Magnussen's Le Mans Hopes Dashed by Technical Issues

The Danish driver was fighting at the sharp end of the Hypercar field in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans when technical issues forced the team into the garage just two hours before the finish.

Kevin Magnussen has now experienced firsthand just how unforgiving the 24 Hours of Le Mans can be. The Dane and his teammates from BMW M Team WRT, Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello, were in contention for a top result in the premier class when they were forced to bring their Hypercar into the garage due to technical issues – only two hours before the chequered flag.

The trio had made a strong start, securing fourth place in Thursday’s third and final qualifying session, allowing Kevin Magnussen to start this year’s 24-hour race from the second row of the grid. From there, Magnussen, Vanthoor, and Marciello maintained a solid presence at the front of the Hypercar field for many of the race’s opening hours.

“We felt we had a strong car with real potential, but we knew going in that the competition – especially from Ferrari and Porsche – would be fierce. It was a fight for position from the very first lap, and we focused on staying consistent and trouble-free throughout the race, staying on the lead lap, and hopefully being in a position to fight for top spots in the closing stages,” said Kevin Magnussen.

The trio stuck to the plan for the first 22 hours and had fought their way into the top five during the night. But on Saturday afternoon – just two hours before the end – the car was suddenly called into the garage. While BMW M Team WRT mechanics attempted to fix an issue with the cooling system in the hybrid unit, valuable positions slipped away. The team eventually managed to get the car back on track to finish the race – but only in a disappointing 19th place.

The sister car, driven by Robin Frijns, René Rast, and Sheldon van der Linde, was also forced into the garage around the same time due to an engine issue. They had to settle for 18th place.

"It’s a tough one to swallow for the whole team, which put in a tremendous effort. Le Mans is the focal point of the entire program, and now we’ll have to wait a whole year for another shot. We’ll go home, analyse everything, and keep working on the car so we can come back stronger,” said Kevin Magnussen.