The British are coming! (For Le Mans glory)

Big anniversaries, big debuts and big ambition as 24 Hours weekend looms

By Matt Bird / Monday, 9 June 2025 / Loading comments

It’s almost time, then, for another running of the world’s most famous endurance race. Perhaps the most famous race in the world, in fact - the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours. PH will be at the 93rd running of the enduro epic, of course - sign up for Friday service here! - and it promises to be another fantastic weekend of World Endurance Championship motorsport.

Ferrari will of course be determined to repeat its victory from 2024; Porsche will be equally committed to adding another Le Mans win to its roster, particularly with the excitement around the 963 following the RSP one-off. LMGT3 will be as fiercely competitive, if not more so, than ever, with 24 cars entered representing nine manufacturers, from Ford to Ferrari and Lexus to Aston Martin. LMP2 will see 17 teams duke it out for honours.

Perhaps more than ever, the focus will be on the British teams and cars. Just how we like it at Le Mans, of course. All eyes (and ears) will surely be on the V12 Valkyrie, with two cars running in Hypercar under the Aston Martin THOR (The Heart Of Racing) Team banner; it’s the first time Aston has had a top-tier racer at Le Mans since 2011. The #007 car (they can’t give up on that number now!) will be an all-Brit affair, driven by Tom Gamble, Ross Gunn and Harry Tincknell. The #009 Valkyrie will be shared between Marco Sørensen, Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis - both cars will sport a Union Flag livery. While the Valkyrie has been running in WEC all season, with results some way off what would probably be hoped for, Le Mans weekend is always something a bit different. A not-so-great season looks so much better with a decent Le Mans result, more so than at any other event.

“While we have always kept our expectations in check, given the unique nature of Valkyrie and the fact that we are a new team at Hypercar level when compared to the well-established and successful programmes of some of our rivals who represent the best endurance racing manufacturers in the world, we are hitting our targets consistently,” said Aston Martin THOR team principal Ian James. “For Valkyrie’s debut at Le Mans, finishing with both cars, and with a points finish, would represent a supreme success for a programme in its infancy. We are still only scratching the surface of Valkyrie’s potential, but with every race that passes we improve our systems on and off track and gather more vital data that feeds back into the development process.”

Rivalling the Aston for best sounding Hypercar on the grid will be the Cadillac V-Series.R, with its sensational 5.5-litre V8. Probably not the first car that comes to mind when thinking about British motorsport outfits, but the full team name is Cadillac Hertz Team Jota. So a factory effort, albeit boasting the expertise of Jota Sport - and they’re in Tunbridge Wells. Indeed 2025 marks a quarter century since the company was founded by Sam Hignett, and from relatively humble beginnings - racing a Honda Integra at N24 - they’ve become a real force in sportscar racing. As well as 13 podiums at Le Mans in just the past 12 years, Jota has notched up success in the ALMS, ELMS and Blancpain, plus class wins at the Spa 24 Hours. What a way to mark 25 years an outright victory with the Caddys would be.

Le Mans 2025 can’t be discussed without mention of the McLarens, either. This year marks 30 since the F1’s legendary victory, which the GT3-spec 750s will be homage to with their race numbers: #59 is the same as the F1 GTR that won, and #95 is of course the famous year. Plus it won’t be long before McLaren is back competing for overall victory, with the recent announcement of a Hypercar entry from 2027. So that’ll be another must-watch Le Mans…