Six reasons to join PH at Le Mans in 2025

The countdown is on for the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours, with the world’s greatest race a little over a month away on 12th – 15th June. La Sarthe has delivered some proper edge-of-your-seat racing in recent years, with a booming top-class packed with manufacturers all gunning for outright honours. With a few spaces remaining at our campsite in association with 1st Tickets, there’s still time to get this year’s endurance epic in your calendar. But if you need a little more convincing, here are some of the many things to look forward to at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans…

You’ve likely heard it a thousand times, but Le Mans in the thick of a golden era. It was only a few years ago when Toyota, faced with no real opposition, were galloping off to five straight victories in a row, but since the introduction of the Hypercar ruleset in 2021 its had a much harder time of it. Now, there are eight manufacturers (Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Porsche, Peugeot and Toyota) in the race’s top class, and with the World Endurance Championship’s balance of performance measures keep the field nice and tight, any one of them has a shot at victory, especially if the weather comes into play like it has in the past two runnings. Call it an endurance race, but it’s really a 24-hour sprint these days. All the more reason to pull an all-nighter.    

2. Aston Martin’s V12 Valkyrie debut

While balance of performance aims to bring the grid together, Aston Martin’s still finding its feet with its new Valkyrie. It’s not had the best start to the WEC season, to put it lightly, and the team has its work cut out to win on debut going off the current form. But even if the Valkyrie trails the rest by several laps, it’ll still be a winner in our eyes (or ears), because for the first time since 2011 there’ll be a naturally-aspirated V12 tearing around La Sarthe. It’ll give the glorious, V8-powered Cadillac V-Series R a run for the best-sounding car, and may just take the best-looking car of the current grid, too. A win might be a tall order for the new kids on the block, but bringing a V12 to an endurance race in this day and age makes Aston a winner in our book.  

3. Lamborghini out, Mercedes in

One team you won’t see this year is Lamborghini, neither in the Hypercar class or in LMGT3 with the Huracan. The firm was a fair way off the pace last year, and is using 2025 to take stock and come back strong next year. On the plus side, Lamborghini’s absence opened up a space for Mercedes to return after a 26-year hiatus. That’s right, it’ll be the German marque’s first Le Mans since its CLRs went flying in 1999, and while it won’t be in the top-class this time around, instead focusing on the equally competitive LMGT3 field with its AMG GT, rumour has it that the company’s mulling a fully-fledged prototype programme in the near future. Granted, it’s a shame to lose the V10 Huracans, but we’ll gladly take a squad of thundering V8 GTs in return. 

4. Get right up to the action

Great racing’s one thing, getting to experience it up close is another. With 8.5 miles of track to explore, there are plenty of ways (and plenty of time) to experience the great race. The run down from the Dunlop bridge offers great views of the cars changing direction, and if you walk a little further down to Tertre Rouge you’ll see just how grippy these prototype cars are. Over the weekend, you’ll also get the opportunity to walk the pit lane and see the teams working on cars ahead of the main race, and you can even walk or cycle the track on the Friday, too, if you’re not totally stuffed on beer and baguettes.  

5. It’s not all about the racing

Obviously, 24 hours of nail-biting action is what brings us to La Sarthe in the first place, but when the track action dies down there’s still plenty to get stuck into. The Le Mans museum is a real highlight, as it’s crammed full of legendary machines like the Mazda 787B, Toyota GT One a Porsche 917 or two. Inside the circuit, there’s live music, loads of bars and some of the best motoring tat and model car shops on the planet. There’s not much track action on the Friday, but we’ll be at the Classic British Welcome early in the morning to kick start the weekend. We’ll be opening registrations in the coming days, so keep your eyes peeled.  

We’ve teamed up with 1st Tickets for our very own camping area at Le Mans this year, but you’ll need to act fast to get a spot as spaces are seriously limited. You’ll get a reserved pitch, breakfast, dinner, private loos, Wi-Fi, general admission, 24/7 security and a cash bar.

Spaces are expected to fill up fast, so grab your tickets before it’s too late!