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2022 Le Mans 24 Hours – How to watch, session timings and more

The 90th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours and the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship's tenth anniversary season will be staged this weekend on 11-12 June.

Car group shot

Car group shot

Marc Fleury

First held in 1923, the Le Mans 24 Hours is regarded as the world's most famous endurance race, and forms part of motorsport's triple crown alongside the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500.

The blue riband event of the WEC, Le Mans this year returns to its traditional June date slot after the previous two editions were postponed to September and August amid the coronavirus pandemic and will be staged in front of the usual packed grandstands at the Circuit de la Sarthe after attendances were capped in 2021.

Here’s what you need to know and how you can watch the event.

The outright contenders

The third round of the 2022 WEC will be worth double points, which could offer Toyota a reprieve after a patchy opening to its Hypercar class title defence. An accident for defending champion Jose Maria Lopez's #7 GR010 Hybrid in the Sebring season-opener, and a hybrid fault on the sister #8 car last time out at Spa, means both of its crews have registered a retirement and trail championship leader Alpine in the standings by 30 and 32 points respectively.

The factory Toyota Gazoo Racing team is seeking a fifth consecutive victory in the event, which would equal the run of wins notched by Audi Sport Team Joest between 2010 and 2014.

It will face off against the Sebring 1000 winning-Alpine and two entries from American boutique sportscar manufacturer Glickenhaus in a five-car Hypercar field that is unchanged from last year.

But changes to the technical rules and Balance of Performance means that eventuality is no guarantee, with Toyota unable to deploy its hybrid drive from the front wheels until it reaches 190km/h, having been able to do so at 120km/h last year.

The Podium Advanced Technologies-run Glickenhaus cars, fresh from taking a maiden WEC pole last time out at Spa, can count on technical support from Joest while the Alpine is run by the Signatech squad that is no stranger to Le Mans success either, having won the LMP2 class three times.

Peugeot has built a Le Mans Hypercar, but its 9X8 will not race at Le Mans and instead make its debut at the Monza WEC round ahead of a full Le Mans debut next year.

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez

Photo by: Marc Fleury

The other classes

There is plenty more to watch out for in the three other categories that make up the remaining 57 machines in the 62-car field.

The largest single car class, LMP2, features 27 entries of which all but one are Orecas. All cars must have at least one Silver-graded driver in their line-up, with the exception of the 10 cars entered in the LMP2 pro/am sub-class for crews that must feature a Bronze amateur.

Eight-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier will be making his Le Mans debut at Richard Mille Racing, while fellow rookie Josh Pierson will become the youngest-ever Le Mans starter when the 16-year-old straps into his United Autosports machine.

Seven ex-Formula 1 drivers are among the LMP2 field, including two-time IMSA champion Felipe Nasr at storied American squad Penske, which is using this year's race to prepare for its return running Porsche's LMDh outfit in 2023, and Robert Kubica at Prema - the Italian single-seater powerhouse hoping that the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner can make up for the disappointment of losing victory on the final lap last year.

Another well-qualified rookie is two-time Australian Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, who is driving the sole privateer entry in the GTE Pro class as Ferrari seeks to defend its hard-earned win from 2021 against Porsche and Corvette.

Van Gisbergen will hope that his Riley-entered Ferrari will allow him to contend as Ferrari and Porsche seek to bow out in style with the automotive giants shifting their focus to the Hypercar class next year.

Sebastien Ogier and Robert Kubica, Le Mans 24 Hours, WEC

Sebastien Ogier and Robert Kubica, Le Mans 24 Hours, WEC

Photo by: FIA WEC

Finally, there's a 23-car field in the GTE Am class for GT cars featuring a bronze driver. Hollywood actor Michael Fassbender makes his debut at Le Mans this year, while three-time grand prix winner Giancarlo Fisichella, Formula E ace Nick Cassidy and two-time Daytona 24 Hours victor Renger van der Zande are among the other well-known names in the division.

Full 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours session timings

Wednesday 8 June 2922
Free Practice 1: 12:00pm-3:00pm GMT / 2:00pm-5:00pm local
Qualifying: 5:00pm-6:00pm GMT / 7:00pm-8:00pm local
Free Practice 2: 8:00pm-10:00pm GMT / 10:00pm-12:00pm local

Thursday 9 June 2022
Free practice 3: 1:00pm-4:00pm GMT / 3:00pm-6:00pm local
Hyperpole: 6:00pm-6:30pm GMT / 8:00pm-8:30pm local
Free practice 4: 8:00pm-10:00pm GMT / 10:00pm-12:00pm local

Saturday 11 June 2022
Warm up: 8:30am-8:45am GMT / 10:30am-10:45pm local
Race Start: 2pm GMT / 4:00pm local

Sunday 12 June 2022
Race Finish: 2pm GMT / 4:00pm local

#88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am of Fred Poordad, Patrick Lindsey, Jan Heylen, #80 Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE Am of Matteo Cressoni, Giancarlo Fisichella, Richard Heistand

#88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am of Fred Poordad, Patrick Lindsey, Jan Heylen, #80 Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE Am of Matteo Cressoni, Giancarlo Fisichella, Richard Heistand

Photo by: Marc Fleury

How can I watch Le Mans?

The Le Mans 24 Hours can be viewed in the UK on Eurosport and streaming service discovery+, which costs £6.99 per month or £59.99 annually. It will also be available via Amazon Prime in the UK.

In the USA, start-to-finish coverage will be shown on Motor Trend, starting at 9:30 ET on Saturday.

Fans can also download the official WEC App, which provides fans with English-language commentary of all sessions, as well as access to live timing and highlights. Within the app, a Le Mans race pack costs £8.99, with a full season pack costing £23.99, which allows users to watch the live feed and access exclusive onboard camera footage on five devices. For more information, click here.

Motorsport.com journalists will be providing live text coverage throughout the race with a dedicated live blog.

Live TV times (UK only)

Practice and qualifying sessions: Eurosport 2, Wednesday 12:45pm, 5:45pm and 9:00pm; Thursday 1:45pm and 8:45pm
Hyperpole qualifying: Eurosport 2, Thursday 6:45pm
Warm-up: Eurosport 1, Saturday 9:15am
Race: Eurosport 1, Saturday 2:00pm

Highlights will be available via Motorsport.TV, which will produce in-race hourly updates and release a 52-minute package on Monday after the race.

Car group shot

Car group shot

Photo by: FIA WEC

Weather forecast for the Le Mans 24 Hours

The Le Mans 24 Hours is set to be held in warm and sunny conditions, with a low chance of rain forecast for the event. Highs of 26 degrees Celsius are predicted on Saturday, although heavy rain is forecast on Tuesday.

Most Le Mans 24 Hours wins

Tom Kristensen: 9 wins (1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2013)
Jacky Ickx: 6 wins (1969, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982)
Derek Bell: 5 wins (1975, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987)
Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro: 5 wins (2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007)
Yannick Dalmas: 4 wins (1992, 1994, 1995, 1999)
Olivier Gendebien: 4 wins (1958, 1960, 1961, 1962)
Henri Pescarolo: 4 wins (1972, 1973, 1974, 1984)

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