1. The Greatest Ever?: Was this the greatest 24 Hours of Le Mans in history?

Special circumstances this year helped cause the closeness of this year's race. Mainly rain which produced the longest safety car period in Le Mans history. It also helped produce the most safety car periods, which all allowed teams who ran into problems to erase those deficits, including the occasional drive around to get a lap back.

However, other factors also played into it. Like I (and many others) said a few years ago, the new rules introduced back then needed some time to come to fruition. And wow have they ever. Nine manufacturers in Hypercar with a tenth (Aston Martin) joining next year.

Though the Balance of Performance might have only worked for Ferrari, Toyota, and Porsche (and kind of, sort of for Cadillac), it still allowed us to never know which of those cars was going to end up winning. All that helped get nine cars on the lead lap at the finish, when never before has there ever been more than two.

It truly came down to driving, strategy, reliability, and some luck. I won't go through all the drama and craziness all the teams had to endure (other sources have done proper race recaps), but just imagine if they can get the BoP to also work for Alpine (but first they need to fix their lousy engine), BMW (but first they need to stop crashing), Peugeot (but first they need to sort out their new car), Lamborghini, and Isotta Fraschini (but first they need to up their game).

The real question is when do we ask that question? Because in 10 years, we may end up rating this race as "merely" the 10th greatest 24 Hours of Le Mans in history. That's how exciting this golden age of sports car racing is.

2. Is LMP2 Still Necessary?: The answer to this is yes and no. Personally, I have no side to lean towards on this debate.

Let's go with "no" first. There were 16 LMP2 cars in the field. So, the real question is, could Le Mans attract 16 more Hypercars and LMGT3 cars. Next year, Aston Martin enters the Hypercar fray and if Isotta Fraschini sticks around they will have to enter a second car, so that will be three more right there to add on to the 23 from this year. I could see a few more one off private entries coming from the Hypercar class.

LMGT3 could easily attract another 10 cars or so, based on the interest and the number of teams denied an entry, especially from the teams willing to do a one-off entry. So yeah, you may be able to find another 16 entries if LMP2 were eliminated.

Without a doubt, if you let more LMGT3 manufacturers in, you could easily get up to 62 total entries. But therein lies the problem and the reason why the answer is "yes." Because you can't let new manufacturers in.

LMP2 is already eliminated from the rest of the WEC calendar, because the 37-car limit, to go up to 40 in 2025, is easily met without LMP2. In fact, WEC had to be very strict which LMGT3 manufacturers they let in because the interest was so high.

And you can't let one-off manufacturers to just enter Le Mans because you will never have enough data to properly set the BoP. That would be grossly unfair to the full season commitments.

On top of that, IMSA, ELMS, and the Asian Le Mans Series awards automatic Le Mans entries to the LMP2 class. Taking that away could hurt entries for those regional series, especially the AsLMS. Not many European teams are going to spend the effort to compete in the AsLMS without that automatic bid available to them.

Therefore, in an holistic view, LMP2 is still needed at Le Mans.

3. Hyperpole Thriller: I have often said the two most useless things in sports is the starting lineup for an ice hockey game (except the goalie, of course) and pole position for a 24-hour race.

So, it was surprising I found myself watching the Hyperpole session on Thursday when I quite frankly didn't care about it. It turns out, I was glad I did.

That was one of the most enthralling qualifying sessions I have ever seen in all my years of watching auto racing.

First, hometown hero Sebastian Bourdais grabbed the initial provisional pole. It held for a while, and one started thinking he just might keep it. In fact, he had no plans to go back out for a second run.

Then, he got beaten, but by his own teammate, Earl Bamber, so the excitement within Cadillac was still high. The American manufactuer interested in getting into Formula 1 with Andretti Global was making a statement in the world's greatest endurance race.

However, in the waning moments, Kevin Estre, in the only Porsche to even run in the Hyperpole, was putting together an epic lap. Starting his fast lap just in time, dodging an LMGT3 car going into Indianapolis, hammering the curbing in the final turns, barely, and I mean barely, staying within track limits, Estre put in a lap for the ages to steal Cadillac's thunder.

I still maintain the actual pole position for Le Mans is meaningless. I also maintain I was (surprisingly) extremely entertained by the Hyperpole session. Both statements can be true.

Lobotomy of the Race Award: The WEC has a problem. They are failing miserably catering to the American sports car fan. Their TV/streaming rights deal in the States is a complete and utter disaster.

Formula 1 is booming in the United States thanks in part to Netflix's Drive to Survive, the number of races now up to three in the country, and a simple TV/streaming package (ESPN for TV and F1 TV for streaming) where you only need one or the other.

The TV contract for WEC belongs to MotorTrend TV. So, if you have a TV provider, you can watch all the WEC races. But, here's the catch. Only the U.S. round and Le Mans are shown in their entirety on MotorTrend TV (and even then, they sometimes cutoff the podium ceremonies). For all other races, MotorTrend TV only shows the first and last hour of a race. Seriously. It's insane.

So you say, well I'll buy the WEC TV streaming package (which also gives you all practice and qualifying sessions as well as the ELMS and support races like the Le Mans Cup) for $65/year. That will give me everything. Not so fast. The U.S. round and Le Mans are blacked out in America on WEC TV. I can't make this stuff up. Sure, you could hassle with a VPN, but that's particularly difficult if you want to watch it on your Smart TV or Roku-like device.

If you want one stop shopping, Max, through their B/R Sports add-on, does have the streaming rights for all WEC races, all in their entirety, as well as all practice and qualifying sessions, but not ELMS or support races. However, that will cost you the Max rate of $10/month (for their cheapest package) and the B/R Sports add-on rate of another $10/month (right now it's a free add-on, but that will change soon).

So, you either have to go with a double solution -- TV provider which has MotorTrend TV and the WEC TV streaming service -- or Max with B/R Sports add-on for $20/month. Even if you stop and go your subscription when races take place, you are still probably spending over $100 a year to follow WEC. And this for just eight races!

F1 TV costs $85/year ... for 24 races and all practice and qualifying sessions. Plus, you also get all FIA Formula 2, FIA Formula 3, F1 Academy, and Porsche Supercup races.

It's not like the WEC is popular in the U.S., while IMSA attendance is growing like wildfire. The last time WEC was at COTA, the attendance was abysmal. They were a big hit in Sebring, but of course they shared the weekend with the 12 Hours of Sebring IMSA event, a hugely popular race. So, in their infinite wisdom, they didn't like sharing, and they went back to COTA. Where they are being forced to sell already inexpensive weekend tickets of $69 as a two for one deal. That's how desperate they are to get people to show up.

Hey WEC, you have a bunch of lobotomized leaders running your show when it comes to trying to attract the American audience.

Special Mention: How can it not be the Hertz Team JOTA crew of the #12 Porsche 963 Hypercar?

When Callum Ilott crashed in FP3 -- in the very last minute -- he destroyed the car. And that was not hyperbole. It was literal. The chassis was a goner. So, the team had to acquire a new one, thanks to the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team, and build the car anew. A process which normally takes three weeks was completed in a bit over 24 hours.

Most crews don't sleep much during the race. This poor crew didn't sleep at all prior to the race. Then, when it was ready, they got special permission to shake it down at the airfield next door to the track.

Ironically, it was their #38 team car which ran into problems during the race, though it was the last car to finish on the lead lap. The #12 car ran nearly flawlessly, finishing eighth, beating their teammates by a spot. Massive kudos to that team.

If the rumors are correct that JOTA will take over the WEC factory effort for Cadillac, the American manufacturer will be in excellent hands.

A secondary shoutout to Nicklas Nielson, who put in one of the all time best clutch drives in the final stint to hold off the pursuing Toyota all while saving fuel (as one journalist said, they didn't end on fumes, they ended on air) in changing, treacherous conditions to give Ferrari their back-to-back victory.

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