Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic.
Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow.
Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer.
Photo: AFP
Ferrari made a triumphant return after a 50-year absence to land Le Mans’ centenary race in 2023, repeating the feat last year.
The Prancing Horse stable ended Toyota’s run of five consecutive wins from 2018 to 2022, with the Japanese manufacturer out to reclaim their crown 40 years after their first Le Mans appearance.
Ferrari’s position as the team to beat is bolstered by their bright start to the season, reeling off wins in the first three world endurance races in Qatar, Imola and Belgium.
However, Antonio Fuoco, who took the checkered flag 12 months ago, along with Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, is taking nothing for granted.
“Compared to last year, everyone is closer to the other; it’s going to be a tough battle,” the 29-year-old Italian driver said.
Ferrari team manager Batti Pregliasco is wary of the threat posed by Toyota.
“The idea of winning a third Le Mans in a row would be magnificent,” he said. “But the Toyotas are very strong here, because they have the experience, the ability and the means to win.”
Nyck de Vries was sharing driving duties in the Toyota that came off second best last year, and the 30-year-old Dutchman is hungry for revenge.
“Finishing second last year was a great result, but after such a long race, with so many different emotions, it felt bittersweet, so we want to put that right this year,” De Vries said.
Joining the 21 Hypercars are 17 entries in the LMP2 class and 24 in the LMGT3 category in an event that has been visited by tragedy over the years, with 22 drivers perishing.
Le Mans, where eye-watering speeds of up to 400kph have been reached on the Circuit de la Sarthe’s Mulsanne Straight, this weekend marks the 70th anniversary of the 1955 disaster when pieces of debris from Pierre Levegh’s car rained down on the crowd, killing 81 spectators, although a definitive death toll was never established.
A somber reminder then of the dangers faced by the 186 drivers competing — including the all-women Iron Dames LMGT3 team of Sarah Bovy, Rahel Fry and Celia Martin.
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