
Why a fifth Toyota win at Le Mans is far from a certainty in 2022
Toyota is the clear favourite for its fifth Le Mans 24 Hours success in a row, but not as much as it was in 2021. Although its opposition is unchanged, the credentials of Glickenhaus and Alpine have now been proven, while Balance of Performance tweaks have also served to level the playing field. Here's what we can expect at the Circuit de la Sarthe for the 90th edition of the endurance classic.
Toyota has only triumphed in one of the two World Endurance Championship rounds so far this season. What’s more, it has only got a single car to the finish on both occasions.
Yet the Japanese manufacturer still has to be favourite going into the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend. Of course it does: it runs the only current overt manufacturer programme in the Hypercar class, it has the form at the centrepiece round of the series as it bids for a fifth victory in a row, and it has the best driver line-ups.

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 32nd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 75 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.
Gary, who also writes for Autoweek, Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.
More from Gary Watkins
Latest news
The Porsche "twins" who usurped Audi's best
In a long career as a Porsche factory driver that yielded success in prototypes and GT cars on both sides of the Atlantic, Timo Bernhard was frequently paired up with Romain Dumas. Together, the pair were a near unstoppable force and were no less potent when they were loaned as a package to Audi
Habsburg plans first fan-owned sportscar team in WEC
Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Ferdinand Habsburg has launched plans for what he is calling the first fan-owned and run sportscar team for next year’s FIA World Endurance Championship.
Le Mans Full Access: Episode 3
The preparations are over for the world’s biggest endurance race, as the highs and lows of the 2022 Le Mans 24 Hours are captured in episode three of the new Le Mans Full Access series.
Le Mans podium finisher and broadcaster Alain de Cadenet dies aged 76
Le Mans 24 Hours privateer and constructor Alain de Cadenet has died aged 76 after a long battle with illness.
How Formula E's double-duty drivers got on at Le Mans
Eight Formula E drivers made the 7,000-mile sprint from the streets of Jakarta to the fabled Circuit de la Sarthe and every one had a story to share at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite a range of triumphs and disappointments, each driver doubling up on the day job played a key role in their teams' fortunes
When the moribund GTE Pro class stole the show at Le Mans
As the GT class faces a time of transition, it’s a good time to recall the greatest hits of the GTE Pro years that pitched manufacturers and top drivers into the tightest of duels.
The great Le Mans garagistes that challenged factory might
Glickenhaus is the latest in a line of small-time constructors to take on the big names. Here are some of the finest in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours
How junior formula giant Prema is readying for its Le Mans future
Prema remains a colossus in single-seaters, but the serial Formula 2 and Formula 3 title-winning squad has joined forces with top GT squad Iron Lynx for an attack on sportscars in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series. Ahead of its debut at the Le Mans 24 Hours, its sights are firmly fixed on LMP2 glory – and a future in Hypercars next year...
Why a fifth Toyota win at Le Mans is far from a certainty in 2022
Toyota is the clear favourite for its fifth Le Mans 24 Hours success in a row, but not as much as it was in 2021. Although its opposition is unchanged, the credentials of Glickenhaus and Alpine have now been proven, while Balance of Performance tweaks have also served to level the playing field. Here's what we can expect at the Circuit de la Sarthe for the 90th edition of the endurance classic.
The British rookies targeting a good first impression at Le Mans
Three young Britons will make their first starts in the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend in the highly-competitive 23-car GTE Am field. But how did they get here? Motorsport.com hears their stories.
Celebrating the weird and wonderful monsters of sportscar racing
Few disciplines of motorsport offer better possibilities to build a colossus of the track than sportscars. For Autosport's recent Monsters of Motorsport special issue, we picked out some of the finest (and not so fine) that have graced sportscar classics including Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring
The remarkable fixes Toyota used to avert another Le Mans disaster
The 1-2 finish achieved by Toyota at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours was a result that will have surprised few, given its status as pre-event favourite. But the result was anything but straightforward, as worsening fuel pressure concerns required the team's drivers and engineers to pursue "creative fixes" on the fly. Here is the full story of how it reached the end without a lengthy pit visit

Le Mans 24h: Toyota leads Glickenhaus in first practice
How junior formula giant Prema is readying for its Le Mans future
