24 uur van Le Mans 2025
Two months after my visit for the 24 Hours of Motorcycles, I was back in Le Mans. Just like last year, I had the honor of being a press photographer covering the world's greatest racing event: the 24 Heures du Mans.
Once again, I kicked off the event on the Saturday before the race at the inspections in town. The cars were checked, interviews were given, press photos were taken, and autographs were signed.
Then it was time for a demonstration through the city with a large number of the cars. At the cathedral, all the cars were warming up for their laps in front of the large crowds lining the streets.
In recent years, the official test day has always taken place on the Sunday before the race. The weather was already much sunnier than the day before, and that was expected to remain the case, except for a few showers on Friday.
So, armed with the cameras, I set off again to cover miles along the track. The traditional test day photos with the traffic sign were, of course, inevitable.
A little further along the Hunaudieres, there were patches of new asphalt. In some places, cars still touched down, creating a pleasant shower of sparks.
The #90 Porsche was decked out in the livery of the fictional Chip Hart Racing. This is supposedly the car Brad Pitt will race in the upcoming F1 movie at the 24 Hours of Daytona. But here at Le Mans, it's driven by, among others, Dutchman Loek Hartog.
On Sunday, the Iron Dames Porsche also had a blast around the track. However, during a pit stop involving a driver change, things went wrong; driver Michelle Gatting broke her foot and would be replaced by Sarah Bovy for the remainder of the event.
After a rest day on Monday, it was time for the pit walk and pit stop competition again on Tuesday. And in the morning, plenty of press photos were taken with the drivers.
The fans were warmly welcomed in the pits and the drivers were given all sorts of things to sign...
And the pit stop competition always produces great action. A great opportunity for the mechanics to be in the spotlight.
But on Wednesday, it's finally time for action on the track again with the first free practice sessions. I had a particularly active day that day.
I took the media shuttle bus to explore various remote areas and covered over 17 kilometers on foot, a challenging feat in temperatures of 25 to 30 degrees Celsius. But it also allowed me to visit places I hadn't photographed before.
At the first chicane on the Hunaudieres, it was quite spectacular to see and hear the cars coming so fast, skimming right up against the guardrail. Some took the corner very tightly, sometimes scraping against it...
And it's just cool to see these kinds of cars racing along public 90-kilometer roads at speeds of over 300.
In the evening, drivers completed their first laps in the dark. For me, of course, it was the perfect opportunity to play with the light.
The Hyperpole session was held on Thursday. The format was slightly modified, more similar to F1 and IndyCar: A few drivers fall over in the first lap, followed by a final lap between the fastest drivers. This led to a thrilling session where the drivers battled to the very end to advance to the final. It was a matter of driving on the edge, or just barely over it.
In LMGT3, Sean Gelael just managed a fast enough time at the very last minute to qualify for the final in the top 10. This was after he had stalled earlier in the session with problems and had to restart the car twice. Behind me, there was a loud cheer from the McLaren fans in the stands.
Surprisingly, it was Alex Lynn in the #12 Jota Sport Cadillac who took pole, with the #38 car of the same team second. They thus beat the factory teams of Porsche, Ferrari, etc., and were therefore allowed to start at the front on Saturday.
After all the training and festivities, it was finally time for the race on Saturday. The 4:00 PM start time still feels quite late. Especially since the support races had also finished early in the morning, and aside from a fifteen-minute warm-up, it was mostly a long wait for real action for me. I did, however, briefly participate in a packed grid walk.
At 3:50 PM, the engines were started, and the warm-up lap finally began. And at 4:00 PM, the action got underway, with the Cadillacs leading the way.
From the start, we sprinted around the circuit as photographers, capturing the action from various locations. The Jota Sport Cadillacs were passed by Julien Andlauer in the Porsche on the very first lap. They would gradually drop back in the race. They had been fast in qualifying, but were still a bit lacking in race pace.
The Ferraris gradually came to the fore. And while they seemed less strong in practice than they had been at other races during the season, they certainly showed their strength in the race.
Incidentally, the sheer number of flies in the air was noticeable all week. This was a serious issue for both the cars and the drivers. After just a few laps, the cars were filthy, and the drivers could barely see through the windows. On Saturday evening, the cars already looked filthy with vermin and chunks of rubber from the tires, which were still white at the start:
And the tires also leave a fair amount of debris behind:
Hoping for a beautiful sunset, I walked to the Ford chicanes in the evening. It was quite cloudy that Saturday, but then the sun suddenly broke through. The result was a beautiful sunset. And the images were enhanced by the sightseeing flight company's helicopters that kept taking off and landing behind the grandstands.
As night fell, the eventual winner, the #83 Ferrari, was already in the lead for a while.
With pit stops, the lead changed quite regularly, with different manufacturers taking the lead. But overall, Ferrari had it well under control.
At midnight, there was another fantastic fireworks and drone show above the courtyard. This, just like the sunset, was another photographer's delight. This time, we were on the opposite side of where we had been before.
And the night also offered some opportunities to play with some filters I had brought with me. One star filter had already broken in the mail. But I used it anyway; it gave it some extra effect ;-)
As darkness fell, I also grabbed my tripod to capture the streaks of light from the cars and the Ferris wheel. The vibrant night of Le Mans.
It's always great to see the cars battling like that through the night. Otherwise, the race was actually quite calm. Compared to previous years, I felt there wasn't much drama, especially at the front of the field. And so, on Sunday afternoon, I was finally able to capture the #83 Ferrari that took the chequered flag first. Robert Kubica stopped the car right in front of me to pick up his colleagues Phil Hanson and Yifei Ye. For the many, often Polish, Kubica fans, it was fantastic to see this veteran win. Especially after his rally accident that nearly ended his career. He was originally supposed to drive for Ferrari in F1, but that never happened. But now he won Le Mans in a Ferrari. A magnificent comeback.
And just like that, it was over. It remains a fantastic event. Perhaps not the most exciting edition, but always special to be there and capture it. The rest of the album follows below. Are you interested in photos, prints, or future collaborations? Get in touch .
