With Dwight Merriman out the race due to a back injury, Idec Sport bring Porsche driver Patrick Pilet in to save the day

24H Le Mans

24 Heures du Mans

One month on from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the FIA World Endurance Championship heads off to Brazil where Ferrari will be on the hunt for another win at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.  However, the Le Mans winners will undoubtedly face a strong challenge from Toyota, Porsche, Cadillac, BMW, Alpine, Peugeot and Aston Martin.

Four weeks after the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, S&atilde;o Paulo (Brazil) awaits the FIA World Endurance Championship field at its famous circuit, more commonly known as Interlagos. The Rolex 6 Hours of S&atilde;o Paulo marks the start of the second half of the season. 
Thirty-six cars&nbsp;make up the entry list split equally between the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes. Aston Martin THOR Team, Porsche Penske Motorsport and Peugeot TotalEnergies will go with two-driver line-ups. Toyota Gazoo Racing&rsquo;s S&eacute;bastien Buemi will also be missing from the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid. The Swiss will be in Berlin for a round of the Formula E world championship.

&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/ecm-prod/assets/1/course/4934/2025-fia-wec-rolex-6-hours-of-sao-paulo-provisional-entry-list-v1_9ca6fe.pdf" target="_blank">Rolex 6 Hours of S&atilde;o Paulo entry list</a> &lt;&lt;&lt;

<h2>A fourth consecutive win for Ferrari?</h2>

Ferrari will aim for a fourth win on the bounce with the #50 and #51 factory 499Ps as well as the AF Corse #83 entry that triumphed in the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans last month. The Prancing Horse tops the FIA Hypercar World Endurance Manufacturers&rsquo; Championship standings with a 77-point lead over Toyota, with Porsche a further 11 points behind.

In the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 teams, Manthey 1st Phorm (#92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3) leads the way ahead of Vista AF Corse (#21 Ferrari 296 LMGT3), a mere five points in arrears. TF Sport (#33 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R) lies in third place. Iron Dame Michelle Gatting, who missed out on the 24 Hours of Le Mans after injuring her foot on Test Day, should be fit enough to return to the wheel of the #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3.

<h4>Rolex 6 Hours of S&atilde;o Paulo schedule</h4>

Friday 11 July

11:00&ndash;12:30&nbsp;&ndash; Free Practice 1 
15:45&ndash;17:15&nbsp;&ndash; Free Practice 2

Saturday 12 July

10:10&ndash;11:10 &ndash; Free Practice 3 
14:45&ndash;14:57&nbsp;&ndash; LMGT3 Qualifying 
15:05&ndash;15:15 &ndash; LMGT3 Hyperpole 
15:25&ndash;15:37&nbsp;&ndash; Hypercar Qualifying 
15:45&ndash;15:55&nbsp;&ndash; Hypercar Hyperpole

Sunday 13 July

11:30&ndash;17:30 &ndash; Race

<a href="https://web.fiawec.tv/offers" target="_blank">Watch all the action from the FIA World Endurance Championship</a>, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, live or on demand with the FIA WEC TV official app! Don&rsquo;t miss a thing! Check out the app for further information.

FIA WEC –The championship race heads to São Paulo

As the curtain came down on Le Mans Classic 2025, all eyes turned immediately towards 2026. On the strength of the huge popular success of this year’s meeting that attracted over 238,000 people to the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, the traditional biennial gathering is set to give way to a new annual format from next year.

The inaugural edition of Le Mans Classic Legend will be held from 2 to 5 July 2026. The new gathering will spotlight the cars that flew the endurance flag from 1976 to 2015 &ndash; a period synonymous with technical innovations, spectacular performances and emblematic figures of motorsport.

<h2>A new impulse for Le Mans Classic</h2>

From 2026, Le Mans Classic will be held annually, alternating between two complementary events:

<ul>
	<li>Le Mans Classic Heritage (1923-1975): a journey back to the golden age of endurance, with legendary grids and a decidedly vintage atmosphere&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Le Mans Classic Legend (1976-2015): a celebration of more recent eras featuring prototypes and GTs that wrote the contemporary history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans</li>
</ul>

Relive the magic of retro endurance every year! The new schedule will create more track opportunities for collectors and drivers, and offer a chance for a whole new generation of fans to become smitten with this unique passion!

<h2>Tickets on sale soon</h2>

The tickets for the first Le Mans Classic Legend will go on sale soon. Sign up now to be informed of the date before the public announcement:

&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href="https://f1.np6.com/form.aspx?GV1=ASP00B80000000000000000000001QO3&amp;LANGUE=FR&amp;ob_hash=106c1bedc840ed15f8451e96838cc236ccaaa35ac723914ed0ce067d9054078b&amp;h3=51564E514D4442434F4441774D444177" target="_blank">Stay in the loop for 2026</a> &lt;&lt;&lt;

To find out more about what&rsquo;s in store, read our story on this turning point in the meeting&rsquo;s history: <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/le-mans-classic-to-become-an-annual-event-59842" target="_blank">Le Mans Classic to become an annual event</a>.

Continue to experience the emotion of Le Mans Classic 2025 with the official collection of clothing, accessories and collector&rsquo;s items. Check out the range in the <a href="https://boutique.lemans.org/en/73-le-mans-classic?ob_hash=106c1bedc840ed15f8451e96838cc236ccaaa35ac723914ed0ce067d9054078b&amp;utm_source=EMAILING&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=APP_TICKET&amp;utm_campaign=LMC_MERCI_GP_FR_001VSY" target="_blank">official online store</a>!

Le Mans Classic Legend – New chapter to begin 2-5 July 2026

The #48 Oreca 07-Gibson of VDS Panis Racing took the honours in the 4 Hours of Imola, the third round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series. Meanwhile, TF Sport scooped a historic LMGT3 success for Corvette.

The VDS Panis Racing line-up of Oliver Gray, Charles Milesi and Esteban Masson drove the #48 Oreca 07-Gibson to overall victory at the 4 Hours of Imola yesterday (Sunday 6 July). At the chequered flag, the French team held an 8.8-second lead over the #43 Oreca of Inter Europol Competition. The #25 Oreca of Algarve Pro Racing, who included Th&eacute;o Pourchaire in their ranks, rounded out the podium. AO by TF won the LMP2 Pro/Am class with the #99 Oreca affectionately known as Spike. 
The race for the championship title is warming up nicely with VDS Panis Racing taking a single-point lead over IDEC Sport, with Inter Europol Competition a further 12 points in arrears.

The LMGT3 class saw a historic win for Corvette. Charlie Eastwood, the former ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am champion, was first to cross the finish line at the wheel of the TF Sport #82 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R, scoring the American manufacturer&rsquo;s first-ever European Le Mans Series victory. Two Ferrari 296 LMGT3s &ndash; #74 of Kessel Racing and #55 of Spirit Of Race &ndash; completed the podium. 
The 15 points earned took Spirit Of Race to the top of the championship standings ahead of TF Sport and Iron Dames. AF Corse lie in fourth position, just seven points behind the leaders. Everything is still to play for in the highly competitive ELMS LMGT3 class!

<h2>A third LMP3 win on the bounce for CLX Motorsport</h2>

The polesitting CLX Motorsport line-up of Paul Lanchere, Adrien Clomesnil and Theodor Jensen dominated the LMP3 class. The Swiss outfit in the #17 Ligier-Toyota fought off the challenge from Racing Spirit Of L&eacute;man (#31 Ligier-Toyota) and Eurointernational (#11 Ligier-Toyota). CLX Motorsport holds a huge 45-point lead over Inter Europol Competition at the top of the LMP3 charts.

The European Le Mans Series will be back after a summer break with the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (22-24 August). 
In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the highlights of the 4 Hours of Imola.

Race Highlights | 4 Hours of Imola 2025 | ELMS

ELMS : les highlights des 4 Heures d'Imola 2025

ELMS – VDS Panis Racing wins 4 Hours of Imola

You can now relive all the excitement of the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans wherever you are! The full replay of the race is accessible free of charge. Enjoy the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship once again from the pre-race protocol to the podium ceremony.

The AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P took the chequered flag at 4.00 pm on Sunday 15 June to win the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans. Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson clinched victory ahead of the Hypercars fielded by Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota. This success marks the third successive Le Mans triumph for the 499P and the 12th overall win for Ferrari at the French endurance classic. You can see how the race panned out on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAyiedQr454" target="_blank">the 24 Hours of Le Mans YouTube channel</a>.

In addition to Ferrari&rsquo;s Hypercar achievement, two other crews topped the podium in their respective classes: the #43 Oreca 07-Gibson of Inter Europol Competition, and the #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 run by Manthey 1st Phorm.

Watch the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans full race replay!

24 Heures du Mans 2020

The American driver Dwight Merriman is out of the race after sustaining a back injury when his car came off the track during yesterday&rsquo;s second practice session. It&rsquo;s not the end of the road for the #17 Oreca 07- Gibson though, as Idec Sport are drafting in an illustrious replacement. Porsche factory driver Patrick Pilet will step in to help the French team out for this weekend&rsquo;s race at Le Mans. It will be the French driver&rsquo;s first time in a prototype!

24H LE MANS

Patrick Pilet steps in to replace Dwight Merriman at the last minute

Related News

FIA WEC –The championship race heads to São Paulo

Le Mans Classic Legend – New chapter to begin 2-5 July 2026

ELMS – VDS Panis Racing wins 4 Hours of Imola

Watch the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans full race replay!

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