Cadillac, Porsche, and Glickenhaus boost top class for centenary Le Mans 24 Hours
Richard Dole/Motorsport Images
159 shares
share
tweet
emailBy
Graham Goodwin | February 27, 2023 12:29 PM ET
The 62 car entry list for the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans in June features a 16 car entry in the top ‘Hypercar’ class, the best top-class total for the race since 2011.
The Hypercar entry has factory efforts from Porsche, Peugeot, Cadillac, and Glickenhaus, and the Le Mans top class return for the first time in half a century from Ferrari with two new 499 P prototypes – plus a privately entered Porsche 963 from Hertz-sponsored team Jota and the Vanwall from ByKolles Racing, all aiming to break the winning streak of Toyota Gazoo Racing.
More Le Mans/WEC!
The total includes no fewer than five US-flagged entries including three Cadillacs and a pair of Glickenhaus SCG 007s
Cadillac, which has confirmed that its car is now named the Cadillac V-Series.R, will field both of their full season cars from the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship alongside the full season WEC car that contested the 2023 Rolex 24 Hours.
Cadillac Racing, run in conjunction with Chip Ganassi Racing has two cars on the entry with Action Express racing also listed for the team’s first ever appearance at the french classic.
Six-time IndyCar Champion Scott Dixon is set to make his Le Mans top-class debut as part of the effort. He previously featured in the Ford GT programme at each of their Le Mans attempts in the now discontinued GTE Pro class scoring a class podium one his debut.
Glickenhaus Racing meanwhile has also been successful in adding a second entry for Le Mans to its full season WEC entry and will be hoping to at least repeat its podium-finishing performance last year.
Porsche too has added an additional car with one of the pair of IMSA GTP-entered Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963s also making the trip for a total of three factory cars from the German marque.
Elsewhere on the entry though there have been slim pickings for North American teams.
Whilst John Farano’s Canadian Tower Motorsports LMP2 team takes up its automatic invitation in a 24 car class entry after IMSA success in 2022, the Dragonspeed USA LMP2 effort is only second reserve despite an eye-catching driver line-yup that includes father and son Juan Pablo and Sebastien Montoya.
In GTE Am, the WEC full season Corvette Racing C8.R and Canadian-flagged Northwest AMR Aston Martin efforts are listed as part of a 21 car line-up, as is IMSA trophy winner Ryan Hardwick in a Proton Competition-run Porsche, this the final Le Mans for GTE-specification cars.
However both Risi Competizione and Heart of Racing are reserve listed in their Ferrari and Aston Martin efforts.
Hendrick Motorsports is confirmed with the NASCAR Garage 56 effort, confirmed with the number 24 for the race with Jimmie Johnson joined by 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button and 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Mike Rockenfeller in the otherwise all-American Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Next Gen NASCAR car.