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| The GR Racing Ferrari 296 LM GT3 in the first part of the Forest Esses in free practice. |
Although I was disappointed that works cars are no longer allowed in the GT class in the WEC or the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this was more than made up for by the addition to the field of the McLarens, Mustangs, Lexuses and Lamborghinis. Thus in 2024 there were 23 LM GT3 cars competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans representing 9 different marques. I loved the look of the Ferrari 296s, Corvettes and McLarens and the noise of the Mustangs. Good also to see the Iron Dames in the Lamborghini, the only 3 women in the 24 Hours this year - shame about the new colour scheme. A lot of interest in Valentino Rossi, was evident, who was competing in the Blue BMW - but he didn't last that long in the actual race. In the end a Porsche won as they so often do at Le Mans.
All of the cars competing in LM GT3 at Le Mans in 2024 are shown below in the order that they were classified. The pictures were all taken during the free practice, qualification and Hyperpole sessions on Wednesday and Thursday.
1st. No.91 Manthey EMA, PORSCHE 911 GT3 R, Y. Shahin, M. Schuring, R. Lietz
A smooth run and good strategy from a team doing well in the WEC saw Manthey win the first ever LM GT3 class at Le Mans. This was despite a low grid position.
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| The LM GT3 class winning Porsche exiting the Forest Esses. |
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| The Porsche entering the pit straight. |
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| The Porsche at night entering the Dunlop Chicane. |
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| The Porsche in the first Curve (Dunlop Curve). |
2nd. No.31 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3, D. Leung, S. Gelael, A. Farfus
On Sunday morning they delivered a charge that took them into second place.
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| The second in class BMW in the Ford Chicane. |
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| The BMW leading an LMP2 into the Ford Chicane. |
3rd. No.88 Proton Competition, Ford Mustang GT3, G. Roda, M. Pedersen, D. Olsen
A good Le Mans debut for this Mustang to get a podium finish.
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| The third in class Ford Mustang at the Ford Chicane. |
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| The Mustang in Tertre Rouge on Wednesday. |
4th. No.44 Proton Competition, Ford Mustang GT3, J. Hartshorne, B. Tuck, C. Mies
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| The fourth placed Mustang exiting the Forest Esses. |
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| The fourth placed Mustang entering Raccordement. |
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| The Mustang leading a McLaren through the Ford Chicane. |
5th. No.85 Iron Dames, Lamborgini Huracan GT3 Evo 2,, S. Bovy, M. Gatting, R. Frey
Contact with a Hypercar that dropped it down the order meant that the Iron dames had to fight hard to get back into fifth place.
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| The Iron Dames leading a Ferrari through the Ford Chicane. |
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| The Iron Dames at night. |
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| The Iron Dames exiting the Esses on Wednesday. |
6th. No.55 Vista AF Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3, F. Heriau, S. Mann, A. Rovera
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| The sixth placed Ferrari at Night. |
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| The Ferrari at the Ford Chicane. |
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| The Ferrari exiting the Dunlop Chicane. |
7th. No.78 Akkodis ASP Team, Lexus RC F GT3, A. Robin, T. Boguslavskiy, K. van der Linde
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| The seventh placed Lexus in the Ford Chicane. |
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| The Lexus at night exiting the Dunlop Chicane.. |
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| The Lexus in Tertre Rouge. |
8th. No.155 Spirit of Race, Ferrari 296 GT3, J. Laursen, C. Laursen, J. Taylor
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| The 8th placed Ferrari at night. |
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| The Ferrari in the Esses. |
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| The Ferrari in Tertre Rouge. |
9th. No.777 D'Station Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, S. Hoshino, E. Bastard, M. Sorensen
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| The 9th placed Aston Martin in the Ford Chicane. |
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| The Aston Martin entering Raccordement. |
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| The Aston Martin at night in the Dunlop Chicane. |
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| The Aston Martin exiting the Esses. |
10th. No.87 Akkodis ASP Team, Lexus RC F GT3, T. Kimura, E. Masson, J. Hawksworth
Jack Hawksworth replaced Jose Maria Lopez in this team after he was drafted into the Toyota Hypercar. Some bodywork damage dropped it to the back of the top ten.
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| The tenth placed lexus in the Forest Esses. |
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| The Lexus entering the Forest Esses. |
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| The Lexus exiting the Forest Esses. |
11th. No.82 TF Sport, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, H. Koizumi, S. Baud, D. Juncadella
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| The eleventh placed Corvette attacking the kerbs at Raccordement. |
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| The Corvette being followed by a Porsche through the Ford Chicane. |
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| The Corvette exiting the Dunlop Chicane. |
12th. No.86 GR Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3, M. Wainwright, D. Serra, R. Pera
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| The 12th placed Ferrari at night. |
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| The Ferrari in the Ford Chicane. |
13th. No.70 Inception Racing, McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, B. Iribe, O. Millroy, F. Schandorff
The LM GT3 Hyperpole winner and class leader at the start of the race.
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| The 13th placed McLaren at night. |
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| The McLaren in the Esses. |
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| The Mclaren exiting the Esses. |
14th. No.92 Manthey PureRxcing, PORSCHE 911 GT3 R, A. Malykhin, J. Sturm, K. Bachler
Had a gearbox issue.
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| The 14th placed Porsche entering the start/finish straight. |
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The Porsche leading a Lamborghini through the Ford Chicane.
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S. Hoshino, E. Bastard, M. Sorensen S. Hoshino, E. Bastard, M. |
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| The Porsche exiting the Dunlop Chicane. |
15th. No.81 TF Sport, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, T. Van Rompuy, R. Andrade, C. Eastwood
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| The fifteenth placed Corvette in the Forest Esses. |
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| The Corvette in the Dunlop Chicane. |
16th. No.60 Iron Lynx, Lamborgini Huracan GT3 Evo 2, C. Schiavoni, M. Cressoni, F. Perera
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| The 16th placed Lamborghini in the Ford Chicane. |
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| The Iron Lynx Lamborghini leading Iron Lynx LMP2 car through the Ford Chicane. |
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| The Lamborghini at night. |
17th. No.77 Proton Competition, Ford Mustang GT3, R. Hardwick, Z. Robichon, B. Barker
Had to have a steering rack repaired so dropped out of contention having been strong early on.
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| The Mustang being overtaken at night. |
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| The seventeenth placed Ford Mustang in the Esses. |
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The Mustang in Tertre Rouge.
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DNF. No.59 United Autosports, McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, J. Cottingham, N. Costa, G. Saucy
Retired with a technical issue out on course in the 20th hour.
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| The McLaren in the Forest Esses. |
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| The McLaren in the Forest Esses. |
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| The McLaren at night. |
DNF. No.95 United Autosports, McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, H. Hamaguchi, N. Pino, M. Sato
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| The McLaren in the Ford Chicane. |
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| The McLaren exiting the Dunlop Chicane. |
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| The McLaren in Tertre Rouge. |
DNF. No.27 Heart of Racing Team, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, I. James, D. Mancinelli, A. Riberas
Retired after a big accident at Indianpolis corner but the driver was unhurt.
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| The Aston Martin exiting the Dunlop Chicane. |
S. Bovy, M. Gatting, R. Frey |
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| The Aston Martin in the Dunlop Chicane. |
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| The Aston Martin in the Ford Chicane. |
DNF. No.66 JMW Motorsport, Ferrari 296 GT3, G. Petrobelli, L. ten Voorde, S. Yoluc
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| The Ferrari in the Chicane. |
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| The Ferrari in the Esses. |
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| The Ferrari at night passing one of the hospitality stands. |
DNF. No.46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3, A. Al Harthy, V. Rossi, M. Martin
Was battling for the lead in the first half of the race but eventually the car went off in the forest esses.
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| The BMW at night heading up to the Dunlop Bridge. |
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| The BMW in the Esses. |
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| The BMW in the Dunlop Chicane. |
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| The BMW in the Ford Chicane. |
DNF. No.54 Vista AF Corse, Ferrari 296 GT3, T. Flohr, F. Castellacci, D. Rigon
