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Ferrari will Race a Hypercar at Le Mans, But will it Regain its Former Glory?

Earlier this week Ferrari made a somewhat surprising announcement, laying out plants to return to endurance racing and the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a top-tier hypercar. That's big news because at the time it will happen in 2023, Ferrari will return to top-flight racing after exactly 50 years. But will Maranello recapture its former glory on Circuit de la Sarthe?
Ferrari 330 P3 9 photos
Photo: Ferrari
Ferrari 250PFerrari 250PFerrari 275PFerrari 330 P3Ferrari 333 SPFerrari wins at Le MansFerrari 250PFerrari 275P
Ferrari left the so-called prototype class of endurance racing back in 1973. Crushed by Ford and then Porsche for several years in the row, Enzo pulled his company away from the endurance scene to focus on Formula One. Since then, the Scuderia has one 14 of its 16 titles to become the most successful F1 team. But Ferrari also holds a solid record at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Early debut and win

Ferrari's affair with the iconic endurance race can be traced back to 1949, the first edition of the 24-hour event after World War II. This race saw Luigi Chinetti and Peter Mitchell-Thomson win the event in a Ferrari 166 MM. However, this was a private entry and not a factory effort. 1950 and 1951 also saw numerous Ferraris join Le Mans, but it wasn't until 1952 that Enzo put together a factory team.

Ferrari 250P
Photo: Ferrari
Its first Le Mans entry, the 225S Berlinetta, failed to finish in 1952. Ferrari returned with the 340 MM Berlinetta but lost to the Jaguar C-Type. But Ferrari triumphed for the first time as a full-fledged team thanks to Jose Frollan Gonzalez and Maurice Trintignant, who shared driving duties in the 375 Plus.

Jaguar won the next three editions with the incredible D-Type, but Ferrari would then dominate the even for several years. The Scuderia won in 1958 with the 250 TR58, lost the 1959 race to Aston Martin, but returned with an updated 250 TR in 1960 to claim another win, which went on to be the first of six consecutive triumphs.

1960s Domination and Downfall

The 250 TR scored its final win in 1961, but the 330 TRI/LM Spyder took over to clench the victory in 1962. Ferrari scored two more wins in 1963 and 1964 with the 250P and 275P, respectively. In 1965, Ferrari's North American effort, NART, won with the 250 LM. This would be Ferrari's final triumph at Circuit de la Sarthe, as Ford would dominate the even for four years in a row with the mighty GT40.

Ferrari 250P
Photo: Ferrari
Ferrari failed to defeat Ford with the 330 and developed the 312P and then the 512S. While the latter proved competitive, it wasn't fast or reliable enough to defeat the Porsche 917K, which won in 1970 and 1971. The Scuderia did not attend Le Mans in 1972, but returned in 1973 with the 312PB, scoring second place behind Matra-Simca. This was Ferrari's final appearance at Circuit de la Sarthe as a contender in the range-topping prototype class.

Ferrari would eventually return to sports prototype racing in 1994, but the 333 SP, developed in cooperation with Dallara and Michelotto, was only raced in the IMSA GT Championship.

Despite its long absence from top-tier racing, Ferrari has remained one of the most successful brands in the sports prototype category. With a total of nine overall wins from 1949 to 1965, the Italian company is the third most successful manufacturer, having been surpassed only by Porsche in the 1980s and Audi in the 2010s.

Ferrari 333 SP
Photo: Ferrari
Needless to say, Ferrari's upcoming endurance effort has a really big pair of shoes to fill. The Scuderia won about half of the Le Mans races it entered, so it doesn't have any other option than to win yet another title in the modern era.

Much more so since it will be its first entry in the hybrid hypercar category, a good chance to prove the performance and reliability of an electrified Ferrari drivetrain. That's something that could trickle to a successor to the LaFerrari.

But it will be much harder than before, as Ferrari is set to face stiff competition from manufacturers like Toyota, Porsche, Audi, Peugeot, and Glickenhaus. But even if Ferrari doesn't win during its first outing, it will be one of the most interesting Le Mans battles in recent years. 2023 can't come soon enough!
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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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