BY MARK KHOO
The 95th Edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will take place 12-13 June 2027.
At the time of writing, there is still the final race of the 2026 FIA WEC series, the 6 Hours of Monza as well as the rest of Autumn, Winter and Spring to get through before we can enjoy the world’s greatest motor race. However, at Team Langoustine and across the internet the anticipation is already building.
WEC have announced a total of nine races for the 2027 season including the return of the 6 Hours of Silverstone, with Le Mans occupying the mid-season slot as race five.
The news everyone is talking about is of course Ford and McLaren joining the Hypercar fray in 2027.
Image from Ford Racing
FORD
An in-house built 5.4 litre naturally aspirated Coyote V8 with hybrid system will power the ORECA chassis of the Ford LMDh (oh the sound that car is going to make!)
A formidable driver line-up of Tom Blomqvist, Matt Campbell, Sebastian Priaulx, Mike Rockenfeller, Logan Sargeant and Nick Yelloly has already been confirmed for their 2027 campaign.
2026 was the 60th anniversary of the famous Ford vs Ferrari battle at Le Mans that was immortalised in the Hollywood movie of the same name (aka Le Mans 66). Will we see an epic on-track battle between the two marques in 2027?
Image from McLaren Racing
MCLAREN
Recently rebranded McLaren will enter a pair of their MCL-HY LMDh cars sporting an Autotecnica 2.9 litre twin-turbo V6 with hybrid system on a Dallara built chassis.
Five names have so far been revealed for driving duties: Mikkel Jensen (former Peugeot Hypercar and United Autosports driver), Alex Lynn (from Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA), Laurens Vanthor (2024 WEC drivers' champion), Leonardo Fornaroli (McLaren F1 reserve driver and reigning F2 champion) and Grégoire Saucy (McLaren test driver and United Autosports driver).
What about Max Verstappen? Max has expressed a strong desire to compete in and win the 24 Hours of Le Mans but this is highly unlikely in 2027 with a move to McLaren remaining purely speculative even though his long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is about to defect there.
Although it has performance related exit clauses, Max’s contract with Red Bull Racing runs up to 2028 and the team’s performance has markedly improved in the latter part of the 2026 season.
WHAT ELSE IN HYPERCAR?
As of the end of the 2026 season, Alpine will exit WEC and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Mike Conway – two times overall Le Mans winner in 2021 and 2026 has also announced his retirement from full-time professional racing.
Will 2027 be BMW’s year after a meteoric rise at Le Mans and in WEC since their re-entry in 2024?
It’s been speculated that Ferrari and their 499P more than suffered in 2026 due do the Balance of Performance (BoP) regulations designed to ensure fair competition between cars of vastly different architectures in both Hypercar and LMGT3.
But Toyota, 2026 WEC Hypercar Manufacturers' champions and Drivers’ champions, as and ‘co-standard bearers’ with a superlative car in the TR010 Hybrid have no doubt been scrutinised and restricted alongside them. Will BoP in 2027 finally overcome Toyota Gazoo Racing’s deep institutional experience, operational excellence and stellar driver line-up to provide an opportunity for BMW M Team WRT? Let’s hope the brainboxes at the FIA get the calibrations right so we can see the close racing we’ve come to expect and love at Le Mans.
WHAT ABOUT LMP2 AND LMGT3?
WEC have already announced some grid invitations for a number of teams.
In LMP2 these are United Autosports as 2026 ELMS champions, Forestier Racing by Panis as 2026 ELMS runners-up, Algarve Pro Racing as 2026 ELMS LMP2 Pro/Am champions and CLX Motorsport as 2026 ELMS LMP3 champions.
George Kurtz the CEO of CrowdStrike, co-owner of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 and driver for CrowdStrike Racing by APR has also received an invitation after winning the IMSA Jim Trueman Award.
In LMGT3, TF Sport get automatic grid invite as 2026 ELMS LMGT3 champions as has Orey Fidani of Toronto based 13 Autosport after winning the IMSA Bob Akin Award.
TEAM LANGOUSTINE AVAILABILITY UPDATE (AS OF DATE OF PUBLICATION 06TH NOVEMBER 2026)
Pitches at Team Langoustine Premier Private Camping have been secured with deposits quicker than at any time since current management ran its first event in 2022.
Our Premier Private Camping site at Hunaudières is effectively sold out with only a few 20 sqm pitches remaining suitable for customers coming on a motorbike, parking their car at Panorama circuit parking (tickets available from us) or arriving without a vehicle.
We still have availability at our Beauséjour Premier Private Camping site (previously the 1st Tickets site) near Porsche Curves that will mirror the service offering of Hunaudières, although we expect these to go fast before the end of the year as this is where we host the majority of our partner and club group bookings at the Le Mans 24 Hour.
Don’t forget that customers booking General Entry and Public Camping tickets with us have the option to purchase day passes with or without catering to enjoy the facilities of our private campsites at Hunaudières and Beauséjour.
STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES
Keep an eye out on this blog and your Team Langoustine emails (sign-up for updates if you already haven’t) for more updates including news about our service enhancements for 2027 once they are confirmed.
The 24 Hour of Le Mans is in rude health as reflected by the ever-increasing attendance and more major automotive brands putting their hats into the ring.
Team Langoustine would like to get as many fans to the 95th Edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as we are able and are really looking forward to hosting our customers loyal and new at our Premier Private Camping sites. As such, if you are thinking of going in 2027, please do not leave it too late to secure your spot.
Whether public camping, private camping or staying elsewhere off-circuit, we anticipate an epic spectacle of motorsport for all who will be there.