In 1965, Ferrari won Le Mans. This was a big surprise to everyone. It was also Ferrari’s first win in 58 years and Toyota’s first loss since 2017. After a close battle between Ferrari and Toyota for most of the race, the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P won the race. So it was no surprise that Ferrari won both the Hypercar class and the overall title. But at Le Mans, America was the main attraction. Even though it was the 100th anniversary of the most famous race in French history, the Circuit de la Sarthe seemed mostly about America. The best teams of the weekend were both from the United States, and LeBron James was the honoured opener. The #33 Corvette Racing cars won the LM GTE class, a surprising end to the factory Le Mans team. It was bittersweet for the #33 Corvette to win its class because GM has had a factory Corvette team at Le Mans for the past 25 years. The official Corvette Racing team had won eight class races before the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hour. With nine players, the team has now legally broken up. The NASCAR Garage56 #24 Chevy Camaro ZL1 also raced in America. It was, without question, the most exciting car in the race. NASCAR’s first Le Mans appearance since 1976 stole the show. The Camaro, driven by German racing driver Mike Rockenfeller, British F1 winner Jenson Button, and seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, was a deliciously unusual addition to this year’s Le Mans event. Overall, the Camaro came in 39th, but that didn’t matter because it wasn’t in a class with many other competitors. Instead, it was in a class called “Innovative Car.” Instead of being used for racing, it was used to test NASCAR’s NextGen chassis technology. How better to find out how well it works than to race it for 2,400 miles? Even though the Ferraris, Toyotas, Porsches, and Corvettes were amazing, people couldn’t get enough of the booming boom of the NASCAR V8. It was amazing to hear the American V8 firepower because it was louder than any other car in France in the last 24 hours. This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans was the most exciting. Ferrari’s historic success, Corvette’s last factory win, and a show-stealing NASCAR V8 made it so. There was no better way to celebrate 100 years of the most famous endurance race in the world.
