New colors gleam at Le Mans scrutineering

The heavy rain showers that persisted through Thursday finally came to an end on Friday, just as the first day of scrutineering at Le Mans got underway in the city center.

Day 1 of the traditional fan-focused gathering saw 39 of the 62 cars entered in the race receive their first technical inspection of the event, including five of the Hypercar factory teams. As ever, it was a good chance to catch a first glance at some of the special liveries for the race. AWA’s Corvette, drew arguably the most attention with its full Canadian livery (pictured above), which really pops in the sunshine.

Orey Fidani, who earned the proud team’s invitation to the race via IMSA’s Bob Akin Award and won the Rolex 24 At Daytona back in January, said of the color scheme: “There aren’t too many Canadians versus everybody else out here. We just wanted to do a tribute to our country. Simple as that.”

The changed Porsche GT3 liveries – the “Chip Hart Racing” scheme for the No. 90 Manthey 911 and bold new Iron Dames wrap – plus the trio of Silver Arrows from Iron Lynx and new-look Richard Mille Ferrari also looked stellar in person.

The Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyries have had their paint scheme tweaked too, with the Union Jack now adorning the fin and rear wing end plates.

Heart of Racing’s drivers all had a spring in their step when passing through the media pen, after soaking in interactions with the fans that lined the street to get a clear view of the V12-powered LMHs. Both arms of the team – WEC and IMSA – have been out testing recently ahead of what looks to be a crucial month at this early stage for the program, at Monza and Watkins Glen respectively.

To get ready for La Sarthe, the European operation shared the “Temple of Speed” for two days with Peugeot.

“It was so positive, because it was the first time we’ve ever driven in wet conditions,” No. 009 driver Alex Riberas told RACER. “It’s something you need to be ready for at Le Mans. The first day we got dry running, the second day rain, it was ideal.

“It wasn’t an endurance test, but it was useful because there are characteristics similar to Le Mans. We wanted to test on paper what would be the most efficient way to approach Le Mans, like with endurance-specific gearing. The test day here will be a continuation of that.

“I can see the Valkyrie being quick here; I have a feeling, but we need to wait until we are actually running on the circuit to see how it feels.”

The vibe was similar earlier in the afternoon when the Cadillac teams passed by. The general feeling is that this year’s race represents General Motors’ best chance to win with the V-Series.R yet. Cadillac boasts strength in numbers with four cars, and three world-class teams in JOTA, Action Express and Wayne Taylor Racing.

JOTA is eager to tap into the “one Cadillac” ethos at Le Mans.

“Cadillac having four cars is great, and for JOTA it’s the first time for us being able to tap into that. Hopefully, we can all learn together and move forward as a group,” JOTA driver Will Stevens said. “I think as teams and drivers we are all experienced enough to know that there will be times when we will need to focus on ourselves and our car, but it’s important to have an eye on the organization and see what others are doing.

“There are some things we need to learn from each other, and other situations where we need to do what’s right as car No. 12. It’s part of the challenge for the week, and we look forward to it. It’s going to be about execution – there will be so many fast cars this year.”

To achieve its goal, General Motors’ Hypercars will have to beat the improved packages from two other teams that traveled to the Place de la République today – Alpine and BMW. It may prove to be easier said than done.

“We have prepared ourselves for this big race, but you are never prepared enough; every manufacturer can say that,” BMW Team WRT boss Vincent Vosse said to RACER. “But compared to last year, let’s say we feel more confident. Things can happen very quickly, but I feel we have the car, the team, and the drivers to deliver a good result. We’re on a good level this year, we just need to make sure we don’t ‘over push.’

“The M Hybrid V8 is in a better place, and it’s more than just the change to the brakes (via a development joker). There are a lot of little things that have improved, including the drivers. Let’s see what it brings us. We have always been a little behind Ferrari, but things can change. We will have to see where we are after the test day.”

BMW is thinking big with its M Hybrid V8 now in “a better place.”

As for Alpine, 12 months on from the A424’s disastrous debut on home soil, with reliability now very significantly less of a cause for concern, the focus is on raw speed for the Les Bleus.

Philippe Sinault, the head of service provider Signatech, reflected the spirit of the team in the aftermath of Le Mans last year was at an “all time low” but “rallied manificently, pulling together all of their expertise to race on through 2024, managing the inherent (engine) problem the car had, showing much better form by the end of the season.”

With an engine upgrade (joker) in place for 2025, the Alpine has been among the most impressive LMDh cars in the WEC this season, with back-to-back podiums at Imola and Spa.

Factory driver Ferdinand Habsburg observed, too, that a lot of the heavy lifting in improvements seen on track lay not on the engine but in software upgrades, an aspect of the Hypercars not controlled by homologation. There have been particular improvements, he said, to the performance of the car under braking. “It’s way more predictable and stable, and that gives all of us a lot more confidence, in a way that the original A424 did not,” He said.