GEARING UP FOR LE MANS AND THE CANADIAN GP

Can Fernando Alonso win Le Mans? Will Toyota finally break its jinx in the 24 Hours? How will Jenson Button fare on his debut? These are just some of the key questions ahead of this year’s endurance classic, which we preview in our special supplement this week ahead of the event on June 16-17. As the only works team left in LMP1, Toyota is the favourite, but its incredible catalogue of near-misses at Le Mans is a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted in the infamous French enduro. And if Toyota does win, will Alonso be one of the drivers celebrating, leaving just the Indianapolis 500 on his triple crown list? Le Mans has always been about variety of machinery, and the LMP2 and GTE classes look as strong as ever in 2018. Both are highly competitive, with top teams and drivers, so picking likely winners this year is even tougher than for outright honours. In our preview, we also look back at how Jan Lammers saved Jaguar from a late disaster to secure a famous victory in 1988, pick out the greatest sportscar drivers never to win the 24 Hours, and present some of the best memories of the event you’ve sent to us. Given his lack of luck so far this season, one driver who shouldn’t be thinking about Le Mans just yet is Valtteri Bottas. In this issue, the Mercedes driver tells Edd Straw why his current 42-point deficit to team-mate Lewis Hamilton is not a fair reflection of his 2018 performances (see page 16). Bottas needs a change of luck, particularly this weekend in the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal, where Hamilton has won six times and hasn’t lost since Daniel Ricciardo’s first Formula 1 victory in 2014.