After I posted the review on my g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s 9X8, I was thinking about Hypercars in general. When the LMH class was introduced in 2021, I was over the moon. After the boring final years of LMP1, Le Mans deserved a better top class. Not that the race per se had become boring, mind you. After all, in the “junior” classes the battles continued VERY competitive. With that, a new competitive top class was very welcome news. At first things started slow, with just Toyota and Glickenhaus. Very soon, however, the future brightened up. A lot! We got news that Porsche would be joining LMH, as would Alpine, Isota Fraschini, Cadillac, Peugeot, Vanwall, BMW and also the Italians Lamborghini and even Ferrari.
I don’t think we had such a diverse lineup in the top class at Le Mans like in 2023. Not even in the Group C days do I remember so many big dogs up front. And that was the idea behind the new class. In essence, LMH would be much cheaper than the previous LMP1 class, and that was a major incentive for manufacturers. Nonetheless, running cars in the top class at Le Mans is still VERY expensive and is not for everyone. So, as expected, the initial enthusiasm died down and consequentially we had quite a few dropouts. After the 2024 race, Isota Fraschini, Glickenhaus, Lamborghini and Vanwall had abandoned the fight.
So, what can we expect for 2025? Doing the math, in LMH we’ll have Aston Martin (newcomer), Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota. There was a rumor that Mercedes would also come back to La Sarthe, and it was true. However, in 2025 they will compete in GT3-LM, not LMH. Which in my book is still great. Unfortunately though, Lamborghini dropped out from LMH and GT3-LM. Even so, I’m still happy with the perspectives for this year’s race. I expect to see a knife fight between Porsche, Toyota and Ferrari (and maybe Cadillac too?). Aston, BMW and Peugeot, on the other hand, are unknown quantities, so how will it all go down? Tough question 🤔.
Well, though I think it’s impossible to predict results, I’m positive that it’s going to be a heckuva year 😎.