15 June 2023
The last time Ferrari won the legendary Le Mans was in 1965 when Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt raced a near-obsolete 250LM for the North America Racing Team.
More remarkable, it had to compete above its weight class in the Le Mans Prototype category against proper LMP1 cars.
Forty-eight years later, the Ferrari AF Corse’s No. 51 499P Hypercar won the Le Mans 24 Hours — the centenary edition of the event first run in 1923.
This year they competed in the new hyper-class category devoted to hybrid technology.
Prior to the race, the Toyota Gazoo team were firm favourites, having had five previous wins putting Toyota ahead of every historic factory effort by Bentley, Jaguar, Ferrari, Audi, and Porsche.
However, they faced a setback when race officials controversially adjusted the ‘balance of performance’, adding extra weight to the dominant GR010s.
Ferrari’s chances were further enhanced when Kamui Kobayashi crashed out of the race, leaving Toyota with only one car against Ferrari’s two cars.
The one-hundredth anniversary of the world’s greatest endurance race provided a great spectacle for the crowds who witnessed fascinating battles in every class, with the outcome still uncertain until the final stages.
Reminiscent of Le Mans 66.
The 2024 Le Mans is set to be Electrifying.
