Which classes compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

The 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is rapidly approaching.

The 101st running of the iconic endurance race takes place on June 15-16, but the festivities kick off on June 7 with the traditional town square scrutineering at Place de la République in central Le Mans.

The free practice test day follows on June 9, before the Hyperpole qualifying session on June 13 ahead of the Circuit de la Sarthe’s landmark event that weekend.

This year’s race will feature a capacity grid of 62 cars across three classes, with seven reserve cars.

But which classes compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and what are the differences between each of them?

Hypercar

The top class competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the Hypercar class. There are 23 entries this year - the 19 full-season cars which take part in the World Endurance Championship and four additional entries. The category debuted in 2021, with Porsche joining last season, and there are now nine different manufacturers in the class. Porsche races against Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Isotta Fraschini, Lamborghini, Peugeot and Toyota. The ruleset accommodates cars built to LMH and LMDh technical regulations, with a minimum weight of 1030kg and a maximum output of 500kW. Balance of Performance guarantees a level playing field, while Michelin operates as the class’s single tyre manufacturer. Hypercars are purely prototypes, rather than adapted road cars, but feature styling to give a family resemblance to each manufacturer's road-going range - for example, the Porsche 963 was inspired by the 918 Spyder Hybrid sportscar. The WEC estimates that a Hypercar will complete a race lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe in around 3m30s - slightly slower than an all-out qualifying lap, with last year’s pole time a 3m22.982s.

The Porsche Penske Motorsport team will field three entries, with the #4 car which usually runs in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship - though not with that number - joining the #5 and #6 Porsche 963s which compete in the full WEC season. Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frédéric Makowiecki will drive the #5 car, while Kévin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor are behind the wheel of the #6 entry. Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy complete the line-up in the #4. Hertz Team Jota will field its usual two Porsche 963s, with Proton Competition lining up with one car but with a second on the reserve list. British drivers Will Stevens and Callum Illott will share the cockpit of the No. 12 car with Frenchman Norman Nato. The sister car is helmed by 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button, who will alternate behind the wheel of the No. 38 with Oliver Rasmussen and Phil Hanson. The Hypercar from Proton Competition with the starting number 99 will be driven by Swiss driver Neel Jani and Briton Harry Tincknell together with former Porsche Junior Julien Andlauer.

LMP2

The LMP2 class will be represented by 16 entries at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this season, including three Pro/Am entries. While the Le Mans Prototype 2 class has been dropped by the WEC this year amid a high demand for top-class entries, it makes a one-off return to the championship at the Circuit de la Sarthe. All the entries use licensed Oreca 07-Gibson chassis - most of these usually run in the European and Asian Le Mans Series, while the category also still features in the full IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. An LMP2 car will complete a race lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe around 10 seconds slower than a Hypercar, with last year’s pole time a 3m32.923s. Porsche no longer competes in the LMP2 class.

LMGT3

There will be 23 LMGT3 entries on the grid for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, increased from the 18 full-season WEC entries and spread across nine manufacturers. Porsche races alongside Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lexus, Lamborghini and McLaren. LMGT3 replaced the LMGTE Am class for 2024, with the old class having been on the WEC grid since the series' inaugural season in 2012. The new class is based around the FIA's existing GT3 technical platform, and continues to focus on gentlemen drivers. The cars feature several WEC-specific adaptations such as torquemeters and luminescent number panels - and use Goodyear tyres. LMGT3 cars are the closest to road cars of the three classes, with engine layouts based on their road-going equivalents - front and mid-engine, turbo and non-turbo and six, eight or even ten cylinders. Though this is the first year of LMGT3 cars competing at Le Mans, last year’s LMGTE pole time was a 3m52.228s. Manthey Racing will field its two full-season Porsche 911 GT3 R in the class. Works driver Richard Lietz will line up on the grid with Morris Schuring and Yasser Shahin in the No. 91 car decked out in the Manthey EMA livery, while Klaus Bachler, Alex Malykhin and Joel Sturm will race the No. 92 car representing Manthey PureRxcing.