JUNE 14, 2023

(Photo by Alexis Goure/ACO)

Ferrari AF Corse has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary Trophy! The Italian manufacturer, making its return to the premier league of endurance racing after a fifty-year absence, has secured its tenth outright victory in the French classic – its first since 1965. Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado (No. 51 Ferrari 499P Hypercar) have claimed their first outright win to go with their LMGTE Pro triumph of 2019. This is the first Le Mans podium for Antonio Giovinazzi in his second appearance. The one hundredth anniversary of the world’s greatest endurance race certainly lived up to its billing. Bumper crowds were treated to fascinating battles in every class, with the outcome up in the air until the final stages. Brendon Hartley, Sebastian Buemi and Ryō Hirakawa finished second in the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook (No. 2 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R) finished a fine third. Watch the end of the race highlights here. (Thank you to the 24 Hours of Le Mans/ACO)

(Photo by Alexis Goure/ACO)

The LMP2 class also produced an enthralling head-to-head battle since daybreak between the No. 34 Oreca 07-Gibson fielded by Inter Europol Competition and the No. 41 Oreca 07-Gibson of Team WRT, which was driven by Rui Andrade/Robert Kubica/Louis Deletraz. Swiss driver Fabio Scherer held off fellow countryman Louis Delétraz to clinch victory for the Polish team. A memorable weekend for Polish sport after the French Open win yesterday for Iga Swiatek. Rookie Scherer shared driving duties with Pole Jakub Smiechowski and Spaniard Albert Costa. Former race winner Neel Jani brought home the No. 30 Duqueine Team Oreca to round out the podium. (Thank you to the 24 Hours of Le Mans/ACO)

(Photo by Alexis Goure/ACO)

For its final hurrah, the LMGTE Am class was as exciting as ever. Numerous cars swapped the lead almost lap by lap. A ‘gang of four’ consisting of the No. 33 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R driven by Nicky Catsburg/Ben Keating/Nicolas Varrone, the Iron Dames’ No. 85 Porsche 911 RSR-19, the No. 25 ORT00 by TF Aston Martin Vantage AM and the No. 86 GR Racing Porsche played out the final act. At the checkered flag, Corvette clinched a hard-fought win ahead of the TF Sport-backed Aston Martin driven by Ahmad Al Harthy/Micahel Dinan/Charlie Eastwood, and the GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 driven by Michael Wainwright/Benjamin Barker/Ricardo Pera. Sadly, the all-female Iron Dames team, who had been in the top three for most of the day, missed out on a historic podium spot. Seasoned American endurance racer Ben Keating secured his second straight LMGTE Am win after his success last year in the Aston Martin of TF Sport. This was his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Chevrolet Corvette. This extremely intense class victory is therefore a proud moment for the man who sells the brand in his Texas dealerships. (Thank you to the 24 Hours of Le Mans/ACO) 

Editor-in-Chief's Note: After delivering multiple IMSA championships and nine class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this marks the sad end for Pratt & Miller's involvement in the Corvette Racing program. Beginning in 2024, GM Racing will build new GT3-class Corvettes for sale to customers; Corvettes that were developed, of course, by Pratt & Miller. Unlike Porsche, which sells customer cars and fields a factory team as well, GM Racing has decided that they don't need a factory team, which means Pratt & Miller is out. That this is a monumentally stupid decision doesn't even begin to cover it. And about the time GM Racing operatives realize just how bat-shit crazy this decision is, it will be too late. Flat-out ridiculous. -PMD

(Phoyo by Jonathan Biche/ACO)

The Garage 56 NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fielded by Hendricks Motorsports delivered everything and more in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller ran ahead of the GTE Am entries for much of the race before encountering gearbox issues, but they still completed 285 laps and finished 39^th overall. 

(Photo of Pecco Bagnaia by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore)

Sunday at the Gran Premio d'Italia Oakley is a day that Francesco Bagnaia (No. 1 Ducati Lenovo Team) will always remember, as the Italian did the double in Mugello – from pole – and extended his Championship advantage from one single point to a very healthy 21. Jorge Martin (No. 89 Prima Pramac Racing) kept the Italian honest from start to finish but didn't quite have enough to topple the number 1 as he was forced to settle for second, although only a second back. The battle for third raged on all race long, finally seeing Johann Zarco (No. 5 Prima Pramac Racing) fly through the field to take P3 and deny Luca Marini (No. 10 Mooney VR46 Racing Team) a home podium. Watch extended Italian MotoGP Race Highlights courtesy of Motorsports on NBC here. (Thank you to MotoGP.com)

(Alpine images)

Alpine will field an entry into the premier LMDH category of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC). The A424_β name? The terminology of the A followed by three digits beginning with 4, respects the tradition of Alpine’s winning Endurance cars; 24 echoes the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 2024, and β designates the final phase before its launch.

(Ford Images)

The Mustang GT3 race car - based on the all-new 2024 Mustang Dark Horse - was unveiled during the centenary celebration on the eve of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Friday. The Mustang race car's bold graphic look is by Troy Lee. Ford will officially enter the Mustang into the global FIA GT3 category. To coincide with the unveiling, Ford also revealed new, global Ford Performance branding that will now be featured on all its racing vehicles. Ford Performance extended its relationship with two longtime partners in Multimatic and M-Sport for the basis of this project. Multimatic, builders of the most recent Ford GT, were also involved in the Ford GT race program and will help build and support the Mustang GT3s, while longtime World Rally Championship partner and two-time championship winning team M-Sport will assemble the Ford Performance-developed 5.4-liter Coyote-based V8 engines that will power the GT3 Mustangs.

Our dearly departed billboard at Road America. As most of you know, Peter coined the phrase "America's National Park of Speed" and gifted it to the track. -WG

The overall vision of Road America grew out of the dreams of Clif Tufte, a highway engineer, who chose 525 acres of Wisconsin farmland outside the Village of Elkhart Lake for the track. The natural topography of the glacial Kettle Moraine area was utilized for the track and for fan viewing areas, sweeping around rolling hills and plunging through ravines. Since opening in 1955, countless facility improvements have been made over the years, but the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course itself is virtually the same today as it was when it was first laid out. Now in 2023, an entirely new track surface stands ready for racers and enthusiasts alike. - Road America

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG