Le Mans 2023 review

The 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours was a story of great expectations. Porsche did score a podium, but there will be some head-scratching taking place in Stuttgart…

- Glen Smale

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) was no doubt keen to maximise the occasion of the 100th year since the first running of the Le Mans 24 Hours back in 1923. However, every participating manufacturer would also be going all-out to make their own statement in the 2023 race and to ensure this was a truly memorable event. The question is, how memorable was it for Porsche?

From the outset, the top-tier LMDh class looked to be a tantalising affair. Toyota’s dominance in the Hypercar class over the past three years would be hotly contested by Porsche’s unrivalled record of wins at Le Mans, and Ferrari’s desire to set the record straight after a near six-decade absence from the race with a factory team. Cadillac, too, couldn’t be written off with its extensive experience in America, so the race was looking like being a real corker.

In the end, it was Ferrari that laid down the gauntlet in the Hyperpole shootout, with the best Porsche 963 more than 1.5 seconds adrift. In the GTE Am class, not a single Porsche made it into the Hyperpole shootout, but then Le Mans is a long race and anything could happen in 24 hours…

As can be expected, being the event’s centennial year, the razzmatazz ahead of the 4pm start was ratcheted up several notches, helping to raise the prerace tension even further. Following the traditional French Air Force fly past, the lead Ferrari peeled off from the pit wall, and soon all 62 cars were headed off around the circuit on the formation lap. Because the No. 38 Porsche 963 Hertz Team Jota customer team failed to set a qualifying time, it had to start the race from the back of the grid.