24 Hours of Le Mans to adopt new qualifying format in 2025
The 24 Hours of Le Mans – the glittering centrepiece of the FIA World Endurance Championship season – is set to feature an exciting new qualifying format for its 93rd edition next summer (14-15 June, 2025).
Applications to enter the race are now open, with high hopes of another thrilling round-the-clock affair after no fewer than nine Hypercars finished on the lead lap in 2024, in the most closely-fought contest in living memory.
The countdown to the race will begin with scrutineering – open to fans – at Place de la République in the centre of the French city on Friday, 6 - Saturday, 7 June. This will entail administrative and technical checks for all 186 drivers and 62 cars, representing a star-studded field of brands including Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, McLaren, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota.
The fourth round of the FIA WEC campaign will intriguingly mark the Le Mans debut for Aston Martin’s two Valkyrie Hypercars and the return of Mercedes-AMG – in partnership with Iron Lynx – in the LMGT3 division, sending fever pitch sky-high.
Track action begins on Sunday, 8 June, when all competitors participate in the official Test Day, enabling teams to experiment with different set-ups and affording Le Mans rookies their first taste of the legendary 13.626km circuit.
Next up is qualifying, which has benefitted from a revamp for 2025. On Wednesday, 11 June, LMP2 and LMGT3 entrants will take to the track for a 30-minute session. The fastest 12 in each category will advance to Hyperpole the following day to determine the top spots on the starting grid. The Hypercar session will be held shortly afterwards, with the best-placed 15 prototypes going through to Hyperpole.
On Thursday, 12 June, there will be two nail-biting sessions – H1 and H2. The 24 LMGT3 and LMP2 cars qualified for Hyperpole will engage in a 20-minute H1 battle, from which the top eight in each class will progress to the 15-minute H2 to set the final grid.
The Hypercars will follow a similar procedure. The 15 qualified prototypes will compete in H1 to find out which ten continue to H2 – an epic 15-minute showdown to decide who starts the race in the best position at 16:00 CET on Saturday, 14 June.
In addition to the main event, there will be frequent support series action throughout race week from the Ligier European Series, the popular Porsche Sprint Challenge with the familiar roar of its famous flat-six engines, Road to Le Mans for LMP3 and GT3 machinery – which last summer attracted a 58-car field – and, for the first time at La Sarthe, the Mustang Challenge. Not forgetting, of course, a host of trackside activities, live music and off-circuit entertainment.
A variety of tickets and VIP packages can still be purchased here.
