Unimaginable outcome at Le Mans for Ferrari, who wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Hypercar for the second consecutive 12 months. After 50 years since its final participation, the Maranello workforce manages to realize two consecutive successes in as many appearances, this time triumphing with the quantity 50 automobile pushed by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, and Nicklas Nielsen. On the French circuit, a loopy and unpredictable race unfolded, influenced by quite a few uncertainties, together with these associated to the chilly temperatures, rain, and the tire blanket ban, which made tire administration and post-pit cease phases much more sophisticated.
Proper from the beginning, Ferrari proved able to combat for the victory, with the quantity 50 automobile instantly taking the lead from fourth place on the grid, confirming a high pace higher than that of rivals Porsche and Cadillac. In the course of the preliminary phases of the race, because of completely different methods and intermittent rain showers, a number of groups alternated within the lead, with Toyota and Porsche rising because the fiercest opponents.
The primary main turning level of the race occurred at night time, when with the setting of the solar got here the primary neutralizations because of a number of accidents that affected the occasions: the race route was progressively pressured to introduce a number of Sluggish Zones, then shifting to Full Course Yellow durations, and at last calling the Security Automobile. The primary to endure from the advanced state of affairs, between reliability points and site visitors administration difficulties, had been the 2 Alpines and the 2 BMW automobiles, each out after a couple of hours with their LMDh making their debut this 12 months at Le Mans.
The second BMW was notably unfortunate in a contact with the shopper Ferrari quantity 83 pushed by Robert Kubica: the Polish driver, who had been performing extremely as much as that time, even main the race, inadvertently crashed into the BMW throughout the lapping of a GT3. The race route had no doubts in penalizing the yellow Ferrari with a 30-second Cease & Go, which briefly put it out of the working for the victory, earlier than its ultimate retirement 3.5 hours from the tip because of a reliability subject.
Among the many night time incidents to notice was the one which led to the retirement of the quantity 46 BMW of Valentino Rossi, which had been sensationally main within the GT3 class: the “Physician” was, nonetheless, fully innocent, because it was his teammate with a “Bronze” license, the Omani Ahmad Al Harthy, who crashed. Along with the chilly temperatures, a heavy night time rainstorm that led to a prolonged Security Automobile section lasting about 4 hours, from 4 a.m. to eight a.m., additionally froze the race.
At daybreak, a brand new starting unfolded, with the final 8 hours representing a form of further spherical by which all of the protagonists needed to rebuild their race. Ferrari and Toyota continued to alternate within the lead till yet one more twist occurred, particularly one other arrival of rain that disrupted the protagonists’ plans 2 hours from the tip. After the pit cease spherical to change again to moist tires, the race gave the impression to be a four-way affair between the 2 Ferrari automobiles and the 2 Toyota automobiles, when two extra twists additional modified the state of affairs.
The quantity 51 Ferrari certainly hit the quantity 8 Toyota, in a maneuver judged to warrant a penalty by the stewards, with the Japanese automobile pressured to restart after a spin. On the identical time, the main quantity 50 Ferrari with Nicklas Nielsen obtained a black flag with an orange circle as a result of proper door remaining barely open after the pit cease. The additional cease for the quantity 50 handed the digital result in the quantity 7 Toyota, which had began from the again of the Hypercar grid, but in addition allowed Antonino Coletta’s workforce to alter technique, trying the gamble of constructing one much less cease than their rivals.
This gamble led to an extremely thrilling ultimate hour and a half of the race, with Toyota pushing arduous and Ferrari managing gas, attempting to not squander a lead that was about 50 seconds for the final 50 minutes of the race after the ultimate spherical of stops. Astonishingly, the victory went to the 499P pushed by Nicklas Nielsen, able to managing the race like a real champion, reaching the end line with the tank virtually empty. Second on the checkered flag was the Japanese producer’s prototype, which for the second consecutive 12 months noticed the victory slip away within the ultimate levels of the Le Mans race.
Rounding out the celebration for the Maranello workforce was the third place of the quantity 51, final 12 months’s winner and this 12 months once more on the rostrum. For Ferrari, it’s the eleventh victory at Le Mans, the second within the 499P period, a challenge strongly desired underneath the presidency of John Elkann with the racing workforce managed by Antonino Coletta with the AF Corse workforce.
Ferrari subsequently returns to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans within the “total” class with the Hypercar 499P. Absent for half a century from the prototype/endurance world championship, it has claimed the distinguished French race for 2 consecutive years. That alone can be sufficient to make us pleased. Very pleased. And as incurable romantics, we think about Enzo Ferrari up there having a blast together with his prancing horse again within the Olympus. The place solely the best belong. And, maybe, the best workforce. Returning to victory within the centennial race and repeating the success the next 12 months. It’s sufficient to be overwhelmed with pleasure!
If the primary victory after the good return was lovely, this one was decidedly extra so. For the numerous contenders, for the quite a few variables, for the dangers taken. For the hard-fought, repeated victory, and subsequently completely unbelievable. Ultimately, automobile quantity 51 pushed by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen triumphed in a tightly contested race that was determined solely within the ultimate moments, with the chance of working out of gas and parking the automobile empty-handed.
Final 12 months, Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado, with automobile quantity 50, certainly clinched the centennial version in 2023 and confirmed their podium end on this 12 months’s 24-hour race by taking third place. This marks the prancing horse’s eleventh total victory within the basic French endurance marathon and the second consecutive one, as talked about earlier. Earlier victories date again to 1949, 1954, 1958, and from 1960 to 1965 (the latter gained by Masten Gregory-Jochen Rindt and Ed Hugus). The Sixties additionally impressed one of many most interesting current movies on motorsport, “Ford v Ferrari – Le Mans ’66: The Nice Problem.”
The lifetime of a Ferrari fan had been considerably tied virtually solely to Method 1 for half a century, with blended fortunes, one dominant period, and plenty of defeats. After which comes this unbelievable second consecutive victory in essentially the most lovely, iconic, and difficult race in the complete historical past of motorsport. It reminds us that Ferrari is aware of the right way to win. That it has succesful folks beginning with Coletta. That it possesses power, willpower, strategic imaginative and prescient, risk-taking, and typically even luck.
Ferrari won’t have been the quickest (which in an endurance race isn’t decisive however nonetheless related) however the Maranello workforce was at all times prepared competes in opposition to Toyota. And at occasions luck helps the daring. Or misfortune turns into an surprising assist. And for a second, Method 1 appears distant. In a method, Ferrari appears to have returned residence. The place it wrote the primary, nice chapters of its distinctive and unbelievable historical past. And by no means was a selection extra proper, targeted, victorious, than eager to return to the WEC World Championship to compete once more at Le Mans. Effectively performed, President Elkann. Now, on to Method 1.
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