How Ferrari scored a historic victory at Le Mans

Despite Toyota’s dominance of the Le Mans 24 Hours in recent years, there was a sense history was there for the taking for the Hypercar newcomers. Ferrari took that opportunity at the centenary race, and on its own return from a 50-year absence from the top class, but not without going through crashes, mechanical frights and almost everything else the Circuit de la Sarthe could throw at it

Could there have been a better result at the end of the centenary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours? Not one that would have made the headlines in quite the same way all over the world. Ferrari did the business at the first time of asking at the French enduro with its new 499P Le Mans Hypercar after a factory absence from the prototype ranks spanning 50 years. Better still, Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi prevailed at the end of a sometimes thrilling battle with the best of the Toyotas.

The #51 Ferrari beat the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMH driven by Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa by a shade over 80 seconds at the end of an incident-packed race of attrition affected by two rain storms, three safety cars of the real kind and five of the virtual variety known as Full Course Yellows. The Italian manufacturer looked well set on Sunday morning to take a first overall Le Mans victory since 1965. But Le Mans, as ever, provided some late jeopardy. 

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.