The entire Ferrari – AF Corse team celebrated a win awaited for more than half a century in Maranello, greeted by the employees of the company founded in 1947 and hundreds of fans who made up two wings of an excited crowd to applaud the triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Centenary edition of the world’s most famous endurance race will go down in motorsport history not only due to the prestigious win, but also the Hyperpole and fastest lap achieved by the Ferrari crews.
Tuesday, 20 June is a day that will forever be etched into the memories of motorsport fans, when, in an unprecedented and captivating scene, the two 499Ps left the gates of Via Abetone Inferiore, the entrance to the Prancing Horse headquarters, to form a parade, first through the Attività Sportive GT and Scuderia Ferrari area and then through the streets of the town centre, passing some of its most iconic locations, including the Ferrari Museum.
There were many fans and families who seized the opportunity to admire the hybrid Hypercars that triumphed in France on the weekend of 11 June first hand. For the whole morning, the town in the Province of Modena was decked out to celebrate the crews of the 499P number 51, which won at Le Mans with Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, and number 50, which thanks to Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen shot out from the first box of the grid to pick up the best time in the race.
After the parade through the streets of the town centre, which staged a heartfelt embrace on the part of the crowd, the employees benefited from the event as it continued in the afternoon: Chairman John Elkann wanted to dedicate the victory to them, by displaying both the 499P number 51 and the Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans trophy.
As per tradition, the Ferrari people rallied around their team. In being first to cross the line in the fourth event of the 2023 FIA WEC, and on its return to the top class of endurance this season, the Maranello-based manufacturer made motorsport history once more, earning a trophy that joins a cabinet now commemorating ten outstanding overall wins (the last was in 1965), and 29 class wins, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.