Le Mans! Three in a row!

     Spoiler alert: Ferrari wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans again, for the third time in a row.

 

     On June 14th, 2025, at 4 pm, two classes of Ferraris started a twenty-four hour grind. Since 1923 this historic race has pitted mechanical and personal endurance against other teams to win.

     This year Ferrari brought three 499P Hypercars to the course to compete against eighteen other competitors. The competition had to be stiff. Competitors were companies like Porsche, Cadillac, Aston Martin, Toyota and BMW. Even Peugeot fielded an entry.

     Stiff competition indeed. Ferrari finished first and third after twenty-four hours of racing. In fact, four cars completed the same number of laps.

     The winning AF Corse car was painted yellow to honor Jaques Swaters and the historic Francorchamps team. Maybe Mr. Swaters helped from above.

     In the LMGT3 class there were five Ferraris entered against nineteen other competitors. Again, the competition was formidable with the likes of Porsche, Corvette, Ford and Mercedes fielding cars.

     The Ferraris acquitted themselves well with a solid second place behind the winning Porsche. The Vista AF Corse team did well. Congratulations!

     To win Le Mans three years in a row is quite an accomplishment, especially with essentially the same car, the 499P. Can Ferrari repeat again next year?

     The last streak Ferrari had was six in a row from 1960 through 1965. The first three of those victories were with the potent Testa Rossa series with the 250 TR the first two years and the one-off 330 TRI/LM winning in 1962.

     The next two years saw the ‘P’ car win with a 250 and then a 275.

     The last of the streak in 1965 was a 250 LM S/N 5893 entered by NART. This LM has spent most of its life in the Indianapolis Museum until being recently sold.

     Not until the 499P came along did Ferrari win Le Mans again. Are we positioned to meet, or even break that record? I certainly hope so.