Magazine: Le Mans 24 Hours preview special

For the second year in a row the world’s greatest endurance race is not in its traditional slot, but it is different to last season’s edition in two key ways.

The first is that spectators are back. The pandemic is far from over, but things are gradually heading in the right direction and the 24 Hours has long been one of the greatest events for motorsport fans to attend. Our preview includes our traditional look at every team.

The other is that the new era of sportscar racing has arrived. The Hypercar regulations have started in a modest fashion, with Toyota leading the way just as it did at the end of the LMP1 ruleset. But the potential is there, with Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, BMW, Peugeot, Acura and now Lamborghini all eyeing various LMH or LMDh programmes.

Our 52-page Le Mans guide that comes with the magazine covers the new rules and all the leading contenders, including the crew of the ‘unlucky’ number 7 Toyota. Can it finally come out on top?

Gary Watkins also speaks to the 11 ex-Formula 1 drivers contesting the highly competitive LMP2 field, while James Newbold talks to the people behind the privateer HubAuto Porsche team aiming to take on the factories in GTE Pro.

Away from sportscar racing, we look back at the final winning period for BRM in F1 with the help of designer Tony Southgate and hear from the key figures at M-Sport and Ford about the new Puma hybrid World Rally Car.

Puma Rally1 WRC Prototype

Photo by: M-Sport

Touring Car fans should enjoy hearing from the versatile Jake Hill, the up-and-coming British Touring Car star who spoke to Marcus Simmons about his love of racing, helping to explain why he has been seen in such an array of historic machinery in recent years.

George Bevan-prepared Imps took the UK tin-top scene by storm in the early 1970s, driven by Bill McGovern. Marcus Pye was on hand at Brands Hatch recently to see one of the famous Imps return to the race track – and to talk to those who made it happen.

As ever, there’s plenty happening in club motorsport, so we’ve also got a bumper 24-page National section with the latest news, events and opinions from paddocks around the UK, including tributes to the popular Bernard Cottrell.

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