Positivity abound as Le Mans scrutineering gets underway

The 2026 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours is officially underway following the first day of Scrutineering at the Place de la République in the city center.

There were plenty of heavy hitters amongst the teams that passed through the technical inspection tent to kick off proceedings, including the surprise FIA WEC Hypercar championship leader BMW Team WRT, one of six factory teams on today’s schedule.

It feels like a particularly big event for the German brand and its storied Belgian service provider following the factory team's historic 1-2 finish last month at Spa-Francorchamps. The spotlight is on, and the big question mark is whether or not that form on WRT’s home turf will carry over to France next weekend.

Robin Frijns, who was part of the winning line-up in the No. 20, seems to think the team can afford to be optimistic.

“It was a good boost for the team to get a 1-2,” he told RACER. “It was a close call with Ferrari in the last half hour. I don’t think confidence has ever been a problem at BMW; we’ve just had ups and downs in the results. Now it seems we’ve cured the issues we’ve had the last two years, so it looks promising.

“Last year we were here in Le Mans, P5 and P6 fighting with the Toyotas before we had issues, so if we can sort that, then we can get a good result. It’s not nice for others if you know you don’t have a chance, but the championship is evolving, and everyone is improving. At Spa, Alpine looked competitive, the Cadillacs looked competitive, and we had a risky strategy which paid off.

“There’s no manufacturer I can say will win by half a lap this year. I think that’s good for us; it’s good for the race too. It’s what the fans want to see.”

There was plenty of positivity to be found at Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA too, with team manager Leon Price and super-sub driver Louis Deletraz telling RACER they believe the team will be in the mix.

Deletraz, the defending LMP2 Pro/Am winner with AO by TF, is racing in the No. 12 in place of injured Alex Lynn on short notice, alongside Will Stevens and Norman Nato.

“This story with JOTA has been long and has been step-by-step; first was Spa because Alex couldn’t race, and then we set a date to decide on Le Mans if Alex was still unable to drive. I only learned about it a few days before it was announced in the press,” he explained.

“But I’m super happy to be racing in the top class again and with a competitive car. It was good to do Spa, to learn how to work with the team. A lot of the crew has raced in the past with either WRT or TF Sport with me, so I know a lot of them, and it’s made it easy.

“I feel sad I cannot be with AO by TF, but that’s life; it’s a great opportunity, and everyone understands.”

A good portion of the locals making soaking in the festivities and sunshine were out in force to get a glimpse of Alpine ahead of its final Hypercar race at La Sarthe with the A424 and Peugeot, which is celebrating 100 years since its Le Mans debut. Both are looking to become the first French marque to win the race outright since 2009.

Peugeot’s Theo Pourchaire, here for his first Le Mans as a factory Hypercar driver, is upbeat but admits that the 9X8’s ability to sustain pace over the course of the race remains unknown.

“I think we’ll know more after the Test Day on Sunday,” he said. “I think expectations are that we will be fast in qualifying, I’m pretty sure the car is quick on one lap. A bit more difficult on a full stint, but this track also has a lot of straight lines, so it doesn't stress the rear tires as much – which is our most difficult point to manage.

“I think hopefully we’ll be in the mix. And then in the race, if we avoid mistakes from the drivers, from the teams, if we avoid any issues on the car, maybe we can fight for good positions.”

It’s a similar situation at Aston Martin, where Heart of Racing team manager Ian James told RACER he feels that the Valkyries in their second Le Mans start may struggle to fight at the sharp end come race time.

“Last year we turned up, and we were nervous about how the car would be. Reliability was on our mind, as it always is, but this year we come here relaxed,” he said. “We’ve improved the car a bit, but we’re one of the cars that hasn’t had a Joker upgrade.

“I don’t think any of the form from Spa is going to transfer over, with the way the performance parameters are at this event. I think we’ll be in the mix in the midfield, but there are a few cars I expect to be out front. Getting a car into the top 10 would be a real achievement, as we have the same car we had at the start of the programme; others have moved on.”

The Valkyries caught the eye once they were unloaded in the square, as Union Jacks have been added to the splitters for the event. But the Hypercars which turned the most heads were the two Genesis GMR-001s, in public for the first time with the striking new "Magma" livery, which, as it stands, is a one-off for this race.

All eyes were on the Genesis GMR-001s at the first day of scrutineering. Jakob Ebrey/Getty Images

All six drivers for the Korean brand were present, plus nominated reserve Jamie Chadwick, who isn’t currently set to compete in the race but will turn laps in a Hypercar on Sunday.

“Next Sunday, hopefully I am not driving,” she said, “because that means all these drivers are all good. But this Sunday I will do some laps, as the team’s reserve driver. Obviously, excited for that; more than anything, though, I'm looking forward to this team’s first Le Mans.”

The eighth driver backed by Genesis at Le Mans this year, Valerio Rinicella, came through as part of the LMP2 contingent.

The Italian is part of the OEM’s Trajectory program to develop young talent and is racing in IDEC Sport’s ORECA alongside Job van Uitert and Paul Lafargue as a bolt-on to his European Le Mans Series program with the French team. The 24 represents a huge opportunity to showcase his talents to the brand on a grand stage, though he admits he has much to learn as a Le Mans rookie.

“I still don’t think I’ve realised where I am,” the 19-year-old told RACER. “It’s a big event. The paddock, and everything between the Hypercars, amongst the GTs, it’s crazy for me.

“Just two races in ELMS and now straight to Le Mans. I’m a bit scared of the long stints, but I’m just excited. I will push to the end. I’ve trained a lot at home with the sim and at the gym, so I think I’m ready for the 24 hours.”

Rinicella is one of several teenage rookie drivers in the category. CLX Racing, remarkably, is fielding an ORECA driven by a trio of 19-year-olds - Theodor Jensen, Adrien Closmenil and Ian Aguilera - who will break the record for the youngest ever driver crew in the event’s history when they take the start next Saturday afternoon.

LMP2, though, is stacked with highly-experienced factory talent this year, including a number of IMSA GTP drivers from Acura and Porsche, plus Porsche Formula E racer Nico Müller. He joins reigning class champion Inter Europol’s two-car attack in the No. 343 he will share with Reshad de Gerus and 2024 Le Mans LMP2 winner Bijoy Garg.

Is the Swiss - a former Peugeot Hypercar driver - returning to the race as part of a wider plan to return to the top class full time in the future?

“The main thing is just to get a chance to do Le Mans in a good package,” he said to RACER. “I’m grateful Porsche lets me pursue the opportunity. The current Formula E season is ongoing, and the development of Gen 4 has taken a lot of time and energy, so it wasn’t a given to be given the green light.

“Whatever it will lead to, let’s see, but it’s no secret that I love Le Mans, and it’s high up on the bucket list to come away with an overall win one day. Whether that’s in the near future or later on, we’ll see.”

Plenty of LMGT3 runners were also on show through the day, including the Proton Competition Ford Mustangs, the Vista AF Corse Ferraris and the quartet of Corvettes overseen by TF Sport, which is also operating the AO by TF "Rockie the Pegasus" ORECA in LMP2 Pro/Am.

The No. 54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 was among the LMGT3 cars on display. Jakob Ebrey/Getty Images

“It’s a big challenge for us with five cars this year, but we did four cars last year. It just takes a lot of planning, and it starts at the end of the previous year,” TF Sport owner Tom Ferrier told RACER.

“It’s always nice to take some teams under our wing for it. The JMR Corvette is TF Sport-entered, a joint effort between two teams, with our car and their drivers and staff. [IMSA regular] 13 Autosport has brought their own car, but they’ll use our ELMS spare equipment again. All four Corvette crews will collaborate; it’s a big effort.”

There are two key milestones attached to the TF team’s effort this year. It’s the 25th anniversary of Corvette Racing’s first win in the race with the C5.R back in 2001, and it’s TF Sport’s 10th consecutive year in the race.

“After coming back for a number of years, you learn the race and the process. But I still get a lump in my throat every year; it’s still as special, and it’s the race I dream about when I am not at the track,” Ferrier summarised.

Scrutineering continues tomorrow, with the remaining cars from the 62-car field heading to the weigh-in in the morning, ahead of the now traditional road run for a select group of cars in the afternoon.