24 Hours of Le Mans 2023 LIVE - Latest times, results and live stream as LeBron James starts race
24 Hours of Le Mans 2023 LIVE - Latest times, results and live stream as LeBron James starts race
Sábado 10 de Junio del 2023
Always one of the highlights of the motorsport calendar, the 24 Hours of Le Mans starts on Wednesday with the finest endurance racers in the world in action.
The rain does indeed find the track, or at least parts of it. The varying conditions across the circuit make driving difficult and eventually trigger the safety car.
17:42 TOYOTA LOSE HALF A MINUTE
Really poor luck for Sebastien Buemi and Toyota who complete a slow zone just before it is deactivated. In consequence, the Peogeot of Jean-Eric Vergne and the Porsche of Alex Lynn win half a minute on them.
Things aren't going Laurens Vanthoor's way either who is forced to the pits by a slow puncture.
17:36 RAIN IN SEVEN MINUTES?
Race direction report that, according to their weather forecast, they are expecting rain to hit the track about seven minutes from now.
17:35 FIGHT FOR P2 HEATS UP
Antonio Felix Da Costa is fighting hard to keep Laurens Vanthoor behind him, but the one to profit is Antonio Fuoco in the Ferrari who passed the factory Porsche for third. Eventually, both Da Costa and Fuoco as well as the second Porsche of James Calado opt for the pit lane. While Fuoco stays behind the wheel, Antonio Giovinazzi takes over in the Ferrari and Ye Yifei now steers the Jota-Porsche.
Out front, Sebastien Buemi has a very healthy lead.
17:25 BUEMI BACK IN FRONT, QUESTION MARK BEHIND PORSCHE'S STRATEGY
With all pits stops done, the Toyota of Sebastien Buemi is back in the lead 10 seconds from Antonio Felix Da Costa's Jota-Porsche and Laurens Vanthoor's Porsche.
Porsche will have suffered from not capitalising on the slow zones and hence being forced to pit under race pace. However, they now have some laps in hand over their competitors which could come in handy later on. Right now it's difficult to tell how things will work out for the German manufacturer.
17:16 SLOW ZONES DEACTIVATED
The full track is back to green which works to the demise of the three leaders. Earl Bamber had just pitted and lost significant ground to his opponents who are now racing at full speed again. He rejoins almost 40 seconds behind the Toyota of Sebastien Buemi. The two Porsches are still leading but are due a similar fate, still due a pit stop each.
17:05 DIFFERENT PIT STRATEGIES
Leading the race are three cars yet due a pit stop in the Cadillac of Earl Bamber, the Porsche of Michael Christensen, and the Porsche of Felipe Nasr.
Following in fourth and set to inherit the lead is the Toyota of Sebastien Buemi. Antonio Felix Da Costa and the Jota-Porsche team are capitalising on an early pit stop and worked their way up to fifth ahead of Laurens Vanthoor in sixth. Mike Conway is another two seconds behind in the Toyota.
16:54 NIGHTMARE FOR BOURDAIS
There's contact between the Cadillac of Sebastien Bourdais and the LMGTE Ferrari of Simon Mann, incredibly, in the slow zone. Bourdais suffers damage to his car and is forced to pit for repairs. Scott Dixon takes over at the steering wheel and rejoins in 14th.
16:48 STANDINGS POST PIT STOPS
With a number of pit stops in the books, this is the current top 5:
1 Earl Bamber (Cadillac Racing)
2 Michael Christensen (Porsche Penske Motorsport)
3 Felipe Nasr (Porsche Penske Motorsport)
4 Sebastien Buemi (Toyota Gazoo Racing)
5 Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche Penske Motorsport)
Le Mans - Hour 1 update as Toyota lead Ferrari
It's been all action in Le Mans so far. Here is a recap of what happened within the first hour of racing:
Le Mans - Hour 1 update as Toyota lead Ferrari
16:38 ANOTHER LMP2 CRASH, MORE PIT STOPS
Ricky Taylor crashes on the straight, likely caused by contact with another car. With three slow zones now, even more teams opt for a pit stop and the field is being reshuffled.
16:28 BIG CRASH FOR SALES
Slow zone is activated in Zone 1 due to a big crash from Rodrigo Sales (Nielsen Racing, LMP2). No safety car at the moment, but a number of cars opt for a pit stop.
16:24 FIGHT FOR P4
It's getting feisty in the fight for P4. James Calado gets the better of Earl Bamber while the Porsches of Laurens Vanthoor and Felipe Nasr are occupied with each other and with Mike Conway.
16:18 TOYOTA STRATEGY
Both Toyotas started the race on soft tyres and are now on mediums. Hardly any other team has so far opted for a tyre change.
16:16 MASS PIT STOPS AT THE FRONT
That's all cars in the top group now heading for the pits. Sebastien Buemi rejoins in third ahead of James Calado. Felipe Nasr is sixth from Laurens Vanthoor, Mike Conway, and Michael Christensen. Earl Bamber in the Cadillac is reaping the rewards of a well-controlled first stint and is now racing with this group
Ferrari meanwhile look to have planned this nicely with Nicklas Nielsen who capitalised on racing in some clearer air following his early pit stop and now leads the race. Sebastien Bourdais is second in the Cadillac, having pitted even earlier than Nielsen.
16:10 CONWAY IN THE BOX
Mike Conway looked in some bother and is indeed called to the box, likely for a tyre change from soft to medium.
Out on the track, traffic is now becoming an issue as cars of different classes start lapping each other.
16:04 NASR ON THE MOVE
Felipe Nasr is putting further proof to Porsche's pace as he takes third from Mike Conway in the Toyota who can just about hold Laurens Vanthoor behind him.
Out front, Sebastien Buemi is showing none of the issues he indicated during the safety car phase. Toyota report that the problems were indeed directly linked to the safety car settings and should not impact the car in race mode.
Weekend of Champions
Don't forget that Le Mans 24h isn't the only major sports event this weekend. Dubbed the Weekend of Champions, owing to the sheer amount of world-class action across multiple sports, over 300 Warner Bros. Discovery staff, including production staff, experts and reporters will be on-site across a host of locations over the weekend – from the UEFA Champions League final to Roland-Garros and Le Mans and more. Delivering over 70 hours of live, premium content to millions of sports fans across the continent across multiple platforms.
Speedway GP coverage is coming up live on Eurosport from 17:55 BST while the UEFA Champions League Final is live on BT Sport from 18:00 BST.
15:55 NIELSEN FIRST TO PIT
Nicklas Nielsen is the first of the top group to pit. Having lost positions to both the Toyota and the other Ferrari, the crew opted for a possibly slightly early spot. No driver change and no tyre change, it's re-fuelling only for Nielsen and he rejoins the track in 13th.
Meanwhile, the Porsche Penske Motorsport cars have found some seriously good rhythm are now running in positions four, five, and six.
15:53 FERRARIS FIGHT EACH OTHER, FIGHT CONWAY
James Calado attacks his manufacturer-colleague Nicklas Nielsen and eventually gets the better not only of him but also of Mike Conway's Toyota to take second. However, their fighting costs time and allows the field to close in on them.
Sebastien Buemi continues to lead with an increasingly healthy gap.
15:42 BUEMI HOLDS LEAD AT RE-START
Sebastien Buemi nails the re-start and not only holds the lead, he even creates some space to the Ferrari in second. Mike Conway in the second Toyota is putting the pressure on Nicklas Nielsen and indeed overtakes to make it a one-two for the Japanese manufacturer.
Aitken crashes inside five minutes
Jack Aitken and the Action Express Racing team found themselves in some bother early on as Aitken hit the barrier on the opening lap. Here is what happened:
Aitken crashes inside five minutes
15:33 END OF SAFETY CAR IN SIGHT, PROBLEMS FOR TOYOTA?
The Toyota box let Sebastien Buemi know that the Lap 1 contact with Felipe Nasr doesn't seem to have caused any damage. However, Buemin in turn reports that the car is not properly recuperating and that he has to break very hard.
The safety car is still out while the barriers are being fixed. However, with the cars increasingly being bunched up behind the safety car, a re-start looks on the horizon.
15:26 FERRARI MIRRORS TOYOTA STRATEGY
Info from the Ferrari box to James Calado is to pit if one or both of the Toyotas does so.
LeBron waves French tricolour to start race, chaos descends during opening lap
The field continues to follow the safety car, headed by Sebastien Buemi. Here's how we got there:
LeBron waves French tricolour to start race, chaos descends during opening lap
15:23 BUEMI LEADS UNDER SAFETY CAR
While the safety car is still out, here is a reminder of how Sebastien Buemi took the lead for Toyota:
15:18 AITKEN EXPECTED TO REJOIN THE RACE
Work is going on in the Action Express Racing garage to get the Cadillac back running. The team are expecting to be able to send Jack Aitken back out on track in about 10 minutes time.
15:04 BUEMI ON THE CHARGE, SAFETY CAR OUT
Sebastien Buemi is looking great in the Toyota and moves up into second. He attacks Nicklas Nielson for the lead and after same fight-back from the Dane, he eventually takes it. The second Toyota, currently driven by Mike Conway, is up to third, taking the position from James Calado in the Ferrari.
That's it for overtaking action for the time being though as the safety car is out following Mark Kvamme's crash as the car is recovered and the track cleaned up. The barrier also needs repaired where it was hit by Jack Aitken.
15:00 GO TIME IN LE MANS
The race is officially underway. The two Ferraris maintained the first two spots, Nicklas Nielsen leading the pack. A lock-up for Felipe Nasr (Porsche Penske Motorsport) results in some contact with Sebastien Buemi, but the Toyota driver recovers swiftly and goes on the hunt for the Ferraris.
Elsewhere, it's an off-track excursion for Jack Aitken (Action Express Racing) who hits the barriers but can continue driving and makes his way to the box. A crash for Mark Kvamme in the LMP2 Inter Europol Oreca, however, has the car stranded in the gravel.
14:55 FORMATION LAP
The cars are out on track for the formation lap. It seems everyone has opted for slick tyres.
14:51 TRACK DECLARED WET
Race control has officially declared the track wet and all cars will need to have their rain lights on.
There were some showers between warm-up and race start; however, there's huge differences across the circuit with some parts wet, others damp, and others dry. It's important to remember there are no intermediate tyres and compound decisions could be crucial here.
14:40 CEREMONIES UNDERWAY
The trophy arrives on the grid, delivered by Mister Le Mans, Tom Kristensen, in an historic replica.
Meanwhile, the French Tricolour is delivered by the French military to LeBron James who officially waves the event off.
14:35 LA MARSEILLAISE IS ON
Special moments on the grid as la Marseillaise rings out and is sung along loudly.
14:30 BUEMI: 'THIS WEEKEND IS EVEN MORE SPECIAL'
Sebastien Buemi is going for a fifth consecutive Le Mans 24h victory this year at the centenary edition of the race:
'It feels strange because it is difficult to understand how big this race is - it's usually big, but this weekend it's even more special. We want to do well. We've worked as hard as we could, but the competition is there. I try to just think about my own business, make sure I improve my driving and get up to speed, and be ready to fight hard.
'It's so hard to win and you need some luck as well. [Rather than focus on a fifth win] I'm more feeling like, let's focus on the job, let's make sure I focus on how to drive well and help my teammates. Let's make sure to extract the most out of the car and then the rest may follow.'
14:10 LESS THAN AN HOUR TO GO
With just under an hour to go until the race gets underway, here's a reminder of how qualifying went on Thursday:
Ferrari beat Toyota to the Hyperpole as Antonio Fuoco set the benchmark on 3'25.213. Alessandro Pier Guidi even made it a one-two for the Italian manufacturer on their return to the Le Mans top class. The two Toyotas, navigated by Jose Maria Lopez and Brendon Hartley respectively, followed while the Porsche of Frederic Makowiecki completed the top 5.
13:00
On June 10 and 11, strap yourself in for a live sport rollercoaster ride. With the finals of Roland-Garros, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Speedway Grand Prix, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, the Criterium du Dauphine, MotoGP and the Champions League final, it’s the Weekend of Champions live on Eurosport, discovery+ and BT Sport.
From Germany to Switzerland, Canada to the Netherlands and right across France including Paris, Cannes and Le Mans, wall-to-wall live coverage will showcase the breadth, depth and sheer volume of Warner Bros. Discovery Europe’s sports portfolio on the weekend of June 10-11.
Dubbed the Weekend of Champions, owing to the sheer amount of world-class action across multiple sports, over 300 Warner Bros. Discovery staff, including production staff, experts and reporters will be on-site across a host of locations over the weekend – from the UEFA Champions League final to Roland-Garros and Le Mans and more. Delivering over 70 hours of live, premium content to millions of sports fans across the continent across multiple platforms.
11:25
Here's a handy reading list ahead of the main show:
How to watch 24 Hours of Le Mans – Live stream and TV details
What is new at 24 Hours of Le Mans this year? Who are the new manufacturers?
Is Michael Fassbender racing again at Le Mans? Which team is he racing for?
10:00
Good morning Le Mans fans!
Today (well, and tomorrow) we find out what the best endurance racers in the world are made of. Our live coverage kicks off at 14:00 UK time on this very page and discovery+, while you can find out everything you need to know about watching Le Mans here.
And if endurance racing isn't quite up your street, we've got an absolute festival of top-quality sport on today and tomorrow - so much so that we've dubbed it the Weekend of Champions. With the finals of Roland-Garros, Speedway Grand Prix, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, the Criterium du Dauphine, MotoGP and the Champions League final, it promises to be an amazing two days!
Friday June 9
Johnson ready to rumble
While many eyes will be drawn to the battle between Ferrari, Toyoto and Porsche, NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson will be looking to impress on his Le Mans 24 debut.
Johnson will be behind the wheel of a Chevrolet, and is looking to impress.
He said: “There is a lot of pressure because we have to showcase the professionalism of a NASCAR team.
“Our project is about fun, but also about performance. We added weight to the car as well as adjusted the aerodynamics and brakes. The car is performing very well, it is consistent and even beyond our expectations, so everything is going well."
Rossi triumphs!
In the GT3, Valentino Rossi's team have won the event this afternoon. That may help him on his quest to comeback next year for the full race.
Highlights: Road to Le Mans Race 2 - Watch as Rossi and his team take the victory in GT3
Here they are on the podium.
Watch - Rossi and team celebrate GT3 victory on podium after Road to Le Mans
Road to Le Mans Race 1 classification
No. 1 spot was claimed by #558 Ligier JS P320 with the Rich/Espirito Santo Team Virage duo the winners.
Second went to #4 Duquine M30 D08 team Melsom/Bells, and third was another Ligier JS P320 outfit, Team Thor led by Gudmundsson and Noble.
In the GT3 Classification, the BMW M4 G3 Team WRT of Whale and Hesse emerged victorious.
Alpine reveal car for 2024 Le Mans
The F1 setup are also coming to endurance racing in France next year.
What is the Road to Le Mans?
There are 58 cars - 38 LMP3 and 20 GT3 - which will compete in this year's event, the eighth so far.
The tournament is held at the same weekend as the Le Mans 24 centenary this year, and forms part of the weekend's action.
Coverage starts at 10:15 UK time.
Hyperpole
Here's our highlights from last night's session.
'What drama!' - Ferrari top Hyperpole as Bourdais' Cadillac catches fire at end of session
Ferrari celebrations
Relive the moment that Ferrari took Hyperpole last night.
Chequered flag
The session ended with the No. 51 Ferrari at the top of the timesheets, with a time of 3:27.275.
Glickenhaus Racing were over a second behind the Ferrari, while Hertz Team JOTA took third.
Red Flag
The session has been halted while a stricken Peugeot is removed from the track.
Lights on
The night FP4 session is underway and once again it is Ferrari atop the timing sheets - with the No. 51 car driven by James Calado posting a time of 3:27.275.
Ferrari win Hyperpole, lock out front row
Antonio Fuoco and his team-mate Alessandro Pier Guidi took first and second respectively in Hyperpole.
Session restarts
The Cadillac has been removed from the track and we have a late rush for teams to post times.
Red Flag in session due to fire
The clock has stopped with 5:15 remaining as the No. 3 Cadillac is on fire.
Porsche finally out on track
While teams flooded out at the start of the season, Porsche remained in the garage and it was with just 10 minutes to go that they came out on track.
Ferraris are fast
There was talk that the Ferraris would be extremely quick in a single-lap scenario and that's the case as Alessandro Pier Guidi in car 51 posted a blistering opening lap of 3:23.897.
Hyperpole underway
The drivers are exiting the pits as the 30-minute session for the top spots on the grid gets underway.
FP3 in the books - Hyperpole to come
The Ferraris finished the session on top, with the cars to return later for Hyperpole at 7pm UK time.
Ferraris push the pace
The No. 50 and 51 Ferraris eclipsed the Toyotas late in the session, with the 50 car topping the timesheets with a lap of 3:26.579.
Toyotas on top
With a shade over half hour remaining in FP3, the Toyotas occupy the top two positions on the timesheets.
Night driving to come later
Tyre changes ahead of tonight's practice session, as teams use the chance to practise in darker conditions.
TGR in action
Here's some first-hand footage of how it looks on-track.
FP3 underway
Sunset at Le Mans
Here's how it looked last night
Macron and LeBron
The GOAT, and LeBron James are getting involved at Le Mans this week.
How does Hyperpole work?
Le Mans have handily explained how this is set to go down.
Hyperpole gives the fastest eight cars from each class the chance to get on the front of the grid for the race. But there are rules.
It's a 30 minute session.
No refuelling.
FP2 comes to an end
That will be it for today's action, but the teams will be back for FP3 tomorrow, as well as the Hyperpole event.
Remember to tune in to Eurosport and discovery+ for all the action.
Qualifying practice results
Quickest Hypercar: Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco / Miguel Molina / Nicklas Nielsen
Quickest Hyperpole: Oreca 07-Gibson #28 JOTA – David Heinemeier-Hansson / Oliver Rasmussen / Pietro Fittipaldi
Quickest LMGTE Am: Ferrari 488 GTE Evo #83 Richard Mille AF Corse – Luís Pérez Companc / Alessio Rovera / Lilou Wadoux
Red flag
Drama on track already in qualifying practice
'He's going to need help!' - Red flag early during qualifying practice
Rossi speaks
Veteran motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi is here, and he chipped in with his thoughts on how Le Mans compares to MotoGP. Rossi is here with BMW as he looks to potentially become more involved in the LM GT3 class if it is part of the main race next year.
'The longer track is very different!' - Rossi on how MotoGP compares to Le Mans
Kobayashi impresses
Kamui Kobayashi was the first driver to set a lap time of under 3:28, but Brendon Hartley in the #8 Toyota came through with a time of 3:27.732.
In LMP2, JOTA #28 Oreca 07 and COOL Racing's #37's car put down the fastest time for the class, and GMB Motorsport's Marco Sorensen was fasted for the LMGTE Am class.
BIG crash!
The first free practice session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans has seen a huge crash as the LMP2 of Tower Motorsports driven by Steven Thomas hit the #777 D'Station Racing Aston Martin of Casper Stevenson.
Both drivers are ok. Phew!
'THAT will be a red flag!' - Tower Motorsports' Thomas smashes into Stevenson of D'Station Racing
Tom Kristensen waves green flag to start first practice
Always one of the highlights of the motorsport calendar, the 24 Hours of Le Mans starts on Wednesday with the finest endurance racers in the world kicking off with FP1, FP2 and qualifying practice at the iconic circuit.
Stick with us for the latest updates, live streams and clips from across the event.
First up it's Free Practice 1, which you can follow using the embedded player above from 12:45 UK time.
24 Hours of Le Mans – When is it? Schedule, dates and start time
How to Watch 24 Hours of Le Mans – live stream and tv details
What is new at 24 Hours of Le Mans this year? Who are the new manufacturers?
Is Michael Fassbender racing again at Le Mans? Which team is he racing for?
WHAT IS THE 24 OF HOURS OF LE MANS 2023 SCHEDULE?
The day-by-day schedule of the 24 of Hours of Le Mans 2023 is available on the official website. The build-up to the main event begins on Wednesday, with two free practices and the qualifying practice session.
Wednesday 7 June
13:00 to 16:00 – Free practice 1
18:00 to 19:00 – Qualifying practice session
21:00 to 23:00 – Free practice 2
Thursday 8 June
14:00 to 17:00 – Free practice 3
19:00 to 19:30 – Hyperpole
21:00 to 22:00 – Free practice 4
Saturday 10 June
11:00 to 11:15 – Warm up
15:00 – The race
Sunday 11 June
15:00 – Race finishes
HOW TO WATCH THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS
Stream top 24 hours of Le Mans action live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com
On June 10 and 11 strap yourself in for a live sport rollercoaster ride. With the finals of Roland-Garros, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Speedway Grand Prix, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, the Criterium du Dauphine, MotoGP and the Champions League final, it’s the Weekend of Champions live on Eurosport, discovery+ and BT Sport.