Here’s the first of a four part car-by-car preview for the 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours starting with the Hypercar class.
Debuting in 2021 there will be five cars in the class for 2022 with a pair apiece from Toyotya Gazoo racing and, for the only time planned thus far in 2022, Scuderia Cameron Gliuckenhaus, plus the grandfathered LMP1 Alpine making its final appearance.
Toyota Gazoo Racing
WEC Full Season
#7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid: Mike Conway (UK), Kamui Kobayashi (Japan), José María López (Argentina)
The returning winners and World Champions, their season got off to not so much a bumpy start as a ‘writing off the car into the Sebring barriers’ start after a huge off for Pechito Lopez after contact.
The car was rebuilt around a spare tub for Spa and there scored a none-too straightforward win in the much rain and incident-interrupted race.
With troubles in the opening two races of the FIA WEC, and a newly rejigged BoP process that allows less of an edge from the front wheel hybrid deployment for the Toyota they are behind in the WEC points stakes.
Le Mans though is what the car was built for, and a hybrid deployment speed that is punishing elsewhere is going to be more effectively masked on the long straights of Le Sarthe.
They should be able to win it on speed, all three drivers here are top notch, but need to stay out of trouble, the GR010 is significantly more fragile it seems than its predecessor.
Best Time At Test Day: 3:29.896
#8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid: Sébastien Buemi (Switzerland), Brendon Hartley (New Zealand), Ryō Hirakawa (Japan).
The #8’s season hit trouble at Spa with a hybrid system failure, aside from that difference everything above relating to the #7 car holds true here for the #8 – with one exception, Ryo Hirakawa needs to prove his steel and his quality in endurance racing’s Le Mans cauldron.
It’s been a tough start to his debut season in the factory team with issues for both cars and a BoP that has not smiled on the GR010.
There’s little doubt that the opposition here will know that this race brings pressure for the young Japanese, his response to that may be a defining point of this season, and of his career.
Brendon Hartley and Seb Buemi both know how to win at Le Mans, calm, collected rapid and fault-free, two very different personalities with remarkably similar racing outcomes!
Best Time At Test Day: 3:30.490
Alpine Elf Team
WEC Full Season
#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A480 Gibson: Nicolas Lapierre (France), André Negrão (Brazil) Matthieu Vaxivière (France)
2022 is the very last appearance at Le Mans from a car designed as an LMP1 with the Alpine A480 due for retirement at the end of the current WEC season.
The car started life as a Rebellion R13 and has had its performance adjusted to balance the car against the other Hypercars in the class.
Its strong points are pretty much bulletproof reliability and a mechanical and aero package that have proven Le Mans podium finishing form. With the 2022 Balance of Performance, it has been the class of the field in terms of lap time, but Le Mans gets a different BoP, and the Toyotas will be less stymied by their recent reduction of ability to deploy hybrid punch.
For the Alpine trio, this is as close to a 24-hour sprint as they will ever experience, squeezing the most they can out of the package to keep the pressure on. Don’t count out the possibility of an upset, but remember too that the team has just one big blue bullet in their gun!
Best Time At Test Day: 3:32.420
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus
#708 WEC Full Season
#708 SCG 007 Hypercar: Pipo Derani (Brazil), Romain Dumas (France), Olivier Pla (France)
A second appearance at Le Mans for the little team that could. After a run in 2021 that saw the cars run like clockwork to fourth and fifth places the team’s place on the WEC grid in 2022 was secured with the reassurance of a more competitive BoP deal, and that seems to have been delivered!
Will that be the case at Le Mans? We’re about to find out.
There’s little doubt that the #708 is the lead car of the pair fielded by the team, this is the full season WEC car, it sits second in the points standings and the additional points at Le Mans could set up an extraordinary second half of the season if Toyota falter.
As for Le Mans, the car has pace within the BoP window and a trio of drivers who can exploit it. Dumas knows how to win here, Derani knows how to win a 24 Hour race and Pla, just knows!
A fan favourite for sure!
Best Time At Test Day: 3:30.104
#709 SCG 007 Hypercar: Ryan Briscoe (Australia), Franck Mailleux (France), Richard Westbrook (UK)
Glickenhaus field a second SCG 007 C at Le Mans only this year and it’s a welcome addition to the full-season WEC class.
All three drivers know the car well and will be focused on finishing with pace, the double-layered team effort gives the US-flagged effort the opportunity to run two parallel strategies and, if both stay fast and reliable, that could prove to be a real advantage.
Best Time At Test Day: 3:30.822