The OAK Racing team competed in the European Le Mans Series this year, entering two Ligier JS P3s in the LM P3 class, including one for the Nicolet father-son duo.

Le Mans Series

ELMS

As part of their preparation for the pinnacle of endurance racing, the 62 cars entered for the 24 Hours of Le Mans engaged in a Pit Stop Challenge for the fifth year running. The mechanics of the #83 Ferrari 499P were the quickest team today.

The Pit Stop Challenge is an exercise in rapid execution. Teams of four perform a tyre change only. There is no refuelling or driver change-over. The referee announces the start and stops the clock when the last mechanic crosses the line that separates the garage from the intervention zone, having changed all four tyres. A loose nut, a dodgy wheel gun, or a misstep, spells game over. The record to beat, set last year by the crew of the Peugeot TotalEnergies #93 Peugeot 9X8, was 8.830 seconds.

The first time to beat this year was set by the #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R whose crew completed the operation in 8.910 seconds. Their technique is to send a mechanic to change the tyres on the lefthand side first &ndash; front, then rear. Another method is to send a pair of mechanics to operate on a diagonal: front right and rear left, then front left and rear right. TDS Racing changes both tyres simultaneously on the lefthand side first, followed by the right. Whatever the order, the golden rules remains the same: not a foot wrong! To triumph at Le Mans, you have to excel on all fronts, including in the pit lane.

This year, the best in the Hypercar and LMGT3 recorded exactly the same time, a few tenths off the record.

Winners in each class (94th 24 Hours of Le Mans, 5th Pit Stop Challenge:

<ul>
	<li>Hypercar: #83 Ferrari 499P &ndash; Ferrari AF Corse 8.870 seconds</li>
	<li>LMP2: #37 Oreca 07-Gibson &ndash; CLX Motorsport 10.600 seconds</li>
	<li>LMGT3: #69 BMW M4 LMGT3 &ndash; Team WRT 8.870 seconds</li>
</ul>

2026 24 Hours of Le Mans: Ferrari wins the 5th 24 Hours of Le Mans Pit Stop Challenge

Jamie Chadwick drove a Hypercar on the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans for the first time on Test Day, the first woman racer to take the wheel in the top class of endurance. The British driver was enamoured, and is looking forward to being back on track.

Like all topflight categories, the Hypercar class attracts the world&rsquo;s best. Three-time champion in W Series between 2019 and 2022, Jamie Chadwick has since joined the Genesis Magma Racing Hypercar programme. As reserve driver, she was honoured to drive five laps in the #17 <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2026-24-hours-of-le-mans-the-low-down-on-the-genesis-magma-racing-hypercar-60714">GMR-001-Hypercar </a>on 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day. It was not her first time on the circuit, <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/jamie-chadwick-intends-to-work-her-way-up-to-hypercar-59730">she competed in last year&rsquo;s 24 Hours of Le Mans</a> in LMP2 with IDEC Sport, teamed with Mathys Jaubert and Andr&eacute; Lotterer.

<h2>A whole new world</h2>

Hypercar is significantly different to LMP2. Everything is more extreme, faster, both in a straight line and on corners. Traffic is more of an issue, on the Mulsanne Straight and in the trickier sections. Power management is subtler. The prototype requires sharper reflexes. &ldquo;It was incredible. I think it&rsquo;s only a question of time before we see many women on the Hypercar grid at Le Mans. I hope so. It&rsquo;s a step in the right direction anyway,&rdquo; she declared in a recent interview.

Chadwick is the first woman to take the wheel of a Hypercar at Le Mans. Women have always played a part at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and she follows in their footsteps. The first women to participate were Marguerite Mareuse and Odette Siko, in 1930. Siko took fourth place overall in 1932. Since then, many women have made their mark on the race. Among them, Christine Beckers, who won her class in 1974 with Yvette Fontaine and Marie Laurent, and more recently, Doriane Pin, Mercedes-AMG Formula One development driver on the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 grid in the Duqueine Team #30 Oreca 07-Gibson.

With this appearance in Hypercar, Jamie Chadwick, who already has a long list of achievement, is leading the way. She&rsquo;s showing that her seat in a Hypercar is within reach.

Jamie Chadwick’s Test Day at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans

La Journée Test de Jamie Chadwick aux 24 Heures du Mans 2026

2026 24 Hours of Le Mans: Jamie Chadwick makes history in the Hypercar class

On Tuesday 09/06 June, fans get a chance once again to rub elbows with their favourite drivers at the autograph session and then watch the thrill-ride Pit Stop Challenge among other activities. Which team's mechanics might snatch the trophy from last year's winner, Peugeot TotalEnergies?

Today, the energy at the Le Mans circuit is rapidly growing even before the cars entered in the 94th 24 Hours take the track for the first free practice tomorrow.&nbsp;This is a day designed for those who want to see the race&nbsp;from the inside and catch a glimpse&nbsp;of preparations underway.

<h2>Pit walk</h2>

Pit lane will open at&nbsp;13:45 so&nbsp;spectators can participate in&nbsp;the annual pit walk and check out the garages of&nbsp;the 62 competitors as&nbsp;team mechanics make&nbsp;final adjustments.&nbsp;For many, this is a highlight&nbsp;of race week as an opportunity to discover the Le&nbsp;Mans classic a few metres from those making it happen.

<h2>Pit Stop Challenge</h2>

At&nbsp;14:00, the spotlight turns to those you don&#39;t hear about quite as much, but whose every move can change the fate of the&nbsp;race, namely&nbsp;the mechanics.

The Pit Stop Challenge is back for its fifth year to determine which team can perform the fastest possible wheel change.&nbsp;The contest is physically demanding and technically challenging: a&nbsp;wheel weighs more than&nbsp;20 kg, a&nbsp;pneumatic gun weighs&nbsp;about&nbsp;6 kg and the mechanics have just a few seconds to execute movements repeated hundreds of times throughout the season.

A&nbsp;pit stop at the 24 Hours is&nbsp;a precise choreographed routine. Nothing is left to chance. And when the clock is ticking, every move&nbsp;counts.

Last year, the technical&nbsp;staff assigned to Peugeot TotalEnergies&#39; #93&nbsp;Peugeot 9X8 clocked the quickest time of&nbsp;8.83&nbsp;secondes in the Hypercar class, AF Corse took the prize in LMP2 and Iron Dames&nbsp;in LMGT3. Who will win today?

<h2>autograph session</h2>

The fan-favourite autograph session has changed a bit for the 94th running of the race, promising an even more memorable experience for drivers and fans alike. Each team will&nbsp;first appear&nbsp;on the podium before heading to the pit straight&nbsp;where fans can meet them for autographs, selfies&nbsp;and&nbsp;sought-after&nbsp;interactions.

A baseball cap&nbsp;tucked under one&rsquo;s arm or&nbsp;a poster to get signed, a souvenir photo&nbsp;or simply a few words exchanged &mdash; these are the moments that remain lifelong memories.

<h2>The&nbsp;R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res</h2>

At a few short kilometres outside the circuit, the party continues from 16:00 to 23:00 in the town of&nbsp;Ruaudin with the&nbsp;10th edition of the&nbsp;R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res.

The&nbsp;event revisits&nbsp;1976, a year etched in the history of the 24 Hours&nbsp;marking the first victory for a turbo engine, achieved with the Porsche 936, and also the year that saw&nbsp;the start&nbsp;of the extraordinary career of a 30-year-old driven by a massive dream: Jean Rondeau.

The 2026 theme&nbsp;&quot;Rondeau, a Human Adventure&quot;&nbsp;pays tribute to this Le Mans icon thanks to&nbsp;the Jean Rondeau Association&#39;s&nbsp;aim&nbsp;to revive the unique heritage linking the city, the race&nbsp;and its heroes.

Guests&nbsp;can also admire a line-up of exceptional cars representing the marques showcased during the nine previous R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res. The presentation of the ninth Marshals&#39; Trophy rounds off a day dedicated to legacy&nbsp;and a passion for racing.

Tuesday 9 June Programme

10:00 &ndash; 20:00 | M24 &ndash; Motorsport Museum open 
13:45 &ndash; 17:30 | Pit Walk 
14:00 &ndash; 15:00 |&nbsp;Pit Stop Challenge 
15:30 &ndash; 17:30 | Autograph Session 
16:00 &ndash; 23:00 | The&nbsp;R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res

2026 24 Hours of Le Mans – Tuesday 09/06 Programme

Get up to speed on who’s who before the practice and qualifying sessions, and Hyperpole. The Official 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans Spotter Guide is your best friend when it comes to telling which of the magnificent cars is which this week (10-14 June 2026).

Get up to speed on who&rsquo;s who before the practice and qualifying sessions, and Hyperpole. The Official 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans Spotter Guide is your best friend when it comes to telling which of the magnificent cars is which this week (10-14 June 2026).

The plot of the 24 Hours of Le Mans unravels at 340 kph. Even the sharpest of eyes will appreciate the help of our Spotter Guide to pick out competitors in the vast 62-car field that will set off for a 24-hour marathon at 16:00 on Saturday 13 June.

Teams began their preparation in earnest at Test Day yesterday, which saw <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/advantage-aston-martin-in-second-free-practice-session-at-le-mans-test-day-60710">an impressive performance from Aston Martin THOR Team</a>. Now it&rsquo;s your turn to get race-ready. The handy guide has all the essential information you need, clearly displayed.

This year&rsquo;s grid is a full 62 cars, split into three classes:

<ul>
	<li>18 Hypercars;</li>
	<li>19 LMP2;</li>
	<li>25 LMGT3.</li>
</ul>

Whether you&rsquo;re seated comfortably in the grandstands, on a bank overlooking a corner, or at home on the sofa, the guide produced by Archim&egrave;de will help you keep pace with the action.

<h2>Check out the new 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans liveries</h2>

The Spotter Guide displays each car&rsquo;s livery so you can tell them apart.

<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/genesis-magma-racing-unveil-a-spectacular-livery-for-their-maiden-24-hours-of-le-mans-60650">Genesis Magma Racing&rsquo;s GMR-001 Hypercars #17 and #19</a> sport one of the most striking decorations this year for their maiden Le Mans. The <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/a-neon-livery-for-dkr-engineering-at-the-2026-24-hours-of-le-mans-60598">DKR Engineering</a> #3 Oreca 07-Gibson, the #32 and #69 BMW M4 LMGT3 Evos of Team WRT, and the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-porsche-911-gt3-rs-commemorate-porsche-s-1951-victory-at-the-2026-24-hours-of-le-mans-60674">Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3</a>s fielded by Manthey DK Engineering (#91) and The Bend Manthey (#92) are also crowd favourites.

As the hours tick by, some colours will be clearly imprinted on our minds. Who will have the starring role in this year&rsquo;s high-speed saga?

&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href="https://assets.lemans.org/explorer/pdf/courses/2026/24-heures-du-mans/spotter-le-mans-2026.pdf?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=pack_vip_promo_fb&amp;utm_content=ap_b9lc9oxiry" target="_blank">Download your 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans spotter guide</a> &lt;&lt;&lt;

Check out the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans Spotter Guide

Two&nbsp;OAK Racing cars competed in the 2016&nbsp;ELMS season, entrusted to Erik Maris and&nbsp;Jean-Marc Merlin (#4) and to Jacques and Pierre Nicolet (#24). In the end, the team finished 15th overall in the LM P3 Teams standings with as best result fifth&nbsp;place in its class (for the #24) at the 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Video: YouTube &ndash; OAK Racing TV&nbsp;

ELMS - OAK Racing's 2016 season (video)

Related News

2026 24 Hours of Le Mans: Ferrari wins the 5th 24 Hours of Le Mans Pit Stop Challenge

2026 24 Hours of Le Mans: Jamie Chadwick makes history in the Hypercar class

2026 24 Hours of Le Mans – Tuesday 09/06 Programme

Check out the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans Spotter Guide

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