Two of Henry Ford’s great grandsons, Bill and Edsel II witnessed their team win the LM GTE Pro class at Le Mans 24 Hours this year.

The 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season saw Ferrari AF Corse consolidate its status as a serious candidate for victory in the Hypercar class. Despite a second successive win in the championship’s showcase event – the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the Maranello-based carmaker had to settle for third place in the manufacturers’ standings.

At the dawn of 2024, Ferrari AF Corse was determined to prove that the iconic manufacturer&rsquo;s triumphant return to the top class of endurance &ndash; climaxed by its 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary win &ndash; was no flash in the pan. With its pair of Ferrari 499Ps, plus a third running in its customer AF Corse&rsquo;s colours, the team hoped to be in the mix for the FIA WEC Hypercar manufacturers&rsquo; and drivers&rsquo; championship titles.

Initially, Ferrari opted for stability &ndash; renewing its faith in the 2023 driver line-ups: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen in the #50, and Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51. From the opening rounds of the season, the team showed it was competitive with two Top Five finishes before reaching the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the championship&rsquo;s headline event.

<h2>Retaining the 24 Hours of Mans crown</h2>

The #50 499P overcame the atrocious weather conditions to bring Ferrari its 11th outright win in the iconic French race. &ldquo;We are extremely proud of this success for the whole team. It&rsquo;s a key moment in our season,&rdquo; said&nbsp; Antonello Coletta, Head of the Ferrari endurance programme.

Despite the win, the firm continued development work after Le Mans. Significant improvements were made to the 499P, especially its brake cooling ducts and aero package, in time for the 6 Hours of S&atilde;o Paulo. The upgrades, combined with a better understanding of the car, enabled the team to show increasingly competitive race pace. 
The second high point of the season came at Lone Star Le Mans where the #83 499P &ndash; entered by AF Corse as a customer car &ndash; topped the podium. However, all ambitions of the title vanished in Bahrain, leaving the Prancing Horse in third place in the manufacturers&rsquo; championship table.

&nbsp;

Nonetheless, with two wins, five podiums overall and a second place in the drivers&rsquo; championship for Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen, the 2024 season was ultimately a promising one for Ferrari AF Corse. As Ferdinando Cannizzo, Head of Endurance Race Cars, points out: &ldquo;Compared to 12 months ago, our progress [...] is clear. We are satisfied with having recorded significant improvements over last year, aware that there are more steps to take to compete for titles.&rdquo; While the championship titles remained out of reach, the season allowed the manufacturer to lay down a solid platform for the future. Coletta remains confident: &ldquo;We saw confirmation of our cars&rsquo; and crew&#39;s improved competitiveness. We now have a solid foundation to build upon for the 2025 season.&rdquo;

With an improved technical basis and line-ups bolstered by the experience gained over he last two seasons, Ferrari AF Corse is in better shape than ever to&nbsp;challenge for the championhip titles in 2025.&nbsp;

Ferrari AF Corse aware of having “more steps to take to compete for titles”

The entry list for the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season has been revealed. The grid will feature 36 cars with an even split between the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes. This new season promises to be one of the most competitive and diverse ever, as it will involve no fewer than 13 major manufacturers!

Eight emblematic marques will compete in Hypercar, the top class of the FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They are Alpine, Aston Martin, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota. Endurance fans are looking forward to seeing the return of Aston Martin with its two-car Valkyrie entry. The British manufacturer has joined forces with the Heart Of Racing team and has already announced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/aston-martin-announces-the-first-two-drivers-for-its-valkyrie-amr-lmh-59156" target="_blank">the names of two drivers</a>. Two Cadillac V-Series.R hypercars will also be on the grid, but now in the colours of Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA. The British outfit &ndash; winner of the 2024 FIA World Cup for Hypercar teams with a private Porsche 963 &ndash; is changing course for 2025 by forming a partnership with the American carmaker. Ferrari is continuing with its triple 499P strategy, two of which will be fielded by Ferrari AF Corse and the third by AF Corse. No change for Toyota Gazoo Racing! The reigning Hypercar manufacturers&rsquo; title holder will defend its crown with two GR010 Hybrids driven by the line-ups that performed so brilliantly in 2024.

The LMGT3 class, introduced in 2024, continues to develop and promises a thrilling second season. Nine marques will compete in the class with a field comprising customer GT3s built by Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, McLaren and Porsche. Mercedes-AMG is making its FIA WEC d&eacute;but with two cars entered by Italian team Iron Lynx. Another notable newcomer is the Racing Spirit of L&eacute;man outfit who will field an Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 and include American Derek DeBoer in its driver line-up. 
The Iron Dames team will again be present to continue breaking down barriers and inspire the next generation of women in motorsport. After striking a deal with Manthey Racing, the Iron Dames are reverting to Porsche after a season with Lamborghini. The #85 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 will be driven by the all-female trio of&nbsp; C&eacute;lia Martin, Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting. As for Manthey Racing, the German team will be back as Manthey 1st&nbsp;Phorm to defend the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Teams won in 2024 and has announced that Ryan Hardwick and Richard Lietz will drive the #92 Porsche.&nbsp;

The 2025 season will begin with the Official Prologue on 21-22 February in Qatar, before hostilities commence with the Qatar 1812 Km on 28 February. The highlight of the season will undoubtedly be the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans, held from 11 to 15 June.

Check out <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/fiawec-prod/assets/ressources/2024/2025_FIA_WEC_Season_Provisional%20Entry%20List_v1.pdf" target="_blank">the full provisional entry list for the 2025 FIA WEC season</a>.

Find out more about the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fiawec.com/en/">FIA World Endurance Championship</a>.

2025 FIA WEC: 36 cars from 13 major manufacturers shape up for an enthralling season!

Smells are a big part of the creation of lifelong memories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for both competitors and spectators. Every sector of the circuit, every in-race development carry with them their own unique scents. Here is an olfactory journey through the different smells that bolster the greatest endurance race in the world.

Attending the&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans in person is to immerse oneself in a world full of&nbsp;sensations. Along with sight and hearing, smell is a&nbsp;sense that allows memories to take root. The permeating aromas indicate heatwaves, failed engines, brakes used to the extreme and&nbsp;celebratory&nbsp;moments, as well as the fresh local&nbsp;air.

<h2>A Symphony of Scents in Pit Lane</h2>

Kenji Concy, Ferrari AF Corse mechanic, spends long hours in the #51 Ferrari 499P garage. Here he describes with&nbsp;precision the smells that always surround him: What I perceive&nbsp;the most is&nbsp;heated&nbsp;rubber. And also petrol, but that one is more faint. The odor of hot&nbsp;brakes is omnipresent especially during refuellings. And then there is the smell of early morning, with the fresh and&nbsp;humid air thatcontrasts with the pasta dishes or croissants delivered to the back of the garage.

Certain&nbsp;smells are also valuable&nbsp;indicators, like an unusual oil odor signalling a serious problem. If we notice the smell of oil, it means the car has a problem. I would go so far as to say if it&#39;s in the air, it&#39;s already too late.&nbsp;The mechanic&nbsp;(responsible for tyre changes during pit stops)&nbsp;notes, however, that mechanical wear does not really have an olfactory signature. The cars are equipped with parts manufacturered to withstand the demands of a 24-hour race.

<h2>Memories anchored by Smells</h2>

Scents help fans create unforgettable memories. Maxime, who was only four when she attended her first&nbsp;24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans, associates the odor of a flat tyre&nbsp;with a critical moment.&nbsp;It makes me think of the 2017 battle in LMGTE Pro between the #97 Aston Martin Vantage and #63&nbsp;Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. It was in the last laps of the race and one of the American&nbsp;GT&#39;s tyres exploded.

Another fan, Lucas, associates the race&nbsp;with poutine, a Quebec dish he originally tasted at&nbsp;the circuit.&nbsp;The smell of&nbsp;poutine immediately makes me think of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.&nbsp;Sarah, a first-time spectator in 2022, remembers comfort-food&nbsp;churros during rain downpours.

<h2>From the Paddock to the Grandstands: Smells that Bring Fans Together</h2>

Each sector of the circuit brings with it its own special aromas. Maxime believes&nbsp;the food vendors definitely&nbsp;contribute to&nbsp;a festive atmosphere.&nbsp;You&nbsp;feel&nbsp;the buzz of activity&nbsp;and that the event is really kicking off.&nbsp;In the&nbsp;paddock, the smell of meals cooked for the teams mixes with that of new tyres, a particular scent that future car mechanic&nbsp;Mattias&nbsp;loves.&nbsp;Like when you go to a mountain tyre workshop.&nbsp;For Sarah, the wooded areas around the Mulsanne and Indianapolis corners&nbsp;are reminiscent of the Landes forests.&nbsp;The smell of pines and freshly cut grass mowed before Test Day add a rustic touch.

<h2>Adrenaline Through the Nose</h2>

Smells amp up the intensity of the race. Maxime agrees that some, like burnt rubber or hard braking, amplify the tension.&nbsp;If I detect a suspicious odor, right away I want to know which car is concerned and how that&nbsp;will affect the race. Mattias says that even natural elements, like&nbsp;humidity announcing rain, add a dramatic dimension.&nbsp;When you pick up on that kind of&nbsp;smell, you&nbsp;know everything can change.

Lucas tops off this study with an excellent conclusion: there is nothing like the scent&nbsp;of Champagne raining down on the&nbsp;podium. It&#39;s the last major smell&nbsp;memory we&nbsp;take with us.

The smells at the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans are no small detail, they tell the whole story. They capture the race&#39;s&nbsp;energy and&nbsp;humanity, whether it&#39;s the smell of overheated tires or&nbsp;brakes that underscore&nbsp;mechanical efforts, the food aromas that bring people together&nbsp;or the fresh air of the forest,&nbsp;each fragrance is a piece of the puzzle that fuels the spirit of&nbsp;this legendary event.

&nbsp;

Smell sense fuels the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Aston Martin THOR will be competing with its Valkyrie AMR-LMH at the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans (11-15 June 2025) and in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team has now revealed the names of two of its hypercar drivers: Alex Riberas and Harry Tincknell.

Aston Martin THOR (The Heart Of Racinge) has selected two drivers who have played a key role in developing and preparing the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/aston-martin-to-race-two-valkyrie-hypercars-at-the-2025-24-hours-of-le-mans-58803" target="_blank">Valkyrie AMR-LMH</a>&nbsp;to race the British hypercar next year&thinsp;&ndash;&thinsp;Alex Riberas and Harry Tincknell.

Harry Tincknell&nbsp;is returning to Aston Martin after four years away. He last drove for the British marque in 2020, when he won the LMGTE Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing driving duties with Alex Lynn and Maxime Martin in a Vantage GTE. The 2016 European Le Mans Series champion and winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2020 will take command of the #007 Valkyrie.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an absolute honour to return to Aston Martin for the Valkyrie programme,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;&ldquo;I believe the car will be&nbsp;a firm fan favourite&nbsp;with its amazing looks and the incredible sound of the V12 engine.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s been exciting to be a part of the initial development testing, and the DNA of the car feels strong. I&rsquo;m very proud of the hard work everyone has put in so far as we build towards the first race. Everyone at Aston Martin THOR Team has made me feel very welcome and I know I&rsquo;m joining a professional outfit.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Alex Riberas&nbsp;is a factory driver at The Heart Of Racing and will take the wheel of the #009 car. The Spaniard will be moving up to the premium racing class after an outstanding season in the Aston Martin #27 Vantage AMR&nbsp;LMGT3. He took victories in the FIA WEC&nbsp;LMGT3 class and in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro class.&nbsp;&ldquo;It is a great honour to be chosen as a driver for such an exciting project,&rdquo;&nbsp;he affirms. &ldquo;I have been a part of The Heart of Racing for the past 10 years and to be able to continue my journey with them, now at the pinnacle of endurance racing, is simply a dream come true. To be given the opportunity to represent such an iconic brand as Aston Martin, which has such a remarkable history both in sportscar racing and at Le Mans, is something that&nbsp;I will cherish for the rest of my life.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Aston Martin Valkyrie is the most spectacular car I have ever driven, and it sounds amazing, so to be able to share it with the fans of motorsport all over the world is something I am very much looking forward to.&rdquo;

<h2>12,500&nbsp;km of tests</h2>

Aston Martin THOR Team principal&nbsp;Ian James&nbsp;said, &ldquo;Both drivers have shown the relevant blend of patience, speed and dedication to the team through the testing phase of the Aston Martin Valkyrie programme&nbsp;and have earned the right to the race seat in 2025.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re all very excited heading into next season, particularly given all the hard work that has gone into it so far.&nbsp;&nbsp;There is still a long road ahead, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we can&rsquo;t wait to go racing with this incredible car. It&rsquo;s a special honour to run a team with this iconic brand and to be able to take the Aston Martin wings back to where they belong, at the very pinnacle of endurance racing.&rdquo;

The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH is now nearing the end of its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/aston-martin-steps-up-development-work-on-valkyrie-amr-lmh-59145" target="_blank">development programme</a>&nbsp;and has covered an impressive 12,500&nbsp;km to date. The team is now fine-tuning the Valkyrie&rsquo;s performance profile prior to homologation for the 2025 season. The car is scheduled to make its racing debut at the Qatar&nbsp;1812&nbsp;km (28 February 2025). In the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, its first race will be the gruelling 12 Hours of Sebring (12-15 March 2025). &ldquo;We are reaching a critical juncture in the development of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, and to this point&nbsp;the car has passed all of the objectives and benchmarks we have set for it.&nbsp;Testing is one thing however, going racing quite another!&rdquo; insists&nbsp;Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport.

The full Aston Martin THOR driver line-ups for the 2025 FIA WEC and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be announced shortly.

&nbsp;

Aston Martin announces the first two drivers for its Valkyrie AMR-LMH

William Clay Ford Jr, known asBill, waved the start of the race last year when he came to France to announce Ford&rsquo;s grand return.

Edsel Ford II&nbsp;is the son of Henry Ford II who was at the track to cheer as the GT40s took a one-two-three sweep in 1966. That same year, Henry II was official starter of the constructor&rsquo;s favourite race. The head-to-head with Ferrari between 1964 and 1967 remains one of the great motorsporting legends all of time.

Edsel was 17 in 1966 and was at his father&rsquo;s side in Le Mans. We even found a photograph to prove it, in official photographer Dave Friedman&rsquo;s archives. The young Edsel is on the right, next to his father Henry and Leo Beebe, head of Ford competition, is on the left.

<img alt="" src="http://www.lemans.org/explorer/news/2016/24-heures-du-mans/juillet/davidfriedman.jpg" style="width: 504px; height: 339px;" />

Fifty years later, at the podium ceremony, Edsel stands with his cousin Bill, opposite Lindsay Owen-Jones.

24H LE MANS

Edsel Ford II, back at Le Mans fifty years later!

Related News

Ferrari AF Corse aware of having “more steps to take to compete for titles”

2025 FIA WEC: 36 cars from 13 major manufacturers shape up for an enthralling season!

Smell sense fuels the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Aston Martin announces the first two drivers for its Valkyrie AMR-LMH

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