LE MANS GOLDEN BOYS?

This is the Porsche in which a crack British privateer team and a former F1 world champion hope to achieve Le Mans immortality. And it's not even a long shot, as Damien Smith discovers

- Damien Smith

David and Goliath? It’s an old sporting cliché. But in biblical terms the parallel to plucky British privateer Jota taking on and attempting to beat the mighty manufacturers at the Le Mans 24 Hours is not only apt but more pertinent than we might at first think.

How a young shepherd boy defeated a giant warrior with a humble slingshot in 1012BC has become modern shorthand for the champion underdog. But scholars argue the original point of the story was not David’s bravery in the face of unequal odds, but the awesome power of God. That’s why David was able to defeat Goliath. Likewise, you could say Jota too has God on its side – in the shape of the greatest and most successful sports car maker of them all. In other words, the Kent-based team should absolutely be considered in the mix to score what would be Porsche’s epochal 20th victory at the world’s most famous endurance motor race come June 15-16.

That’s especially true when you consider the timing of Jota doubling its attack on the Hypercar class from one customer Porsche 963 LMDh racer to two. Already in 2024, the model in its second season has conquered the Daytona 24 Hours and the opening round of the World Endurance Championship in Qatar, in the hands of factory ally Penske. Jota was the meat in a Porsche 1-2-3 sandwich at Losail, benefitting from late woe for Peugeot but showing meritorious pace on a par with Porsche Penske Motorsport.