Four GTP Cars Are among the Hypercar Class Field
By Mark Robinson
24 Hours of Le Mans Provisional Entry List
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A healthy contingent of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams and drivers are on the provisional entry list for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans that was announced today.
Three full-season Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars – the Cadillac V-Series.Rs fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing and Action Express Racing, along with one of the Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963s – are entered in the Hypercar class, as well as the Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 that will make its WeatherTech Championship debut next month in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac.
In addition, Le Mans entries were confirmed for the 2023 Jim Trueman Bronze Cup winner in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class and 2023 Bob Akin Bronze Cup winner from the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class that will compete in LMGT3 at Circuit de la Sarthe in June.
The Cadillac Racing Cadillac that runs as the No. 01 in the WeatherTech Championship will run as No. 3 at Le Mans but feature the same driver lineup of Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon. The car finished fourth last year at Le Mans, one spot behind its sister Ganassi Cadillac that’s again running the full FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) schedule.
The Action Express Cadillac earned a Le Mans invite for capturing the 2023 WeatherTech Championship GTP title. Normally running as the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac, it will wear No. 311 at Le Mans. Full-season drivers Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken will be in the car at Le Mans, with a third driver to be named.
“We’re thrilled for Cadillac Racing to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with three cars competing for the overall win in the Hypercar class,” said John Roth, vice president, global Cadillac. “After scoring our first podium finish at this iconic endurance race in 2023, we look to build on that success and showcase the Cadillac V-Series.R’s technology, innovation and durability, while demonstrating the remarkable capabilities and determination of our race teams.”
Porsche Penske Motorsport operates two full-season WEC Hypercar entries, with the third team car – the No. 4 Porsche 963 – coming from the WeatherTech Championship. Mathieu Jaminet, who co-drives the No. 6 Porsche in the WeatherTech Championship, is the only named driver to the No. 4 at this point.
The Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 that will wear No. 63 in the WeatherTech Championship will run as No. 19 at Le Mans, but feature the same driver trio of Andrea Caldarelli, Matteo Cairoli and Romain Grosjean.
The No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse is the defending overall and Hypercar victor at Le Mans. Two of its drivers, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, were also winners in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class at last month’s Rolex 24 At Daytona in a Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3.
George Kurtz, the reigning Trueman award winner, will return to Le Mans along with Colin Braun to defend their LMP2 Pro/Am victory in the No. 45 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07. A third driver for the car will be named later.
Brendan Iribe takes his Akin award invitation to Le Mans along with the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. Iribe will have familiar faces with him in co-drivers Ollie Millroy and Frederik Schandorff.
More familiar names to WeatherTech Championship followers are on the Le Mans provisional entry list as well. Matt Campbell, part of the overall Rolex 24 winning team from Porsche Penske Motorsport last month, is in one of the Penske full-season WEC entries. Other drivers of note and their Le Mans teams include: Neel Jani and Harry Tincknell (Proton Competition Porsche 963 in Hypercar), Paul-Loup Chatin (Alpine Endurance Team in Hypercar), Filipe Albuquerque, Ben Keating and Ben Hanley (United Autosports entries in LMP2), Ben Barnicoat and Nico Varrone (AF Corse in LMP2), PJ Hyett and Louis Deletraz (AO by TF in LMP2), Ryan Hardwick and Zacharie Robichon (Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 in LMGT3), Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Doriane Pin (Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 in LMGT3), and Ian James and Alex Riberas (Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in LMGT3).
The 24 Hours of Le Mans runs June 15-16.
(Photo: Cadillac Racing)