Three Aussies in Le Mans 24 Hours entry list

The 62-car field of the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours is locked in as attention turns to the biggest race of the FIA World Endurance Championship season.

The big grid is made up of 23 in the Hypercar class, 16 in LMP2 and 23 in LMGT3, while in addition to the entry list seven reserve cars have been named.

Three Australians will be taking part in the 92nd running of the French endurance classic that will be run from June 15-16.

The biggest hope will be Matt Campbell, who remains a vital part of the Porsche Penske Motorsport squad and will make his Hypercar debut at Le Mans.

Campbell will be leading the #5 Porsche 963 alongside Dane Michael Christensen and Frenchman Frederic Makowiecki.

The Aussie has already enjoyed a highly successful 2024, winning the Daytona 24 and Bathurst 12 Hour.

Back to back third place finishes at Qatar and Imola means his streak of WEC podiums extends to four races stretching back to 2021, but without a win.

This year will easily be Campbell’s best crack at Le Mans glory having only previously competed in GTE Am where he won the class on first attempt in 2018.

Campbell is spearheading one of three Porsche Penske Motorsport machines with the other two featuring the likes of Felipe Nasr, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer.

Experienced Australian James Allen is chasing another trophy in what will be his seventh attempt at Le Mans.

Allen is steering a Duqueine Team Oreca 07-Gibson with Dutchman Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and American John Falb.

The Perth product has only ever raced an Oreca 07 at Le Mans but with great success.

In 2021 Allen finished eighth overall and third in LMP2, while in the last two years he has won LMP2 Pro-Am honours.

Completing the Aussie trio is Yasser Shahin, who will be taking on the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time.

In 2024 the experienced GT race has taken on a new challenge racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for the first time in a Manthey EMA Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R backed by The Bend.

Currently in the LMGT3 standings, Shahin is 17th after finishing 15th and 16th at Qatar and Imola respectively.

One of his rivals in LMGT3 will be MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who will make his Le Mans 24 Hours debut in the #46 Team WRT BMW with Ahmad Al Martha and Maxime Martin.

In addition to the Penske Porsches, the fight for Hypercar honours are expected to be as competitive as ever.

Reigning champions Ferrari will be back in force, including Antonio Giovinazzi, Aleessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, who remain unchanged as they chase back to back victories after their famous triumph in 2023.

Robert Kubica and Robert Schwartzman will also be steering a Ferrari 499P.

Other rivals like usual will be the two Toyotas featuring a strong driver line up of Kamui Kobayashi/Nyck de Vries/Mike Conway and Sebastien Buemi/Brendon Hartley/Ryo Hirakawa.

Kiwis Earl Bamber and Scott Dixon also lead the Cadillac Racing stable that also features the likes of Alex Palou and Sebastien Bourdais.

Team WRT has two BMW M Hybrid V8s in the Hypercar field, while Romain Grosjean and Daniel Kvyat will be steering a Lamborghini and Jenson Button a Team JOTA 963.

French brands Peugeot and Alpine will fly the local flag with Mick Schumacher behind the wheel of an A424 and the likes of Jean-Eric Vergne, Stoffel Vandoorne and Paul Di Resta are part of the 9X8 team.

Photo by Alexander Trienitz / LAT Images

2024 Le Mans 24 Hours entry list

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