Le Mans 2021 entry list and preview

The latter crew have never won at Le Mans, being frequently cursed by bad luck – including Kobyashi damaging his clutch after interpreting a thumbs up from a competitor as a sign to leave the pitlane whilst leading in 2017.

Who will challenge Akio Toyoda’s boys at La Sarthe? Bullish boutique sports car maker Jim Glickenhaus believes he can with his eponymous 007 challenger, telling Motor Sport in this month’s magazine: “We’re gonna try to win this year, and I think it’s possible. We’ve built a low-downforce car on purpose with Le Mans in mind. We are absolutely as fast as Toyota on maximum speed; the only time they were quicker than us at Portimão was when they were slipstreaming each other. Why can’t we beat them?”

Fighting talk from the sometime film producer, but there’s a more low-key approach from Alpine, who’s grandfathered LMP1 car could also sneak a win, it’s team of two-time LMP2 Le Mans winner Nicolas Lapierre, André Negrão, Matthieu Vaxivière certainly having enough endurance pedigree between them to make a credible challenge.

LMP2 entries

With 25 cars in the LMP2 class, it could be argued that this really is where the 24-hour party is at. Some world-class drivers in competitive teams means the battle will rage on all race long.

The Hanson/Scherer/Albuquerque United Autosports Oreca scored an overall podium at the last WEC round in Monza, only the sixth time this has happened in the series. Could they do it again at the big one? A lot can happen in 24 hours, and with only five cars in the top class, it’s not inconceivable that the UA car could actually win the entire thing.

Giving Zak Brown’s boys a run for their money will be the two JOTA cars of reigning Formula E champion Antonio Felix Da Costa, 2013 Le Mans runner-up Anthony Davidson and Roberto Gonzalez along with their team-mates of Stoffel Vandoorne, Tom Blomqvist and Sean Geleal.

Not to be discounted is the other UA car of Paul Di Resta, 2021 London E-Prix winner Alex Lynn and Wayne Boyd, whilst there’s a famous father-son combination also on the list: Magnussen’s Kevin and Jan are teaming up with Anders Fjordbach to form a none-more-Danish attack in the High Class Racing team.

The younger Mag is getting some practice in before he steps up to the Hypercar class next year with Peugeot, accompanied on this year’s grid by another former F1 star (OK, he gives the Alfa-Romeo a spin every now and then) in the shape of Robert Kubica.

The Pole’s WRT team almost won in Monza with its other car (driven by Virgin Formula E driver Robin Frijns and Ferdinand Habsburg) after taking first in qualifying, so both cars are ones to keep an eye on in France.

A solid entry last year was Richard Mille’s all-female line-up of Sophia Floersch, Tatiana Calderon and 2019 W-Series runner-up Beitske Visser which finished ninth overall. Floersch spoke to Motor Sport last year about the challenges of moving up the racing ladder, and will be determined to improve again on her last impressive Le Mans showing

LMGTE Pro entries

Corvette re-enter the LMGTE Pro fight after year’s Covid-enforced absence. Entering its line-up will be 2015 winner Nick Tandy as well as fellow Brit Alexander Sims, moonlighting from his full-time Mahindra Formula E role.

With the exit of BMW, Ford and the Aston Martin works teams from a once-highly competitive class, the Corvette C8.R will only be coming up against Ferraris (in the form 488 GTE EVOs) and Porsches (911 RSR) in its duel on the Mulsanne.

Tandy’s ’15 co-winner Earl Bamber lines up for privateer Porsche squad Weathertech Racing, whilst the Stuttgart factory team featured former Minardi F1 driver Gianmaria Bruni, who has won the LMGTE Pro class three times.

LMGTE Am entries

Four-time grand prix-winner Giancarlo Fisichella is the headline act of LMGTE AM, driving a Ferrari 488 for the AF Corse works squad.

From Ferrari past to Scuderia present, its junior driver Callum Illot lines up for the Iron Lynx squad, also in a 488, presumably auditioning for the Maranello LMH effort in 2023, as an F1 opening isn’t looking likely.

Reining LMGTE Pro champion Nicki Thiim will be driving for the Aston works squad in a Vantage, whilst Dominique Bastien, who became the oldest-ever Le Mans entrant last year at the age of 74, will be extending his record by taking part once more with the Dempsey-Proton Porsche squad in a 911.

Innovative car

In 2016 Frédéric Sausset incredibly became the first-ever quadruple amputee to finish Le Mans. Now he’s back to break more boundaries, managing a line-up of three drivers, all with disabilities, who will be an adapted Oreca 07 in the ‘Innovative car’ category.

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