United Autosports, crowned in LMP2
Following on their last success four years ago, United Autosports’ #22 ORECA 07 won the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. Oliver Jarvis, Bijoy Garg, and Nolan Siegel etched their names into the history of the world’s greatest endurance race.
This 2024 event was expected to be one of the most spectacular editions ever and it did not disappoint! For 24 hours, drivers from all categories battled it out on track while putting up with the capricious weather, giving their best to overcome all of the challenges that this edition threw at them.
At the end of this twice-around-the-clock race, United Autosports’ #22 ORECA 07 entrusted to Oliver Jarvis, Bijoy Garg, and Nolan Siegel, crossed the finish line first. Defending champions, Inter Europol Competition’s #34 ORECA 07 (Jakub Smiechowski, Vladislav Lomko, Clément Novalak) had to settle for second best. The podium was completed by IDEC Sport’s #28 ORECA 07 (Paul Lafargue, Job Van Uitert, Reshad De Gérus).
United Autosports:
Until the very last hour, it was impossible to guess which ORECA 07 would triumph in Le Mans. Following on a fiercely contested battle, United Autosports’ #22 eventually claimed the LMP2 class victory. Having started from the fifth place, Oliver Jarvis, Bijoy Garg, and Nolan Siegel remained close to the leaders throughout before attacking towards the end of the race and securing victory.
The American team had not won the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2020. It’s a second win for Oliver Jarvis after his 2017 success with Jackie Chan DC Racing. As to his two young teammates – 21-year-old Garg and 19-year-old Siegel – they got to triumph for their very first participation in the prestigious race.
The sister car struggled more. At the wheel of United Autosports USA’s #23 ORECA 07, Ben Keating, Filipe Albuquerque, and Benjamin Hanley were relegated to the back of the pack due to several contacts with other cars.
Inter Europol Competition:
The 2023 winners came close to clinching a back to back. The Polish team, which had entrusted its #34 ORECA 07 to Jakub Smiechowski, Vladislav Lomko, and Clément Novalak, fought for the crown for quite a while before eventually crossing the finish line 18 seconds after the winner.
IDEC Sport:
Patrice Lafargue can be proud of his team. Having secured the LMP2 pole position in Le Mans twice before (2018 and 2023), the French team wrote a new chapter in its history by climbing onto the podium of the legendary race for the first time. Having started from the front row, Paul Lafargue, Job van Uitert, and Reshad De Gérus (#28 ORECA 07) dealt with the weather conditions and track challenges perfectly and made it into the Top 3.
AF Corse:
What a race for AF Corse! Competing in Pro-Am, the #183 ORECA 07 entrusted to François Perrodo, Ben Barnicoat, and Nicolas Varrone fought for the win in class throughout the race. In the lead at dawn, the crew finished fourth in LMP2 and won in Pro-Am.
Vector Sport:
They too often led the race. Patrick Pilet, Ryan Cullen, and Stéphane Richelmi (#10 ORECA 07) played a major role in this 2024 edition. Fast, opportunistic, and consistent, they finished fifth.
Pro-Am:
Behind AF Corse’s #183 ORECA 07 – winner in class – the Pro-Am podium was hotly contested. Having started in pole position, AO by TF (Louis Delétraz, PJ Hyett, Alex Quinn) finished second just ahead of DKR Engineering’s #33 (Alexander Mattschull, René Binder, Laurents Hörr). These crews, each of which included a Bronze driver, dealt with the challenging weather conditions very well and made it into the LMP2 Top 10.
Top 10:
Algarve Pro Racing’s #25 (Matthias Kaiser, Olli Caldwell, Roman Senna De Angelis) secured eighth place. Panis Racing’s #65 (Rodrigo Sales, Mathias Beche, Scott Huffaker) finished ninth. Unlucky at times, Naveen Rao, Matthew Bell, and Frederik Vesti placed Cool Racing’s #47 in tenth position. Nielsen Racing’s #24 and Cool Racing’s #37 fought for the podium for a long time yet brought up the rear.
Retirements:
Out of the sixteen ORECA 07s on the 2024 starting grid, three did not make it to the finish. Proton Competition’s #9, Duqueine’s #30, and Crowdstrike Racing by APR’s #45 did not overcome the numerous challenges encountered during the French endurance classic. These teams will come back next year looking to beat the odds this time.
Hypercar:
Alpine Endurance Team’s first 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Hypercar category ended prematurely. Indeed both A424s retired in the fifth hour of the race. However, their overall performance is far from disappointing. During the qualifying, the two French prototypes proved they were competitive. Paul-Loup Chatin’s #35 qualified for the Hyperpole while the #36 (Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere) just missed it.
Before they withdrew, both prototypes had showed a promising race pace, with the #35 (Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, Charles Milesi) briefly fighting for the podium. Alpine will return in 2025 with more experience and one goal in mind: to win the world’s greatest endurance race.
Director of ORECA Motorsport Rémi Taffin: “What a thrilling 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2, as well as in other categories! We got to witness plenty of battles as there were many contenders for victory. Among the 16 ORECA 07s on the starting grid, 13 crossed the finish line, which is a great outcome. Congratulations to all of the teams involved in such a demanding race. No one was spared from the many different challenges, including extreme weather conditions.
Special mention to United Autosports for claiming a second win in just five years! The team had to face fierce competition. Congratulations also to Inter Europol Competition for its great second-place finish, after last year’s victory. And congratulations to Idec Sport as well for rounding out the Top 3, it’s the team’s best result in Le Mans so far.
Finally, although the two Alpine A424s unfortunately had to retire prematurely, Alpine Endurance Team can be proud of the performance they delivered during the qualifying, grabbing a ticket for the Hyperpole session and racing at a very good pace during long stints at the start of the race.”
Ferrari:
ORECA Group wishes to congratulate Ferrari for their second Hypercar win back to back in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They battled against impressive opponents throughout. It is a true collective success as two 499Ps actually finished on the podium.
In the GT3 class, race incidents did not favor the Ferrari 296 GT3s assembled in Signes workshops (France). After their resounding success at the 24 Hours of Daytona, the goal was to do the same in Le Mans. See you in 2025, hoping to be at the forefront of the fight.