Ferrari announces Le Mans Hypercar Program (Update)

(GMM) After a 50 year absence, Ferrari will return to Le Mans in the world endurance series’ top category in 2023.

Toyota, Peugeot, Porsche and Audi have also committed to the new Hypercar category, which according to the FIA was created to be “equally appealing to both global automotive brands as well as specialist firms building road-going supercars”.

“I believe in the concept of road relevant Hypercars competing in the WEC and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” said FIA president and former Ferrari boss Jean Todt.

“I’m looking forward to seeing this legendary brand taking on this ambitious project.”

Ferrari last won Le Mans outright in 1965.

Meanwhile, Italian media report that Ferrari’s Formula 1 car for 2021 will feature two tones of red – lighter at the bottom and darker towards the top.

It is also believed that Mattia Binotto will not attend many races this season, with the Maranello team to instead be headed at the circuits by Laurent Mekies.

Ferrari announced the start of the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) program that from 2023 will see the manufacturer enter the new top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Following a period of study and analysis, Ferrari has kicked off the development of the new LMH car to include in recent weeks the design and simulation phases. The track testing program, the name of the car and the drivers who will make up the official crews, will be part  of future announcements.

Fifty years after its last official participation in the premier class of the World Sports Car Championship in 1973, Ferrari will take to the track in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which it proactively helped to establish. It has a respectable record in closed-wheel competition with 24 world titles (most recently in 2017) and 36 victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Ferrari President John Elkann commented: “In over 70 years of racing, on tracks all over the world, we led our closed-wheel cars to victory by exploring cutting-edge technological solutions: innovations that arise from the track and make every road car produced in Maranello extraordinary. With the new Le Mans Hypercar program, Ferrari once again asserts its sporting commitment and determination to be a protagonist in the major global motorsport events”.