Fair or fixed? Why Le Mans is all about “balance of performance” now.

LE MANS, FRANCE - JUNE 10: The #35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424 of Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen, and Charles Milesi sits among the 2025 Le Mans entry for a group picture on the main straight at the Circuit de la Sarthe on June 10, 2025 in Le Mans, France. Credit: Ker Robertson/Getty Images

This coming weekend will see the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans take place in France. In total, 62 cars will compete, split into three different classes. At the front of the field are the very fastest hypercars—wickedly fast prototypes that are also all hybrids, with the exception of the V12 Aston Martin Valkyries. In the middle are the pro-am LMP2s, followed by 24 GT3 cars—modified versions of performance cars that include everything from Ford Mustangs to McLaren 720s. It is racing nirvana. But with so many different makes and models of cars in ...