MOTORSPORT
Damien Smith
RACING LINES
Le Mans always delivers atmosphere, but this year’s racing was epic
Rosberg’s RXR team left the rest eating dust to win the title
My personal motorsport highlight in 2023? The season peaked when I took a stroll between 4am and 6am on Sunday 11 June. It’s not typical weekend behaviour, I can assure you. But at the 100th anniversary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, a spot of fresh air and exercise at such an ungodly time seemed entirely sane and natural. Such was the racing duel playing out that fatigue became irrelevant. This had been the most hyped Le Mans for years, not only because of Ferrari’s return to the premier class for a first proper crack at the race in half a century but also because of the sheer number of top-line manufacturers lured in by the clever Hypercar regulations. Toyota’s Cologne-based squad, bidding for a sixth consecutive win, faced not only Ferrari but also the combined might of Porsche, Cadillac and Peugeot – all of which led the race at one point or another. Yes, on-off rain and questionable safety car/slow-zone regulations created a mixed-up narrative, but the intensity and spectacle across the first half made the regular wheel-to-wheel action utterly absorbing. Only at 4am, once I had filed a half-time report, did I feel safe to peel my eyes from the TV and timing screens and head out to see it in the metal.