The 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place for the 92nd time this weekend, and this year, seven graduates and three 2024 drivers from junior single-seaters will be competing in the race, one of the most anticipated motorsport events in the world. If you’re wondering which drivers you should keep an eye on this weekend, here are 10 familiar names you won’t want to miss!

By Laura Anequini

Drivers included in this list are either competing in a junior single-seater championship in 2024 or did so for the duration of 2023. All 10 drivers are racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time. They are sorted in order of starting position for the race, which begins Saturday at 16:00 CEST in Le Mans, France.

Carl Bennett: #11 Isotta Fraschini (Hypercar)

2023 series: Formula Winter Series, F4 US, Brazilian F4, Spanish F4 and Eurocup-3
FIA driver rating: Silver
Grid position: P22 (overall); P22 (Hypercar)
Teammates: Antonio Serravalle, Jean-Karl Vernay

In 2023, Thai-American driver Carl Bennett raced in several junior single-seater championships. He contested two rounds of the Formula Winter Series before his F4 US campaign with Gonella Racing, which he finished 13th with 37 points and one win. He also raced in two rounds of Brazilian F4 with Bassani Racing and in Spanish F4 and Eurocup-3 with GRS Team.

Later in the year, he made the switch to endurance racing by joining Duqueine Team in the Asian Le Mans Series’ LMP2 class. His team finished the 2023–24 season ninth in the LMP2 class out of 13 entries.

After his Asian Le Mans Series campaign, Bennett joined new Hypercar team Isotta Fraschini in WEC in place of the originally announced Alex García. The Italian luxury car marque, revived in 2022 after a 23-year slumber, have had a difficult start to life in WEC, with a best result of 15th from the three races so far.

Bennett joins Le Mans rookie Antonio Serravalle and returnee Jean-Karl Vernay – who last competed in the event in 2013 – in car #11. He is the only driver racing in the Hypercar class this weekend who competed in junior single-seaters in 2023.

Nolan Siegel: #22 United Autosports (LMP2)

2024 series: Indy Nxt
FIA driver rating: Gold
Grid position: P28 (overall); P5 (class)
Teammates: Bijoy Garg, Oliver Jarvis

Nolan Siegel’s 2024 has been exceptionally busy. Competing in Indy NXT for HMD Motorsports, the 19-year-old has shown strong performance in the championship and currently sits fourth with one win and 177 points. He would’ve been even higher if he hadn’t withdrawn from the last round at Road America to substitute for Agustín Canapino at Juncos Hollinger Racing in IndyCar following a social media controversy involving the Argentinian driver.

Despite stepping in only on Friday afternoon, Siegel managed to qualify 21st and finish the race in 23rd.  With Canapino’s return to the JHR seat confirmed Wednesday, Siegel is only set to make one more IndyCar appearance this year in Toronto.

Alongside his single-seater career, Siegel has also accumulated significant experience in sports cars, beginning with appearances in an Audi GT4 car in the Michelin Pilot Challenge. Siegel made two appearances at the 24 Hours of Daytona in LMP3 machinery before tackling the event in an LMP2 car this year. Last year, he also finished fifth in the Asian Le Mans Series’ LMP2 class.

The American driver will compete in the LMP2 class with United Autosports, sharing driving duties with veteran Oliver Jarvis and fellow rookie Bijoy Garg. The #22 car, like all the others in the LMP2 class, is a Gibson-powered Oreca-07.

Ritomo Miyata: #37 Cool Racing (LMP2)

2024 series: Formula 2
FIA driver rating: Platinum
Grid position: P29 (overall); P6 (class)
Teammates: Lorenzo Fluxá, Malthe Jakobsen

Miyata is a well-known name in the Japanese racing landscape. In 2023, he won the Super Formula title with an impressive three wins and top-five finishes in every other race. He also won the Super GT title, both while racing with TOM’s.

This year, Miyata made an unexpected shift to the European junior ladder by joining Rodin Motorsport in F2, becoming the first Super Formula driver in a decade to make such a move. However, his F2 performance hasn’t matched his past successes. Miyata is only 15th in the standings, with a best finish of fifth in both races in Australia.

Besides racing in F2, the Japanese driver continues to compete in various endurance series. Miyata has made two last-minute cameo appearances in WEC in GT cars, once last year at Fuji and again last month at Spa, as well as a 24 Hours of Daytona appearance with Vasser Sullivan.

His main endurance campaign is in ELMS with Cool Racing, and the trio composed of Miyata, Lorenzo Fluxá and Malthe Jakobsen – is currently third in the standings in their category in ELMS. They will share car #37 this weekend at Le Mans.

Lorenzo Fluxá: #37 Cool Racing (LMP2)

2023 series: Formula Regional Europe; 2024 series: Euroformula Open
FIA driver rating: Silver
Grid position: P29 (overall); P6 (class)
Teammates: Malthe Jakobsen, Ritomo Miyata

A rookie in ELMS this year, Lorenzo Fluxá will also race at Le Mans for the first time. Last year, the 19-year-old raced in Formula Regional Europe with Prema, finishing seventh in the standings, and in Formula Regional Middle East with the Prema-run Mumbai Falcons team, finishing fourth.

After three seasons at the Formula Regional level, Fluxá made the switch to ELMS this season. Aside from racing in ELMS, Fluxá made a one-round cameo in Euroformula Open with Team Motopark earlier this year, taking a win and two more podiums, as well as an appearance three weeks ago in International GT Open’s Spa round.

For Le Mans, the Spaniard remains with ELMS teammates Miyata and Jakobsen – the only driver with prior Le Mans experience – at Cool Racing in the LMP2 class.

Kyffin Simpson: #24 Nielsen Racing (LMP2)

2023 series: Indy Nxt
FIA driver rating: Gold
Grid position: P33 (overall); P10 (LMP2)
Teammates: David Heinemeier Hansson, Fabio Scherer

After a tumultuous first year in Indy Lights in 2022 punctuated by a team switch, Kyffin Simpson continued in the renamed Indy Nxt championship last year with HMD Motorsports, finishing 10th in the standings with two podiums.

Alongside his 2023 campaign, the Barbados-born Caymanian also drove in ELMS and Asian Le Mans, winning the LMP2 title in the former and finishing third in the latter.

This season, he graduated from junior single-seaters to IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing after being part of the team’s driver development programme for two years. He is currently 19th in the standings with a best finish of 12th at the season opener.

For his Le Mans debut, Simpson will join Nielsen Racing in the LMP2 class. He will share the car with experienced silver David Heinemeier Hansson and Fabio Scherer, who was a part of the winning Inter Europol entry in LMP2 last year. Though it is Simpson’s first time at Le Mans, it is not his first 24-hour race, as he has participated in the past three editions of 24 Hours of Daytona.

Clément Novalak: #34 Inter Europol Competition (LMP2)

2023 series: Formula 2
FIA driver rating: Gold
Grid position: P34 (overall); P11 (class)
Teammates: Jakub Śmiechowski, Vladislav Lomko

Clément Novalak was a British F3 champion and a six-time F3 podium finisher, but he had a much tougher time adapting to F2. After a difficult first full season in 2022, Novalak left MP and moved to Trident for 2023. He managed to secure a win in the feature race in Zandvoort, becoming the first Trident driver to do so in more than nine years, but vacated his seat after the following round and missed the finale. He finished 17th in the standings.

He transitioned to endurance racing this year and now races in ELMS with Inter Europol, partnering ex-F2 driver Luca Ghiotto and Oliver Gray, who raced in F3 last season. The trio are 10th in the LMP2 standings.

Novalak will race with the team in Le Mans for his first time, partnering Vladislav Lomko and Jakub Śmiechowski in the LMP2 class. While Lomko failed to finish last year, Śmiechowski won the class.

Macéo Capietto: #9 Proton Competition (LMP2)

2023 series: Formula Regional Europe
FIA driver rating: Silver
Grid position: P35 (overall); P12 (LMP2)
Teammates: Jonas Ried, Bent Viscaal

After having fought for the French F4 title in 2021 and raced two seasons in Formula Regional, Macéo Capietto, the son of Prema’s team manager Guillaume Capietto, now races with the Iron Lynx–Proton joint entry in the European Le Mans Series.

There, the 18-year-old is paired with Matteo Cairoli and Jonas Ried. The trio currently sit 12th in the LMP2 standings after retiring from the opening round in Barcelona and finishing ninth in Le Castellet.

Capietto, one of the youngest drivers in this year’s Le Mans event, will race for Proton Competition alongside current teammate Ried and Bent Viscaal, two drivers that already have experience in the race. Like Capietto, both are recent endurance converts, with Ried leaving F4 in 2022 and Viscaal making the switch after his sole F2 season in 2021.

Frederik Vesti: #47 Cool Racing

2023 series: Formula 2
FIA driver rating: Platinum
Grid position: P37 (overall); P14 (class)
Teammates: Matthew Bell, Naveen Rao

Vesti, another graduate from F2, fought for the championship title with Prema until the last round. He led the standings for much of the season but ended up losing by 11 points.

As part of the Mercedes Junior Team, Vesti also drove in two free practice sessions for the Mercedes F1 team last year. He is now one of their reserve drivers, sharing the role with Mick Schumacher.

After two years in F2, Vesti moved from competing in single-seaters to endurance racing. Now driving with Cool Racing in ELMS’ LMP2 class, Vesti partners F3 graduate García and Paul-Loup Chatin, deputising for the injured Ferdinand Habsburg. Vesti, García and Chatin are seventh in the points, having taken second place last time at Paul Ricard.

He is set to make his Le Mans debut this weekend, sharing his duties with returnee Matt Bell and fellow debutant Naveen Rao.

Esteban Masson: #87 Akkodis ASP Team (LMGT3)

2023 series: Eurocup-3, Formula Regional Europe
FIA driver rating: Silver
Grid position: P49 (overall); P10 (LMGT3)
Teammates: Jack Hawksworth, Takeshi Kimura

After winning the French F4 title in 2021, Masson ran a full season in Formula Regional Europe – split between FA Racing and ART Grand Prix – but struggled mightily and took only one point. He returned to selected rounds of the championship last season with Saintéloc Racing, managing to secure his and the team’s first podium at Paul Ricard.

His main commitment last season, however, was Eurocup-3 with Campos Racing.  Having battled Mari Boya for the title until the final race, Masson ultimately won the championship with a 30-point difference. The week before doing so, the 19-year-old made his endurance racing debut in the 8 Hours of Bahrain, finishing fifth in the race.

Although the expected progression from Eurocup-3 would have been to move up to F3, Masson opted to transition to endurance racing in the LMGT3 class this season. He now races with Akkodis ASP Team in WEC, partnering José María López and Takeshi Kimura, and in ELMS with Kessel Racing, which collaborates with Kimura’s Car Guy Racing outfit. Masson and his co-drivers have had difficult starts to the year, and his teams sit 18th in the former and 10th in the latter.

For his first time at Le Mans, Masson will race in the #87 Lexus RC F GT3 car alongside veteran bronze Kimura and Jack Hawksworth, who will make his debut after López was called up to Toyota’s Hypercar line-up last week to replace the injured Mike Conway.

Grégoire Saucy: #59 United Autosports (LMGT3)

2023 series: Formula 3
FIA driver rating: Gold
Grid position: P50 (overall); P11 (LMGT3)
Teammates: Nicolas Costa, James Cottingham

Grégoire Saucy comes to endurance racing after two seasons racing in F3 with ART Grand Prix, with whom he finished 15th and 14th in the standings in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Though the 2021 Formula Regional Europe champion had a difficult time in F3, he managed to score two podiums and a pole position last year and comfortably outclassed his teammates.

Saucy transitioned to endurance racing this year, competing in both ELMS and WEC. He and TDS Racing teammates Rodrigo Sales and Mathias Beche currently lead the LMP2 Pro-Am standings in ELMS after winning their class at Paul Ricard.

For his Le Mans debut, the Swiss driver will join his WEC teammates, Nicolas Costa and James Cottingham, in the #59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo run by United Autosports. They are 11th in the WEC LMGT3 standings after finishing fourth last time out at Spa. All three are making their Le Mans debuts as McLaren returns to the event for the first time since 1998, the year before Saucy was born.

Header photo credit: Antonin Vincent / ACO