On Friday, 13th January 2023 at 6 pm GMT / 7 pm CET / 10 am PT / 1 pm ET, the 45 teams entered into the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual for 2023 will take to the Circuit de la Sarthe to set the lineup for the huge esports event.
The results of both the initial joint qualifying session, with all 45 teams on track split amongst two classes, and the Hyperpole qualifying session, with the Top 6 fastest teams for each class from the first session, will set the grid for this third annual event.
WHAT IS THE QUALIFYING FORMAT?
This will be the first time that the Le Mans Virtual Series introduces both joint qualifying and Hyperpole rules into the mix. Both the LMP class (with 28 teams) and the GTE class (with 17 teams) will be on track at the same time, both classes gunning for fast times in their own right.
Once the first session ends, the Top 6 teams from each class will advance to the Hyperpole session later in the evening. While the rest of the positions will be set in the first round, the Hyperpole session sets the Top 6 starting positions for both LMP and GTE fields.
WHO IS PARTICIPATING?
While we don’t know exactly who will be under centre for the qualifying sessions themselves, many of the teams are filled with some heavy hitters across the motorsport world.
It was a treat to watch Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen take on the gauntlet of qualifying in last year’s session, barely missing out on the pole to his Team Redline teammate Jeffrey Rietveld by 0.002 seconds.
Verstappen has entered into the race again this year, along with other big names like Romain Grosjean, Jimmy Broadbent and so many more across the 45 teams of four drivers apiece. More than likely, the qualifying will come down to the esports professionals entered like Rietveld… but you never know.
2023 24 HOURS OF LE MANS VIRTUAL ENTRY LIST LMP
| # | TEAM | DRIVER 1 | DRIVER 2 | DRIVER 3 | DRIVER 4 |
| 1 | Team Redline | Max Verstappen (PRO) | Luke Browning (PRO) | Jeffrey Rietveld | Diogo Pinto |
| 2 | Team Redline | Felipe Drugovich (PRO) | Felix Rosenqvist (PRO) | Luke Bennett | Chris Lulham |
| 4 | Floyd Vanwall-Burst | Franco Colapinto (PRO) | Bent Viscaal (PRO) | Jesper N. Pedersen | Jernej Simončič |
| 5 | Williams Esports | Agustin Canapino (PRO) | William Tregurtha (PRO) | Jack Keithley | Petar Brljak |
| 8 | R8G ESPORTS | Mathias Beche (PRO) | Arthur Rougier (PRO) | Jiri Toman | Marcell Csincsik |
| 16 | Pescarolo Esport Monaco | Romain Boeckler (PRO) | Thomas Imbourg (PRO) | Darius Andrei | Robert Paun |
| 18 | R8G ESPORTS | Romain Grosjean (PRO) | Mathis Poulet (PRO) | Martin Hemmingsen | Ulas Ozyildirim |
| 20 | Porsche Coanda | Ayhancan Güven (PRO) | Laurin Heinrich (PRO) | Mitchell deJong | Joshua Rogers |
| 21 | SEM9.Axle | Alister Yoong (PRO) | Arjun Maini (PRO) | Naquib Azlan | Muhammad Aleef |
| 22 | Rocket Simsport | Angus Fender (PRO) | Rodrigo Pflucker (PRO) | Mika Hakimi | Borja Millan |
| 23 | Porsche Coanda | Bastian Buus (PRO) | Morris Schuring (PRO) | Mack Bakkum | Dayne Warren |
| 24 | Le Mans Virtual Cup | Andy Priaulx (PRO) | Sebastian Priaulx (PRO) | Shaun Arnold | Zoltán Várkonyi |
| 28 | YAS HEAT VELOCE | Sandy Mitchell (PRO) | Elias Seppanen (PRO) | Marko Pejic | Isaac Gillissen |
| 29 | Mexico Racing Team | Luis Díaz (PRO) | Ricardo Sánchez (PRO) | Alberto Gironella | Adolfo Pérez |
| 36 | Alpine Esports | Sacha Lehmann (PRO) | Leo Boulay (PRO) | Collin Spork | Tom Lartilleux |
| 37 | Alpine Esports | Victor Martins (PRO) | Oliver Caldwell (PRO) | Rory MacDuff | Patrik Sipos |
| 39 | Graff by ATRS eSports | Vincent Capillaire (PRO) | Georgios Karakoulas (PRO) | Markus Søholm | Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya |
| 44 | ARC Bratislava | Matej Homola (PRO) | Tomas Enge (PRO) | Andrej Marecak | Erik Vizi |
| 53 | AMG Team Williams Esports | Sami-Matti Trogen (PRO) | Raffaele Marciello (PRO) | Jakub Brzezinski | Nikodem Wisniewski |
| 62 | Brabham Esports | Gordon Mutch (PRO) | William Dendy (PRO) | Arne Schoonvliet | Jan von der Heyde |
| 63 | AMG Team Petronas Esports | James Baldwin (PRO) | Daniel Juncadella (PRO) | Graham Carroll | Bono Huis |
| 65 | Panis Racing Team | Job van Uitert (PRO) | Pierre-Louis Chovet (PRO) | Thibault Cazaubon | Florian Lebigre |
| 86 | GR eSports | Gus Bowers (PRO) | Mohan Ritson (PRO) | Daniel Brewer | Jannick Bock |
| 93 | Peugeot Esports | Gustavo Menezes (PRO) | Malthe Jakobsen (PRO) | Valentin Mandernach | Maxime Brient |
| 100 | Arnage Competition | Yifei Ye (PRO) | Emilien Carde (PRO) | Jimmy Antunes | Adam Pinczes |
| 101 | GR eSports | Andre Castro (PRO) | Alexandru Cascatau (PRO) | Adam Maguire | Liam de Waal |
| 444 | Nextview Vanwall-Burst | Josh Skelton (PRO) | Jonny Edgar (PRO) | Michi Hoyer | Dawid Mroczek |
| 966 | Team Fordzilla | Ramon Piñeiro (PRO) | Georgi Dimitrov (PRO) | Gianmarco Fiduci | Alessandro Ottaviani |
2023 24 HOURS OF LE MANS VIRTUAL ENTRY LIST GTE
| # | TEAM | CAR | DRIVER 1 | DRIVER 2 | DRIVER 3 | DRIVER 4 |
| 10 | MAHLE Racing Team | BMW M8 GTE | Beitske Visser (PRO) | Jimmy Broadbent (PRO) | Michele D’Alessandro | Muhammed Patel |
| 11 | Project 1 by Dörr Esports | Porsche 911 RSR GTE | Marc Gassner (PRO) | Norbert Kiss (PRO) | Moritz Löhner | Leonard Krippner |
| 25 | Inspeed Racing | Porsche 911 RSR GTE | Wenlong Lu (PRO) | Rafael Lobato (PRO) | Xiayufei Li | Yanzhe Li |
| 26 | SIM Maranello | Ferrari 488 GTE | Kikko Galbiati (PRO) | Lorenzo Patrese (PRO) | Christian Malghera | Andrea Terzi |
| 51 | SF Velas Esports Team | Ferrari 488 GTE | Oliver Bearman (PRO) | David Perel (PRO) | Kasper Stoltze | Christian Michel |
| 64 | Satellite Racing | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | David Pittard (PRO) | Nello Pastorino | Jimi Nisula | Henri Sinik |
| 66 | SIMMSA Esports | Ferrari 488 GTE | Ramez Azzam (PRO) | Gustas Grinbergas (PRO) | Sebastian Wunsch | Patrick Schindler |
| 71 | BMW Team Redline | BMW M8 GTE | Rudy van Buren (PRO) | Lorenzo Colombo (PRO) | Kevin Siggy | Enzo Bonito |
| 77 | Proton Coanda Esports | Porsche 911 RSR GTE | Loek Hartog (PRO) | Jeferson Giassi (PRO) | Charlie Collins | Paschalis Gkergkis |
| 88 | Proton Coanda Esports | Porsche 911 RSR GTE | Raoul Hyman (PRO) | Alexander Tauscher (PRO) | Bryn Collins | Kevin van Dooren |
| 89 | BMW Team BS+COMPETITION | BMW M8 GTE | Bruno Spengler (PRO) | Phillippe Denes (PRO) | Alen Terzic | Ibraheem Khan |
| 95 | Prodrive FYRA Esport | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Lasse Sørensen (PRO) | Andreas Jochimsen (PRO) | Caique Oliveira | Lasse Bak |
| 99 | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Porsche 911 RSR GTE | Dennis Lind (PRO) | Ayumu Iwasa (PRO) | Dennis Jordan | Yuri Kasdorp |
| 111 | P1 Esport | Porsche 911 RSR GTE | Frederik Schandorff (PRO) | Oliver Rasmussen (PRO) | Turkka Häkkinen | Rasmus Busk |
| 777 | D’station Racing | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Charlie Fagg (PRO) | Henrique Chaves (PRO) | Remi Delorme | Marc Veit |
| 888 | R8G ESPORTS | Ferrari 488 GTE | Alexander Smolyar (PRO) | Scott Andrews (PRO) | Timotej Andonovski | Erhan Jajovski |
| 889 | LOR JMX Phantom | Aston Martin Vantage GTE | Presley Martono (PRO) | Thanathip Tanalapanan (PRO) | Andika Rama Maulana | Fadhli Rachmat |
WHAT DO THE STANDINGS LOOK LIKE?
It’s not just a one day and night show at Le Mans. The series has been running since the summertime of 2022 with four previous races at Bahrain, Monza, Spa and Sebring. 40 of the 45 teams have competed in every event aiming to score as many points as they could entering the main race this weekend.
After four previous events, similar to last season, Team Redline is on top of the pile in both classes. The #1 LMP owns the faster class by 18 points over their next closest competitor, the #4 Floyd Vanwall-Burst LMP entry.
Over in the GTE, the #71 BMW Team Redline entry has an even bigger lead, 24.5 points over the #99 Oracle Red Bull Racing Porsche team. Nobody has anything locked, however, as the 24 Hour winners will score 50 points in each class. That ultimately keeps the top half dozen in each class still in it to win it.
LE MANS VIRTUAL SERIES 2022-23 STANDINGS AHEAD OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS VIRTUAL – LMP
- #1 Team Redline – 78 points
- #4 Floyd Vanwall-Burst – 60 points
- #20 Porsche Coanda – 58 points
- #23 Porsche Coanda – 46 points
- #63 AMG Team Petronas Esports – 44 points
LE MANS VIRTUAL SERIES 2022-23 STANDINGS AHEAD OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS VIRTUAL – GTE
- #71 BMW Team Redline – 83 points
- #99 Oracle Red Bull Racing – 58.5 points
- #51 SF Velas Esports Team – 51 points
- #26 SIM Maranello – 45.5 points
- #95 Prodrive FYRA Esports – 42.5 points
WHEN TO WATCH
Qualifying is on Friday 13th January at 6 pm GMT / 7 pm CET / 10 am PT / 1 pm ET.
The Race starts on Saturday 14th January at 1 pm GMT / 2 pm CET / 5 am PT / 8 am ET and will end 24 hours later on Sunday 15th January.
Things will kick off on Friday at 6:00 pm GMT, which over here in the Eastern Time zone is 1:00 pm ET. Things should last about two hours in all, plus there will be an All-Star event to watch in between the two qualifying sessions.
24 HOURS OF LE MANS VIRTUAL PROVISIONAL QUALIFYING SCHEDULE
- 18:00 pm GMT / 7:00 pm CET / 10:00 am PT / 1:00 pm ET – Broadcast starts
- 18:10 pm GMT – Joint Qualifying session begins
- 18:40 pm GMT – Joint Qualifying session ends
- 18:50 pm GMT – All Stars Exhibition Race
- 19:30 pm GMT – Hyperpole Qualifying session begins
- 19:45 pm GMT – Hyperpole Qualifying session ends
All Stars exhibition race
In between the two parts of Le Mans Virtual qualifying will be a five-lap race in identical Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup cars around Circuit de la Sarthe.
A selection of sim racing personalities will be taking part, including Jardier, Gamermuscle, LoveFortySix, THOMB, Studio 397’s Paul Jeffrey and Traxion.GG’s very own Ross McGregor.
WHERE TO WATCH
The action for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Qualifying will take place live and exclusively on the Traxion.GG YouTube channel, as we are one of the official media partners of the series.
LE MANS VIRTUAL SERIES 2022-23 CALENDAR
Round 1 – 8 Hours of Bahrain, Bahrain – 17th September 2022Round 2 – 4 Hours of Monza, Italy – 8th October 2022Round 3 – 6 Hours of Spa, Belgium – 5th November 5 2022Round 4 – 500 Miles of Sebring, USA – 3rd December 2022- Round 5 – 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual – 14th-15th January 2023
Full disclosure – Traxion.GG is part of Motorsport Games and the Motorsport Games family of brands. All Traxion.GG content is editorially removed from Motorsport Games video game development and created by a dedicated team. Traxion.GG is one of the official media partners of the Le Mans Virtual Series.
