Ferrari’s glorious return to Le Mans 24 Hours

Last weekend, Ferrari contested the top category at the Le Mans 24 Hours for the first time in 50 years, and they took me along for the ride.

The greatest endurance race in the world celebrated its centenary, and the grandstands and campsites were even more packed than usual – 325,000 fans descended on France’s La Sarthe region, many of them Brits making the journey over in their sports cars and motorhomes. 

For petrolheads, it’s Glastonbury with wheels. They come to see more than 60 cars, and their tag teams of three drivers each, driven to their limits and often beyond from 4pm on Saturday till 4pm Sunday. Durability – both human and mechanical – is the watch word here, as well as speed. Cars are run by both manufacturer and privateer teams, and there are three classes – hybrid Hypercars, which are the fastest, then the LMP2 prototypes, and then the GTE cars, which are based on road-going supercars.