Latest news with #24Hours
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Peugeot E-Expert Sport is a spacious, speedy modern van that's fun to drive… and it even fits in at Le Mans
THE 24 Hours of Le Mans car park. Every supercar you can think of. Plus moi, in a Advertisement 2 Not as fast as a Le Mans hypercar, obviously. But it's no slouch either Credit: DANIEL PULLEN 2025 2 Peugeot's E-Expert Sport gets bold styling and 9X8-inspired touches – but no power boost Credit: DANIEL PULLEN 2025 At least I had a top view sat on the roof. Peugeot hasn't added any performance to the new E-Expert Sport. It's the standard 136hp with a 219-mile battery. But it does get a special body kit, Y-spoke 18in alloys, and Kryptonite Green detailing inspired by Peugeot's 9X8 race car. This is the 'Crew Van' version with tons of space for you and five mates to cross the Channel with all your camping gear. Advertisement READ MORE ROAD TESTS Just one pit stop required to get from Dover to the track, sucking up 80 per cent charge in just 45 minutes. Not bad. What's it like to drive? Not as fast as a Just bang it in sports mode and pretend you're heading down the Mulsanne Straight at top speed – rather than a French autoroute. Advertisement Most read in Motors More importantly, on a road trip, it has all the creature comforts you'd expect from a modern van including a 10in touchscreen that talks to your phone, dual-zone climate control, wireless phone charging and even a heated leather steering wheel. Which you definitely don't get in a Fernando Alonso drives to victory at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 2018 There's more of Superman's least favourite colour in here, as well as Sport logos in the 'eco-leather' seats which are colourfast, scratchproof and tear-resistant, not to mention 'moisture regulating and acid and alkali resistant'. Given how terrifying it must be driving through the night at Le Mans, it sounds like the sort of stuff they should make racesuits out of. Advertisement It didn't have a place in the race, but the new E-Expert Sport looked every bit as cool as the race-winning Ferrari, and costs a lot less at £41,295 (ex VAT).
Observer
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Observer
Electrical fault halts Al Harthy in ‘Le Mans 24hrs'
Faultless driving, top strategy and a very quick BMW M4 LMGT3 were not enough to deliver what looked likely to be a bid for a dream victory at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ahmad al Harthy and Team WRT — electrical problems in the early hours of Sunday, 15th June, forcing retirement. Oman's Al Harthy and team-mates Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde had delivered an incredible performance throughout the first half of the twice-round-the-clock encounter at the eight-plus mile Circuit de la Sarthe in France, with LMGT3 silverware well within their grasp. Sadly, though, and for the second year in succession, the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended in misfortune for Al Harthy and Team WRT, having led the class or been inside the top two for the most part since lights-out at 16:00 local time on Saturday, 14th June. After qualifying an excellent third on the grid for the biggest race of the season, round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the team choose to begin the 24 Hours with van der Linde and he very quickly climbed into second in LMGT3 close behind the leader. Van der Linde remained in touch in the No.46 BMW M4 and after the initial pit-stops, the South African was back up to second. Oman's Al Harthy climbed behind the wheel for his first miles of the race in hour two and was within less than four seconds of the LMGT3 lead with one hour and 45 minutes elapsed. After another stop, Al Harthy moved up into the lead and he then began to build his advantage, driving faultlessly. Just over three hours into the race the Omani, who is supported by prestigious partners OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth (MoCSY), and Experience Oman, led by around 25 seconds. Half an hour later the lead was up to roughly 60 seconds, before handing over to Rossi for his first stint of the race. Holding second place initially, the Italian was every bit as competitive as his two team-mates and he soon moved the No.46 BMW back into first place in LMGT3. One quarter of the way through the race, 22.00 local time, van der Linde was back behind the wheel and held an advantage of 14 seconds at that stage. Just before 23.00, with 100 racing laps in the book, he remained at the front with a buffer of half-a-minute over the nearest rival. The entire race strategy from Team WRT was working like clockwork as midnight neared. Around three hours later, though, the squad's tremendous challenge for a dream victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans came to an end when the car ground to a halt — seemingly with no power. After being recovered back to the pits, it was discovered electrical problems were the cause. Moreover, the issue was irreparable at the track in the time available.
Muscat Daily
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Muscat Daily
Electrical issues halt Al Harthy and Team WRT's Le Mans 24HRS victory challenge
Le Mans, France – Faultless driving, top strategy and a very quick BMW M4 LMGT3 were not enough to deliver what looked likely to be a bid for a dream victory at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ahmad Al Harthy and Team WRT – electrical problems in the early hours of Sunday, forcing retirement. Oman's Al Harthy and teammates Valentino Rossi and Kelvin van der Linde had delivered an incredible performance throughout the first half of the twice-round-the-clock encounter at the eight-plus-mile Circuit de la Sarthe in France, with LMGT3 silverware well within their grasp. Sadly, though, and for the second year in succession, the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended in misfortune for Al Harthy and Team WRT, having led the class or been inside the top two for the most part since lights-out at 16.00 local time on Saturday. 'Being in the first two positions for the majority of the nine to 10 hours we were racing definitely got us thinking of the possibility of an amazing result,' said Al Harthy. 'I think how we were able to push the entire time showed we would have been competitive at the end of the race. Unfortunately, though, an electrical issue forced us to retire the car. 'This is what we know about racing, especially at the highest level like Le Mans, and we accept it. Things like this make you appreciate the achievements when you get them. The entire team did an amazing job right throughout the week at Le Mans, across all sessions, and the performance we showed in qualifying was a real highlight personally. We showed in the race what we're capable of, so now we look to bounce back in Brazil. Thank you to everyone for the amazing support.' After qualifying an excellent third on the grid for the biggest race of the season, round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the team chose to begin the 24 Hours with van der Linde, and he very quickly climbed into second in LMGT3 close behind the leader. Van der Linde remained in touch in the No. 46 BMW M4, and after the initial pit stops, the South African was back up to second. Oman's Al Harthy climbed behind the wheel for his first miles of the race in hour two and was within less than four seconds of the LMGT3 lead with one hour and 45 minutes elapsed. After another stop, Al Harthy moved up into the lead and he then began to build his advantage, driving faultlessly. Just over three hours into the race the Omani, who is supported by prestigious partners OQ Group, Sohar International, Omantel, Oman LNG, BMW Oman, Oman Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and Experience Oman, led by around 25 seconds. Half an hour later, the lead was up to roughly 60 seconds, before handing over to Rossi for his first stint of the race. Holding second place initially, the Italian was every bit as competitive as his two teammates and he soon moved the No.46 BMW back into first place in LMGT3. One quarter of the way through the race, 22.00 local time, van der Linde was back behind the wheel and held an advantage of 14 seconds at that stage. Just before 23.00, with 100 racing laps in the book, he remained at the front with a buffer of half-a-minute over the nearest rival. The entire race strategy from Team WRT was working like clockwork as midnight neared. Around three hours later, though, the squad's tremendous challenge for a dream victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans came to an end when the car ground to a halt, seemingly with no power. After being recovered back to the pits, it was discovered that electrical problems were the cause. Moreover, the issue was irreparable at the track in the time available.
CNA
5 days ago
- Automotive
- CNA
Ferrari heading for a hat-trick at Le Mans
Defending champions Ferrari were heading for a third straight win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, after leading the 93rd edition of the race through the night and into Sunday morning at the Sarthe circuit. With six hours remaining, the number 51 factory 499P car of 2023 winners Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado led the number 83 AF Corse entry of Robert Kubica, Yifei Yi and Philip Hanson by some six seconds. The number 50 factory car crewed by last year's winners Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina completed the lockout of the podium places. Porsche Penske's number six hypercar, which had led at the halfway stage after a safety car period, was fourth and Toyota's number eight car fifth. With six hours being the regular length of a World Endurance Championship race, and temperatures rising, there was however still plenty of room for late drama. The number 51 Ferrari had already fought back from eighth place after a puncture, a five second penalty and 20 second stop and go punishment to retake the lead by dawn. Swiss tennis great Roger Federer had waved the French flag to get the race underway on Saturday afternoon, with Porsche immediately seizing the lead from pole-sitters Cadillac. Cadillac had swept the front row in Thursday's qualifying but any advantage was short-lived as Porsche Penske's Julien Andlauer slipstreamed into the lead from third on the grid before the first chicane on the opening lap. "We're trying to hang in there, but it's tough out on track to be honest," said Sebastien Bourdais, who shares the number 38 Cadillac with 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button and was in ninth place. "We're struggling with tyre degradation. And we're struggling with the balance." Ferrari worked their way to the front and Fuoco took the lead in the third hour on the run from Mulsanne to Indianapolis with the three Ferraris running 1-2-3 at the quarter distance. The BMW driven by Italy's MotoGP great Valentino Rossi had to retire in the LMGT3 category. The race at the circuit in north-west France features 62 cars shared by 186 drivers from 34 countries, and is the fourth round of the World Endurance Championship, with 21 hypercars in the battle for overall victory. Organisers have put the total weekend attendance at more than 300,000 spectators. Ferrari will be able to keep the trophy at their Maranello factory if the works team completes a hat-trick on Sunday.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Photos: The 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance auto racing
LE MANS, France (AP) — Every June drivers from different countries compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. Established over a hundred years ago, the endurance race is won by the car covering the greatest distance in 24 hours. The winners of Le Mans will stand on the podium June 15. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
