There will be no Porsche on the Hypercar grid after the German marque pulled out of the WEC at the end of last year.

There will be two other classes on track at Le Mans: LMP2 prototypes and LMGT3 production-based sportscars.

The battle for overall honours promises to be one of the most competitive in recent history as the closed-cockpit prototypes battle at more than 340km/h.

Here is a team by team rundown of the Hypercar contenders:

BMW M Team WRT

#15: Kevin Magnussen/Raffaele Marciello/Dries Vanthoor

#20: Robin Frijns/René Rast/Sheldon van Der Linde

BMW leads the manufacturers’ championship after two rounds and the German manufacturer has its sights on a second 24-hours of Le Mans win after its victory in 1999. The team heads to Le Mans on a high after a dominant one-two finish at Spa.

South Africa’s Sheldon van der Linde will uphold local hopes in the race.

Aston Martin THOR Team

#007: Harry Tincknell/Tom Gamble/Ross Gunn

#009: Alex Riberas/Marco Sørensen/Roman De Angelis

Aston Martin is in its second Hypercar season with the Valkyrie, initially designed as a road car. It arrives at LeMans after a promising fourth place at Spa.

Alpine Endurance Racing

#35: António Félix da Costa/Charles Milesi/Ferdinand Habsburg

#36: Frédéric Makowiecki/Jules Gounon/Victor Martins

After winning the 6 Hours of Fuji, Alpine Endurance Team ended 2025 on a promising note. The team arrives with renewed confidence and an upgraded A424 car.

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA

#12: Louis Delétraz/Will Stevens/Norman Nato

#38: Sébastien Bourdais/Earl Bamber/Jack Aitken

Cadillac took pole position and finished fourth at last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, and took victory at the 6 Hours of São Paulo. Cadillac’s factory-backed JOTA squad hopes aerodynamic upgrades can translate into victory.

Cadillac WTR

#101: Ricky Taylor/Jordan Taylor/Filipe Albuquerque

Wayne Taylor Racing’s 24-hours of Le Mans début last year ended in retirement. This year, they come to Le Mans looking to shine alongside the other Cadillac V-Series fielded by Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA.

Ferrari-AF Corse

#50: Antonio Fuoco/Nicklas Nielsen/Miguel Molina

#51: Alessandro Pier Guidi/James Calado/Antonio Giovinazzi

AF Corse

#83: Robert Kubica/Yifei Ye/Philip Hanson

Ferrari remains the benchmark after securing three consecutive Le Mans wins and last year’s FIA WEC title. Last year it was the #83 customer car that took victory, ahead of Ferrari’s works entries.

Genesis Magma Racing

#17: André Lotterer/Luis Felipe Derani/Mathys Jaubert

#19: Mathieu Jaminet/Paul-Loup Chatin/Daniel Juncadella

Newcomer Genesis makes its Le Mans debut as Hyundai’s luxury car division with two GMR-001 Hypercars and triple winner Lotterer in its ranks.

Peugeot TotalEnergies

#93: Paul Di Resta/Stoffel Vandoorne/Nick Cassidy

#94: Loïc Duval/Malthe Jakobsen/Théo Pourchaire

Last season was a mixed bag for Peugeot and the French team seeks to turn encouraging progress into results.

Toyota Racing

#7: Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/Nyck de Vries

#8: Sébastien Buemi/Brendon Hartley/Ryo Hirakawa

Toyota, second in the championship and winner at Imola this season, remains one of the strongest challengers with its TR010 Hybrid car.

Business Day