In the history of endurance racing the significance of the Circuit de la Sarthe cannot be overstated. Ferrari has claimed 38 overall victories on the track and can point to some memorable experiences.
3 and 5. The best overall positions ever achieved at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by cars sporting the numbers 50 and 51, the numbers which now adorn the two Ferrari 499Ps. Curiously, these results came in the same edition of the race, in 1995, when the numbers were assigned respectively to the Mach One Racing team-run McLaren of Andy Wallace, Derek and Justin Bell (third) and the Giroix Racing team of Jean-Denis Deletraz, Fabien Giroix and Olivier Grouillard (fifth). As far as the most successful number is concerned, unsurprisingly it is the no. 1, which, nevertheless, will not be able to dominate this edition as it has not been assigned to any car.
12. The number of years that Ferrari has been absent from the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1949 to today. If one looks back at the half-century since the Maranello manufacturer last competed in the top class, it is only right to recall Ferrari’s steady, ongoing presence in the competition’s GT classes. The longest period of absence was the nine years from 1985 to 1993. There were also no red machines fielded in 1976, 1983, 2000 and 2001. Otherwise, Prancing Horse has always featured at the start of the French endurance classic.
13. The number of editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in which Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and Finnish driver Toni Vilander have taken part at the wheel of a Ferrari. This is a record in terms of loyalty for the pair who have long raced together in AF Corse team Ferraris, winning on two occasions in the LMGTE-Pro class (2012 and 2014 alongside Gianmaria Bruni). Fisichella can also boast 3 class runner-up spots and 1 third-place class finish. Vilander has a similar record with 2 runner-up and 2 third-place class finishes.
26 + 96. The number of podiums obtained by Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans: 26 have been overall podium finishes - 9 wins, 8 second places and 9 thirds - while 96 were class podiums. In addition to the 29 wins there have been 35 podium places and 32 third places.
38. The different nationalities of the competitors who have raced with Ferrari (set to rise to 39 with Indonesia making its debut this year thanks to Andrew Haryanto). Unsurprisingly, the most represented nation is France with 123 drivers followed by the United Kingdom (92), the United States of America (91), Italy (84) and Belgium (33). Even countries with little motorsport tradition such as Cuba, Guatemala, and Puerto Rico have also participated.
65. The number of Ferrari 488 GTEs that have raced at Le Mans since 2016 - there will be seven at the start of this year’s event - a record number in the history of the Maranello manufacturer. The other most regular attendees at the Circuit de la Sarthe have been the 458 Italia (2011-2016) with 48 appearances; the F430 GTC (2006-2011) with 31, and previously the 365 GTB/4 (1971-1978) and the 250 Testa Rossa (1957-1962), both with 27 appearances.
68. The number of cars entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the North American Racing Team (NART), the organisation created in the USA by Luigi Chinetti that debuted in the 1958 edition and won the 1965 race with Jochen Rindt, Ed Hugus and Masten Gregory. The team with the second most Ferrari entries is the Scuderia itself, with 55, while AF Corse’s tally now stands at 53, who with the cars entered in the 2023 edition, look set to overtake the marque in the list of most cars fielded.
105. The different teams that have entered Ferrari cars in the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 1949. The first winners clinched victory in the very first edition in which the Maranello manufacturer took part. The winning 166 MM, driven by English noble Peter Mitchell-Thomson and US-born Italian Luigi Chinetti, was entered by Lord Selsdon himself, while the other - driven by Frenchmen Jean Lucas and Pierre-Louis Dreyfus who did not finish the race - was lined up by the very same Luigi Chinetti. In addition to these, Scuderia Ferrari entered 105 cars from 1952 to 1973. This season, Ferrari returns to an official presence with the Ferrari AF Corse team, while the Walkenhorst Motorsport team will make its debut with Prancing Horse models, fielding a 488 GTE Evo courtesy of Andrew Haryanto, Chandler Hull and Jeff Segal, winner at Le Mans in 2016 aboard the Scuderia Corsa-run 458 Italia.
461. The times that Ferrari have taken part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans - 466 counting the Dino - in the 61 participations by the Maranello manufacturer. On 219 of these occasions the cars have reached the finish line (47%). In terms of the models that have taken part on the track, there have been 56, a number destined to rise by one when the 499P lines up at the start of this year’s edition.
567. The number of drivers who have competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans behind the wheel of a Ferrari, a number also about to rise to 584, given that nine rookies are set to take the start in Maranello machines at the Circuit de la Sarthe. In alphabetical order they will be Belgian driver Ulysses De Pauw, Indonesian Andrew Haryanto, Americans Scott Huffaker and Chandler Hull, Italian Giacomo Petrobelli, Frenchman Julien Piguet, Japan’s Yorikatsu Tsujiko, Frenchwoman Lilou Wadoux - an official Ferrari Competizioni GT driver - and the other Japanese racer Naoki Yokomizo.