Le Mans 24 Hours

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Asian LMSC

Michelin Le Mans Cup

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MissionH24

Innovations

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Historique

Le Mans Legends

Le Mans Legendes

This modern and welcoming space is the ideal place to relax while you watch the action on the track. It has a lovely restaurant and a vast terrace that offers stunning views of the famous Corvette Corner. You can even head to the entertainment area on the ground floor, which is equipped with driving simulators, dart boards, a pool table and a host of other activities to keep everyone entertained.

Starter 24

TERRACE WITH VIEW OF THE TRACK

CATERING AND OPEN BAR

24 HOURS OF LE MANS GIFT

GENERALE ADMISSION

PARKING

KARTING SESSION

wednesday, thursday, saturday & sunday 

PRACTICES + RACE

wednesday or thursday 

PRACTICES

ALL_INCLUSIVE

From the grandstand, let yourself be transported by the spectacle on the track: cars skimming the kerbs, the excitement of the start ceremony... An ideal experience to enjoy the magic of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and savour the atmosphere !

Village hospitality

Pavillon 24

GRIDWALK

PADDOCK ACCESS

CATERING & OPEN-BAR

GENERALE ADMISSION AND GRANDSTAND SEAT 

wednesday, thursday, saturday & sunday

wednesday or thursday

In a prime location right by the paddocks and pitlane building, the Le Mans Spirit Club - official FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP hospitality - opens out onto a stunning terrace with outstanding views of the legendary Motul Raccordement Corner. Interested in this VIP package for another FIA World Endurance Championship race? Book now by <a href="https://www.fiawec.com/en/page/welcome-to-our-world/2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">clicking here</a>

360° VISIT

Le Mans Spirit Club

CATERING

LOCATED AT THE RACCORDEMENT

from wednesday to sunday

WEEK 

An exclusive outdoor space allows you to watch the action on the circuit while revelling in the race's characteristic atmosphere. Throughout the day and night, our high-class services and activity schedule keep you entertained for a truly unforgettable event.

Panoramic 24 lounge

Panoramic 24

PITWALK TICKET

EXCLUSIVE VIEXPOINTS

wednesday to sunday

WEEK

Step behind the scenes of this thrilling event, savour the moment in our high-class reception areas and enjoy a carefully-orchestrated event that combines elegance with excitement. From sunrise to sunset, a full schedule of activities will be rolled out just for you, to fully immerse you in the thrill of the race.

Private Pitlounge

Gold experience

PADDOCK & GRIDWALK

EXCLUSIVE VIEWPOINTS

TRACK LAP

HELICOPTER FLIGHT OVER THE TRACK

PIT VISIT

from friday to sunday

RACE

Terrace 24

TERRACE WITH A VIEW OVER THE TRACK

PRIVATE VENUE UP TO 18 GUESTS

CATERING AND BEVERAGE SERVICE

FURNITURE INCLUDED

PRIVATE

Single lounge

Pitlounge 24

CUSTOMISABLE AREA

PRIVATE SUITE

COMMANDING VIEW OVER THE PITLANE

LIVE TV

ACCESS FROM WEDNESDAY TO SUNDAY

Discover a Vip experience in the heart of the race. Enjoy a unique moment, with the best views of the track, day and night. Enter the legend.

Hospitality

Next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans will host Legends of Le Mans, a feeder series introduced by Peter Auto in partnership with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the FIA WEC. The supporting fixture features iconic endurance racing cars, still racing several decades after their hey day.

But Le Mans isn&rsquo;t all about the past. It is very much about making history in the present. After a promising start, Legends of Le Mans continues in 2027 with a round at the 95th 24 Hours of Le Mans, 9&ndash;13 June 2027. Vintage prototypes and GTs will be back at the circuit that made many of them famous.

<h2>History back on track</h2>

There&rsquo;s something special about seeing a race car back where it earned its laurels. Shapes, colours and sounds take us back to an era, a race, a story.

Legends of Le Mans does exactly that. It&rsquo;s not just a classic car series. The championship is a revival, a festival of iconic sports cars racing on the circuits that witnessed their glory days. Automotive heritage leaves the museum, comes back to life and up to speed.

At Le Mans, the impression of being whisked back in time is even more striking. The French round forms the core of the 2027 season. Returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit is not just another calendar fixture. It&rsquo;s a proud homecoming, a return to the place where many of the cars on the grid wrote a page of automotive history.

ORJ_26LMC_DSC_5392.jpg

<h2>Two generations united</h2>

Legends of Le Mans and the FIA WEC are building a bridge between past and present. On one hand, vintage prototypes and GTs demonstrate decades of innovation and racing. Meanwhile, today&rsquo;s Hypercars and LMGT3s represent the new generation of endurance race cars.

These curtain raisers are a superb opportunity for motorsport fans to gauge how far the automotive world has progressed in a short time. And for those new to the discipline, they offer a glimpse of its not-so-distant past.

In 2027, Legends of Le Mans will be a FIA WEC support fixture at circuits across Europe and around the world. After the Peter Auto Test Days at Paul Ricard in March, the championship heads to Imola in April, then Spa-Francorchamps in May and the highlight of the season &ndash; Le Mans&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;in June. The last round takes place in Bahrain in November, the finale of the FIA WEC season.

Keep your eyes and ears open at Le Mans next year. Every car has a detail with a story to tell. It would be a shame to leave them under dust sheets!

Legends of Le Mans, 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans support race

2023 ELMS Champions Algarve Pro Racing became the fourth different overall winner in 2026, with the Portuguese securing their first ELMS LMP2 victory in three years.

Matthias Kaiser, Jake Hughes and Ben Barnicoat stood on the top step of the podium following the Goodyear 4-hours of Silverstone. &nbsp;Heavy rain fell at the halfway point that had all the teams reevaluating their strategy and providing a thrilling final part of the race.

The no14 TDS Racing Oreca took the LMP2 Pro/Am victory from pole position, the fifth different winners in five races and Scott Huffaker taking the chequered flag in second place overall, despite an earlier incident that saw his teammate Sami Meguetounif stop at the side of the track with a technical issue.&nbsp;Pole sitter Steven Thomas joined his teammates on the top step of the class podium.&nbsp;

The LMP3 class saw the debut ELMS victory for reigning Michelin Le Mans Cup&nbsp;Champions R-ace GP, with Fabien Michal, Pierre-Alexandre Provost and Hugo Schwarze finishing ahead of the championship leading no17 CLX Motorsport Ligier, closing the gap in the championship race to just 9-points ahead of the final race of the season in Portugal next month.

There was another couple of firsts in the LMGT3 class, with Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi becoming the first driver from Qatar to win in the ELMS and it was also the first ELMS LMGT3 victory for Mercedes-AMG. Ralf Aron handed over to Julian Hanses, who took the chequered flag in the no62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, finishing less than 3 seconds ahead of Charlie Eastwood in the no33 TF Sport Corvette, moving Team Qatar by Iron Lynx into the championship lead by just 3 points ahead of TF Sport ahead of the season finale in Portim&atilde;o.&nbsp;

All four ELMS titles are still up for grabs in the final race of the 2026 season, the 4 Hours of Portimao on Saturday 10 October.

<a href="https://www.europeanlemansseries.com/en/page/results" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> for the result from the Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.europeanlemansseries.com/en/page/classification-2" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> for the championship positions after Round 5 of the 2026 European Le Mans Series.

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&nbsp;

ELMS : Algarve Pro Racing win wet Silverstone race

For the 43rd edition of the European Heritage Days, held on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026, the M24 museum will open its doors for a weekend of unique events and activities. It is a wonderful opportunity to showcase its collections, automotive heritage, and know-how in a brand-new way.

M24 - Musée du sport automobile

<h2>On the Program</h2>

Saturday 19 September 2026:

<ul>
	<li>Guided tour: 10:15 AM</li>
</ul>

Sunday 20 September 2026:

<ul>
	<li>Guided tour: 10:15 AM</li>
</ul>

<h2>For Families</h2>

Quiz Activity

A question-and-answer game about the 24 Hours of Le Mans with prizes for the winners. Open to everyone.

Photography Workshop (in line with the national theme &quot;Heritage of Photography&quot;)

Visitors will be invited to a presentation of the archives and various iconographic media used throughout the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The workshop will be led by the museum&#39;s archivist.

Cyanotype Workshop :

Cyanotype is a fascinating historical photographic process that produces deep blue prints through a chemical reaction. This workshop will be led by the museum&rsquo;s educational guides.

For the Little Ones :

A coloring workshop and a dedicated educational area will be available within the museum spaces.

Activities will run continuously throughout the day.

<h4>Practical Information:</h4>

Dates: Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026 
Admission: Reduced rate available on-site at &euro;15 for everyone, and &euro;10 for youths (ages 6&ndash;17) and residents of the Sarthe department. 
Activities are included in the price of the on-site entrance ticket.

&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href="https://www.m24-musee.com/" target="_blank">Find out more about M24, the Motorsport Museum</a> &lt;&lt;&lt;

The European Heritage Days at the M24 – Motorsport Museum

Four rounds in, the European Le Mans Series is still wide open ahead of the next fixture, the Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone this coming Sunday (13 September). A shake-up remains possible in all classes, from LMP2 to LMGT3, before the final showdown in Portimão.

With two races to go, this year&rsquo;s European Le Mans Series championship is undecided. All 47 crews on the Goodyear&nbsp;4 Hours of Silverstone grid head to the famous British circuit with the intention of making their mark and earning precious points that could make all the difference in the race to the top. With small gaps separating the teams in all four classes&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am, LMP3 and LMGT3&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;round five could be decisive.

Check out the <a href="https://www.fiawec.com/umbrella_media/2026-elms-goodyear-4-hours-of-silverstone-entry-list-v1-6a97d40808e8f631224570.pdf" target="_blank">full entry list</a> for the 2026 Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone.

<h2>LMP2: Forestier Racing by Panis and United Autosports neck and neck</h2>

It&rsquo;s tiebreak time! Forestier Racing by Panis and United Autosports have 70 points apiece. However, the crew of the #29 Oreca&nbsp;07-Gibson, Oliver Gray, Esteban Masson and Louis Rousset have the advantage. Thanks to their wins at Barcelona and Imola, they currently stand in first place ahead of the United Autosports team, who won Le Castellet.

But the battle for the top spot involves more than two crews. The IDEC sport #18 in the hands of Jamie Chadwick, Valerio Rinicella and Laurents H&ouml;rr stands third on 52 points. After three fourth places in a row, the crew finally made the podium at Spa-Francorchamps, with the pole position point as a bonus.

Winners of the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Jakub Smiechowski, Nick Yelloly and Tom Dillmann come to Silverstone with plenty to say for themselves. They trail the leaders by 28 points, but will be determined to confirm their return to form. British driver Nick Yelloly will be keen to make an impression on home ground. The car was second at Silverstone last year.

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<h2>LMP2 Pro/Am: who will take the upper hand?</h2>

There is no distinct favourite in this class either. Algarve Pro Racing and AF Corse tie on 61 points. The #20 Oreca of Michael Jensen, Enzo Trulli and Malthe Jakobsen ranks first thanks to the number of podiums this season. However, the AF Corse #83 driven by Fran&ccedil;ois Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Antonio Fuoco is now a hair&rsquo;s breadth away thanks to victory at Spa-Francorchamps.

Behind them, Vector Sport and Duqueine Team have 49 points each. In other words, victory or DNF for one of the top two could completely shake up the rankings. The slightest mistake carries a high price tag.

Silverstone will also be a decisive round for AO by TF. Reigning champions, PJ Hyett, Louis Del&eacute;traz and Dane Cameron lie fifth and no doubt have their eye on a podium place. Last year at Silverstone, they missed the win by just 0.141 seconds.

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<h2>LMP3: CLX Motorsport could streak ahead</h2>

The situation in LMP3 is different. On 65 points, CLX Motorsport has a 15-point lead over R-ace GP. Paul Lanch&egrave;re, Alexander Jacoby and Louis Iglesias have won the last two races and come to Silverstone in an ideal position.

All the same, they should watch their backs! At the wheel of the R-ace GP #85 Duqueine, Fabien Michal, Pierre-Alexandre Provost and Hugo Schwarz have a current score of 50. Rinaldi Racing is just behind, on 49 points, with the rest of the places to be closely fought.

At Silverstone&nbsp;CLX Motorsport has a chance to forge ahead and put a serious option on the championship win. The Swiss team will be all-out to snatch a third win to widen the gap and have some breathing space ahead of the final race in Portim&atilde;o.

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<h2>LMGT3: 13 points between the top six</h2>

Anything could happen in LMGT3 this season. After four rounds, there are only 13 points between the top six crews, and 52 points still to be awarded before the end of the season.

The Proton Competition #75 Porsche Porsche&nbsp;911 GT3 R&nbsp;LMGT3 tops the tables on 53 points. Matt Kurzejewski, Thomas Sargent and Richard Lietz regained the lead at Spa-Francorchamps, but the TF Sport #33 Corvette&nbsp;Z06 LMGT3.R is not far behind.

The reigning champions will be out to shine before their home crowd. Charlie Eastwood, Blake McDonald and Alec Udell will be seeking to place the Corvette first this round. However, the TF Sport crew will have competition from Team Qatar by Iron Lynx, Proton Competition, GR Racing and Kessel Racing&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;all still in the running for the championship crown.

LMGT3 is the biggest class on the grid, with six constructors fielding a total of fourteen cars.

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<h2>Watch the race live on the FIAWEC+ application</h2>

So with everything still to race for, the Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone could decide the season&rsquo;s outcome. Round 5 of the European Le Mans Series is not the grand finale, but it could be here that the championship is won or lost.

The race itself will start at noon on Sunday 13 September.

To watch the Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone&nbsp;2026 live, head to&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.fiawec.com/fr/european-le-mans-series" target="_blank">FIAWEC+</a>, the official endurance streaming platform. All European Le Mans Series are free to view, including live coverage, replays and season highlights.

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&nbsp;

ELMS 4 Hours of Silverstone: four titles still for the taking

The FIA World Endurance Championship has a new participant: Robert Shwartzman. The 26-year-old joins Team Peugeot TotalEnergies as factory driver for the 2027 season, at the wheel of the Peugeot 9X8. A new turn in an already glittering career.

Robert Shwartzman joins the FIA WEC and will take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2027 under the Team Peugeot TotalEnergies banner. FIA Formula Two vice champion and ex-Formula&nbsp;1 reserve driver, Shwartzman will be a full-time member of the French team. His new role marks a return to endurance racing, the discipline that saw him shine in 2024, when he won his first race at the wheel of a Hypercar.

<h2>Formula&nbsp;2, Hypercar, IndyCar</h2>

Robert Shwartzman&rsquo;s career is a succession of challenges. He began go-karting aged five and climbed the single-seater ladder step by step, winning the FIA Formula&nbsp;3 championship in 2019. Two years, two wins and eight podium places later, he became FIA Formula&nbsp;2 vice champion.

The result earned Israeli/Russian Schwarzman a seat as Formula&nbsp;1 reserve driver. Then, in 2023, he turned to endurance racing, starting in the GT class. The switch turned heads. Invited to take part in the FIA WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain, Shwartzman was fastest overall. 
A few months later, he confirmed his potential in top-class endurance racing, winning the 2024 Lone Star Le Mans at the wheel of the AF Corse #83 Ferrari&nbsp;499P.

In 2025, Robert Shwartzman crossed the Atlantic to take on another monument of the motorsport world: the IndyCar Series. He made his mark by taking pole position at the emblematic Indianapolis&nbsp;500, the first ever rookie to do so.

<h2>Peugeot welcomes a promising talent with a wealth of experience for 2027</h2>

Shwartzman returns to the WEC following two seasons in America. This time, he will be part of the Team Peugeot TotalEnergies full-season campaign.

The new recruit will take part in several test sessions at the wheel of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-peugeot-9x8-enters-its-next-phase-of-development-60920" target="_blank">Peugeot 9X8</a>,&nbsp;performing the groundwork for the coming season&nbsp;2027 in endurance.

&ldquo;Endurance racing is something I&rsquo;ve really missed over the past two seasons,&rdquo; says Shwartzman. &ldquo;From my very first discussions with the team, I felt genuinely welcomed and immediately part of the project, within a highly professional and ambitious environment. The 2027 programme is particularly exciting, and I can&rsquo;t wait to contribute to this new chapter and help write the next stages of the story together.&rdquo;

Emmanuel Esnault, Team Principal, Team Peugeot TotalEnergies, suggests the new hire was a logical choice: &ldquo;His natural speed, adaptability and maturity make him an ideal fit for our project.&rdquo;

So, roll on 2027. With a driver who has already tasted victory in the FIA WEC, and a team ready to shift up a gear in the Hypercar class, there&rsquo;s a story waiting to be written. They will soon step into the limelight, but, in the meantime, there is work to be done behind the scenes, kilometres to clock up and adjustments to be made before taking the stage at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Robert Shwartzman joins Team Peugeot TotalEnergies for 2027

Following its annual summer break, the FIA World Endurance Championship will roar back into action at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Texas this weekend (4-6 September), with Lone Star Le Mans set to deliver the next unmissable instalment of a sensational season.

Designed with the input of former motorcycling world champion Kevin Schwantz, COTA first welcomed FIA WEC in 2013 and is the most modern venue on the calendar. The track quickly established itself as a favourite amongst drivers and fans alike for its dramatic elevation changes, sweeping high-speed corners, slow technical sections, notorious bumps, a signature uphill climb into Turn 1 &ndash; known as &lsquo;Big Red&rsquo; &ndash; and the triple-apex right-hander that makes up Turns 16, 17 and 18.&nbsp;

Run in an anti-clockwise direction, the 5.513km, 20-turn lap is famously tough on tyres and brakes, with Hypercars reaching speeds in excess of 315km/h. What&rsquo;s more, while all 35 entries took the chequered flag two months ago in S&atilde;o Paulo, COTA has developed a reputation as a bit of a car-breaker in recent years, with eight crews failing to complete the 2024 race, and seven in 2025 &ndash; underscoring the circuit&rsquo;s demanding nature.

It also has a habit of generating memorable moments and breathtaking battles, with the 2017 event witnessing the series&rsquo; tightest-ever outright finish under green flag conditions at a slender 0.276 seconds. By the same token, the even slenderer 0.256-second margin of victory in LMGT3 last summer represented the closest finish in the production-based class to-date &ndash; and the closest in any category between two rival marques. One way or another, another epic encounter this weekend looks assured&hellip;&nbsp;

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<h2>Honours even in Hypercar at midway stage of season</h2>

The 2026 edition of Lone Star Le Mans marks FIA WEC&rsquo;s 15th trip to North America, 75th six-hour race and 40th contest in the headlining Hypercar category &ndash; and the hunt for honours could scarcely be more finely-poised, with a tie at the top of the Drivers&rsquo; World Championship table and a mere five points separating multiple title-holder Toyota from breakthrough brand BMW in the Manufacturers&rsquo; standings.

Both automotive icons have triumphed twice this season, but neither has ever prevailed at COTA. Indeed, the track is one of just four in FIA WEC history that Toyota has never conquered, though #8 driver Brendon Hartley won there three years in a row with Porsche from 2015 to 2017. Team-mate S&eacute;bastien Buemi and #7 stablemate Mike Conway, moreover, are the only drivers to have participated in every one of the series&rsquo; previous races at the circuit.&nbsp;

There is strong prior form in the BMW camp, too, with Sheldon van der Linde &ndash; who partners current championship leaders Ren&eacute; Rast and Robin Frijns in the #20 M Hybrid V8 &ndash; setting the fastest lap of the 2025 race weekend in Austin, during FP2.&nbsp;

dppiproduction-00003724-0121-6a96bd47d4221125217693.jpg

Cadillac arrives on home soil eager to maintain the positive momentum of its first podium finish in 12 months last time out at Interlagos, with the JOTA-run V-Series.R having proven a potent package in every round so far this year. Norman Nato and Earl Bamber are former overall winners at COTA &ndash; the New Zealander on his way to clinching the coveted world championship crown in 2017 &ndash; while two-time IMSA champion, Ricky Taylor will bolster the Anglo-American alliance&rsquo;s line-up this weekend.

Elsewhere in the fiercely-disputed Hypercar field, Peugeot reached the rostrum for the first time in 2025 in Texas, with the Lions&rsquo; team leader Lo&iuml;c Duval part of the triumphant crew in the race&rsquo;s inaugural running with Audi. The Frenchman has held the official lap record at the track since 2016.

While qualifying form has not always translated into race day results this season, at COTA &ndash; as at Interlagos &ndash; it could be a different story. The six-hour bout has never been won outright from lower than fourth on the grid, and six of the eight outings have yielded a single-marque front row lockout. In both 2024 and 2025, that marque was Ferrari, and the Prancing Horse will be targeting a similar performance again as it bids to haul itself back onto terms in the title fight.&nbsp;

At what has traditionally been a strong circuit for the 499P &ndash; with the Italian prototype boasting an impressive 50 per cent podium strike rate in the event, better than any of its Hypercar rivals &ndash; the defending world champions will be aiming to end their longest-ever winless streak in FIA WEC, all categories combined.

<h2>&#39;Vette chasing third straight victory in LMGT3</h2>

Corvette leads the way in LMGT3 at the mid-season stage, with the #33 Z06 having prevailed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the sister #34 entry then doing likewise in Brazil &ndash; marking the first time an American carmaker has entered its home round off the back of consecutive victories. The General Motors-owned brand, however, has yet to win on US soil, and has registered a solitary rostrum finish at COTA in FIA WEC, back in 2016.

Local hero Ben Keating &ndash; who hails from just outside of Houston &ndash; will assume the record for most FIA WEC starts by an American driver when he makes his 45th appearance this weekend. Only France and the UK have produced more competitors in the championship than the USA&rsquo;s total of 95, with eight on the entry list for Lone Star Le Mans, including ex-Formula 1 star, Logan Sargeant at Proton Competition. Five of them are already podium-visitors this year.

Both LMGT3 contests at COTA thus far have gone the way of British manufacturers, with McLaren celebrating its maiden win last season following a post-race penalty for the #54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari. Twelve months earlier, Heart of Racing Team had triumphed in Texas &ndash; a result that remains the only LMGT3 victory achieved from pole position, and Aston Martin&rsquo;s sole success in the class to-date.

It also represented the most recent of the legendary British marque&rsquo;s ten podium-topping performances at the track &ndash; twice as many as any of its rivals. Like Ferrari, Aston Martin is currently enduring an unprecedented barren run, but it returns to Austin buoyed by back-to-back poles at La Sarthe and Interlagos.

In 2025, it was Proton Competition&rsquo;s pair of Ford Mustangs that dominated LMGT3 Hyperpole at COTA, although the American muscle cars have not started from the front row since. Notably, the category&rsquo;s pole position curse continues, with no subsequent pole-sitter having bettered the eighth-place finish posted by the #88 Mustang at COTA last summer &ndash; or, this year, having scored any points at all.

dppiproduction-00003698-0177-6a96bdae9edd1370451033.jpg

<h2>Key info</h2>

The on-track sessions will begin with free practice on Friday, 4 September. Qualifying &ndash; and the Hyperpole top ten shootout &ndash; starts at 15:00 local time (GMT-5) on Saturday, 5 September, with the six-hour race getting underway at 13:00 local time (GMT-5) on Sunday, 6 September.&nbsp;

Check out all the <a href="https://www.fiawec.com/en/race/lone-star-le-mans-2026" target="_blank">key information</a> regarding Lone Star Le Mans, including the full event timetable and entry list.

All of FIA WEC. All of endurance racing&rsquo;s greatest battles. Watch live and on demand with FIAWEC+ &ndash; the official streaming platform of the FIA World Endurance Championship, wherever you are, whenever you want, including the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. <a href="https://plus.fiawec.com/en/fia-wec" target="_blank">Stream FIA WEC live</a> with FIAWEC+.

FIA WEC : COTA clash kick-starts second half of captivating campaign

This was not a shot in the dark. The Ford Hypercar’s first kilometres come after months of work on the engine, simulator and honing Ford Racing team procedures. Their journey to the 95th 24 Hours of Le Mans on 9–13 June 2027 has begun.

A Hypercar leaving the workshop for the first time, plus six drivers aiming for the same project goal amount to over 1,000 kilometres in three days. To an outsider, the Ford Hypercar&rsquo;s first date at the Paul Ricard circuit may seem like the beginning. In fact, it&rsquo;s the culmination of months of preparation. To get the car track ready, Ford Racing spent many hours working on the engine in the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ford-racing-recreates-a-lap-of-the-24-hours-of-le-mans-circuit-60925" target="_blank">dyno cell in Dearborn</a>, making sure the car would be operational from the outset. The first outing may be the first chapter, but there was a prelude to the story of Ford&rsquo;s journey to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship to take on Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Genesis, McLaren, Peugeot and Toyota.

<h2>Thousands of hours of preparation for the first outing</h2>

A race car doesn&rsquo;t come into being when it leaves the pit lane. The Ford Hypercar was a reality long before it entered the track at the Paul Ricard circuit.

A few weeks earlier, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ford-hypercar-v8-roars-to-life-for-the-first-time-ahead-of-the-2027-24-hours-of-le-mans-60883" target="_blank">5.4-litre V8 naturally aspirated engine</a>, developed in-house, was fired up for the first time in France. The American manufacturer worked alongside <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/ford-partners-with-oreca-for-hypercar-programme-launching-in-2027-59768">chassis builder Oreca</a> to integrate the powertrain, while fleshing out its sporting programme in view of its FIA World Endurance Championship entry in 2027.

All that remained was to test the car on a real circuit.

Dan Sayers, WEC Hypercar Program Manager at Ford Racing sums up the philosophy: &lsquo;Reaching Paul Ricard and getting the car through its shakedown and three full days of running is exactly the milestone we set out to hit. Everything we did in the buildup&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;the dyno work in Dearborn, the fire-up in France, the countless hours in the sim&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;was about making sure that when we rolled out onto the track, we were ready to be plug and play.&rsquo;

It was important to know as much as possible about the car&rsquo;s behaviour before the first outing, so as to gather precious data from lap one. This next phase is all about learning.

<h2>From preparation to experience</h2>

The team at Ford Racing were able to see the results of their work in real conditions at the Paul Ricard circuit. Engineers gathered data, drivers got familiar with the Hypercar&rsquo;s behaviour and the team checked that the project elements hung together correctly.

For an entirely new programme it&rsquo;s essential to begin turning laps into learning. Logan Sargeant, one of the six drivers in the programme, knows that as well as anyone. &lsquo;Kicking off a new programme always takes time&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;you&rsquo;re figuring out how all the pieces fit together, and we&rsquo;re still working through that,&rsquo; explains the American. &lsquo;That said, we really hit the ground running.&rsquo;

Indeed, the team left nothing to chance. &lsquo;Starting testing from where we did is a huge credit to the team. There have already been countless hours poured into this project, including a ton of time in the simulator, so we&rsquo;ve had a massive head start. Now it&rsquo;s about making sure everything comes together flawlessly, and that&rsquo;s the next step for us.&rsquo;

That&rsquo;s where the first kilometres are precious. Data gathered on track can be reworked in simulation. Behaviour observed by a driver can give engineers new indications. Noticed early on, a little glitch can be ironed out and avoid bigger problems further down the line. Every lap becomes a piece of a huge puzzle that Ford is piecing together.

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<h2>Six drivers form one team</h2>

A less visible element of the first outing is nonetheless important: teamwork. The programme isn&rsquo;t just a car, it&rsquo;s a group of people.

All six drivers were at Paul Ricard. Sebastian Priaulx, Mike Rockenfeller and Logan Sargeant were already announced as playing a part in the Hypercar&rsquo;s development. The three others brought their experience too.

Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Racing: &lsquo;The fact that all six of our drivers were on hand, working together and pushing this programme forward, tells you everything about the spirit we&rsquo;re building at Ford Racing.&rsquo;

Building. The watchword. For Ford is not just entering two cars in 2027. The American brand is back at the highest level of endurance racing with the aim of reclaiming overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With four wins to date (1966&ndash;1969), the manufacturer is counting on the Hypercar to be reacquainted with the Le Mans trophy after a sixty-year hiatus.

Yet there&rsquo;s a world of difference between the Ford&nbsp;GT40 and today&rsquo;s car. Technology has changed, cars are not the same and endurance racing has undergone profound transformation. One thing remains: the idea that Le Mans requires preparation to match the size of the challenge.

10_Ford_Hypercar_Test_Matt Campbell.jpg

<h2>First step on the long road to Le Mans</h2>

The three-day test was one of the first stages on an arduous journey. At Ford Racing, everyone knows the finish line is a long way off.

&lsquo;There&rsquo;s a long list of milestones still ahead of us before Q1&nbsp;2027, but these past couple of weeks has given the team a lot of confidence and strong foundations to build on,&rsquo; says Dan Sayers.

The schedule is packed. After the first outing, the Hypercar development programme continues on other circuits and environments, to cover plenty of ground before the car&rsquo;s maiden race. The test phase spans three continents, and that&rsquo;s before the first FIA WEC race.

&lsquo;Every mile we put on this car brings us closer to Le Mans, and closer to reclaiming our place at the top of endurance racing,&rsquo; says Mark Rushbrook, summing up the aim of the pre-competition preparation.

For the moment, Ford are not playing to win. There are no chequered flags involved yet. However, in the data recorded at Paul Ricard, in the sensations felt by the drivers and in the thousands of elements analysed by the engineers, there is already a taste of the Ford Hypercar as it will be on the morning of 13 June 2027.

Ford Hypercar: behind the scenes at the carefully-prepared track test

Ford Racing has reached the first major milestone in its 2027 FIA WEC and 24 Hours of Le Mans campaign. The American Hypercar covered 1,000 kilometres in three days, officially launching the development programme that will span three continents.

The countdown begins. Just weeks after its 5.4-litre Coyote-based V8 engine fired up for the first time, the Ford Hypercar was on track for tests at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France. A symbolic step in the project to bring the US brand back to the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2027.

To the Ford Racing team, the tests were the real starting point. After a shakedown, the car completed three full days on track, clocking over 1,000 kilometres. For a newborn car, that&rsquo;s quite a first outing!

<h2>The Hypercar finds its feet</h2>

All Ford programme drivers attended the test. Logan Sargeant, Matt Campbell, Tom Blomqvist and Mike Rockenfeller took turns at the wheel, while Sebastian Priaulx and Nick Yelloly helped with data collection to prepare the next stage of development.

Matt Campbell: &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve been here for the whole test and from my side, it&rsquo;s gone smoothly. I&rsquo;ve seen fans online raving about how awesome the sound is, but from inside the cockpit, it&rsquo;s on another level&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;it&rsquo;s absolutely deafening! I&rsquo;m genuinely excited for what&rsquo;s ahead with this car. We know there&rsquo;s a long road in front of us, but this has been a really positive start. I&rsquo;ve had the most track time out of the drivers, and aside from a few minor teething issues&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;which you&rsquo;d expect at the beginning of a new programme&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;everything has gone well. From here, things really ramp up: I&rsquo;m heading back to the USA for three days of sim work before returning to Europe for the next test.&rsquo;

<h2>Testing on three continents</h2>

The pace ramps up from here on. After three days on the simulator in North Carolina, Ford heads to Portim&atilde;o in early September. Then Silverstone, Monza, Imola and Aragon in Europe and then back to the States towards the end of the year for new more destinations: Circuit of the Americas (Austin) and Sebring.

A packed schedule! Ford is looking to get to know the car better kilometre after kilometre, fine-tuning the set-ups to turn the car fresh from the workshop into a racing machine.

The goal is to get a solid grounding by the first quarter of 2027. Paul Ricard is just the first stage. As everyone knows, all great journeys begin with a first step. Before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a car is designed, built, and tested. The first few laps are a glimpse of things to come.

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Initial testing complete for the Ford Racing Hypercar

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#7 TOYOTA RACING WEC JPN M Toyota TR010 Hybrid HY Mike CONWAY (GBR) P Kamui KOBAYASHI (JPN) P Nyck DE VRIES (NED) P#winner, podium

#7 Toyota Racing (JPN) Toyota TR010 Hybrid (HYPERCAR) Mike Conway (GBR) / Kamui Kobayashi (JPN) / Nyck De Vries (NED)

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#69 Team Wrt (BEL) BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo (LMGT3) Anthony Mcintosh (USA) / Parker Thompson (CAN) / Daniel Harper (GBR)

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At its Dearborn test facility, Ford Racing is already putting its future Hypercar engine through a full lap simulation of the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit. It marks another milestone in the American manufacturer's preparation for its return to the Hypercar class of the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship.

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