Ferrari's new triumph at the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most legendary endurance race in the world! After winning the centenary edition in 2023, the Maranello team replicated their success this year with the Hypercar 499P number 50, driven to the finish line by Nicklas Nielsen, who shared the car with Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco. Completing Ferrari's success, the sister car number 51, driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi, took the third step on the podium.
This marks Ferrari's eleventh overall victory at the French circuit. Previous successes date back to 1949, 1954, 1958, and the years between 1960 and 1965. Let's retrace the stages, remembering the cars and drivers.
1949 – The first success with the Ferrari 166 MM, a two-seater spider without a soft top, the car that inaugurated the "barchetta" segment. At the wheel were Luigi Chinetti (USA) and Peter Mitchell-Thomson (GB), who covered 3,178.3 kilometers in 24 hours, at an average speed of 132.4 km/h
1954 – The Ferrari 375 Plus, a two-seater spider bodied by Pininfarina and produced in eight units, claimed victory. At the wheel were Argentine José Froilàn Gonzàlez and Frenchman Maurice Trintignant, who won by covering 4,061.1 kilometers of the race at an average speed of 169.2 km/h
1958/1960/ 1961 – Three victories for the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, a two-seater barchetta that dominated sports prototype races in those years, with only 34 units built, one of the most valuable Ferraris for collectors. The crews: in 1958, Oliver Gendebien (BE) and Phil Hill (USA), winners at an average of 170.9 km/h for 4,101.9 kilometers; in 1960, Gendebien's repeat performance paired with fellow Belgian Paul Frère, finishing with an average of 175.7 km/h for 4,217.5 km; in 1961, the Gendebien-Hill pair returned to victory at the wheel of the 250 TR 61 Spyder Fantuzzi (an evolution of the Test Rossa), with an average of 186.5 km/h for a total distance of 4,476.5 km
1962 – Designed in the recently opened wind tunnel in Maranello and specifically for the 24 Hours, the Ferrari 330 TR achieved its goal, driven by the well-tested Gendebien-Hill pair; an average of 185.4 km/h for a total of 4,451.2 kilometers covered
1963 – The race was won by the first barchetta with a central engine, the Ferrari 250 P; an all-Italian crew with Ludovico Scarfiotti and Lorenzo Bandini, who prevailed at an average of 190 km/h for 4,561.71 kilometers
1964 – The Ferrari 275 P, an evolution of the winning car from the previous edition of the French classic, was first at the finish line; at the wheel were Italian Nino Vaccarella and Frenchman Jean Guichet, with an average of 195.6 km/h for a total distance of 4,695.31 kilometers
1965 – A road car produced in too few units to be homologated in the Gran Turismo category of the World Sportscar Championship, the Ferrari 250 LM (Le Mans, precisely) won many important races, and with drivers Jochen Rindt (AT) and Masten Gregory (USA), it achieved the ninth victory at the 24 Hours
The Maranello team seems ready for a new winning streak!
