Hanafin targets Le Mans success as official track action begins

Hanafin targets Le Mans success as official track action begins

Official track action gets underway today, Wednesday, for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the first free practice and qualifying sessions taking place ahead of the weekend’s race.

Adding local interest to the grid is 23-year-old Lorcan Hanafin, who has secured a late entry to drive TF Sport’s number 82 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R. Although based in Leeds, Hanafin has strong family connections to Tralee. He replaces Malaysian driver Afiq Ikhwan Yazid in the car, which is a joint-effort entry between the British squad and Johor Motorsports JMR.

Hanafin will join Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Ben Green, bringing vital event experience to the otherwise all-rookie lineup. The young driver made his Le Mans debut last year in an Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG and has prior experience with the Corvette platform from his 2025 GT World Challenge Europe campaign with Steller Motorsport.

This season, Hanafin is tackling an intensive triple programme across three different championships. He heads to France immediately following a class podium finish at Monza with Ecurie Ecosse Blackthorn, alongside his commitments with GR Racing in the European Le Mans Series and JMF Motorsports in GT World Challenge America.

“I raced Le Mans for the first time last year and it’s a very special event,” Hanafin said. “The scrutineering, the driver’s parade, the circuit itself and the whole atmosphere in the town is really special.

“I’m very excited to be working with Prince Jefri, Ben Green and the whole JMR team this year. I think we can get a good result – we’ve got a very good line-up, JMR builds a very fast race car and the team is very strong, with numerous podiums and race wins around the world. We just need to be consistent, fast, stay out of trouble, and make sure we’re in the fight when the sun comes up.”