One thousand and seventeen – that’s the number of laps of the full 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit completed by the two SCG 007 LMH (chassis 708 and 709) in 2021, if we count Test Day, practice sessions and the race together. Over a 1000 laps, almost without incident, with both cars making it to the chequered flag (P3 and P4) on the Sunday. Quite an exploit. When you know just how tough the French endurance classic is, getting two cars to the finish and a podium in your maiden race testifies to some excellent preparation. “Jim’s really proud of that,” confirms Ryan Briscoe, driver of the #709 Glickenhaus 007 LMH alongside Richard Westbrook and Franck Mailleux. “Getting the cars to the finish is really important. Our car is not only fast, it’s reliable too. If we manage to set all the parameters right, I think we’re in with a chance of winning.”

What if Toyota failed to seal its fifth win in a row? Could another manufacturer spring a surprise? A team that has been building up its experience over the past decade or so, with entries at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for example, and that demonstrated its prowess on its first Le Mans outing last August? “Can we win? That’s an excellent question,” says Romain Dumas (teamed with Olivier Pla and Luis Felípe (Pipo) Derani in the #708 Glickenhaus 007 LMH. “We surprised a lot of people last year. Since then, we have continued to perform (third at the 1000 Miles of Sebring in March, pole position and P9 at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps). It’s David versus Goliath in this fight. We have a chance. Of that I’m sure.”

This is anything but lip service from the two-time Le Mans winner. He knows, perhaps more than anyone, how Le Mans chooses its winner. In 2016, he took his second win on the back of Toyota’s misfortunes, when the TS050 Hybrid ground to a halt just before the finish line with only minutes to go in the race. Prior to that he triumphed with Audi in 2010, and claimed the distance record even though on paper, his Audi R15+ marked a performance shortfall of several seconds a lap. “A lot of people seem to have forgotten all that and we now see the cars battling it out within a second of one another. But apart from performance over a lap, there are plenty of other factors that can contribute to victory.” Strategy, incidents during the race, the weather... so much is unpredictable at Le Mans. 

Jim Glickenhaus’s team is fielding two cars and will be keen to build on last year’s experience and reach even higher this time. The American’s cars are built in Italy with French engine and a German operating team. A truly international affair, as is so often the case at Le Mans.