The 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place this weekend, and seven graduates and three 2024 drivers from junior single-seaters will compete in the race, which is one of the world’s most anticipated motorsport events. If you’re wondering which drivers to keep an eye on this weekend, these are ten recognisable names you won’t want to overlook!
Drivers on this list are either competing in a junior single-seater championship in 2024 or did so for the entirety of 2023. All ten drivers are competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time. They are arranged in order of starting position for the event, which begins on Saturday at 16:00 CEST at Le Mans, France.
Carl Bennett: Number 11 Isotta Fraschini (HyperCar)
2023 series include Formula Winter Series, F4 US, Brazilian F4, Spanish F4, and Eurocup-3.
FIA Driver Rating: Silver
Grid position: P22 (overall), P22 (Hypercar).
Teammates: Antonio Serravalle and Jean-Karl Vernay
In 2023, Carl Bennett, a Thai-American driver, competed in numerous junior single-seater competitions. He competed in two rounds of the Formula Winter Series prior to his F4 US campaign with Gonella Racing, finishing 13th with 37 points and one win. He also competed in two rounds of Brazilian F4 with Bassani Racing and in Spanish F4 and Eurocup-3 with GRS Team.
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Later in the year, he switched to endurance racing, joining Duqueine Team in the Asian Le Mans Series’ LMP2 category. His team placed tenth out of 13 in the LMP2 class during the 2023-24 season.
Following his Asian Le Mans Series campaign, Bennett joined new Hypercar team Isotta Fraschini in WEC, replacing the previously announced Alex GarcÃa. The Italian luxury automobile company, which was reintroduced in 2022 after a 23-year hiatus, has had a rough start in the WEC, with a best result of 15th in three races.
Bennett will share vehicle #11 with Le Mans rookie Antonio Serravalle and returnee Jean-Karl Vernay, who last competed in the event in 2013. He is the only driver competing in the Hypercar class this weekend who raced junior single-seaters in 2023.
Isotta Fraschini #11: Jean-Karl Vernay (platinum), Carl Bennett (silver), and Antonio Serravalle (silver) | Credit: Arnaud Cornilleau / ACO Nolan Siegel: #22 United Autosports (LMP2) 2024 series: Indy Nxt FIA driver rating: Gold
Grid positions: P28 (overall) and P5 (class).
Teammates: Bijoy Garg and Oliver Jarvis
Nolan Siegel’s 2024 has been extremely active. The 19-year-old, who competes in Indy NXT for HMD Motorsports, has performed admirably in the championship, sitting fourth with one win and 177 points. He might have gone even higher if he hadn’t withdrawn from the last round at Road America to replace AgustÃn Canapino at Juncos Hollinger Racing in IndyCar due to a social media controversy with the Argentinian driver.
Despite entering only on Friday afternoon, Siegel qualified 21st and finished 23rd. With Canapino’s return to the JHR seat announced on Wednesday, Siegel will make only one more IndyCar appearance this year, in Toronto.
Along with his single-seater career, Siegel has gained extensive expertise in sports cars, beginning with stints in an Audi GT4 car in the Michelin Pilot Challenge. Siegel competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona in LMP3 cars twice before switching to LMP2 cars this year. Last year, he also finished fifth in the Asian Le Mans Series’ LMP2 category.
The American driver will participate in the LMP2 class for United Autosports, sharing driving duties with veteran Oliver Jarvis and youngster Bijoy Garg. The #22 vehicle, like all others in the LMP2 class, is powered by a Gibson Oreca-07.
United Autosports #22: Oliver Jarvis (platinum), Nolan Siegel (gold), and Bijoy Garg (silver) | Credit: Antonin Vincent / ACO Ritomo Miyata: #37 Cool Racing (LMP2) 2024 series: Formula 2
FIA Driver Rating: Platinum
Grid positions: P29 (overall) and P6 (class).
Teammates: Lorenzo Fluxá and Malthe Jakobsen
Miyata is a well-known name in Japanese racing circles. In 2023, he won the Super Formula championship with three victories and five top-five finishes. He also won the Super GT title twice while racing for TOM’s.
Miyata made a surprising jump to the European junior ladder this year, joining Rodin Motorsport in F2. He was the first Super Formula driver to do so in a decade. However, his F2 performance has not been as impressive as his previous achievements. Miyata is just 15th in the standings, with a best finish of fifth in two races in Australia.
Aside from competing in Formula 2, the Japanese driver competes in a variety of endurance series. Miyata has made two last-minute cameo outings in WEC GT cars, once at Fuji last year and again at Spa last month, as well as a 24 Hours of Daytona appearance with Vasser Sullivan.
His major endurance campaign is with Cool Racing, and the trio of Miyata, Lorenzo Fluxá, and Malthe Jakobsen is presently third in their category in ELMS. They will share vehicle #37 this weekend at Le Mans.
Lorenzo Fluxá, #37 Cool Racing (LMP2)
2023 series: Formula Regional Europe, 2024 series: Euroformula Open. FIA driver rating: Silver Grid position: P29 (overall), P6 (class).
Teammates: Malthe Jakobsen and Ritomo Miyata.
Lorenzo Fluxá, a rookie in ELMS this year, will also make his Le Mans debut. Last year, the 19-year-old competed in Formula Regional Europe with Prema, placing seventh in the standings, and Formula Regional Middle East with the Prema-run Mumbai Falcons team, finishing fourth.
Fluxá moved to ELMS this season after three seasons in Formula Regional. Fluxá has raced in ELMS, made a one-round cameo in Euroformula Open with Team Motopark earlier this year, winning and finishing second, and appeared in the International GT Open’s Spa round three weeks ago.
For Le Mans, the Spaniard will compete in the LMP2 class at Cool Racing alongside ELMS colleagues Miyata and Jakobsen, the sole driver with previous Le Mans experience.
Cool Racing #37: Ritomo Miyata (platinum), Malthe Jakobsen (gold), Lorenzo Fluxá (silver) | Credit: Arnaud Cornilleau / ACO, Kyffin. Simpson ranks #24. Nielsen Racing (LMP 2)
2023 Series: Indy Nxt’s FIA driver rating: Gold
Grid positions: P33 (overall) and P10 (LMP2).
Teammates: David Heinemeier Hansson and Fabio Scherer
After a turbulent debut year in Indy Lights in 2022, exacerbated by a team change, Kyffin Simpson returned to the renamed Indy Nxt series with HMD Motorsports last year, finishing 10th in the standings with two podiums.
Along with his 2023 campaign, the Barbados-born Caymanian competed in the ELMS and Asian Le Mans, winning the LMP2 title in the former and placing third in the latter.
After two years of participating in Chip Ganassi Racing’s driver development programme, he transitioned from junior single-seaters to IndyCar this season. He is presently ranked 19th in the standings, with his best finish of 12th in the season opener.
Simpson will make his Le Mans debut with Nielsen Racing in the LMP2 class. He will share the car with seasoned silver David Heinemeier Hansson and Fabio Scherer, who was a member of last year’s victorious Inter Europol LMP2 team. Though this is Simpson’s first appearance at Le Mans, he has competed in the previous three editions of the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Nielsen Racing #24: Kyffin Simpson (gold), Fabio Scherer (gold), and David Heinemeier Hansson (silver) | Credit: Laurent Cartalade / ACO Clément Novalak (#34) Inter Europol Competition (LMP2), 2023 series: Formula 2.
FIA driver rating: gold.
Grid positions: P34 (overall) and P11 (class).
Teammates: Jakub Åšmiechowski and Vladislav Lomko.
Clément Novalak was a British F3 champion and six-time F3 podium finisher, but he had a considerably more difficult transition to F2. Following a difficult first full season in 2022, Novalak departed MP and joined Trident for 2023. He won the feature race in Zandvoort, becoming the first Trident driver to do so in over nine years, however he left after the next round and missed the finale. He finished seventeenth in the standings.
He switched to endurance racing this year and now competes in the ELMS with Inter Europol, alongside former F2 driver Luca Ghiotto and Oliver Grey, who competed in F3 last season. The trio ranks tenth in the LMP2 standings.
Novalak will race with the team in Le Mans for the first time, partnering Vladislav Lomko and Jakub Åšmiechowski in LMP2. Last year, Lomko failed to complete, but Åšmiechowski won the class.
Inter Europol Competition #34: Clément Novalak (gold), Vladislav Lomko (gold), and Jakub Śmiechowski (silver) | Credit: Antonin Vincent / ACO Macéo Capietto: #9 Proton Competition (LMP2) 2023 series: Formula Regional Europe
FIA Driver Rating: Silver
Grid positions: P35 (overall) and P12 (LMP2).
Teammates: Jonas Ried and Bent Viscaal.
Macéo Capietto, the son of Prema’s team manager Guillaume Capietto, is now racing with the Iron Lynx-Proton joint entry in the European Le Mans Series after competing for the French F4 title in 2021 and two seasons in Formula Regional.
There, the 18-year-old is paired with Matteo Cairoli and Jonas Ried. The trio is now 12th in the LMP2 standings, having retired from the first race in Barcelona and finished ninth in Le Castellet.
Capietto, one of the youngest drivers in this year’s Le Mans, will compete for Proton Competition alongside current teammates Ried and Bent Viscaal, both of whom have previous racing experience. Like Capietto, both are recent endurance converts, with Ried departing F4 in 2022 and Viscaal switching after his only F2 season in 2021.
Proton Competition #9: Bent Viscaal (gold), Macéo Capietto (silver), and Jonas Ried (silver) | Credit: Laurent Cartalade / ACO Frederik Vesti: Number 47 Cool Racing 2023 Series: Formula 2 driver rating: Platinum by the FIA.
Grid positions: P37 (overall) and P14 (class).
Teammates: Matthew Bell and Naveen Rao
Vesti, another F2 graduate, competed for the championship title with Prema until the final round. He led the standings for much of the season, but eventually lost by 11 points.
Last year, as a member of the Mercedes Junior Team, Vesti participated in two free practice sessions for the Mercedes F1. He is now one of their reserve drivers, sharing the position with Mick Schumacher.
After two years in F2, Vesti switched from single-seater racing to endurance racing. Vesti’s F3 graduate GarcÃa and Paul-Loup Chatin are now driving for Cool Racing in ELMS’ LMP2 class, replacing the injured Ferdinand Habsburg. Vesti, GarcÃa, and Chatin currently rank seventh in the points, having previously finished second at Paul Ricard.
He will make his Le Mans debut this weekend, sharing duties with returnee Matt Bell and fellow debutant Naveen Rao.
Cool Racing #47: Frederik Vesti (platinum), Matt Bell (gold), and Naveen Rao (bronze) | Credit: Antonin Vincent / ACO Esteban Masson #87 Akkodis ASP Team (LMGT 3)
2023 series: Eurocup-3 and Formula Regional Europe
FIA Driver Rating: Silver
Grid positions: P49 (overall), P10 (LMGT3).
Teammates: Jack Hawksworth and Takeshi Kimura
After winning the French F4 title in 2021, Masson competed in Formula Regional Europe for a full season, splitting his time between FA Racing and ART Grand Prix, but struggled and finished with only one point. He returned to selected championship events with Saintéloc Racing last season, securing his and the team’s maiden podium finish at Paul Ricard.
His primary commitment last season was Eurocup-3 with Campos Racing. Masson won the championship by a 30-point margin after competing with Mari Boya until the final event. The previous week, the 19-year-old made his endurance racing debut at the 8 Hours of Bahrain, finishing fifth.
Although the planned progression from Eurocup-3 was to F3, Masson chose to race endurance in the LMGT3 class this season. He now races for Akkodis ASP Team in WEC, alongside José MarÃa López and Takeshi Kimura, and Kessel Racing in ELMS, collaborating with Kimura’s Car Guy Racing team. Masson and his co-drivers have had a rough start to the year, with their teams ranking 18th in the former and 10th in the latter.
Masson will race in the #87 Lexus RC F GT3 vehicle alongside veteran bronze Kimura and Jack Hawksworth, who will make his Le Mans debut after being called up to Toyota’s Hypercar line-up last week to replace the injured Mike Conway.
Akkodis ASP Team #87: Jack Hawksworth (gold), Esteban Masson (silver), and Takeshi Kimura (bronze) | Credit: Alexis Goure / ACO Grégoire Saucy: #59 United Autosport (LMGT3)
FIA driver rating for the 2023 Formula 3 series. Gold
Grid positions: P50 (overall), P11 (LMGT3).
Teammates: Nicolas Costa and James Cottingham
Grégoire Saucy returns to endurance racing following two seasons racing in Formula 3 with ART Grand Prix, where he finished 15th and 14th in the standings in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Despite having a rough time in F3, the 2021 Formula Regional Europe winner scored two podiums and a pole position last year, easily outperforming his teammates.
Saucy moved into endurance racing this year, competing in both the ELMS and the WEC. He and his TDS Racing colleagues Rodrigo Sales and Mathias Beche are now leading the LMP2 Pro-Am standings in ELMS after winning their class at Paul Ricard.
The Swiss driver will make his Le Mans debut alongside his WEC colleagues, Nicolas Costa and James Cottingham, in United Autosports’ #59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. They are 11th in the WEC LMGT3 standings, having finished fourth last time out at Spa. All three are making their Le Mans debuts, as McLaren returns to the race for the first time since 1998, the year before Saucy was born.
United Autosports #59: Grégoire Saucy (gold), Nicolas Costa (silver), and James Cottingham (bronze) | Credit: McLaren Automotive Limited.
Header photo credit: Antonin Vincent / ACO.
