Porsche and Ferrari to take on Toyota at Le Mans 24 Hr

This weekend’s 91st Le Mans 24 Hour race is one of the most anticipated in years with the return of several automotive brands to compete in the top tier of sports car racing.

With Toyota reigning unchallenged as the only factory team in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) for the past few years, this year’s entry of works teams Porsche, Ferrari, Peugeot and Cadillac brings new impetus to the sport.

There is particular interest in Ferrari, which has returned to the top class of endurance racing for the first time in 50 years and its 499P hypercar has been competitive, taking pole position in the season-opener and scoring podium finishes in all three rounds so far.

Toyota leads the championship after winning the first three races: the 1,000 Miles of Sebring, the 6 Hours of Portimao and the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. However, Porsche and Ferrari have also looked strong this season and are looking to bring the fight to Toyota when the flag drops at 4pm on Saturday in France. Basketball great LeBron James will be the official starter for the 62-strong field.

Ferrari took third in the season opener behind first and second placed Toyota, Ferrari and Porsche placed respectively second and third in Portimao, and Ferrari was third behind another Toyota one-two at Spa.

Behind the top-tier Hypercar category for petrol-electric hybrid prototypes, the field consists of two other classes: LMP2 sports car prototypes, and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) for road-based sports cars such as the Ferrari 488, Chevrolet Corvette, Aston Martin Vantage and Porsche 911.

MOTOGP SEASON RESUMES AT MUGELLO

After a four-week break the MotoGP season resumes at Italy’s Mugello circuit this weekend for round six.

Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46) won the previous round at Le Mans on May 14 from Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco, after world champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) was taken out after an early collision with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales.

Eight riders failed to finish the high-attrition race, including former champion Marc Marquez (Honda) who crashed out in his first race back from injury after missing three rounds.

Bagnaia leads the standings on 94 points to Bezzecchi’s 93, with SA’s Brad Binder (KTM) third on 81 points and a real contender for the title.

MASERATI ENDS 66-YEAR VICTORY DROUGHT

Maserati’s Maximilian Günther won last weekend’s ABB Formula E race in Indonesia, returning the storied Italian brand to the top step of the podium for the first time in 66 years.

Having placed third in Saturday’s first race behind Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) and Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti), Günther won the second race of the Jakarta E-Prix double-header on Sunday. The last time the trident was seen on the top step of a single-seater championship was in 1957 when the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio won the German Grand Prix on his way to that year’s Formula One title.

Günther was followed home by Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Formula E Team) who started and finished second in both races on ABB Formula E’s return to Indonesia.