Ferrari has announced it will return to Le Mans in 2023, half a century after it last raced at the highest level at the legendary 24-hour race.
The Italian company is developing a brand new car designed to fit the new Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) class, where it will race alongside cars from Peugeot, Toyota, Glickenhaus and ByKolles. Aston Martin should have been on the list but the Brit firm pulled out to focus on its new F1 venture.
While Ferraris are a regular presence at Le Mans in the lower-rung GTE class, the company hasn’t fielded an official works entry targeting outright Le Mans victory since 1973 when two of Maranello’s three 312PBs ran were forced to retire, and the third had to give second-place to the winning Matra after losing time to a fuel leak.
But between 1949, when the 166MM won at Le Mans on its maiden outing, and the 250LM’s first place finish (and Ferrari’s last) in 1965, the firm notched up an impressive eight victories.
Ferrari hasn’t revealed any details about the car or which drivers we should expect to see behind the wheel, but we do know that the regulations allow manufacturers the option of using hybrid power, which Ferrari is almost certain to do to create a link with either road-going versions of its LMH racer, or other road cars like the SF90 hybrid pictured below.
‘In over 70 years of racing, on tracks all over the world, we led our closed-wheel cars to victory by exploring cutting edge technical solutions,’ said Ferrari President, John Elkann, announcing the Le Mans project.
‘With the new programme Ferrari once again asserts its sporting commitment and determination to be a protagonist in the major global motorsport events.’
We've got a couple of years to wait before we get to watch the new car in action, but we're expecting to see some epic track battles when it finally arrives in 2023.
Keyword: Ferrari returning to Le Mans after 50 year absence