Ferrari makes a stunning comeback to Le Mans after half a century, and beats Toyota in the most epic race ever!

LEMANS, France — ferrari ended a 50-year absence from the 24 Hours of le mans knocking down mighty Toyota in the centenary race of the most iconic sports car race in the world.

Ferrari last competed at Le Mans in 1973, but returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe this year as part of a new hyperclass category featuring hybrid technology.

The hyperclass came from a convergence of rules that allowed competitors from the United States sports car series, IMSA, to compete at Le Mans, and also created an attractive platform that automakers saw as an opportunity to showcase their street . car technology.

Ferrari developed its program: a two-car effort that competes in the World Cup Endurance Championship – for several years in a strategy similar to that described in “Ford v Ferrari,” the film that focused on the boardroom pressures and drama surrounding Ford’s successful 1963 effort to end Ferrari’s reign at Le Mans.

Only this time it was Ferrari trying to take down a giant; the two-car effort from Toyota Gazoo, which had entered the twice-daily race that ended Sunday with a five-year winning streak.

Toyota took a hit before the race even started when race officials this week added extra weight to the dominant GR010s in a controversial “performance balance” adjustment designed to level the playing field.

Ferrari in a pair of 499Ps swooped in and swept the front row in qualifying and handled every challenge from Toyota. His chances were favored overnight when kamui kobayashi he was eliminated from the race, making it two against one in favor of Ferrari.

The trio of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, with Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc in the garage watching, were the easy winners. The trio had a solid lead even before defending race winner Ryō Hirakawa closed out the brakes in his Toyota and hit the wall with 1 hour, 44 minutes remaining.

It took about three minutes to repair to the car, there wasn’t enough time to help Chip Ganassi Racing, who flew the American flag at Le Mans for IMSA.

The centenary marked the first year that IMSA’s top class was allowed to take part in Le Mans, and the new hyperclass brought Cadillac back to IMSA and WEC with Ganassi, same for Porsche with Roger Penske in the 86-year-old’s attempt to win one of the few races left on his list. It also generated strong interest from new manufacturers in sports car racing, helping to draw a sold-out crowd of over 300,000 to the sprawling 8,467-mile (13,626 km) track.

Ganassi’s Cadillacs were trailing third and fourth when Hirakawa spun, eliminating the defending champions’ chances of a replay. But it briefly created an opportunity for one or both of the Cadillacs to improve their finishing position.

Toyota executed flawlessly at their pit stop and the Cadillacs did not gain any ground. It was the WEC team of Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook who took the final podium spot, with the IMSA team of Le Mans native Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon finishing fourth.

Ferrari’s second car finished fifth, one place ahead of Team Penske’s Porsche, which finished top. His other two 963s retired early.

The third Cadillac, shipped by Action Express Coming out of IMSA, he crashed on the first lap of the race and was never in contention. This team has the support of IMSA and NASCAR owner Jim France, who He successfully brought a stock car to Le Mans to represent the American series in its 75th anniversary season.

NASCAR was last around at Le Mans in 1976 and returned this year with a second-year version of its Next Gen car. He The “Garage 56” car was introduced by Hendrick Motorsports, chevrolet and Goodyear, the winningest team, manufacturer and tire supplier in NASCAR’s 75 years.

the number 24 shrimp It was in a class of its own racing against other cars. The initial goal was simply to finish the race and showcase NASCAR, but the The project directed by Chad Knaus was so outstanding that until a problem with the brakes with about five hours remaining, it seemed that the lineup of seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, Formula One champion in 2009 jenson button and former Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller could beat all 21 GTE AM cars.

The time to fix the brakes knocked him off the table, and he felt like a disappointment at all that NASCAR had accomplished. The car had a later issue that required a gearbox change, but the engine went the distance and the car crossed under the checkered flag for a champagne celebration of NASCAR’s effort.

The car finished 39th in the 62-car field, good enough for 10th among GTE cars. The Camaro was second when he had to stop to change the brakes.