On February 9th at 3:00 p.m. local time at the Salon Rétromobile in Paris, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest will unveil the list of 60 competitors invited to the 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as those participating in the 2018/2019 Super Season of the World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC).

24H Le Mans

Le Mans Series

24 Heures du Mans

FIA WEC

Today's events are always huge crowd-pleasers, starting with the fan favourite autograph session, then the team mechanics take over for the 4th Pit Stop Challenge. Who will dethrone last year's residing champs, Ferrari AF Corse?

<h2>Pit Walk&nbsp;and Autograph Session</h2>

From&nbsp;14:00 to&nbsp;17:20, pit lane is open to the public and from 14:00 to 15:00, the 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers are&nbsp;on the scene&nbsp;for selfies and an&nbsp;autograph session. They&#39;ll sign almost anything so use your imagination! Come and check out the garages assigned to the 62 crews entered in the 93rd running of the race.

<h2>Pit Stop Challenge</h2>

Created in&nbsp;2022, the&nbsp;Pit Stop Challenge challenges&nbsp;the mechanics from all&nbsp;62 teams to execute&nbsp;the fastest wheel change in their category. This&nbsp;takes as much physical ability as it does technical: a wheel weighs more than 20 kg and&nbsp;a pneumatic gun about 6 kg.&nbsp;Teams repeat these movements&nbsp;hundreds of times throughout the season&nbsp;until they&nbsp;become&nbsp;a reflex. As you know&nbsp;in racing&nbsp;every second gained &ndash; or lost &ndash; in&nbsp;pit lane&nbsp;can make all the difference in the world.

Don&#39;t miss the 4th Pit Stop Challenge scheduled between&nbsp;15:15 and&nbsp;16:30. Last year, Ferrari AF Corse&#39;s mechanics responsible for the #51 Ferrari 499P won the&nbsp;Hypercar category. AO By TF took the prize in&nbsp;LMP2 and Team WRT in&nbsp;LMGT3.

<h2>The&nbsp;R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res</h2>

The Sister Cities Committee and&nbsp;Ruaudin Town Hall are dedicating this 9th R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res to the U.S., retracing Cadillac and Corvette&#39;s legacy&nbsp;at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the challenges&nbsp;faced by American carmakers.

The 2025 edition, held from 16:00 to&nbsp;23:00, will highlight legendary marques and pay tribute to behind-the-scenes&nbsp;men and women with the 8th Marshals&#39; Trophy.&nbsp;Like every year, official 24 Hours&nbsp;illustrator Fran&ccedil;ois Bru&egrave;re&nbsp;has created a superb poster representing Cadillac&#39;s adventures at Le Mans, from the &quot;Monster&quot; of the 1950s to the Hypercar of 2025. 
 
Entertainment, activities and exhibiitions are all in store vthanks to four fantastic&nbsp;platforms: Cadillac, Corvette, exceptional GT, Sport and Collection. This event is not to be missed!

The 24 Hours Museum is open from&nbsp;09:00 to 19:00, including&nbsp;the stunning temporary exhibition dedicated to McLaren&nbsp;called &quot;A&nbsp;Name for Eternity&quot;. The&nbsp;Fan&nbsp;Zones and&nbsp;Kids Zone are open from 13:00 to&nbsp;20:00. The ACO H2 Hydrogen Village welcomes visitors from&nbsp;14:00 to&nbsp;20:00.

<h4>Tuesday 10 June Programme</h4>

09:00 &ndash; 19:00&nbsp;: 24 Hours&nbsp;Museum open 
13:00 &ndash; 20:00&nbsp;: Fan&nbsp;Zones and Kids Zone open 
14:00 &ndash; 15:00&nbsp;: Autograph&nbsp;Session 
14:00 &ndash; 17:20&nbsp;: Pit Walk 
14:00 &ndash; 20:00&nbsp;: ACO H2 Hydrogen Village open 
15:15 &ndash; 16:30&nbsp;: Pit Stop Challenge 
16:00 &ndash; 23:00&nbsp;: The&nbsp;R&rsquo;Hunaudi&egrave;res

Watch the&nbsp;<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6" target="_blank">FIA WEC live</a>&nbsp;or on demand on the official&nbsp;FIA WEC TV app, your all-access pass to the FIA World Endurance&nbsp;Championship including the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans. Don&#39;t miss a second of the action! For more info, go to the app.

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Tuesday 10 June programme

The injured Michelle Gatting will be replaced by Sarah Bovy at the wheel of the Iron Dames' #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 entered in the LMGT3 class for the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (11-15 June 2025).

After injuring her foot during a pit stop,&nbsp;Michelle Gatting&nbsp;will not be fit enough to compete in the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, the fourth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season. The Danish driver&rsquo;s place in the Iron Dames line-up in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2025-24-hours-of-le-mans-a-new-livery-for-the-iron-dames-59652" target="_blank">#85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3</a>&nbsp;will be taken by Sarah Bovy from Wednesday&rsquo;s free practice sessions.

Bovy, 36, is now set to start her fifth 24 Hours of Le Mans after starting the season in the European Le Mans Series. She has been an Iron Dame since 2021 and won the 2023 8 Hours of Bahrain with the Italian team. She will share the wheel of the #85 Porsche with C&eacute;lia Martin and Rahel Frey.

During yesterday&rsquo;s Test Day, Martin, Frey and Gatting produced a time of 3:59.615 to stand in 21st place in the LMGT3 class.&nbsp;&ldquo;We drove a lot of laps without any incidents &ndash; that&rsquo;s always a plus,&rdquo; said Frey. &ldquo;Coming back to Le Mans means adapting to the car&rsquo;s low-downforce setup again, which is essential on this circuit.&rdquo;

Read&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2025-24-hours-of-le-mans-presentation-of-the-lmgt3-category-59644" target="_blank">our presentation of the LMGT3 class</a>&nbsp;for the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans.

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6" target="_blank">Watch all the action from the FIA World Endurance Championship</a>,&nbsp;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.

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Iron Dames forced to reshuffle line-up

Hypercars under the microscope | Eight illustrious manufacturers will line up in the top class at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (11-15 June 2025). The BMW M Hybrid V8 has just one mission – to propel the German manufacturer back to the top of the international endurance tree.

<h4>Looking back</h4>

At 4.00&nbsp;pm on Sunday 13 June 1999, the #15 BMW V12 LMR took the chequered flag as winner of the 67th 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Bavarian carmaker left its imprint on the history of the French endurance classic by winning this iconic edition. Fast forward to Thursday 10 June 2021 when the BMW Group board rubberstamped plans to return to endurance in the LMDh Hypercar class. The future car was not only to win the IMSA championship in North America, but also the FIA World Endurance Championship and, of course, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Once the partnership with Dallara was signed in late summer, the teams quickly got down to business. Just over a year later, on Monday 25 July 2022, the BMW M Hybrid V8 began initial testing in preparation for its d&eacute;but race six months later: the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

<h3>Admire the BMW M Hybrid V8 in our photo gallery below.</h3>

<h4>Combining performance and sustainable development</h4>

The German prototype is driven by a V8 turbo that goes by the name of P66/3. It has the same hybrid system as all Hypercars built to LMDh regulations. Ulrich Schulz, the Chief Drivetrain Engineer on this project, and his team had to take on board a raft of sustainable development aspects, all within a short timeframe. Starting from a blank page was therefore out of the question.

The BMW P66/1 naturally aspirated eight-cylinder engine used in DTM by the 2017 and 2018 BMW M4 DTM offered the best platform in Schulz&rsquo;s view. The stressed engine offered the advantage of slipping directly into a monocoque chassis. The bulk of the work involved adding two turbos. Thorough work was conducted on sustainability, increased performance and engine temperature management. As development progressed, the engine was adjusted to the Dallara chassis and its electrical environment.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a huge plus that we were able to make use of existing materials such as steel and aluminium from BMW&rsquo;s time in Formula 1&nbsp; [&hellip;] That saved us time and a lot of money,&rdquo; says Schulz. &ldquo;Efficiency was a critical factor for this project, as we had a very short period of time available between getting started and the first racing appearance. Converting the normally aspirated P66/1 engine into a bi-turbo and then working with the electric drivetrain colleagues to turn it into a hybrid drive system was very complex. Thanks to the expertise, the great collaboration and the high level of motivation of all departments, we managed to complete the fire-up of the complete drive unit just a few weeks before the roll-out of the car,&rdquo; he adds.

<h4>BMW P66/3 specifications</h4>

<ul>
	<li>90-degree V8</li>
	<li>3.999-litre displacement</li>
	<li>32 valves (4 per cylinder)</li>
	<li>Twin turbo</li>
	<li>Max. engine speed: 8,200 rpm</li>
	<li>Output: 640 hp (limited by the regulations)</li>
	<li>Torque: 650 Nm</li>
	<li>Injection pressure: 350 bar</li>
	<li>4,306 parts (1,006 different types)</li>
</ul>

<h4>Unmistakeably BMW</h4>

A BMW engine in a Dallara chassis was a promising start. However, the new Hypercar prototype still had to be given a BMW identity. This was the job of Michael Scully, BMW Motorsport&rsquo;s Head of Design:&nbsp;&ldquo;My team&#39;s job was to make the BMW M Hybrid V8 look like a BMW,&rdquo; Scully says, &ldquo;and embrace every opportunity to make it also perform like one on the race track. The design is rooted in BMW&rsquo;s DNA of purposeful, efficient performance, and the exterior&rsquo;s bold, determined character invokes BMW&#39;s frontiersmanship of turbo power, now united with an optimised hybrid electric powertrain.&rdquo;

The Bavarian manufacturer&rsquo;s Hypercar is especially recognisable from the front with the large symmetrical nostrils &ndash; the famous &ldquo;twin kidney&rdquo; &ndash; edged with a luminous strip at night. Easy to spot in the dark at Le Mans!

<h4>What do the drivers say?</h4>

Robin Frijns (#20 BMW M Hybrid V8):&nbsp;&ldquo;I love the fact that I&rsquo;m so low down in the car. I&rsquo;m the one with the lowest driving position, so it&rsquo;s very good from my point of view. If I&rsquo;m sat higher, I don&rsquo;t get the same sensations.&rdquo;

Dries Vanthoor (#15 BMW M Hybrid V8):&nbsp;&ldquo;What I really like is that you can have a really incisive front axle on this car. However, I&rsquo;m the most extreme in that respect so I have to bow to my teammates&rsquo; preferences.&rdquo;

<h4>Elusive WEC success</h4>

The BMW M Hybrid V8 has showed constant progress since its first competitive outing. Car and team alike are making ground on the class leaders in terms of speed, reliability and strategy. The German Hypercar has notched up two wins across the Atlantic and put together a string of pole positions at the start of this season in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. However, it has yet to pop the FIA WEC champagne corks.&nbsp; For its return to the top class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year, the team suffered a serious setback with neither car classified. Vanthoor, Frijns &amp; Co will be banking on a more successful outcome at 16:00 on Sunday 15 June.

Don&rsquo;t miss the next episode in our &ldquo;Hypercars under the microscope&rdquo; series in which we shall continue our analysis of the prototypes in the high-quality field.

Next up: Peugeot 9X8

In case you missed them:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-cadillac-v-series-r-under-the-microscope-ready-to-roar-for-america-at-le-mans-59659" target="_blank">Cadillac V-Series.R</a>, <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-alpine-a424-hypercar-under-the-microscope-more-precise-more-reliable-more-ambitious-59684" target="_blank">Alpine A424</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-aston-martin-valkyrie-under-the-microscope-when-the-road-leads-to-le-mans-59692" target="_blank">Aston Martin Valkyrie</a>

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6">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.

The BMW M Hybrid V8 under the microscope – a return to winning ways at Le Mans?

Michelin has taken the wraps off its new Pilot Sport Endurance range for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The exclusive supplier to the Hypercar class has designed the tyre with three aims in mind: performance, longevity and respect for the environment.

French manufacturer Michelin will introduce a brand new generation of tyre&nbsp;for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Pilot Sport Endurance range has been conceived to deliver on performance, durability and a more environmentally friendly compound.

With this model, Michelin is taking a significant step forward in endurance tyre development. The tyre has been completely redesigned to meet the challenges of motorsport today: going faster and for longer, while consuming fewer resources.&nbsp;&ldquo;Since the inception of the Hypercar class, the competitors have pared a second off lap times by optimising tyre use,&rdquo; says Matthieu Bonardel, Head of the Motorsport Business Line&nbsp; at Michelin. &ldquo;Given the technical and sporting success, it is tempting to opt for stability. But it&rsquo;s precisely when everything is running smoothly that we need to be bold and go a stage further.&rdquo;

<h2>Greener tyres without compromising on performance</h2>

This development reflects a clear strategy to be more respectful of the environment as the new range will contain 50% renewable or recycled raw materials. The ambitious initiative is consistent with the drive by the FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans to reduce their ecological footprint without sacrificing&nbsp;performance.&nbsp;&ldquo;Today more than ever, our capacity for innovation is geared towards a vital issue: durability,&rdquo;&nbsp;Bonardel continues. Michelin can draw on a century of know-how, advanced simulation systems and in-depth work on materials and manufacturing processes to achieve this goal.

<h2>A long-term commitment</h2>

For Michelin, motorsport continues to have a role to play as a laboratory for innovation with an ability to transfer the technologies from the racetrack to the road. Endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans provide a testing ground to put the products through their paces under extreme conditions. Matthieu Bonardel has the final word:&nbsp;&ldquo;A constant quest for improvement and continued investment are necessary to keep the whole industry moving forward for the benefit of sustainable mobility.&rdquo;

We look forward to 2026 and seeing the enhanced performance, efficiency and respect for the environment introduced by the Michelin Pilot Sport Endurance tyre on the racetrack.

Michelin designs a greener, more durable Hypercar tyre for 2026

24 Heures du Mans 2018

This is a must-see event available live and in its entirety on our website, on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/24heuresdumans/" target="_blank">24 Hours of Le Mans</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/fiawec/" target="_blank">FIA WEC</a>&nbsp;Facebook pages, on our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/24heuresdumans" target="_blank">YouTube</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/24heuresdumans" target="_blank">Dailymotion</a>&nbsp;pages, as well as&nbsp;on&nbsp;the FIA WEC official app and at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.motorsport.com" target="_blank">motorsport.com</a>

There&#39;s no excuse to miss this highly anticipated live event!

24H LE MANS

The launch of the 2018/2019 Endurance Super Season: on your marks, get set, go!

Related News

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Tuesday 10 June programme

2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – Iron Dames forced to reshuffle line-up

The BMW M Hybrid V8 under the microscope – a return to winning ways at Le Mans?

Michelin designs a greener, more durable Hypercar tyre for 2026

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