24h Le Mans
In the wake of the announcement of Ferrari’s return to the top level of endurance racing in 2023 in the Hypercar class, we have selected six interesting facts from the Italian marque’s history at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
With nine outright wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ferrari is the third most successful manufacturer in the race’s history. The Italian carmaker sits behind Audi (13 wins) and Porsche (19 wins). Ferrari came out on top in 1949, 1954, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965. The marque founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1947 is a major player in the LMGTE classes too. Last year, no fewer than 16 examples of the 488 GTE Evo lined up on the Le Mans grid.
Forty-nine cars contested the first post-war edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held on 25-26 June 1949, four years on from the end of the hostilities. Two years after its inception, Ferrari took its first steps at Le Mans with two 166 MMs powered by a 2-litre V12 engine. These cars were not officially entered by the Italian manufacturer but by privateers. One of them, Lord Selsdon, teamed up with American Luigi Chinetti, two-time winner of the 24 Hours with Alfa Romeo in 1932 and 1934. His experience of the race proved decisive. Chinetti left very little time for his co-driver to take the wheel (a shade over an hour during the night), preferring to rely on his experience to coax the car to the chequered flag despite a troublesome clutch. French president Vincent Auriol looked on as Ferrari secured its first Le Mans win.
The former aircraft mechanic was a major protagonist in Ferrari’s early involvement with the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After the Second World War had ended, Chinetti persuaded Enzo Ferrari to return to car production and became a true representative of the Italian marque through his success in prestigious events such as the 24-hour races at Le Mans and Spa in 1949. Having urged Ferrari to sell cars in North America, Chinetti gave up his sporting career to become an ambassador and importer of the brand in the USA. In the mid-fifties, he created the North America Racing Team (NART) to put Ferraris on the racetrack. NART brought Ferrari its last outright Le Mans win in 1965 with the 250 LM.
After making his Le Mans début in a Porsche in 1955, finishing fifth overall, Olivier Gendebien joined Ferrari in 1956 where he teamed up with Maurice Trintignant (third overall). As an expert of the great marathon road races of the fifties, Gendebien was perfectly cut out for endurance. Partnering American Phil Hill and his fellow Belgian Paul Frère, he notched up no fewer than four Le Mans wins with Ferrari (1958, 1960, 1961 and 1962). However, it is alleged that the relationship between Gendebien and Enzo Ferrari was somewhat cool and distant. The Belgian ace hardly appreciated the management style of the one nicknamed “Il Commandatore” (The Commander). And yet, Ferrari had nothing but praise for Gendebien. He referred to the driver as “a gentleman who never forgets that noblesse oblige and, when he is at the wheel, he translates this code of behaviour into an elegant and discerning forcefulness”.
Ferrari won the 24 Hours of Le Mans an impressive six times in a row between 1960 and 1965. Such domination by a single marque had never previously been experienced at the legendary French race. The Italian firm owed its string of successes to its 250 series: 250 TR, 250 GT SWB, 250 GTO, 250 P and 250 LM.
Italy is the fourth most successful nation at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the strength of Ferrari’s nine wins, plus the four achieved by Alfa Romeo. Only France (15 wins by Bugatti, Chenard & Walcker, Delahaye, Lorraine Dietrich, Matra-Simca, Peugeot, Renault, Rondeau and Talbot), Great Britain (17 wins by Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Lagonda, McLaren and Mirage) and Germany (34 wins by Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche) have seen a greater number of successes by their manufacturers.
PHOTO: A 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta at the last Le Mans Classic.
