24h Le Mans
After a resounding victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary last month, the Ferrari endurance team is playing at home in Italy this weekend, at Monza to be precise. The fifth round in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship is a good time to tell the story of the Italian drivers who have shone in La Sarthe at the wheel of a Ferrari.
Let’s begin with this year’s heroes. Antonio Fuoco claimed pole position in the Hypercar 499 P on its maiden outing at Sebring in March, and again at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this June, fifty years after Arturo Merzario (see below). However, in a 24-hour race, starting in pole position has no bearing on the outcome and Fuoco and teammates Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen took the #52 over the finish line in fifth place.
Just like back in 1963, there were two Italians at the wheel of the winning Ferrari this year. For the Hypercar project, former World Endurance Champion (in 2017, 2011 and 2022), Alessandro Pier Guidi and his accustomed British teammate James Calado were joined by Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari 499 P. Having made a name for himself in the Asian Le Mans Series and Formula One, Giovinazzi finished his first 24 Hours of Le Mans on the top step of the podium.
Luigi Chinetti was born in Milan and naturalised American before he first won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ferrari in 1949. His subsequent attempts were less fruitful: one finish in 1951, in 8th place. However, the role he played in Ferrari’s history is indisputable. First, because he found a way to circumvent Enzo Ferrari’s refusal to take part in the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans, later for his decisive role as US dealer, and finally for his 1965 win as team leader of his North American Racing Team (NART).
Between 1949 and 1951, Ferrari’s participation at Le Mans was in the form of privateer entries. The first factory team entry was in 1952. Alberto Ascari was among the marque’s first works drivers. Formula One champion in 1952 and 1953, Ascari showed his speed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, clocking the fastest lap in the 1952 race (4:40.50) and 1953 (4:27.40), but his car did not see the finish on either occasion.
In 1953 Scuderia Ferrari entered three cars for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only one crossed the finish line, in the hands of Giannino and Paolo Marzotto. The wealthy aristocrats finished fifth. It was Giannino’s only Le Mans start but Paolo also took part in 1954 and 1955 (DNF).
The pair were the first Italians to win Le Mans with Ferrari. In second place on the starting grid, they lay fifth after the first hour and progressed to second after six hours. In the 19th hour they took over the lead when John Surtees and Willy Mairesse’s car caught fire, and never looked back. Bandini went on to finish third in 1964 and Scarfotti second in 1967, the former with John Surtees and the latter with Mike Parkes.
A mathematics teacher in Palermo, Nino Vaccarella and his driving partner Jean Guichet, a shipbuilder from Marseille, formed a team of “gentleman” drivers in 1964. Leaders Surtees and Bandini suffered mechanical issues during the night, giving the amateur pair the advantage several times before dawn, and they took the lead for good at the halfway stage. Vaccarella and Guichet won with five laps to spare, and set a new distance record (349 laps, or 4,695.31 km). The Sicilian and Surtees tied for best lap time on 3:49.5.
With two 24 Hours of Le Mans starts as Ferrari factory driver, Merzario’s speed earned him the fourth-best qualification time in 1970 and pole position in 1973. That same year he went head-to-head with Matra, but the 312 PB he shared with Brazilian Carlos Pace had a leaky fuel tank followed by a gearbox issue. However, the pair managed to haul the car to fourth place, with Merzario battling with François Cevert for the best lap time. The latter won the match, on 3:39.6, averaging 223 kph.
In the mid nineties, Gianpiero Moretti brought the Ferrari prototype back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, ending a twenty-year absence for the factory team. Moretti, who made car accessories under the brand name MoMo, convinced Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo to build what was to become the 333 SP. Moretti’s dedication was rewarded with 6th place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997, victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1998 and 14th place at Le Mans the same year.
Bruni’s first 24 Hours of Le Mans yielded at class win for the Ferrari F430 and boosted his career after a short spell in Formula One. He won the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2013-14 and LMGTE Pro in 2012 and 2014 with Ferrari before switching to Porsche in 2018. In the last decade, three more Italian drivers have triumphed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: Giancarlo Fisichella, Bruni’s teammate in 2012 and 2014, Andrea Bertolini and Alessio Rovera, who won the LMGTE Am class in 2015 and 2021 respectively.
PHOTOS: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS 1949-2023 - TOP TO BOTTOM (Copyright ACO ARCHIVES): top step at the Centenary, with Antonello Coletta (head of endurance and GT at Ferrari), Alessandro Pier Guidi, Antonio Giovinazzi and James Calado; Antonio Fuoco (left) and Battistino Pregliasco (AF Corse Ferrari team manager) after clinching pole position; Luigi Chinetti (with the striped tie) beside his 1949 winning Ferrari 166 MM; Alberto Ascari at the wheel of the Ferrari 340 MM (#12) with which he clocked the fastest lap in 1953; the Ferrari 333 SP (#3) of Gianpiero Moretti en route for its best result at Le Mans; the Ferrari F430 gave Gianmaria Bruni victory as a 24 Hours of Le Mans rookie.
