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Video: Flying around Le Mans in the Garage 56 Camaro

26th July 2024
Simon Ostler
The Centenary edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2023 was special for several reasons, among them the participation of the car that we ride on board with in this video. It’s the Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 as entered by a collaboration between NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports, and it’s an absolute savage.

Powered by a 5.8-litre naturally aspirated small block Chevrolet V8, the noise that rumbles from under the bonnet is monstrous, we wouldn’t be surprised to hear that residents in the local area of the Circuit de la Sarthe were struggling to sleep while this thing was out on the track.

It must have been quite the experience to drive a car like this around the famous Le Mans circuit, and here we get a little sense of that as we ride on board, V8 roaring, with Jenson Button during a night time practice session ahead of the 2023 race. Jenson’s clearly pushing on here, and we can see him pushing to the very outer limits of the tarmac through Tertre Rouge before setting off onto the Mulsanne Straight.

What strikes us from watching this back is just how agile this stock car looks to be through the chicanes. You’d half forgive this NASCAR for being a bit of a lump through the twisty bits, but the team running the car were able to work some serious magic.

It all goes quiet for a short while as Button swaps out for team-mate Mike Rockenfeller in the pitlane, but then before we know it that V8 is back up and running and we’re soaring along the Mulsanne once again.

We also get to experience the performance gap between this Garage 56 entrant and the top tier Hypercars as they absolutely fly by both on the straights and through the corners. The Le Mans 24 Hours is truly the world’s greatest motor race, but cars like this Camaro are what make it so.

Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day. Watch the last video: Get a closer look at this Hepworth GB-1 Can-Am at Festival of Speed  

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