24h Le Mans
At the 24 Hours of Le Mans as in other motorsport events, racecar numbers may have special meaning. Some teams happily go along with whatever number is allotted to them, while others request a specific number out of superstition, tradition or evocation. Most Hypercar team racecar numbers were carefully chosen. So, what do they mean?
The number 1 is not used this year. It is often chosen by the previous year’s winners. Toyota won last year, but prefer the GR 010 Hybrids to stay as #7 and #8, the numbers they have been using since 2012. Why is that? The answer lies in Japanese culture and the carmaker’s history. When Kiichiro Toyoda opened an automotive department in 1933, he renamed the company Toyota. By changing the ‘d’ to a ‘t’, the name could be written with eight brushstrokes instead of ten. And in Japan, eight is a lucky number. As luck would have it, car #8 has met with the most success (winning in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022). The Toyota #7 has only won once.
Although Cadillac boast the #1 on home turf in IMSA, for their return to Le Mans, Cadillac have settled for #2 and #3, the numbers they had when they first took part in the race back in 1950 on the Coupe DeVille and the famous "Monstre". So what’s with 311? In the North American endurance championship, Whelen Engineering race as #31, their lucky number. But the Team WRT LMP2 car has had the #31 for the last two years, so they just tagged on an extra 1. The one they couldn't lay claim to at Le Mans this year.
Vanwall’s #4 has no particular signification. It was the number attributed to the team for their first foray in the World Endurance Championship and they decided to stick with it.
This year sees Ferrari return to the top class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The last time the Italian manufacturer fielded a potentially race-winning entry was in 1973 – 50 years ago! Hence the #50 for the first Ferrari 499P, and #51 for the AF Corse entry. The #50 is a popular choice to celebrate a half-century. Corvette Racing sported the number on the C5-R in a tribute to the model's 50th anniversary.
As for Peugeot, they are celebrating their return with a nod to the past. The French manufacturer opted for #93 in evocation of its podium sweep in 1993 with the 905. But why #94 and not #92, when they also won? Quite simply because in 2022, when the 9X8 made its début, the number #92 was taken by Porsche in LMGTE Pro. So #94 because it comes after #93!
In the Porsche camp, numbers #5 and #6 were chosen as a tribute to Penske’s great success in American Le Mans Series with the RS Spyder. The number #75 is a reference to the manufacturer’s 75th anniversary. The Porsche 356/1 Roadster was produced in Gmünd, Austria on 8 June 1948 – and a legend was born! Hertz Team Jota’s Porsche 963, will be wearing #38, as usual. The British team was allocated the number when the WEC began in 2012 and has used it ever since. It has to be said that it has that it has spelled success: 10 podiums in the last 9 years at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and victory last year!
Numbers #708 and #709 may mean nothing to you, but to Jim Glickenhaus, owner of the American outfit, they have real signification. The two SCG 007 LMHs are the eighth and ninth cars to be produced by his team. As for the 7 that precedes – it refers to the Hypercar project, Glickenhaus’s seventh. The three-digit result is also a nod to Ferrari, whose model numbers have the same format.
So, you see, just like Formula One drivers have their lucky numbers, endurance numbers are generally in reference to the team and the story behind it. Next time you see a Hypercar flash past, you will know that there is more to the number than meets the eye.
