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Former F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi led Ferrari to win the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time in 58 years. The Italian racing giants hadn't won Le Mans since 1965.
When speaking with Eurosport television the former F1 driver said:
"It's emotional. Unbelievable. I have no words"
Ferrari withdrew from the competition in 1973 to focus completely on winning F1 races. Their last victory was at the World Sports Car Championship championship in 1972 after winning 10 of 11 events.
The Italian team brought the cars home to the chequered flag as Alessandro Pier Guidi drove the last lap. This ended Toyota's run of five victories after 342 successful laps of the Sarthe circuit in North-west France.
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Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi, and British driver James Calado shared the 51 Ferrari 499P. They defeated the number eight Toyota piloted by Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa by one minute and 21 seconds.
Le Mans's legendary status in endurance racing comes from the fact that it is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. It has led teams to make groundbreaking developments in the automotive industry to this date.
Ferrari made its mark on the 100th anniversary of the world’s greatest endurance race
With the 499P Le Mans Hypercar prototype, Ferrari returned to the World Endurance Championship's (WEC) premier division. In the first three races, the racer showed brief bursts of speed, and at Le Mans, it eventually demonstrated reliability as well.
The 100th run of the 24 Hours of the Le Mans was dramatic with several twists and turns. Ferrari had a bad start as they lost five laps. They were investigating issues with the car. No. 7 Toyota retired from the race after a four-car crash at night. The end of the race was a two-way fight between 51 Ferrari and 8 Toyota.
Pier Guidi spun into the gravel that posed a threat to Ferrari's lead as they lost more time. This forced them to perform a power cycle at the pit stop with just five hours to go. However, Ferrari was able to secure their lead in the race when Toyota driver Hirakawa retired from the race.
Cadillac finished third and fourth respectively as they proved to be worthy contenders to team Ferrari. The team are second in the overall WEC rankings as they have tapered down the gap to Toyota by 19 points.
