If you’re a fan of this site, or if you’re a racing nerd, you probably know about the first time a Cadillac raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That was in 1950, when American millionaire Briggs Cunningham entered two Caddies into the legendary endurance race in France. One was a stock model, the other a weird-looking wedge the locals dubbed Le Monstre. (Cadillac the company wasn’t involved; Cunningham entered on his own dime.) You probably also know that Cadillac returned to Le Mans last year, got onto the podium, and is back at it in 2024 with its eyes on the top step. What you might not know is the chapter of the Cadillac and Le Mans story that’s set in the early 2000s. 

Two things come to mind when looking back at early-aughts Cadillac: The original Escalade, and grandparent-era (as the kids might say now) coupes and sedans designed primarily for comfort. Either way, neither screamed performance. (The V-Series was just about to become a reality, and hadn’t yet begun to define at least part of the brand as a sporting alternative to BMW). So why did GM decide that Cadillac should go race sports cars—and internationally? 

At first blush, it made sense given GM’s existing footprint in racing, and due to its existing relationships in motorsport. GM was already represented in almost every major motorsports discipline, promoting its brands wherever it thought the money would do the most good: NASCAR, NHRA, IndyCar, and the GT class of sports car racing. One of the few places it wasn’t racing was in the top echelon of sports-cars, in which the cars are built from scratch rather than based on production models (as in the GT levels). As of 1995, however, GM had a connection to a prototype constructor, Riley & Scott, which was the first team to compete with Oldsmobile’s 4.0-liter Aurora V-8. (Beginning in ‘96, it would supply the same engine to IndyCar’s IRL series.) With Olds power, Riley & Scott’s Mk IIIs won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. They had even raced at Le Mans, in 1996, though a gearbox failure cut their time short. Why not use the elements that already existed—Riley & Scott, the Mk III, and the familiar engine architecture—to put GM into prototype racing, with the Cadillac brand? 

In 2000, Riley & Scott was back at Le Mans, backed by GM, with not one but four cars—two campaigned by Europe-based DAMS, the other two by Team Cadillac. The model was called the Northstar LMP and was adorned with a grille to look like a Cadillac.

“The return from 50 years was a big deal and I would say from a marketing perspective it succeeded because back then ‘Arts & Sciences’ was the Cadillac marketing theme and this was the bridge from the vinyl top Cadillacs to the CTS-V, which 2003 was the first year of the production car,” Jeff Kettman, GM’s manager for the Northstar LMP program, told Daily Sports Car last year. “The whole reason that Cadillac got involved in motorsports was to shift the public perspective of Cadillac to more of a sporty vehicle.”

The problem? GM showed up to Le Mans with a design and a budget that was four years out of date. “Back in 1996–97 you didn’t need tons of money to run well at Le Mans,” Bill Riley told Gary Martin of Autosport in a 2021 interview. “By the time the car rolled out on the grid, the game had changed dramatically.” The Cadillacs finished 19th, 21nd, and 22nd overall, with one DAMS car a DNF. 

Obviously, something needed to change. They needed a new car. GM began to shop around, chatting with the likes of Prodrive and Dallara, and ending its relationship with Riley later that summer. Months passed. GM eventually decided to rely on a new team headed by Wayne Taylor, Nigel Stroud, and Jeff Hazell, a key figure behind McLaren’s jaw-dropping win at Le Mans on its first try.  By the time GM made a decision, however, there was no time to build a new car. Taylor, Stroud, Hazell, et al. tried anyway, putting “80 percent” of the design team into rehauling the old car while the rest worked on the new one. It wasn’t ready by the 2001 running of Le Mans: Only the two DAMS cars ran, with new bodies on cars built to 2000’s spec. They finished eighth and twelfth overall. The new car, dubbed the Northstar LMP-02, was ready in time for the 2003 event, and then GM cancelled the program. 

The sad irony is that since Audi (the 2002 winner) did not run Le Mans in 2003, Cadillac would have been favorites to win along with Bentley (who did win in their Speed 8, a car that shared much with Audi’s prototypes of the era). 

Though it campaigned the CTS-V and subsequently an ATS-V Coupe in the Pirelli World Challenge series through 2017, Cadillac took a lengthy respite from the top level of sports car racing, particularly international competition. In the meantime, a lot of history’s been written: Audi’s era of dominance (including Le Mans wins in 2002, 2004–08, and 2011–2014), the revenge of Porsche (2015–17), and the recent establishment of Toyota (2018–22) as the somewhat unexpected king of Le Mans.

When IMSA made a rules pivot for the 2017 season, Cadillac decided it would return to prototype racing. The Cadillac DPi-V.R, a Dallara-built prototype with a Cadillac-developed engine, debuted in November of 2016. 

Off the bat, the effort was more successful. For its first year back, Cadillac fielded three cars in partnerships with three different teams: Mustang Sampling, Whelen Engineering, and a familiar name—Wayne Taylor Racing. Sponsored by Konica Minolta, the Wayne Taylor car won its first-ever outing, which was also the longest race on the calendar: The 24 Hours of Daytona.  

Like the Northstar LMP, the DPi was powered by a V-8, and made a subtle nod to Cadillac’s street cars with similar wheel and headlight designs. Unlike the LMP, this new car won—a lot. During its six-year lifespan, the teams running DPi-V.Rs posted 27 wins and 80 podium finishes across 60 races. The cars also took home three manufacturer’s, three driver’s, and three team championships in that time.

Cadillac had mojo like it never had before in racing. In June of 2021, the FIA, ACO, and IMSA announced new regulations the prototype class, outlining a “Hypercar” with a hybrid powertrain that would be eligible for competition in both IMSA and World Endurance Championship (WEC), with minor changes. The crown jewel of the WEC is Le Mans, and Cadillac quickly declared its intent to return.

Unveiled in June of 2022, the Cadillac Hypercar prototype was beautiful, and more strongly visually related to production models. Why Cadillac bought into the regulations, says GM sports car program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser, is that the rules “allowed us to keep the styling of the bodywork to make that car uniquely a Cadillac.” The car’s hybrid V-8 heart is a bespoke design that shares nothing besides a displacement figure with that in GM’s GT-class competitor, the Corvette C8.R. 

Cadillac headed back to Le Mans in 2023. As the checkered flag brought the rain-soaked race to a close, Cadillacs crossed the finish line in third and in fourth, the brand’s best-ever results at the most prestigious endurance race in the world. Both cars, #2 and #3, were fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. Ganassi is back for 2024, joined by Action Express.

Change is coming, though: Cadillac will no longer be partnering with Ganassi for its prototype efforts in IMSA or in WEC after this season. Action Express, who fielded the Whelen-sponsored IMSA car for Cadillac in 2023–24, will likely take up the mantle of Cadillac’s primary racing partner in that series. DSC reported in March that multiple teams are already bidding for Ganassi’s space as Cadillac’s partner in WEC, an encouraging sign of the maturity of the program.

What does the lackluster 2000–02 program illuminate about the current effort? By way of contrast, it shows just how much GM has to prove at the 2024 Hours of Le Mans. The podium finish last year shows that Cadillac has remedied its worst missteps of the earlier era; clearly, it has gotten wiser and more efficient when making decisions alongside its partner teams, and it has handily run cars in two series simultaneously. Speaking of the podium finish, Klauser says: “We got a couple minutes to be just completely blown away—Hey, we had this success—and then the hunger set in, and the only answer from here on out is first place.”

Can a Cadillac win Le Mans in 2024? For now, the brand finally has everyone asking the right question. More than ever, Cadillac has skin in the game—and that’s what makes for good stories, and great racing. 

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BMW has two factory entries in the Hypercar class at this week’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of which will be adorned with the art of Julie Mehretu. BMW revealed this M Hybrid V8, its 20th Art Car, at the Centre Pompidou in Paris on May 22nd and subsequently shared it at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como, Italy later that week. Mehretu met with media at Villa d’Este and talked about her first rolling work of art and how the process gave her a new appreciation for the automotive world.

Mehretu, a New York-based contemporary artist, originally declined BMW’s offer to create the latest Art Car. She was unanimously selected by an independent jury of international museum directors for the role in 2018. During the Covid pandemic lockdown in spring 2020, she reconsidered: I was checking in with a lot of the people that I went to for guidance . . .  I think all of us were doing that around the world to make sense of this time when we [had been] hypermobile. And then the next thing you know, we’re all sheltering in place and under strict quarantine. I was thinking these are the times where you push yourself, and so while we’re all sheltering in place to think about mobility became a really interesting space. I thought, just take this [commission] and open up a new door.

She knew nothing about racing but became a racing fan: I really enjoyed going to the pit stop [at the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona] and seeing the numbers of people who work in there that are all communicating in some way or another with the vehicle itself and with the drivers [and realizing] that it is a team sport in that way. Going to Daytona was exhilarating—it was so much fun.

Although the Art Car debuted in May, Mehretu says it will not be done until after it races at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: The car will go through many transformations. Even the drivers you see going in and out of the car will mark up the car, and I made marks in that area thinking about that. There’s all the debris from the [track], the exhaust on the back, the car comes out just looking very different and we’ve discussed leaving it that way—you know, we’ll see what it looks like. If there are too many insects, we might have to do a little bit of hand washing, but we’ll see. I think with all of the [BMW Art] cars, the car has gone through the experience of the painting. The painting has transformed and marked up the car and then the painting—the car—will go through the race as the second major project [the first project being the wrap], and then it will be finished.

Her nephew, a car geek, was instrumental in helping her decide to take the BMW Art Car commission: My brother loves cars, and since my nephew was a child, tiny cars, toy cars, were always in his hands. That would be his meditation: Parking about 100 or 150 different toy cars in different configurations. He’s here with me [in Europe, for the Art Car’s debut] and he’s part of the reason I’ve done this project. He really was like, “please don’t say no, don’t say no. This is one of the things you should do!” And he’s loved it.

How she conceived the BMW Art Car in her studio: I had a scale model [of the BMW M Hybrid V8 race car] in the studio for a long time. I would just push the model around on a cart and it would go in front of different paintings at different times. And I just kept it there while I was working for the whole year. And then, about six months in, I saw this painting in front of it and then just thought of them together—I felt like the car could actually experience the painting. At first, I didn’t know how we were gonna approach that. [My assistant] Jackie Furtado worked with me on the digital sketches that [BMW] gave us, the vector files and the 3D model. And we were able to simulate how the car could go through the painting as a portal.

Mehretu also designed the racing suits and helmets that the three drivers— Sheldon van der Linde (South Africa), Robin Frijns (Netherlands), and René Rast (Germany)—will wear at Le Mans; she is an honorary fourth driver. I worked with another person who used to work at my studio, Minnie, who is now working on her own in fashion and apparel. She came back and we worked together on the driver’s uniforms, or overalls, and then the helmet as well. I know the helmets are very special, so we had a meeting with the drivers on Zoom. Each driver, from the different places that they live, showed their own helmets. And we tried to do something different on each helmet according to who they were.

Mehretu wanted to change the appearance of spare body parts for the race car, but Le Mans regulations prohibited it: One desire I had, and BMW tried really hard to get this to happen, was for the spare parts for the car—I wanted to do them in the ghost of the painting. So, they would be the negative of the car. If a part of the car had to be replaced, it would be replaced by its ghost, so the car would also shift and [change] shape through the race. We couldn’t do that; we tried hard. [It would have made it] part of this active performative painting, but in that sense, it’s ok. I mean, the point is to win, not to be disqualified.

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If you plan to win one of the two inaugural Ford Mustang Challenge races this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, you’ll have to beat one of the biggest names in Ford Motorsports.

No, not a professional race car driver, but the chief executive officer at Ford, Jim Farley. It shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise that the company CEO wants to compete—Farley is no stranger to racetracks, especially historic racing, competing in cars from his collection that include a 1965 Ford GT40, a 1966 427 Cobra, and a 1978 Lola 298.

“This is an amazing time for Mustang as we grow our family to include grassroots racing all the way up to the Mustang GT3 which will compete at Le Mans next week,” Farley said. “Like all the racers this weekend, I have a lot to learn in a short amount of time, but I can’t wait to get out there and enjoy some close battles with like-minded Mustang racing fans.”

He’ll be racing the number 17 Mustang, with a livery that recalls the first Mustang to win a race at Mid-Ohio—Jerry Titus’ Trans Am victory in 1967 in a Terlingua Racing Team entry.

The new Mustang Challenge series was created last year by Ford, and sanctioned by IMSA. The one-make series features the Mustang Dark Horse R, powered by a 500-horsepower, 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 with a Tremec manual transmission, racing on 19-inch Michelin slicks. The engine has been upgraded with enhanced cooling and oiling, and has a Borla racing exhaust. The track-only Dark Horse R starts at $145,000.

There are two 45-minute races per weekend. Besides Mid-Ohio, the series will also travel to Watkins Glen International, Road America, Circuit of the Americas and the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

There are 26 entries for this weekend’s series kickoff. Farley will be driving a car owned and prepared by MDK Motorsports, which also has two additional cars in the field for drivers Tom Tait, Jr., and Gabe Tesch. MDK is owned by Mark David Kvamme, a venture capitalist based in Ohio and an experienced competitor. He has raced in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The original Mustang Challenge series launched in 2008, using the Mustang FR500S. It was the brainchild of the late Larry Miller, a Ford dealer in Salt Lake City, Utah, who built the Miller Motorsports Park outside the city. The cars, which sold for $75,000, were turn-key racers powered by a 4.6-liter V-8 and a Tremec manual transmission. You can watch a race here.

As with the new Mustang Challenge series, the original featured two 45-minute races per weekend. It was sanctioned by Grand-Am, which became IMSA, and it lasted for three seasons.

For information on the new Mustang Challenge series, click here.

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Alexander Calder was best known for his sculptures, not for his painting, but near the end of his career some of his paint jobs were hard to ignore. In 1973 he was contracted by Braniff Airways to paint one of its four-engine DC-8 jets. The bright, cheerful result was dubbed “Flying Colors.”

In 1975, Hervé Poulain, a gentleman race car driver, commissioned Calder to use his imagination and paint a BMW 3.0 CSL that Poulain would race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year. It became the first of 20 official BMW Art Cars. It was also one of Calder’s last works; he died in 1976.

BMW Art Car number 20 debuted on Tuesday at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Designed by New York-based contemporary artist Julie Mehretu, the 640-horsepower BMW M Hybrid V-8 racer will compete in the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 15-16, carrying the number 20. Drivers will be Sheldon van der Linde, Robin Frijns and René Rast.

Mehretu, 53, was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in 2020. Last October Mehretu, who was born in Ethiopia, broke the auction record for an African artist at Sotheby’s Hong Kong when her piece Untitled sold for $9.32 million.

Mehretu attended the Rolex 24 at Daytona last January, and watching the BMWs race provided some inspiration. “Designers, engineers, aerodynamicists and so many other creative minds are working on taking this vehicle to its extreme,” she says. “When it goes out on the racetrack now, so many dreams will be fulfilled.”

The car’s abstract visual form is the result of digitally-altered photographs, which are superimposed in several layers of dot grids, neon-colored veils and the black markings characteristic of Mehretu’s work.

“In the studio, where I had the model of the BMW M Hybrid V-8, I was just sitting in front of the painting and I thought: What would happen if this car seemed to go through that painting and becomes affected by it?” Mehretu says. “The idea was to make a remix, a mash-up of the painting. I kept seeing that painting kind of dripping into the car. Even the kidneys of the car inhaled the painting.” She employed 3D mapping to apply the artwork to the contours of the car.

Art Car artists are chosen by a panel of international judges. Perhaps the most famous BMW Art Car is number 4, created when artist Andy Warhol applied the paint himself, rather than do what most Art Car artists do: Paint a model of the car, and have the full-sized BMW colored separately. “I attempted to show speed as a visual image,” said Warhol, who died in 1987 at the age of 58. “When an automobile is really traveling fast, all the lines and colors are transformed into a blur.” Warhol took the speed aspect literally, as he applied 13 pounds of paint to the BMW M1 in just 28 minutes. The car went on to finish sixth overall at the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Indeed, the first four Art Cars all competed at Le Mans, a trend broken in 1982 when Austrian artist Ernst Fuchs painted flames on a stock BMW 635 CSi for Art Car number 5. The Le Mans tradition was revived for Art Car number 15 in 1999 when American artist Jenny Holzer, known primarily for her words, applied some to her artwork. The BMW V-12 LMR went to Le Mans with PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT emblazoned on the top of the race car, LACK OF CHARISMA CAN BE FATAL on the rear wing, and THE UNATTAINABLE IS INVARIABLY ATTRACTIVE on the driver’s side bodywork.

Leading up to this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mehretu’s Art Car will make an appearance at the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este in Italy’s Lake Como on its way to the track in France. As part of the exhibition for historic vehicles organized by the BMW Group and the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este, Mehretu herself will present the 20th edition of the BMW Art Car Collection.

It will be on the grounds of the Villa Erba, also on Lake Como, together with the BMW Art Cars by Calder (1975), Frank Stella (1976), Roy Lichtenstein (1977), Warhol (1979), Holzer (1999) and Jeff Koons (2010), which all made their race debuts at Le Mans.

For a look at all the BMW Art Cars, click here.

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What’s a company like Cadillac doing in sports car racing?

Winning, mostly.

Since Cadillac joined the International Motor Sports Association series in 2017 in the top prototype class, it has earned four championships and won the Rolex 24 at Daytona four times. 

But changes have come to sports car racing—In 2023, IMSA introduced a total redesign of the cars eligible to compete in its premiere GTP class, including a new body, chassis, and revolutionary hybrid power.

An added incentive came with that new GTP package: The specifications for IMSA’s fastest class meant that the cars were now eligible to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most prestigious sports car race in the world. Manufacturers from all over the globe come to Le Mans each June to compete, and Cadillac received three invitations to enter the 2023 race, celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the event. Three teams were dispatched to France to race the Cadillac V-Series.R in the Hypercar class.

A documentary team followed Cadillac as they embarked on their ambitious return to Le Mans, and the result is “No Perfect Formula,” which premieres May 31 at 7 p.m. EST, on the Hagerty channel 1194 on the Samsung TV Plus app on Samsung Smart TVs, Galaxy Devices, and on the web. Global audiences can view the documentary on Hagerty’s Facebook page.

Want a sneak peek? You can view the official trailer for “No Perfect Formula” below.

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When the 2024 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion celebrates the history of racing August 14–17 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, 12 of the 13 classes of competition will now be associated with legendary drivers.

“This year’s 50th-anniversary salute to historic racing will be a grand celebration unlike any we’ve done in the past,” believes Barry Toepke, director of heritage events for WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. “Every aspect of the 2024 Rolex Reunion is being examined and elevated in a sense. The entire team is abuzz with new ideas and ways to honor the significance of historic racing and the addition of these gentlemen has only fueled that engine.”

They are as follows:

Mario Andretti Trophy (1966–85 Formula 1): Andretti is the only person to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), the Daytona 500 (1967), and the Formula 1 World Championship (1978). The Turn 2 hairpin at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is named in his honor.

Scott Pruett Legends of Endurance Cup (1991–2011 IMSA ALMS, Grand Am, FIA): California native Pruett began his career in karting at the age of eight. He broke the record for the most IMSA wins in 2016 when he won his 60th race (since eclipsed in 2020 by another Californian, Bill Auberlen). Pruett won at the Rolex 24 at Daytona five times. He has five Grand-Am championships, two IMSA GTO Championships, and a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He continues to win awards with wine produced at Pruett Vineyards.

Parnelli Jones Trans-Am Trophy (1966–72 Trans-Am): Parnelli Jones’ story weaves in significant accomplishments in IndyCar, Trans-Am, off-road racing, and in the history of Laguna Seca. At 90, the oldest living winner of the Indianapolis 500 had one of his most acclaimed wins in 1970 when, at Laguna, he almost lapped the entire Trans-Am field in his Ford Mustang Boss 302. He went on to win the season championship.

Dan Gurney Saloon Car Enduro (1955–69 saloon cars): Dan Gurney was a Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR, Can-Am, and Trans-Am race winner, becoming the first of three drivers to win in each series. He also started the champagne-spraying celebration in 1967 after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans, now an integral post-race ritual. In 1961, in the thick of his F1 career, Gurney rebuilt a Chevrolet Impala and entered it in saloon races in Europe where he made history outrunning the dominant Jaguars.

Ken Miles ’60s GT Trophy (1955–67 SCCA large-displacement production cars): Miles, now widely known from the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari, is a 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring race winner. Along with Carroll Shelby, Miles was deeply involved in the development of the Ford GT40 that he raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He often raced at Laguna Seca in Shelby Cobras, and he also drove Porsches for car dealer Otto Zipper.

Jim Hall USRRC Cup (1963–68 sports racing cars): Hall, 88, is one of the most successful USRRC drivers, including winning back-to-back USRRC championships and the 12 Hours of Sebring. As a race car builder, his products have won in ‘most every series they’ve competed in, which includes USRRC, Can-Am, Trans-Am, Formula 5000, World Sportscar Championship, and the Indianapolis 500. He was a leader in the innovation and design of aerodynamics and ground effects, as seen through his Chaparral cars.

Peter Gregg Trophy (1973–81 IMSA GT, GTX, AAGT, GTU, FIA): Gregg had many important race wins and championships across multiple series. He was the Trans-Am champion in 1971 and 1973, and he had wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1973, ’75, ‘76, and ’78. Gregg also took four IMSA GTO championships and a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Hurley Haywood Trophy (1981–91 IMSA GTP, GTO, FIA, Group C, Trans-Am): Arguably America’s greatest road-racing endurance driver, Haywood is a five-time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, and a two-time 12 Hours of Sebring winner. Haywood’s record also includes a 1988 Trans-Am Series title with Audi and two IMSA GT championships.

Pedro Rodriguez Trophy (1961–75 FIA Manufacturers Championship): Rodriguez was a popular Formula 1 driver between 1963 and 1971, winning the 1967 South African Grand Prix and the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix. With his brother, he won the 1961 Paris 1000km and the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans. According to the Laguna Seca track, driving for Ferrari between 1957 and 1970, he stood on the podium steps an impressive 40 of 94 races.

Briggs S. Cunningham Trophy (1947–60 front-engine GT, Sports Racers, and American specials): American sportsman Briggs S. Cunningham owned and raced Jaguars, Ferraris, Corvettes, Listers, OSCAs, and Abarths, but he is mostly known for constructing and fielding teams in the ‘50s with Cadillac- and Chrysler Hemi–powered Cunninghams. Third-place finishes at the 1953 and 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans were his highest, but Cunninghams captured impressive wins at Sebring, Elkhart Lake, and Bridgehampton. Adding to his legacy, Briggs successfully skippered America’s entry in the 1958 America’s Cup.

Skip Barber Cup (1967–81 Formula Fords): Barber is a back-to-back-to-back SCCA National Champion and back-to-back Formula Ford National Champion. He also raced in Formula 1 at the Monaco, Dutch, U.S., and Canadian Grands Prix. Upon retiring from racing, he founded the Skip Barber Racing School, the largest racing school in the world that holds programs at 10 different tracks in the U.S., including Laguna Seca. He is often credited by pro racers as laying the foundation for successful careers.

John Morton Trophy (1955–67 SCCA small-displacement production cars): After successfully competing in the SCCA National Championships, Morton’s talent and versatility caught the eye of Carroll Shelby, who teamed John with Ken Miles to drive for Shelby American Racing at Sebring. He catapulted into prominence with Peter Brock’s BRE team. He raced in IndyCar, F5000, Can-Am, and nine times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he won in class twice. Morton’s expertise and involvement in racing had an impact on the development and performance of many iconic automotive brands.

Ragtime Racers Exhibition (1920-and-earlier vehicles): It can be argued that this group, known as The Ragtime Racers, celebrates the start of motor racing. Sporting long-ago brands such as Chalmers-Detroit, National, Packard, and Franklin, the owners of these vehicles bring the history of motor racing to life for fans of all ages.

For more information on the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion visit WeatherTechRaceway.com and click on the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion event page.

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The as-yet-untitled Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt will be filming at the IMSA Roar Before the 24 this weekend at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida and at the Rolex 24 itself, the following weekend. An Orlando television station reported seeing Pitt on Monday night near the track. Those involved with filming have had to sign confidentiality agreements, so most of the information about the film is hearsay.

Here’s what we know: The movie, which is being co-produced by Sir Lewis Hamilton, the Formula 1 driver, and led by Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, has Pitt, 60, playing a race driver Sonny Hayes. Pitt said in an interview with Sky Sports at the British Grand Prix: “He has a horrible crash, kind of craps out and disappears and is racing in other disciplines … His friend, played by Javier Bardem, is a team owner. They’re a last-place team, 21, 22 on the grid. They’ve never scored a point. They have a young phenom played by Damson Idris. He brings me in as a kind of Hail Mary, and hijinks ensue.”

The movie already has filmed at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and at the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas, using a Carlin Formula 2 car. “I’m a little giddy right now, I’ve got to say,” Pitt told Sky Sports. “It’s great to be here. Having such a laugh, time of my life.”

So what is a team filming a Formula 1 movie doing at a sports car race? Presumably, capturing footage for the “other discipline” that Pitt talked about in the interview. Pitt’s character may be racing at Daytona, possibly alongside the rookie driver played by Idris, whose character’s name is Joshua Pearce. Pitt said in the Sky Sports interview that his character raced at Daytona, as well as in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Jerry Bruckheimer, 80, is the lead producer. He’s responsible for a long line of films including Days of Thunder, Flashdance, Top Gun, The Rock, Crimson Tide, Con Air, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, as well as the Beverly Hills Cop, Bad Boys, Pirates of the Caribbean, and National Treasure franchises.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal confirmed that the movie will be shooting at a surf shop in Daytona Beach and at a restaurant in New Smyrna Beach, in between the Roar and the Rolex 24 weekend, which is January 26–28.

Racer magazine reports that the film has struck an agreement with an actual race-car team competing in the GT Daytona class. Their car will carry the livery, and presumably cameras, for the film crew. The car is expected to mix in with other cars during the practice sessions of the Roar, and possibly even during the race itself. 

In an interview, Lewis Hamilton said the movie, which may or may not be called Apex, is likely to appear in 2025.

“It will be as authentic as we can get it,” Pitt, who has raced motorcycles, told Sky Sports. “As a civilian, I had no idea what it takes to be a driver.”

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You’ll likely get no argument, even among Ferrari diehards, about the legendary prowess of the Ford GT40. After Ferrari won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans six consecutive times, it was the GT40 that finally put an end to the streak in 1966 … and the car kept on winning the French endurance race through 1969. The GT40’s story—and the rivalry between Enzo Ferrari and Henry Ford II—is so compelling that decades later Hollywood turned it into a blockbuster movie, Ford v. Ferrari.

Now the Revs Institute, located in Naples, Florida, is shining a spotlight on the GT40’s legacy with a special exhibition called “Pony Pedigree,” which features three generations of GT40s. Highlight of the exhibit is an exceptional 1967 Ford GT40 Mark III on loan from the Margie and Robert E. Petersen Collection at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The car is one of only seven built.

“Pony Pedigree,” which runs through July 2024, traces the iconic model’s evolution from the Mustang I concept to the groundbreaking design of the GT40, which blossomed under the direction of Carroll Shelby. Powered by a 4.7-liter V-8 and driven in the period by the likes of A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, and Jacky Ickx, the GT40 burst onto the international stage by sweeping the podium at Le Mans in 1966.

The Revs Institute exhibition also includes an Mk I and Mk II-B from the Miles Collier Collection, housed at the museum.

“Hosting three generations of the GT40, including the rare 1967 Mark III, in one exhibition is a way to give our visitors both a truly special experience and a deeper understanding of Ford’s road to victory at Le Mans,” says Lauren Goodman, Supervising Producer of Media and Exhibitions at Revs Institute. Goodman describes the exhibition as a deep dive into the ingenuity and ambition that drove Ford to international racing success.

“Rivet for rivet, I’m not sure you can find a car that matches the Ford GT40’s raw collectibility,” Hagerty’s Conner Golden wrote last spring, attempting to explain the allure of the GT40. “Ford’s mid-engine wunderkind exists at the intersection of historical importance, motorsport legend, iconic personalities, exemplary engineering, and pure desirability. Not every Ferrari race car is important, but I reckon every GT40 built is noteworthy by its existence alone … It’s not an everyman car, but it is a storybook car—maybe the storybook car in America’s sports car history.”

The Revs Institute, which touts itself as “a haven for scholars, preservationists, and passionate connoisseurs of automotive history,” operates as a working facility and contains more than 100 significant automobiles built between 1896 and 1995.

The museum is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All visitors are required to reserve tickets online in advance of their visit. There are no walk-up sales.

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When the Joad family, featured in the 1939 book The Grapes of Wrath, left the Oklahoma dust bowl in the Depression era, they started out from Sallisaw. That’s on the state’s eastern border, so I imagine they passed through a scorching Hallett, spurring them on to a hopefully cooler, damper life in California.

I have seldom been more miserable, nor more hot, than the weekend of August 14 and 15, 2010, at the near-shadeless Hallett Motor Racing Circuit. My rental car thermometer said it was 108 degrees F in the pits, and a TV broadcaster measured the heat in one of our race cars at 158 degrees. You can see it on a YouTube video of the Dodge Viper Cup race here.

Viper ACR-Xs are excellent race cars. Second only to their V-10’s ability to generate 640 horsepower is its ability to generate heat and transfer it directly to the driver. You will never freeze to death in an ACR-X.

Having no fancy cool suit, I instead relied on my usual fallback: a lifelong ability to operate at the 50th percentile, when everybody else is trying, and often failing, to perform at the top of their game. I can just mosey along like the Joad family in their Ford.

This unenviable talent guided me to victory over a man who was still years from becoming arguably the best pure amateur race-car driver in the world. His name was Ben Keating, then king of the Dodge Viper Cup racing series. I will not tell you that I won either race of that weekend’s doubleheader, because I didn’t. But let the record show that I beat Mr. Keating, whose car may or may not have suffered mechanical maladies in both races. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Keating went on to win championships in IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, plus class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. More about him in a moment. But first, more about me.

Dodge created the Viper Cup to showcase its homegrown super sports car in a series of racing events. Being short on celebrities, I got a ride in one for that August weekend, along with 10 other entries. Not having iRacing or a suitable computer simulator on which to learn the track (which I hadn’t driven on in 15 years), I found an in-car YouTube video shot from a fast Corvette lapping Hallett in about six minutes. I studied the video for a couple of days until I knew every corner.

When I arrived at Hallett I said to myself, “Why the hell is the flag stand on that side of the track?”

Turns out Hallett is one of the few tracks that can operate either clockwise or counterclockwise. The Corvette video I watched ran clockwise. My races would be run counterclockwise. I not only had to learn a new track on the spot, I had to also forget what I had learned from studying the video.

As you might expect given the circumstances, I was slow, qualifying 10th out of the 11 cars and finishing that first race in 10th. In 11th, points leader Ben Keating, whose car had expired from the heat. The official record says Smith 10th, Keating 11th. Don’t ask me any difficult questions.

Race two: Qualifying was in the rain, and I was positioned seventh. The track was dry and even hotter than before, and the air more humid. Keating qualified on the pole. But leaking fluid—possibly again from the heat—coated his rear tires and he spun several times, dropping him to eighth. I had figured out where the track went by then, and I held the position in which I qualified. Smith seventh, Keating eighth. A sweep!

None of us knew then how good Ben Keating would be. Remember, he was 35 in 2006 when he turned his first laps on a race track, courtesy of a one-day driving school, at the old Texas World Speedway, that his wife had bought him for Christmas. We live in an era in which the pro drivers of tomorrow start competing at age four.

The Christmas-gift driving school triggered something in Keating, “and after that day, I knew what I wanted to do,” Keating told Hagerty.

Keating was at the time a small-town car dealer in South Texas. One of his dealerships was Dodge, and he checked a Viper out of the inventory to take to Texas World Speedway. “I had such a blast,” he said. “It really resonated with me.”

He spent the next few years learning everything he could about racing, often at great expense, competing in mostly amateur series like the Viper Cup and the Viper Racing League. He owned TheViperExchange.com, the world’s largest Viper store, and his late-discovered talent at the wheel of Vipers was good advertising. Keating’s company now owns 29 dealerships, including a Hyundai store just acquired in Waco. Technically, his racing remains a hobby. Technically.

The bug truly bit in 2011, when Keating rented a ride in a Porsche 911 and competed in the Rolex 24, finishing 27th overall alongside co-drivers Dominik Farnbacher and Lucas Luhr. He came back in 2012, actually driving shifts in two separate cars, something he has done multiple times since then. In 2013, he moved to the final season (before NASCAR bought it) in the American Le Mans Series, winning at his home track at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and at Virginia International Raceway.

Keating then moved to what would become the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2014, winning twice. This earned his team an invitation to the world’s foremost sports car race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2015. For those keeping score, it took him nine years to go from raw beginner to Le Mans.

He has raced at Le Mans every year since then, finishing third in class in 2018, winning in his own Ford GT in 2019 until the victory was disallowed because his fuel cell had swollen during the race and contained a Coke can’s worth of extra fuel. He came back and won his class in 2022 and 2023, most recently with the factory Chevrolet Corvette team.

The soft-spoken Keating said his addictive personality—he had a pair of drug-rehab stints while still in high school—has been well attended to by motorsports. “I like to say I just traded one addiction for another.” An additional addiction is fitness: He’s in superb physical shape, agile as a cat. I’ve seen him spring fresh as today’s laundry from a car after a two-hour stint in an endurance race, only to feverishly pace around until he could get back behind the wheel.

At 52 he’s driving as fast as ever, so Keating has no plans to hang up his helmet. Next year he’ll be racing in IMSA in the LMP2 class for United Autosport, and he plans to make his 10th straight appearance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He’ll be going for his third straight class win. He’ll also race in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January and the Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.

“As long as I can be competitive,” he said, “I’ll be out there.”

As you may have already inferred, I won’t.

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Honda just announced that starting in 2024, its two racing firms, Honda Performance Development and Honda Racing Corporation, will join to create one super-organization that will oversee Big H’s racing efforts worldwide. The consolidation could be the tipping point that sees the brand return to La Sarthe, France for the coveted 24 Hour of Le Mans race in the future.

Effective as of the start of the 2024 motorsports season, Honda Performance Development (HPD), the brand’s North American racing arm, will be renamed Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US). The renaming helps place it in line with Honda’s Japanese racing entity, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC). The newly-named HRC US “will play an integral role in Honda’s global motorsports activities, which includes contributing to the company’s Formula 1 (F1) program,” Honda said in the announcement.

Founded in 1993 by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., HPD’s main mandate was to bring Honda motorsports to the North American continent in an effective and impactful manner. HPD focused first on IndyCar, which it still remains a part of today as one of two engine manufacturers powering the cars that do battle at great North American circuits such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where HPD has won 15 Indianapolis 500s.

Today HPD’s oversight stretches far beyond open-wheel racing to other big-name series, such as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, where the Acura ARX-06 GTP prototype cars do battle with the likes of Porsche, Cadillac, and BMW. (These GTP cars are important for something we’ll cover in a moment.) HPD also has a hand in Baja off-road racing, touring car championships, and various open-wheel feeder series.

Meanwhile, HRC, based in Sakura, Japan, is responsible for any Honda racing taking place anywhere else on the globe. Founded in 1982, the firm originally focused on motorcycle racing but has since expanded its responsibilities to include the Honda F1 power unit program. HRC currently supports the power units propelling this year’s runaway powerhouse, Red Bull Racing, and beginning in 2026, the HRC will partner with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team as their official engine supplier.

Beginning with that team switch in 2026, the renamed HRC US will play a role in the F1 power unit development and support, something that it had not previously done. “Our goal is to increase the HRC brand and sustain the success of our racing activities and we believe that uniting Honda motorsports globally as one racing organization will help achieve that,” said Koji Watanabe, president of HRC Japan.

Back to those prototype cars: When IMSA and the World Endurance Championship (WEC) announced the return of the GTP class for the 2023 season, part of the big appeal was that one chassis would be eligible to compete in both series. A single car could, at long last, take the checkered flag at the 24 Hours of Daytona, which is an IMSA-sanctioned race, and also the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a race that is governed by the WEC. Cadillac and Porsche, two of the manufacturers with factory efforts in IMSA, made the leap across the pond this year to do battle at the grueling French circuit. Acura, however, did not. After all, there is no Acura in Europe.

As David Salters, president of HPD explained to The Drive in an interview in spring, the reason behind the decision not to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans came down to who had jurisdiction where. HRC technically oversees racing efforts in Europe, so it was not up to HPD—the folks responsible for the Acura GTP program—to decide one way or the other about Le Mans.

With the new restructuring, there’s a glimmer of hope for Honda’s return to Le Mans, a place it has not had a formal presence at since 2013. Let’s cross our fingers; the more manufacturers competing at famous racetracks around the world, the better. Honda’s plenty familiar with what it takes to win at many levels of motorsport, so seeing them back at La Sarthe should make the competition all the more fierce.

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Whenever being a crew chief starts to feel like work, Greg Ives thinks back to March 22, 2004. That day, he started working for Hendrick Motorsports, the stock-car racing team owned by mega car dealer Rick Hendrick and based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Working for Mr. Hendrick, as Rick is called by everyone who works for him, was Ives’ dream job.

Ives, 43, has been a winning NASCAR Cup crew chief for Hendrick drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Alex Bowman. Last year, he stepped down from the 39-week-a-year grind of being Bowman’s full-time crew chief to spend more time with his family. His son is climbing the ranks of karting, “my daughter is graduating next year, and the middle one is playing softball,” Ives said. “I can’t miss any more of that.”

Fortunately, the perfect job was waiting: Build and crew-chief the 24 Hours of Le Mans Garage 56 entry, a specially equipped NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

A collaboration between NASCAR, Chevrolet, Goodyear, and Hendrick Motorsports, the Garage 56 Camaro was the brainchild of NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France. France is also the chairman of IMSA, the NASCAR-owned sports-car racing series that sanctions the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. With IMSA’s top GTP Prototype class now legal for competition in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, France wanted to take the connection one step further.

“I would have never come up with this idea if [NASCAR chairman] Jim France hadn’t tapped me on the shoulder,” said Rick Hendrick. “Once you get involved in something like that, it gets very exciting. To me, I want to showcase our very best. I want people to look at this car and say, ‘Wow, they did something remarkable here.'”

Garage 56 originated in 2012 as a one-car, exhibition-only class for vehicles that showcased unorthodox technology and didn’t fit in any of the classes established by the ACO, the race’s sanctioning body. Because each Le Mans entry has a garage, and there had long been 55 of them, the entry was dubbed Garage 56. The first was the oddball but successful DeltaWing, styled by Chip Ganassi Racing designer Ben Bowlby and built by Dan Gurney’s All American Racers company.

The DeltaWing was an ultra-lightweight, ultra-streamlined car that used a four-cylinder engine to run lap times comparable to those of V-8-powered, scratch-built prototypes. After the DeltaWing did its exhibition run at Le Mans in 2012, the American Le Mans Series accepted the car as a full-fledged competition entry. It probably helped that the founder of ALMS was also the DeltaWing’s owner: Dr. Donald Panoz, the wealthy inventor of the nicotine patch.

2023’s Garage 56 Camaro began life as a NASCAR stocker. To run a 24-hour endurance race, it gained functioning headlights and taillights, a larger fuel cell, carbon-ceramic brake discs, and specially designed Goodyear Eagle race tires. Drivers were seven-time NASCAR Cup champ Jimmie Johnson, former Formula 1 champion Jensen Button, and two-time Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, who did the lion’s share of pre-race testing.

“From the beginning of this project, it was important to us that the car we bring to Le Mans is a true NASCAR stock car,” said France, the NASCAR chairman. “While there have been some adjustments to allow the car to compete in a 24-hour endurance race, fans in Le Mans would be treated to the full NASCAR experience.”

Boy, were they.

“We thought we were going to have a little bit of resistance to NASCAR, to our American style coming into Le Mans. We figured the reaction would be mixed—some would love it, some would hate it. But oh my gosh! Nothing further from the truth,” Ives said. “Everybody loved it. The fans loved it, and the crew members—we had crew members coming down from other teams asking for a quick tour. The reception was pretty awesome even before they knew how it sounded on track… how it performed.”

The rules for a Garage 56 exhibition car are relatively open. Ives had two goals: To keep the Camaro looking like a NASCAR stocker, and to run with the GT cars. (Each of those GT entries starts life as a real car, as opposed to the cars in the ground-up Prototype class, which Ferrari won.) There were plenty of GT Ferraris, Aston Martins, Porsches, and even Corvettes going for the GT win. Ives did not want his car to get in the way on the 8-mile track.

So was the Camaro more Cup car, or more GT3 car? “In terms of looks, it was more of a Cup car, but with all the aero bits that the GT cars allow to create some downforce. We kind of lack the ability to put downforce in a Cup car efficiently, so we added front dive planes and the rocker wedges and the rear canards, and you’re able to do that and get downforce in the car efficiently. When we were able to do that it just gave the car a lot of its overall speed. It allows you to have the straight-line speed, but also the cornering speed that you needed to compete.

“We worked on a scale that was respectable and also put ourselves in a situation with the other cars so they knew that we’d be predictable and they’d be able to get around us. Looks-wise, it was definitely a Cup car, but from an aero-efficiency standpoint, we were more along the lines of a GT car. Obviously, a big wing versus a spoiler on the rear is probably the next step we probably could have taken, but we didn’t want to take away from the look of the Cup car in itself.

“The driveshaft, transaxle, the suspension, most everything was Cup-based. The motor was more along the lines of the 5.5-liter IMSA motor due to the fact that they had experience with being able to go 24 hours. It’s still a Cup-based block and heads, I believe, just a little bit different build to have some more endurance in it. Instead of being built to run 400 to 600 miles two or three times, this engine was meant to run 3000 miles one time.”

The ACO, the sanctioning body for Le Mans, was afraid the 3000-pound Camaro would be very slow in the track’s Porsche curves, slow enough to stack up traffic behind it. So they planned to wave a white flag at the entrance of the curves, the signal for “slow car ahead.”

“That flag disappeared after a couple of laps,” Ives said, laughing. “They knew they didn’t need it.”

The usual small problems, such as brakes and sensors, were factors, but it wasn’t until about four hours were left in the race that the lone major problem reared its head—a transmission failure. True, the Garage 56 racer wasn’t technically racing, but tell that to Ives, Button, Johnson, and Rockenfeller. The team took their time making sure the car was perfect before sending it back out. They lost more than an hour, dropping the Camaro overall from about 28th to 39th, where it finished out of 62 cars.

It annoyed Ives that some of the media reported that the Camaro “limped around” for the final few hours. That wasn’t true: “We put Rocky in the car, and he went out and turned the fastest lap we’d done all race.”

And how fast was that? The winning Corvette was the fastest GT car, notching a best lap of 3 minutes, 50.439 seconds. The Camaro’s fastest lap was an incredible 3:50.512, faster than every other GT car, including those Ferraris, Porsches, and Aston Martins. In the end, the Garage 56 Camaro covered 285 laps, beating 12 of the GT cars.

As for Ives: “He was amazing,” said John Doonan, president of IMSA, former head of Mazda Racing and the project chief for Garage 56. “I told him after the race that his work on the radio was tremendous… Methodical, just like an endurance racing veteran!”

So what’s next? The Garage 56 car (there are two race cars and a show car) went to Brands Hatch in England for a major car show and will go to Goodwood to run the July hill climb. Afterwards, it’s likely Hendrick and France will each get one of the race cars, and the show car will go on tour in the United States.

As for Ives, he’ll be crew-chiefing some Xfinity races this year. Last weekend, however, he was in Indiana, where his son was competing in the U.S. Pro Kart Series at New Castle Motorsports Park.

Would Ives like to go back to Le Mans? “I’d love to, especially if we could do it with all the same people. But like always, I’ll work wherever Mr. Hendrick needs me. If he puts me to sweeping floors, I’ll be the best floor sweeper out there!”

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This year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the most exciting in years for a host of reasons. One of them was that for the first time since 1965, the car at the front of the pack on Sunday afternoon was a Ferrari.

Speaking of 1965, that was an incredibly captivating edition of the French endurance classic, too, and the gold-embroidered tricolore French flag used to start it just sold for a head-snapping €396,000 ($425,660). Offered at the RM Sotheby’s auction held on the eve of this year’s Le Mans race, this fringy piece of old cloth is now one of the most expensive pieces of automobilia ever sold. It even sold for more than four actual cars (a 1983 Rondeau, a 2000 Porsche 911 GT3, a 1993 Venturi, and a 2005 Spyker) offered at the same auction, and those were cars that actually raced at Le Mans. You could almost buy a brand-new Ferrari 812 GTS or a pair of Romas for that money.

But history counts for a lot, and ’65 was a wild and important year. Held right in the heat of the Ford v Ferrari era, the 1965 Le Mans race was the first one broadcast live on American television. For the first time since 1957 a non-factory team won the race, and Goodyear rubber took its first major international race victory. A jet turbine-powered car finished in the top 10, and there’s a legend about a “ghost driver” doing a stint in the winning car. A Ferrari won Le Mans for the sixth time in a row (a streak only bested by Porsche, with seven wins from 1981-87), and for the final time until 2023.

For the race, 51 cars lined up to start. Nearly half of them had either Ford or Ferrari power as the two companies were in the midst of their on-track international slugfest. Ferrari brought its latest P2 series of prototypes, while private teams ran older 250 LMs and the new 275 GTBs represented Maranello in the GT class. Ford, meanwhile, was riding high from a win at Daytona and had improved GT40s with both 7.0- and 4.7-liter power, while Cobra Daytona Coupes took the fight to the 275 GTBs.

Le Mans begins not with the traditional green flag used everywhere else but with a gold-embroidered French flag, and typically someone notable dips the tricolore to set the cars off on their 24-hour chase. In 2023, Lebron James started the race for some reason. In 1965, it was the slightly less famous Maurice Herzog, France’s then-Under-Secretary of State for Youth and Sports.

All eyes were set to see whether Ford or Ferrari would win the world’s most important sports car race, but in a way, they both lost. The GT40s got off to a blistering start, but by the third hour things started to go wrong, and by seven hours in all of the GT40s were out of the race. Head gasket problems plagued the Cobra Daytonas, and in the end only one Ford-powered car finished the race, in eighth.

The Ferrari P2s, meanwhile, were running but kept cracking their brake discs and lost tons of time in the pits to fix them. With the factory teams out of the running, it was up to the private racers. The 250LMs of French privateer Pierre Dumay and Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART) were running reliably and comfortably in first and second. Dumay’s car ran on Dunlop tires, with whom Ferrari had an official relationship. Chinetti’s car ran on Goodyears. Despite requests from Enzo to slow down and give Dunlop the win, Chinetti just ordered his drivers—”Kansas City Flash” Masten Gregory and future F1 champion Jochen Rindt—to go faster.

Ironically, the French car blew one of its Dunlop tires on the Mulsanne straight, which gave the NART car a lead it never gave up. Dumay’s 250LM finished second, and a 275 GTB finished third. Porsche 904s, other Ferrari prototypes, a Cobra, an Iso Grifo and the Rover-BRM turbine car rounded out the top 10. There were just 14 finishers. Legend has it that at some point Masten Gregory’s trademark glasses fogged up enough that he couldn’t drive and that Rindt was nowhere to be found, so backup driver Ed Hugus stepped up to drive the car for a stint, but this has never been proven.

According to RM Sotheby’s, the starter flag was given to Jacques Maury, the mayor of Le Mans, after the race and stayed with his family until going to a collector about 10 years ago.

Just as the flag started an exciting race, it was also the first lot of an exciting auction that saw €20M in total sales and seven Le Mans veteran race cars sell for over €1M each. Bidding on the flag was slow but steady, going in €5K increments between someone in the room and someone on the phone, both Ferrari fans, surely. It took 14 minutes of back and forth before the underbidder finally bowed out. That the new Ferrari 499P won this past Sunday seemed like some poetic justice for that crazy price.

We’ve been picking a Sale of the Week each and every week for over two years now. Naturally, we’re looking for cars, or maybe the occasional truck, and one time we picked a motorcycle. Meanwhile, automobilia, garage art, or whatever you choose to call these accessories is not in our price guide and it doesn’t often make headlines. But it is a huge ancillary piece of the collector car hobby, and results like this remind us to pay attention. $460,000 neon dealership signs, $210K slot-car tracks, and now $425K French flags are all out there, and people pursue them with the same passion as their cars.

By the way, if you think $425K for a flag is wild, the most expensive flag ever sold at auction is a Revolutionary War era American flag that sold for $12.3M back in 2006.

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This past week, there was so much action and enthusiasm around sports car racing that it was easy to miss the Mercedes driverless milestone. Call it a sign of our confusing times. Let’s start with the Mercedes news.

The company received approval from California to sell the most automated driver system yet available. Mercedes Drive Pilot allows drivers, in certain circumstances, to take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the road. Drivers cannot, however, take a nap and must remain ready to immediately resume driving duties if needed. In the confusing gradient between zero driver aids and full autonomy, the Society of Automotive Engineers calls Drive Pilot a “Level 3” system. It’s the first available in the U.S. market. Tesla’s misleadingly named “Full Self Driving” system is only Level 2 and requires drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel. The Mercedes system will roll out later this year in California and Nevada.

Meanwhile, the 24 Hours of Le Mans race this past weekend showed that the historic event— 2023 was the 100^th race—is as relevant as ever. Major car companies including Ferrari, Porsche, Toyota, Peugeot, Aston Martin, and Cadillac fielded cars, all of which, mind you, required the full attention of the drivers. Spotty rain often soaked portions of the track, turning exacting pre-race strategies to mush. Some teams pitted for rain tires, a potentially costly time event, while others remained on the slick tires that have virtually zero traction on wet roads. There was risk either way. We got to see those agonizing decisions and the consequences, which were often crashes that defined the outcome. Practically every team and driver ran into trouble, including six-time Indycar champ Scott Dixon, who spun his Cadillac on the wet track but had the extreme good luck to avoid a major impact.

There are several classes of cars at the race and therefore multiple winners. The overall winner, with the car that went the farthest in 24 hours, was Ferrari, with its new 499P hypercar. Incredibly, it had been 58 years since the marque last stood on the top podium. There were several strong American results: The Cadillac finished third behind the Ferrari and a Toyota and the single Corvette won its hypercompetitive class. A Chevy NASCAR stock car, entered as a PR stunt, was a crowd favorite.

Just before the Le Mans weekend, Ford announced a new version of the Mustang that is eligible to compete in the 24-hour race next year. Sports-car racing, which many thought was in decline, seems to be as popular as ever, even though American fans are routinely denied the top-quality TV coverage that we enjoy in so many other global sports. Such was the case with Le Mans; the U.S. broadcast of the race was subpar. Generally, one video feed is beamed to different countries, forcing commentators to speak to a video that they have no control of—nor can they predict when a producer might cut to a shot of the pits or replay a crash. Some pull off this tough assignment better than others. We got a superficial view of the race rather than a richly textured insider’s perspective, but I suppose we should be grateful that the race was shown in its entirety since the production costs—cameras and staff around the 8.5-mile circuit for 24 hours—make the business case for the broadcast extremely challenging.

We’ve recently produced several videos and articles that I hope illustrate why Le Mans is so special. Henry Catchpole drove a pre-war Le Mans Bentley and we produced a documentary on the anniversary. Le Mans is a mythical place for racing drivers and fans and we are thrilled to celebrate it.

Have a great weekend!

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It wasn’t just because of the rain that would absolutely soak part of the 8.5-mile course and leave the rest of the track dry. It wasn’t because of the huge, 62-car field, a size that had forced race organizers to turn away entries. 

It wasn’t even because Ferrari was competing for the overall win, for the first time in 50 years, back in the “Ford vs. Ferrari” era. And it wasn’t just because Ferrari won, in an incredibly popular victory.

The 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans felt different because it was different.

That difference began way back on January 24, 2020, before a packed and moderately skeptical crowd at the Daytona International Speedway conference room, where IMSA, the ACO, and the WEC announced that they had reached an agreement: There would be a new Prototype sports car that would compete without changes in the top class of IMSA as well as the WEC, and that would include the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” muttered one team representative.

For years, you needed two entirely separate Prototype cars to run in IMSA, and in the WEC and Le Mans, effectively locking IMSA teams out of Le Mans. This agreement would fix that. By Le Mans in 2022, American teams would just need to put their cars on a boat or an airplane and ship them to Le Mans for a chance to run for the overall win, something that hadn’t happened for decades.

COVID intervened, and the introduction of the new car would be delayed until 2023. In IMSA it would be called the GTP car, overseas they would continue to refer to it as the Hypercar.

When the green flag fell last Saturday at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, three Cadillacs and three Porsches, cars that had debuted at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, were on the grid. Next year they will be joined by a pair of Lamborghinis, and possibly even Acuras, if IMSA can talk the company into competing at Le Mans, with Acura having debuted their car at Daytona but decided to remain stateside.

The Cadillacs and Porsches were joined by a pair of Ferraris that were new for 2023, the first time the company had competed at the top level at Le Mans in decades. They would line up next to a pair of Toyota Hypercars, which had won the race five years straight, and a pair of cars from U.S. entrepreneur Jim Glickenhaus that had been racing at Le Mans. Peugeot also joined the field, along with cars from Alpine and other manufacturers, all built or converted to the new common specifications.

What some doubters had said would never happen, happened. IMSA President John Doonan, who helped pen the agreement that was ratified in August of 2021, was giddy. “Just super pumped,” he told Hagerty from Le Mans, midway through the event. “The media coverage has been so incredibly positive. Really, really happy with how things are going.”

By the time the checkered flag fell Sunday afternoon Le Mans time, multiple manufacturers, including Cadillac, had taken turns at the front of the field, its first time back at Le Mans since a rather halfhearted effort had ended in 2002.

In the end, Ferrari would break Toyota’s streak, though the manufacturer was a close runner-up, with Cadillac third and fourth. It was arguably the most exciting Le Mans since 2000, when BMW, Nissan, and Mercedes ended their participation, and Audi began its long run of domination, succeeded eventually by Toyota. 

2023 marks a new era in sports-car racing in general, Le Mans in particular. It was Ferrari’s first outright win in 58 years, and IMSA officials will be lobbying the brand to get the team to race at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in coming years.

Other Le Mans notables

Corvette Racing, in its final full-factory effort before turning the brand over to privateer customer teams next year, won in convincing style after an early suspension problem put the single-car team two laps down. The TV coverage gave a tremendous amount of time to 51-year-old Ben Keating, a gentleman, non-professional driver who owns 28 auto dealerships in Texas, and races for fun.

Keating may be the most accomplished gentleman driver in years. He won his class last year and won the GT class a couple of years before, only to have the victory taken away while he was standing at the Houston airport baggage claim after Le Mans technical inspectors found that his privateer Ford GT’s gas tank contained “about one Coke can too much fuel,” as Keating said at the time.

Team owner Roger Penske, who has trophies from multiple major races but the 24 Hours of Le Mans, entered three Porsches at Le Mans hoping to add one more victory to his resume. But the Porsches suffered both mechanical gremlins and on-track incidents, with ninth the best that one of the Porsches could do in the 62-car field. IndyCar rival Chip Ganassi did collect a trophy from Le Mans, though, as he operates the Cadillac team that finished on the podium.

NASCAR sent a much-modified Chevrolet Camaro Cup car to compete in the exhibition-only, one-car Garage 56 class, much to the delight of the crowd. “Fans love the car,” Doonan said. Drivers were seven-time Cup champ Jimmie Johnson, Formula 1 champ Jensen Button, and sports car ace Mike Rockenfeller. The car was almost as quick as the GT cars, running as high as 25th overall, before a lengthy driveline repair sent the car back to 39th in the field. Overall, Doonan said, it was a major success, with some of what the Hendrick Motorsports-led effort possibly ending up in NASCAR as more and more emphasis is placed on road course and street racing.

It was announced earlier that the lone WEC race in the states, which would draw the majority of the Hypercars to America, would no longer be part of the Super Sebring weekend, but would instead run at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. It’s a blow to Sebring, but they’ll do fine with the traditional Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring next March as a standalone.

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In a presentation at Le Mans the day before the 24 Hours of Le Mans takes the green flag, Ford has formally unveiled the Ford Mustang GT3, which is expected to race globally with customer teams in as many as 100 series that feature production-based GT cars, such as IMSA, the WEC and the SRO.

Based on the 2024 Mustang Dark Horse, the Mustang race car has a new look from Troy Lee, who is recognized as one of the premier motorsports designers in the world. The legendary Mustang GT3 represents Lee’s first foray with Ford race cars.

With the reveal, Ford officially enters Mustang into the global FIA GT3 category. Chevrolet has unveiled a Corvette GT3 car based on the Z06 that will debut in the U.S. against the Mustang GT3 car at the 2024 IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.

“Ford and Le Mans are bound together by history. And now we’re coming back to the most dramatic, most rewarding and most important race in the world. It is not Ford versus Ferrari anymore. It is Ford versus everyone. Going back to Le Mans is the beginning of building a global motorsports business with Mustang, just like we are doing with Bronco and Raptor off-road,” said Jim Farley, Ford CEO.

To coincide with the unveiling, Ford also is revealing new, global Ford Performance branding – a cleaner, simplified look that will now be featured on all its racing vehicles. This “expressive and engaging” new identity will help position Ford Performance as a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset. The new Ford Performance mark is easier to integrate across various environments and spaces, including car liveries, merchandise, apparel, display assets, parts, accessories and in advertising.

Ford Performance extended its relationship with two longtime partners in Multimatic and M-Sport for the basis of this project. Multimatic, builders of the Ford GT, were also involved in the Ford GT race program and will help build and support the Mustang GT3s, while longtime World Rally Championship partner and two-time championship winning team M-Sport will assemble the Ford Performance-developed 5.4-liter Coyote-based V-8 engines that power the GT3 car.

“For a project like the Mustang GT3, we turned to two of our most trusted partners in the motorsports world to help bring this vehicle and program together,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “I know we’ll all be as thrilled as Ford fans when Mustang begins racing at the highest levels of GT racing in 2024.”

Before going to Le Mans in 2024, the Mustang GT3 will compete in various GT3 series across the globe in the hands of customer teams. The first customer team, announced today, is Proton Competition. Based in Ehingen, Germany, Proton intends to campaign a pair of Mustang GT3s in the FIA World Endurance Championship, starting in 2024.

Multimatic will also field a two-car race program with Mustang GT3 in IMSA’s GTD class. This will be managed by Multimatic Motorsports and begin at the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona. 

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Each year since 2012, the 24 Hours of Le Mans welcomes a race car to its grid. Known as a Garage 56 entry, this car need not fit in any of the race’s sports-car or from-scratch race car classes, and it will not compete for points. For 2023, IMSA has invited a NASCAR Cup Car—specifically, a Camaro ZL1 from Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet, and Goodyear—to take this coveted spot. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson, 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button, and 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller will share driving duties.

Naturally, Chevrolet has decided to celebrate with a special-edition run of road-legal ZL1s so collectors can remember the occasion.

First, a bit more on what these ZL1s are commemorating.  The pairing of team, manufacturer, and tire is no accident, as Hendrick Motorsports has more NASCAR race wins and cup championships than any other team, and the same goes for Chevrolet and Goodyear. “Even though Chevrolet has been racing since its inception in 1911, we’ve never done anything quite like Garage 56,” said General Motors president Mark Reuss.

The NASCAR Next Gen car debuted in 2022 and brought a host of changes. The traditional four-speed manual transmission was replaced with a five-speed sequential transaxle located at the back of the car. The change also eliminated the solid axle that had been a NASCAR stalwart since 1947 and allowed for an improved underbelly that increased downforce.

Another big change for NASCAR was the move from five lugs per wheel to a single center-lock setup. The change makes for much faster pit stops, surely a big bonus over the course of Le Mans’ 24-hour race. The Hendrick Motorsports team is on its game, too, having just won the Le Mans GTE Pit Stop Challenge.

The NASCAR Camaro ZL1 did require some changes for Le Mans, including modifications to its R07 small-block V-8 as well as real headlights. Stickers just don’t provide the kind of visibility needed for 200-mph rips down the Mulsanne Straight.

To celebrate this milestone in Camaro history, Chevrolet will build 56 Camaro ZL1s as Garage 56 Editions. Chevrolet’s Performance Design Studio gave each a Riptide Blue exterior paint, new for 2024 model-year Camaros, along with thin gold stripes that set off the larger white ones that run the length of the car. A NASCAR 75th Anniversary logo is prominently displayed on the front of the hood, and buyers will be able to opt for one of three additional graphics: a NASCAR windshield header decal, white Goodyear front wheel-arch decals, or door decals displaying 24, just like the Le Mans–going race car.

“When adapting a race car appearance into a production car, you want to showcase themes, proportions, and colors without making the car look out of place on the street,” said Marc Mainville, senior manager of GM Motorsport’s design studio. “The Garage 56 Edition captures the feeling of the race car while allowing the car’s athletic lines to be in the forefront.”

Each of the Garage 56 Edition 2024 Camaro ZL1s will use the ZL1 1LE’s fascia with dive planes and a wicker-bill spoiler on the decklid. In addition, each car will be adorned with a Garage 56 fender badge, Hendrick Motorsports logos on the sail panels, and Garage 56 emblems on the floormats and steering wheel. Naturally, the Camaro ZL1 rides on Goodyear rubber—specifically, Eagle F1 SuperCar.

With this announcement coming quickly on the heels of the Camaro Collector’s Edition, we’re wondering how many more special-run sixth-gens Chevrolet has up its sleeve. Production of the Garage 56 Edition Camaro ZL1 will begin later this year, and we expect to get pricing information as soon as orders open up.

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Live coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans starts at 9 a.m. ET Saturday on MotorTrend TV.

You can’t wait that long? Then let us suggest you check out a fascinating documentary between now and then: Racing with Giants: Porsche at Le Mans, produced by Hagerty Media and Mobil 1, and narrated by former sports car racer, Le Mans podium finisher, and current actor Patrick Dempsey.

Racing with Giants is the perfect primer for the most important sports car race in the world, especially since this year marks the return of Porsche to the top-ranked Prototype class, where they will battle for the overall win.

Porsche has been active, and successful, in the production-based GT ranks, but this year, under the direction of former racer, team owner, and owner of the IndyCar series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Roger Penske. The 86-year-old billionaire has almost every win for his teams on his resume except the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and he’d love to add that trophy to his collection.

“From our own rich history in motorsport and our long-standing relationship with Porsche, this documentary truly celebrates the unique impact that racing has on the cars that we drive every day,” said Bryce Huschka, consumer marketing manager for Mobil 1. “For 100 years, Le Mans has uniquely captured the attention and imagination of fans. Thanks to them, our partners, and fellow car lovers, we couldn’t wait to bring this exceptional story to life.”

 

 

 

 

 

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Racing with Giants features archival footage of Le Mans races past and present, along with interviews with multiple drivers and Porsche team principals, including Allan McNish, Patrick Long, Jacky Ickx, and Nick Tandy.

The documentary can be viewed for free on YouTube.

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With 16 laps to go the Indy 500 turned into a crash fest. Three different accidents, which thankfully didn’t result in injuries, prompted officials to stop the race each time so the competition wouldn’t end with drivers casually cruising behind the pace car. No one wants to see a 500-mile battle finish with a whimper, but the result was a controversial one-lap sprint where Josef Newgarden swept into the lead and won.

There’s plenty of handwringing over the ending that you can read about here. What I loved about the finish was watching 86-year-old Roger Penske jump for joy as Newgarden crossed the line in first place. In that simple spontaneous gesture Penske, the owner of Newgarden’s car, illustrated the deep passion so many of us feel for cars, motorsports, and driving. If I make it to 86, I hope to have the gumption to feel similar enthusiasm.

The following day another Penske-owned car won NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Ryan Blaney behind the wheel. Talk about a perfect weekend.

I’ve met Penske several times and from the first handshake, there’s no mystery about his success. He’s charismatic, as you’d expect of such an accomplished leader, but kind, too, with a generous sense of humor. A friend of mine used to regularly meet with Penske. When he’d enter Penske’s motorhome at a race, Penske would gesture toward a seat and invite him to the “chair of opportunity” with a smirk. I now use that saying with my kids who naturally roll their eyes.

Penske’s affectionally known as “The Captain.” He demands—and receives—excellence via respect, praise, and encouragement rather than by being a dictator. Most of his top executives have been with him for decades. He’s got an intense drive to win yet winning without integrity is unacceptable. Perhaps Penske’s positive karma explains how a wheel, that flew over Indy’s protective fence after a scary crash, somehow missed the spectators and instead hit a parked car. The track, which Penske owns, is giving the owner a new vehicle. That’s class. The world needs more Roger Penskes.

From a single dealership purchased in 1965, Penske’s built an empire that includes more than 150 U.S. dealerships and Penske Truck Leasing (a colossus in that space). Racing, which is known to destroy fortunes and not create them, has always been a fixture of Penske’s life. A terrific peek into how he runs his race teams is available from a book published in 1975 called The Unfair Advantage by Mark Donohue.

In a few weeks, Penske will again attempt to fill a rare hole in his trophy case: A win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We interviewed him about his plans to field a Porsche 963 last fall. This year’s race has the makings of an epic with not just Porsche but Ferrari, Cadillac, Peugeot, Toyota, and Glickenhaus all vying for the overall win. Yesterday, Hagerty Media’s first documentary, which chronicles Porsche’s record 19 Le Mans wins, premiered in New York City. Hagerty Drivers Club members got an early peek at the film, but it’s now available for free. Give it a watch and let me know what you think.

There’s been so much racing news lately, I haven’t covered the ongoing automotive transformation. Ford struck a deal to use Tesla’s supercharger EV charging network and will adopt the Tesla plug, which is known as the North American Charging Standard. This move is a tacit recognition that Tesla’s chargers are superior but also means that for the foreseeable future there will be two kinds of EV plugs, the Tesla one and the standard created by the Society of Automotive Engineers, SAE J1771. Adaptors are available but it’s feeling like VHS and Betamax all over again. Perhaps that’ll be worked out in time for this electrified Caterham sports car.

Uber, the ride hailing company that was developing its own autonomous vehicles until one killed a pedestrian in 2018, is now partnering with Google’s Waymo on robotaxis. This is surprising considering that years ago Waymo sued Uber for stealing proprietary technology and received a $245 million settlement. In other AV news, the Teamsters Union used a zoning appeal to halt Waymo’s expansion in San Francisco.

Finally, I was sorry to hear of Tina Turner’s passing. I was unaware, until we published this article, that she was a car enthusiast. “It may sound silly,” Turner wrote in her autobiography, “but one of my favorite escapes, and a secret pleasure, was driving my Jaguar. I loved it because it was something I could do by myself, one of the few times I could be alone and free.”

You spoke our language, Tina. Godspeed.

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Cadillac’s first showing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans had nothing to do with General Motors. In 1950, the wealthy sportsman Briggs Cunningham entered two Cadillacs, a bone-stock Series 61 sedan and a second Series 61 with a freakishly pancaked body, which the locals nicknamed “Le Monstre.” The stock sedan finished 10th overall, with Le Monstre one lap behind in 11th. The 50 cars that finished in Cunningham’s wake included a Jaguar XK 120, a Ferrari 195 S driven by Luigi Chinetti, and an Aston Martin DB2.

Since then, other than a brief Cadillac effort in the early 2000s, Chevy has carried GM’s Le Mans torch, racking up eight class wins with Corvettes. This June, however, the General heads to France with an expanded stable of cars that will compete in three classes, including a new hybrid-powered Caddy GTP car that finished third in the 24 Hours of Daytona and has the speed the win the whole thing. “We are bringing the red, white, and blue, with a very powerful punch,” said GM’s sports car racing program manager, Laura Klauser.

In addition to the Corvettes and the Cadillac GTP, GM is also sending a NASCAR Camaro to be run by Hendrick Motorsports. Unlike in 1950, General Motors is directly involved in the effort this year. All the cars use V-8s built in GM’s Pontiac, Michigan, facility, for starters. We’re acknowledging this historic American effort by explaining GM’s Le Mans machines below. The green flag waves on June 10 at 9 a.m. ET.

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The 200-mph hybrid-powered Cadillac

New-for-2023 sports-car racing rules created a GTP class that is eligible for all the major endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This type of race car is known as a “prototype,” and while the GTP car looks similar to previous prototype racers, it’s a much different machine under the skin. Here are some highlights.

01. Bodywork

A major rule change for 2023 allowed GTP competitors to design significant brand identity into the cars. This Cadillac GTP may not be available in showrooms, but you can probably tell it’s a Cadillac from its body, which is made from lightweight, high-strength carbon fiber. This branding integration is one reason why Porsche, BMW, Acura, and soon Lamborghini are fielding factory GTP cars.

02. Powertrain

GTP cars are limited by the amount of total horsepower—670—that they are permitted to deliver to the tires, and they must include an electric boost motor. This rule has encouraged a variety of engine types, such as the small-displacement V-6 turbo used in the Acura ARX-06, and the Cadillac V-8. GM’s engine is like the one in the new Corvette Z06 in that it uses overhead cams instead of pushrods to operate the valves, but it has a different crankshaft from the Corvette that sacrifices peak power for less vibration. A seven-speed transmission routes torque to the rear wheels, and the electric motor is powerful enough that the cars leave the pits on battery juice alone.

03. Torque Sensor

This small collar is made by MagCanica and is a torque sensor that sends information in real time to the race officials, who ensure that the cars are never putting more than 670 horsepower to the tires. The greatest challenge for teams is how to blend the electric and gas motors and when to deploy electric boost. “That’s why we have 80 spreadsheets,” quipped GM propulsion engineer Adam Trojanek.

04. Brakes

The GTP car charges the battery while under braking. The more braking energy the system can harvest, the greater the fuel saved and, potentially, the less time the car will spend refueling in the pits. The rear-axle brakes are computer-controlled and blend resistance from the electric motor with braking force from conventional brake calipers. This stopping power is integrated with the front brakes, which are hydraulically connected to the brake pedal. One of the many challenges here is linking the various systems and maintaining consistent brake-pedal feel so the drivers have the confidence to go faster and brake as late as possible.

Camaro joins Corvette

Corvette has been a consistent winner at Le Mans for the past two decades, racing against the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. This year, Camaro joins Corvette in the Chevy pits for even more American V-8 rumble on the Mulsanne straight.

Corvette Z06 C8

You don’t need to see the Corvette or the Cadillac to know which one is going by. The Cadillac has a traditional, deep V-8 rumble, while the Vette is a howler, coming closer to a Ferrari’s sound than a big-block’s. There is only one C8 running Le Mans this year, and it will have to atone for Corvette Racing’s disappointing 2022 effort, in which the two factory Vettes failed to finish. Chevy just announced that it will sell customer race versions of the C8; a GT3 version will cost nearly $1 million. This could mean several more Corvettes racing by private owners in 2024, who are likely waiting to see how the car performs this year. Corvette Racing, which is based near GM’s proving grounds in Milford, Michigan, knows how to win.

Chevy Camaro Garage 56

In 2012, Le Mans organizers introduced Garage 56, a special class for an experimental or unclassified car. This year, that entry will be taken by a modified Chevy Camaro NASCAR stock car. Since the car is in a class of one, this is largely a publicity stunt meant to showcase NASCAR. GM and Hendrick Motorsports have modified the car with new aerodynamics and other tweaks for greater speed. They’ve also hired premier drivers. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will split driving duties with Formula 1 champion Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller, who co-drove a diesel Audi R15 to an overall Le Mans win in 2010.

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This article first appeared in Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Click here to subscribe and join the club.

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Intake: Volkswagen’s first all-electric sedan, the mid-size ID.7, will premier in a global live stream on April 17. The new car will join the ID.4 SUV and ID. Buzz van in the brand’s U.S. line-up, but unlike its smaller sibling, which is assembled in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the ID.7 will be built in Germany and China. VW describes the car as “the comfortable limousine for long-distance travel,” suggesting that its range will be significantly higher than the 275 miles afforded to the ID.4 by the E.P.A. test cycle. “The ID.7 is an extremely important model for Volkswagen in China, Canada, and the USA. It impresses with plenty of space, innovative assist systems, and modern features like a high-end infotainment system. Our customers will receive a genuine premium package with the first all-electric flagship model from Volkswagen,” claims Imelda Labbé, Volkswagen’s Member of the Board of Management for Sales, Marketing, and Aftersales. The camouflage comes off at 8 a.m. EST on April 17.

Exhaust: While most of the world is obsessed with SUVs, EV buyers are still suckers for a sedan, thanks in no small part to Tesla, of course. VW is hoping to take a significant piece of that action with the ID.7 as part of a $7.7 billion investment in “the electric and digital transformation” of the brand in America. — Nik Berg

Rising danger: SUVs vs. bicyclists, study says

Intake: In a study that should surprise no one, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety researched bicycle vs. vehicle accidents, and determined SUVs, with their higher nose and reduced forward visibility, provide the most danger to cyclists. According to Automotive News, “The tall front end of SUVs can strike bicyclists higher on their bodies above the center of gravity. This results in riders getting knocked down, where they can be run over, rather than being thrown onto the hood of the vehicle, said IIHS statistician Sam Monfort, the lead author of the study.” The research, titled “Higher point of impact makes SUV crashes more dangerous for cyclists,” analyzed data from 71 Michigan bicycle crashes that involved a single SUV or car and a bicyclist age 16 or older. Trauma to the body was 55 percent higher for SUVs than for cars, and scores for head injuries inflicted by SUVs were 63 percent higher.

Exhaust: Automotive News, citing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reports that bicycle crash rates are on the rise. In 2021, 966 cyclists were reported killed in crashes, according to NHTSA. This is up from 621 bicyclist fatalities in 2010. — SCS

Study: That new-car smell can be harmful

Intake: A new study claiming that a new-car smell can be harmful to your health is making the rounds of science publications, as well as USA Today. The study claims, according to USA Today, “Researchers at Harvard University and the Beijing Institute of Technology in China conducted a study on the chemicals that create the new car smell, finding that the smell could increase the risk of cancer, and it doesn’t take much time to be in the vehicle for it to become a hazard.” The culprit is mostly formaldehyde, which the study found at levels that were 34.9 percent higher than Chinese national safety standards, and acetaldehyde, a probable human carcinogen, which was found to be at levels 60.5 percent higher than Chinese national safety standards.

Exhaust: Researchers put sensors inside new cars, then closed them up for 12 days in the summer heat. It is difficult to divine what cars, and from where, were used in the study, which would have been helpful information. The entire study can be read here. This is hardly the first time these claims have been made: AAA Magazine wrote about a similar study by the Ecology Center in 2020. — Steven Cole Smith

Restored 1927 Alvis Grand Prix car debuts this weekend

Intake: The sole surviving front-wheel-drive Alvis Grand Prix racing car, once abandoned in a scrapyard in Coventry, England, is being revived by The Alvis Car Company, its original creator. It is set to mark its first public appearance in Chiba City, Japan, at Automobile Council 2023 this weekend, 96 years after its race debut at the 1927 Junior Car Club 200 Mile Race at Brooklands. The Alvis caused a stir in 1927 owing to its highly unusual mechanical layout. Remarkably, the car has no conventional front axle. Instead, the steering system uses four elliptic leaf springs in a unique, independent arrangement. An in-line, eight-cylinder, 1.5-liter, supercharged engine sits just behind the longitudinally mounted gearbox, giving the car a distinctive length when compared to its competition.

Exhaust: After qualifying second in the British Grand Prix, the car fell out and was retired. Upon returning to the Alvis factory, the car’s engine was removed and entirely dismantled to diagnose the cause of the failure: a shattered connecting rod, now on display in Alvis’ showroom in Kenilworth, England. The Alvis Car Company still builds limited-edition copies of original Alvis designs. — SCS

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Tom Brady teams up with Porsche’s newest race car

Intake: Wondering what’s next for former Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback Tom Brady? You aren’t? Well, maybe you might be when you hear that he and his clothing line—did we know he had a clothing line?—have teamed with Jota, which is racing a Porsche 963 in the WEC. Brady’s apparel brand, creatively named Brady, is a sponsor of Team Jota, along with the rental car company Hertz, and Singer, makers of stunning reimaginations of the Porsche 911. Here’s Tom himself: “I have been a big fan of motor racing for a long time, and for Brady to now be a part of Hertz Team JOTA as the future of motorsport apparel and design is an incredibly exciting opportunity. Brady and Hertz are great brands that pride themselves on teamwork, determination and providing a seamless experience, making this the perfect partnership. We’re all looking forward to competing at the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours later this year.” The Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 will face off in the WEC’s hypercar class against entries from Cadillac, Toyota, Peugeot, and others at the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe this June.

Exhaust: Who knew he was a fan of motor racing in general, Team Jota in particular? News is being made left and right here. Either way, it sounds like Brady (the future hall-of-fame NFL quarterback), on behalf of Brady (the brand), might be at Le Mans, like he has anything else to do. Hertz Team Jota will debut at the 1000 miles of Sebring, the first round of the 2023 World Endurance Championship in Florida on March 17. The Sebring track is just a short drive from Tampa, should Tom decide to attend. Check out his line of largely underwear at Bradybrand.com.  — Steven Cole Smith

Rivian: “robust backlog” will mitigate need to join EV price war

Intake: Citing a robust order backlog that will take until 2024 to fulfill, Rivian CEO R.J. Scaringe said that the fledgling automaker would abstain from joining the EV price war started by Tesla and Ford earlier this year, according to Automotive News. Scaringe reasoned that with such a backlog of orders at current price levels, there was no need to enter the race to the bottom. “We feel confident in the value proposition of what we’re delivering at pricing levels today,” he said on Rivian’s fourth-quarter earnings call yesterday. “The demand backlog we have is very robust, it gives us a clear line of sight well into 2024.” Though the company no longer reports the backlog number, it said in November of last year that it had 114,000 preorders for the R1T and R1S in the U.S. and Canada. Rivian also has a long-term order for 100,000 EDV delivery vans from Amazon and others. Rivian forecasted 2023 production to total 50,000 vehicles, which would be double its 2022 output but still below analyst expectations.

Exhaust: The Rivian R1T Adventure, the mid-level trim that the company expects to sell the most of, starts at around $75,000. Add $6000 to that price if you want the larger battery pack, and another $8000 to that if you want the quad-motor setup. That quad-motor, large-battery variant is the only one currently available from the company. The R1S, meanwhile, starts at around $92,000. While the move to fulfill the backlog at current prices makes sense, you have to wonder what will happen a few years from now when the legacy OEMs get their electric truck offerings into high gear and offer prices that should fall below those of Rivians. — Nathan Petroelje

Mini reveals limited Seaside Editon convertibles

Intake: To celebrate 30 years of top-down cruising, Mini is building “around 500” Seaside Edition models based on the Cooper S Convertible for the North American market. Each one built will include high-gloss white trim, a side stripe, and a 30th-anniversary motif in the side scuttles, front bumper decal, and wheel center caps. Buyers will be able to choose between Caribbean Aqua paired with 18-inch Pulse Spoke two-tone wheels and summer performance tires, or Nanuq White matched with 17-inch Roulette Spoke wheels and all-season tires. Inside, both versions feature touchscreen navigation, Carbon Black leather seats, uniquely trimmed floor mats, dashboards and steering wheel, along with unique badging. The price for either color option is $46,455 including destination,

Exhaust: Carribbean Aqua is a fantastic color for a Mini and the package looks great no matter which exterior color you choose, yet it is pricey. We know Mini Coopers aren’t economy cars, but buyers will have to decide if the special edition rarity is worth the upgrade compared to a similarly priced and more powerful John Cooper Works convertible. — Brandan Gillogly

Ferrari prices Purosangue like a Ferrari

Intake: If you want to take the kids to school in the 715-horsepower 2024 Ferrari Purosangue SUV, it will cost you $398,350, excluding an as-yet unspecified gas-guzzler tax, says Car and Driver. The destination charge alone is $5000. It’s a lot, obviously, but with Ferrari finally joining the sport-ute party, we knew it wouldn’t be cheap. By comparison, the 657-horsepower Lamborghini Urus Performante lists for a seems-reasonable-now $264,671.

Exhaust: That 400 grand gets you, of course, Ferrari’s sweet naturally-aspirated V-12 and a trick suspension, but mostly it gets you that little prancing horse on the nose. Ferrari can charge what it wants because it’s a Ferrari—few have remained unsold because they are too expensive, and we expect the Purosangue will make Ferrari a lot of coin—heck, on transportation costs alone. — SCS

Select Tesla Superchargers now open to other EVs

Intake: Via Twitter yesterday, Tesla announced that “select” superchargers are now open for public use by those with EVs from a non-Tesla brand. The move to open 3500 current and future superchargers to other EVs will make Tesla eligible for certain subsidies as part of a $7.5 billion federal effort to expand the nation’s EV infrastructure, according to Automotive News. Tesla is by far the most dominant EV maker globally, claiming about 65 percent of the total EV market last year. Its massive supercharger network is a big selling point, and while some of those charging locations may now find Mustang Mach-Es or Rivian R1Ts among the throngs of Model 3s and Model Ys, Tesla is still holding plenty of superchargers in reserve for Tesla vehicles exclusively.

Exhaust: Because Tesla cars use a proprietary charging plug, the automaker had to modify the charging units that will be open to all EVs to include an adapter that uses the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard, the most common plug for other EVs. While the move to open select superchargers might erode Tesla’s competitive advantage a tad, it’s a massive step forward in catching up America’s charging infrastructure, which is still sorely lacking overall. — NP

A rare and unused Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf is for sale

Intake: Only around 120 Aston Martin Lagonda Tarafs were built, and almost all of them found buyers in the Middle East. However, we do know that at least one example made it to the U.S.A. because it’s now being offered for sale in California. At its launch in 2016, the Taraf was billed as a million-dollar rival to the very best of Bentley and Rolls-Royce, but in reality, it was little more than a stretched Rapide sedan with some mildly-tweaked styling. To make the Taraf, the Rapide’s wheelbase was extended by 7.9 inches for extra leg room although the 5.9-liter, 540-hp V-12 and eight-speed automatic were unchanged. It also rode on standard steel springs rather than the air suspension of its high-end competition, so it could never offer the wafty ride that oil sheiks and oligarchs would have expected. The 2018 example for sale at O’Gara in Beverly Hills comes in a Satin Jet Black finish with a contrasting Kestral Tan leather interior that has barely been sat in. Just 178 miles are on the odometer.

Exhaust: If the original buyer was hoping to flip this Taraf for a tidy profit it’s gone about as well as a crypto crash, with the car being offered for sale at $800,000—a hefty depreciation hit of $200,000. Interestingly O’Gara is actually willing to take payment in cryptocurrency from anyone bold enough to take on this Taraf. — Nik Berg

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Partners NASCAR, Chevrolet, Goodyear, and Hendrick Motorsports revealed the final livery for the 24 Hours of Le Mans Garage 56 entry last Friday, and it pretty much is what the whole project is: An advertisement for NASCAR, with a big “NASCAR 56” on the sides of the otherwise blue, silver, and gold Camaro ZL1.

It was, after all, the brainchild of NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France, who is also the chairman of IMSA, the NASCAR-owned sports-car racing series that sanctions the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. With IMSA’s top prototype class now legal for this year’s 24-hour race at Le Mans, France wanted to take the connection one step further.

“I would have never come up with this idea if [NASCAR chairman] Jim France hadn’t tapped me on the shoulder,” said Rick Hendrick, chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. “Once you get involved in something like that, it gets very exciting. To me, I want to showcase our very best. I want people to look at this car and say, ‘Wow, they did something remarkable here.'” Hendrick’s company fields four NASCAR Cup car entries.

Garage 56 originated in 2012 as a one-car exhibition-only class for vehicles that showed advanced technology but didn’t fit in an established racing class. The first Garage 56 car—so named because each Le Mans entry has a garage, and there had long been 55 of them—was the oddball but successful DeltaWing, styled by Chip Ganassi Racing designer Ben Bowlby, and built by Dan Gurney’s All American Racers company.

The DeltaWing was an ultra-lightweight, ultra-streamlined car that used a Nissan-sourced four-cylinder engine to ran lap times comparable to V-8-powered prototypes. After Le Mans, it competed in the American Le Mans Series, which made it legal for competition, possibly since the owner of the car, and the owner of the series, was Dr. Donald Panoz, wealthy inventor of the transdermal process that made the nicotine patch possible.

The Chevrolet Camaro Garage 56 is a bit of a reversal, since—as far as we know—it doesn’t use technology that is essentially new to the sport. Rumor originally was that it would use hybrid power in addition to the 5.8-liter Chevrolet V-8, but rumor is currently that the hybrid idea went by the wayside to help keep weight down. That weight is 2960 pounds, slightly lighter than a NASCAR Cup car.

In testing at U.S. tracks, including Daytona International Speedway, informal lap times were comparable to IMSA GT-class cars, which is impressive, though there are no real limits on engine horsepower in the Garage 56 Camaro, and there are limits to the output of the GT cars.

The car began life as a NASCAR stocker, with changes that include functioning headlights and taillights, a larger fuel cell, carbon brake discs, and specially designed Goodyear Eagle race tires capable of running an endurance race (IMSA uses Michelin tires). Drivers will be seven-time NASCAR Cup champ Jimmie Johnson, former Formula 1 champion Jensen Button, and two-time Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, who has done the lion’s share of testing.

“From the beginning of this project, it was important to us that the car we bring to Le Mans is a true NASCAR stock car,” said France, the NASCAR chairman. “While there have been some adjustments to allow the car to compete in a 24-hour endurance race, fans in Le Mans will be treated to the full NASCAR experience.”

***

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Most of us remember our first time getting behind the wheel. For those into motorsports, you can probably remember your first time out on a track. American racing prodigy Josh Pierson was too young to remember any of these first-time experiences because he was two years old when he first hit the track.

He has been racing ever since.

Pierson, now 16 years old, is the youngest driver ever to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He recently signed a three-year contract with IndyCar’s Ed Carpenter Racing, and just competed in this year’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, in the #35 TDS Racing LMP2 car.

An early start

Greg Pierson, Josh’s father, remembers when he first realized his son was interested in motorsports. On several occasions, he took his five-year-old daughter karting, with two-year-old Josh in tow.

Greg would repeatedly find him wearing his sister’s helmet (oversized for Josh), sitting in her kart, pretending to drive. Chris Egger, owner of the Portland kart track Pat’s Acres Racing Complex, took notice. He had a crazy idea.

“Meet me here on Monday when we are closed,” Egger instructed Greg. “But don’t make a big deal out it.”

That Monday, they placed Josh, diaper and all, into a kart. Rather than starting it, they pushed Josh around the track with another kart. With his giant helmet bobbing side to side, Josh learned how to steer in and out of each corner. After he picked that up, they increased the pace, teaching him how and where to brake on the track. Not long after, they fired up his kart.

Josh was driving around the track. At speed. At two years old. Of course, there aren’t classes for kids that young. Still, he was competing in kart races by age four. Before many even start preschool, the little tyke had already won real races.

“I look back and think, ‘What nut job would let their kid get on track like that?’” Greg says, laughing. “He was literally still in diapers, but somehow, he figured out the pedals, learned how to turn, and was making laps by day one.”

Greg, who raced in Spec Miata and SCCA GT2, wanted to expose his kids to motorsports. He could tell karting wasn’t his daughter’s passion. Josh was different.

“The natural talent was there. More importantly, Josh was full of joy when we were at the track. Early on, I could see racing might turn into a real thing, so we came up with three rules for his career. We would keep supporting him if he was having fun, getting better, and running competitively.”

“Here we are, 14 years later, and those rules still apply.”

By the time he turned seven, Josh was racing karts nationally. He is very quick to point out some of the factors that got him there.

For one, he lived near a top-tier karting track. Also, the owner Chris Egger literally gave his dad the keys to the track to practice while he was still a toddler. Egger introduced them to an amazing driving coach, too. The Pierson family also happens to live by Rolison Performance Group (RPG), one of the best karting teams in America.

“Where I am now, it’s all thanks to the people around me. I loved coming up through karting because there is such a fun family atmosphere between teams there.”

With the support from RPG, he was able to represent the U.S. in the “Olympics of Karting” twice, first in Portugal and then in Italy.

Dedication

Before the race in Portugal, Greg did some research on the track and learned there was an 80 percent chance of rain that time of year. “We are crazy fanatics when it comes to racing,” Greg said. “We went to Pat’s Acres Racing Complex and literally dug trenches and ran pipes to install sprinkles at the track. This allowed Josh to practice in the wet to get ready for the karting world championships.

“And no, if you must know, it didn’t actually rain that year!”

After 11 years in karting, Josh transitioned to cars, racing in open-wheel minor leagues. Starting at 13 years old, he competed in F1600 and USF2000’s in the Road to Indy series as the youngest driver on the grid.

Throughout his early career, Josh watched The Truth in 24 incessantly. He estimates that he viewed the 2008 documentary about Audi’s attempt for a fifth straight Le Mans victory over 200 times, dreaming that one day he would be able to compete in the famed endurance race.

In 2021, opportunity knocked. Word about Josh had somehow caught the attention of Zak Brown, the chief executive of McLaren’s Formula 1 team and co-owner of United Autosports, which campaigns LMP2-class cars in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), whose racing roster includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

One day, while Josh was racing at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, Greg received a text from a number he didn’t recognize. “Hey, this is Zak. I want to meet your kid. If you’re still here, come to my trailer.”

It took Greg a minute to figure out who was texting him, and then another few minutes to believe Brown was inviting them to hang out in his trailer. After the meeting, Brown invited Josh to come to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for an LMP2 test.

Josh turned heads in Austria, hitting faster times than experienced drivers. “Josh is an extremely talented driver, mature well beyond his age and fast,” Brown told reporters after the test. United Autosports signed Josh for 2022 WEC competition, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In February 2022, at age 15, Josh became the youngest driver to ever compete in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Then, in June, Josh became the youngest driver to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He also competed in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. Josh was rewriting age records left and right.

How did he perform in his transition from open-wheel to sports car racing? Well, in his first two races, Josh was undefeated, winning back-to-back in the Asian Le Mans Series with co-driver Paul di Resta.

A few months later, he faced a grueling test at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, an endurance race in Florida known for its intense heat, sharp turns, and punishing bumps. United Autosports’ strategy was simple but risky: Josh, in his first-ever WEC race, had to perform a rare, and strenuous, triple stint to grab an early lead.

This strategy requires a driver to stay in the car for three times the typical length of a driving shift, on the same tires throughout the run. Josh’s strategists believed he had the skill to handle it—and, perhaps, that his youthful ignorance would come in handy. “He doesn’t even know any better,” one strategist said.

“It was pretty difficult, especially in the late stage of the last stint on the tires,” Josh told reporters. “But the strategy was right, and we won the race as a team.” In his debut race, Josh became the youngest winner in WEC history.

Training

Josh worked hard to get to Sebring’s top step. He missed out on a lot of typical teenage activities to either train or travel. His parents encouraged him to sample nearly every sport growing up—and Josh even learned to play three instruments—but he only wanted to race.

His commitment has endured over a decade. “It’s wild, but he knew what he wanted to be as a toddler,” said Greg. “He is incredibly focused and mentally tough.”

Josh is known to have calm demeanor and mature presence at the track. He attributes this to years of preparation. Growing up, Josh practiced in karts that were faster than his class, similar to how baseball players warmup by swinging heavy bats. For his sports-car racing efforts, he spends hours in the simulator.

His training also involves some unique methods that seem to be paying off. He likes to train by playing ping-pong with PitFit Senaptec glasses that block part of his vision with a strobe effect. The process teaches his brain to fill in what he can’t see. It also trains the brain to make quicker decisions.

In 2022, Josh competed in two championships, on five continents, across eight countries. He drove in 15 races for a total of 124 hours and 15,322 miles. He captured three wins in one year—not bad for a kid who just got his driver’s license.

Josh likes to compare his philosophy on racing to a game of chess. “There are so many decisions made each lap. Especially in sports car racing, passing is about the long game. I plan how and where to pass cars two to three laps in advance,” says Josh.

“I’m trying to balance when to make a pass while still lifting in some corners to save gas, conserving tires, and defending my position.”

2023 and beyond

Despite his early success in sports cars, Josh is excited to get back to open-wheel competition with Ed Carpenter. There, he will be the team’s first-ever development driver in IndyCar.

He—and his dad, because Josh is 16—agreed to a three-year deal. The development role takes the pressure off a young driver, allowing him a couple years to grow and learn. Often, an Indy Lights driver will only get a couple races to prove themselves. Josh and his dad didn’t want that, so they created a multi-year plan that was more attractive to sponsors.

Josh wants to fit in a bit of karting into his five-year plan as well. “Shifter karts are the most physical thing I’ve ever driven, so I’d like to get back and at least race the SuperNats this year.”

“I have two dreams in motorsports. Racing in the 24 of Le Mans and the Indy 500. I’ll be back at Le Mans again this year. And hopefully Indy in a couple years.

“Of course, I wouldn’t turn down an F1 opportunity, but Indy is the dream. Racing is so much closer in IndyCar. Plus, I will get mentored by team owner-driver Ed Carpenter.”

To start the year, Josh raced at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, reaching speeds close to 200 mph. After leading most of the race, a spin with 20 minutes remaining left the team in 4th place for LMP2. Throughout 2023 he will be racing for three different teams in three different series: for United Autosports in WEC, for TDS Racing in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, and for HMD Motorsports in Indy NXT (formally Indy Lights).

Josh knows that it takes a lot more than talent to become a successful race car driver. It takes a team, and it takes his family.

“I was most proud of Josh after one of his races this year,” his father said. “It wasn’t one of the victories. It was after a race in Bahrain, where the team ended second. A team mechanic pulled me aside to tell me how respectful and hardworking Josh has been this year.

“As a 16-year-old!”

Josh, whose grandfather has Alzheimer’s, uses his platform to raise awareness for the Alzheimer’s Associations. Check out the link if you’d like to learn more about Josh’s burgeoning racing career.

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For most, retirement means ditching the frenzied pace of a full-time job to relax, slow down, and enjoy the autumn stages of life. This is not the case for Dan Binks.

In 2020, after a 38-year career in sports car racing, the Michigan resident walked away from the sport that he had dominated for decades. Rather than slip into an easy chair or steal away to some tropical beach, Binks turned to circle track racing, building engines for sprint car and midget competition.

On paper, the move was unexpected. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Binks and his de facto driver Tommy Kendall were unstoppable, first with the Mazda RX-7 GTU program in IMSA and then the Roush Mustang team in Trans Am. The duo piled on the wins. Then, in 2002, after a brief stint in NASCAR, Binks began his tenure at Corvette Racing.

Over time, Binks became a face of the franchise. With buckets of bravado topped in a silver buzz cut, he sported just as much American spirit as the yellow Corvettes that he spun wrenches on. In his 18 years with the team, Binks and his team earned countless titles. Sebring and Daytona were personal playgrounds, and overseas the team racked up six victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

After so much success delivering wins to teams that turn right and left, why circle track racing, and why now?

Binks grew up attending open-wheel dirt shows in California with his father. Visits to the long-gone Ascot Park specifically lit the fuse early on. “I loved dirt,” says Binks. “But my expertise came in road racing, so I went and did that.”

He never stopped following the sport, though, and vowed to return in his retirement. Of the countless dirt track races in a calendar year, one in particular stuck out. The Chili Bowl, an indoor dirt race in Tulsa, Oklahoma that could be considered the Daytona 500 of midget competition, was on Bink’s bucket list.

After he left sports car racing in 2020, he set to working building midget and sprint car engines using a warehouse full of parts he had purchased from Katech—the long-time engine component supplier for Corvette Racing. LS goodies including “seven or eight $10,000 crankshafts” that once propelled C5, C6, and C7 race cars to international dominance, now line Bink’s personal shelves.

To construct his four-cylinder midget engine for the Chili Bowl, Binks chopped an LS V-8 block in half, removing cylinders two, four, six, and eight. The end result was the lightest midget engine in the paddock. At last year’s Chili Bowl, Binks partnered with another car owner to debut his motor. The car was fast, but an accident ended the team’s run for indoor glory.

This January in Tulsa, Binks is back for more. And with another bullet in the chamber. Joining his formidable four-banger is an ultralight three-cylinder engine—the only creation of its kind. The novel powerplant is about 80 pounds lighter than a traditional midget engine. In the Chili Bowl, there is no minimum weight rule (or hardly any rules, really).

Rather than entrust his engines to another team, Binks brought his own equipment this year, snagging a couple of chassis from perennial front runners Clauson-Marshall Racing. “You can either learn the information over time or you can buy it,” says Binks “Right now, I’m buying it.” To help run the show, he brought in old road racing adversary Kevin Doran.

Like Binks, Doran won numerous times at Daytona’s Rolex 24, including twice as a crew chief, once as a team member, twice as a manager/owner, and once as a car manufacturer. More recently, Binks and Doran have collaborated in other open-wheel dirt and pavement circle track races. For these efforts, they employ future USAC Hall-of-Famer Kody Swanson as their driver.

At this year’s Chili Bowl, they tabbed Swanson for the four-cylinder midget and youngster Dairin Naida to drive the three-cylinder entry. Both drivers will try to best some 400 other competitors dueling inside Oklahoma’s largest clears pan building on a quarter-mile bullring.

The level of competition at the Chili Bowl is arguably higher than any sports car race. “I would be happy with the top 75,” says Binks. “If I got to the B-Main, I would be ecstatic.” The fact that he’s won Rolex watches and sipped champagne on Le Mans’ top step doesn’t’ dilute his drive for success in midget racing, and his determination to succeed in the discipline is palpable.

Forget the white sand, Binks would rather spend his retirement on the Oklahoma clay.

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A couple of days before the public-road portion of Circuit de la Sarthe—the 38-turn course that annually hosts the 24 Hours of Le Mans—closed to the public, there’s a track walk for those inclined to hike around the 8.5-mile circuit. Jim Glickenhaus, the 71-year-old New Yorker who owns Glickenhaus Racing, decided to walk the whole thing. “I think it was just me and a photographer who made it all the way around,” he said. Other competitors took the tour on bikes and scooters.

“Six or seven times I was stopped by fans who recognized me from my cowboy hat,” says Glickenhaus. “They wanted to talk about the race, and the team, and take pictures. We’re a teeny team racing against giants.” He embraces the role; it’s one that was pioneered by other American men, who built sports cars on their own terms. “I think we’ve brought back the spirit of Carroll Shelby, of Jim Hall and Briggs Cunningham,” he says.

Of course, it’s easy—and completely accurate—to cast Toyota Gazoo Racing as Goliath and Glickenhaus as David. It’s estimated that the Glickenhaus fielded his two cars at Le Mans with approximately 10 percent of the Toyota group’s budget. Last Sunday, the two red-and-white factory-backed Toyotas won Le Mans outright, marching to the team’s fifth straight victory.

But the pair of Glickenhaus 007 prototypes kept them honest, finishing third and fourth out of 62 entries, and becoming the first American-built car on the overall podium in more than 50 years.

A lot of credit has gone to Glickenhaus and his crew. Rightly so. Some of the kudos, though, should be reserved for the stellar driver lineup, which featured Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla, Richard Westbrook, Ryan Briscoe, Franck Mailleux, and Romain Dumas. The fourth-place trio did a splendid job, bringing one of the cars back from 19th, while the other car pressured the Toyotas from third place the entire race.

Even Toyota was impressed. “Our strength compared to Glickenhaus is to adapt quickly to each set of conditions,” said Pascal Vasselon, Toyota GR’s technical director, in an interview with Autosport. “But they have the potential. Considering the youth of their car and their organization, it’s remarkable.”

So who is Jim Glickenhaus? The man was once a filmmaker. He wrote and directed The Exterminator and Jackie Chan’s The Protector, and is responsible for 14 other movies. He’s also a businessman in the family corporation and one of the foremost private-car collectors. The crown jewel of his collection is the oldest surviving Ferrari, a 1947 Spyder Corsa, which won the Turin Grand Prix.

He’s also a manufacturer; the Glickenhaus nameplate builds and sells the 004 sports car, the 007 supercar, and the Baja Boot—an off-roader he battled with in the Baja 1000. So far, he’s sold 300 of his cars.

Right now, his company is working on a full-sized hydrogen fuel-cell pickup truck that can be refueled in 15 seconds. A long shot? Of course it is. But as the motorsports world learned at Le Mans, bet against Jim Glickenhaus at your peril.

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NASCAR has Le Mans in its crosshairs.

When NASCAR debuted its Next Gen stocker last year, race car cognoscenti were quick point out the similarities between the new ride and the road racers in Australian Supercars, TransAm, and IMSA. The independent rear end, sequential box, rack-and-pinion steering, and symmetrical design were clearly implemented with lefts and rights in mind.

Some predicted that, over time, more road courses would join the Cup Series schedule. Some predicted a crossover race between IMSA and NASCAR, as both are owned by the France family. We’re not sure even the most radical prediction went this far: NASCAR—and Hendrick Motorsports—will ship a modified stock car overseas to compete in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, pending approval.

After almost 50 years, NASCAR joins the 100th running of @24hoursoflemans with a Garage 56 entry.
#NextGenG56

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 17, 2022

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France announced Thursday that NASCAR, IMSA, Hendrick, Chevrolet, and Goodyear have embarked on a project to campaign a modified Camaro ZL1 stocker in the 2023 French endurance race. While driver lineup has to be announced, we do know that Hendrick’s Vice President of Competition Chad Knaus will lead the mission. Once their entry is approved by Le Mans’ organizing body l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the Hendrick Camaro will campaign under the Garage 56 slot.

For those unfamiliar with this entry blank, Garage 56 is reserved for experimental race cars participating in the 24-hour war. Fog lights, disc brakes, and diesel were all tested in race conditions for the first time at Le Mans. To further support innovation at the track—and to accommodate controversial rocket-shaped DeltaWing racer—the l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest synthesized the additional position in 2012. Last year, the SRT41 race team utilized the slot, fielding an Oreca prototype which featured adaptive controls for its two drivers who were paralyzed from the waist down.

Garage 56 is not part of official competition and therefore doesn’t have to adhere to technical specifications. “Even though Garage 56 is a ‘class of one,’ we are competitors and have every intention of putting a bold product on the racetrack for the fans at Le Mans,” team owner Rick Hendrick told NASCAR. “It’s a humbling opportunity—one that will present an exciting challenge over the next 15 months—but our team is ready.”

NASCAR’s winningest team owner is no stranger to sports car racing. In the late 1980s, Hendrick fielded a factory-backed Corvette GTP in IMS.

While this would be the first trip to Le Mans for Hendrick Motorsports, this wouldn’t be the first time a NASCAR stock car blazed down the Mulsanne. In 1976, Le Mans organizers and NASCAR founder Bill France created the Grand International class, which allowed for V-8-powered stockers to compete in the famed 24-hour race. Eventually the class fizzled out, but not before providing some pretty dramatic photo ops between the giant American coupes and the typical European road race ringers.

And so, almost a half century later, a stock car may return to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the centennial running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We wait with bated breath, ready to witness Southeast flair in northwest France.

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Considering that the Mustang is one of Ford’s most iconic models and burst onto the scene during Henry Ford II’s reign as head of the company, it’s a very big deal when the Deuce’s personal pony car heads to public auction.

Ford II’s black-over-tan 1966 Mustang GT K-Code convertible—adorned with his personal HFII logo on the steering wheel horn ring, seat belt buckles, exterior door badges, and keys—is set to cross the block on the final day of Barrett-Jackson’s 2021 Las Vegas Auction, which will be held June 17–19.

A 1966 Mustang GT with the 289-cubic-inch engine carries an average value of about $80,000 in #2 (Excellent) condition, but Hagerty auction editor Andrew Newton says there’s no telling just how high this one will go.

“A 1966 Mustang is about as far from rare as a classic car can get,” Newton says, “but when you consider this one’s story, its famous owner, and its unique original features, it’s a clear cut above other “standard” 1966 convertibles in terms of collectibility and value.”

The car (VIN 6F08K285715) was commissioned for the Deuce to drive in France at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours and on later visits to the country. Barrett-Jackson Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson suggests that Ford II even drove the Mustang around the Le Mans race course during opening ceremonies for the historic ’66 race, in which Ford stunned Ferrari and swept the top three places.

The Deuce’s personal GT is powered by a 271-horsepower 289 V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor, solid-lifter camshaft, heavy-duty valve springs, and high-flow exhaust manifold. The four-speed manual pony car has several one-off features, including Raven Black paint with a specialized high-gloss sheen, a special white leather top, and tan leather interior—features not available in standard-production Mustangs. The car’s bucket seats are sourced from what would become the 1967 Cougar; the car reportedly served as a Ford Design Center prototype for styling, and some interior features would later be used in the ’68 Cougar.

The Mustang is optioned with the GT Equipment Group, AM radio/eight-track stereo tape player, power steering, power front disc brakes, power top, grille-mounted fog lights, dual exhaust pipes, stripes on the rocker panels, steel wheels, and a quicker steering ratio than standard-production GTs.

The car spent most of its life in France, making appearances at Mustang events after Ford no longer owned it. Now back in the U.S., it has a direct connection to the Ford family and to one of the most memorable performances in motorsports history. That’s a win-win—or, to the highest bidder, a win-win-win.

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The 24 Hours of Le Mans’ attempt to return to normalcy has hit another speed bump. The legendary French endurance race, scheduled for June 12–13, has been postponed until August 21–22 due to COVID-19 safety protocols.

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest decided to delay the event so that spectators might be allowed to attend. Last summer’s 24 Hours of Le Mans—held in partnership with the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Fédération Internationale Automobile (FIA)—was postponed until September 2020 for the same reason, but ultimately the race was held without fans in attendance.

Other 2021 events at the Le Mans Circuit remain unchanged for now. The ACO says it made an early decision about the 24 Hours of Le Mans “to give competitors, partners, and spectators as much visibility as possible” and to maintain the current FIA WEC calendar.

“Although it was a tough decision to make, it is the right one. Holding the 24 Hours of Le Mans behind closed doors for the second year running would be unthinkable,” says Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. “We are therefore doing all we can to avoid that happening and to give competitors a clear view of the whole season.”

This year’s 24-hour marathon race will see the debut of the new Hypercars, an addition that Fillon says makes motorsport fans even more eager to attend. Ticket information and additional details will be released in April.

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Update, 2/26/2021: Due to supply-chain and travel logistics wrinkles, as reported by dailysportscar, Glickenhaus will not be able to homologate SCG 007 in time for the WEC season opener in early April. The SCG team does not appear on the 8 Hours of Portimaõ entry list, linked here. 

Ahead of its competition debut at the WEC season opener at Portimaõ this April, Glickenhaus’ LMH racer has hit the track in anger for the first time. Two-time Le Mans winner Romain Dumas, who’s on Glickenhaus’ driver roster for the 2021 season, slid behind the wheel of the SCG 007 and took the twin-turbo V-8 beast out on Rome’s Vallelunga circuit for a shakedown session.

Two days of testing went very well! We are fast. We are reliable and she is pretty. More than that you do not get! #poweredbymotul pic.twitter.com/Ukr8vJpyKi

— Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (@Glickenhaus) February 26, 2021

This is our first glimpse of the car fully clad in its carbon-fiber bodywork. A few weeks ago, Glickenhaus treated fans to a look inside its race shop, wherein the SCG 007 was parked, shorn of wheels and body panels. That’s when we first heard its Pipo Moteurs-built V-8 bark to life. We also got a sneak peak at some details of its aero package, which we took the privilege of examining in more detail.

All entries for the 007’s LMH class—in which Glickenhaus will be joined by Toyota, ByKolles, and Peugeot—must conform to a 4:1 downforce to drag ratio. (Active aero, though initially on the table for the LMH regulation, has since been banned in the ACO and FIA’s attempts to equalize the LMH and LMDh classes.)

That giant wing spanning the rear fenders is mounted with little fins, presumably to aid the car’s stability under aggressive yaw angles. Toyota Gazoo Racing’s entry—in the same LMH class as Glickenhaus’ 007—uses a high-flying wing as well, but it uses a swan-neck attachment and doesn’t feature extra fins.

Comparing the Toyota with the SCG car head-on, we can see how much flexibility the LMH regulations allow. (Absurd lighting is absurd.) Unlike the Toyota, too, the SCG 007 adds a winglet wrapping each front fender.

The 007’s top-mounted hood scoop helps cool the mid-mounted engine, and a giant radiator is mounted on either side of the monocoque. (Though hybrid powertrains are allowed under the LMH regulations, Glickenhaus has chosen to supplement its internal-combustion engine exclusively with forced induction.) The charge air coolers sit just ahead of the rear wheels to help that French-built V-8 boost to the maximum allowed output of 671 hp.

We’ll see the 007 in full-attack mode come April 2 in Portugal, when it will line up against two Toyota GR010 Hybrids and one non-hybrid Alpine LMP1 racer grandfathered into the LMH category for 2021. We can’t wait for our first taste of Le Mans Hypercar competition.

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Acura will join Porsche and Audi as the third manufacturer to compete for checkered flags the world over in the new Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) prototype class. According to a report from Sportscar365, the marque plans to make its race debut in 2023.

The new class, which is set to replace the existing Daytona Prototype International (DPi) class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January of 2022, is an exciting step that will help consolidate global prototype racing. The category is co-developed by IMSA, the sanctioning body for sports car and prototype racing in the U.S., and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the sanctioning body for other global endurance championships including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A chassis that fits both sets of regulations from the get-go means fans could watch their favorite top-tier car bang fenders on the banks of Daytona in January and blitz the Mulsanne Straight a few months later.

Acura competed in IMSA’s current DPi category from 2018 to 2020, partnering with Penske racing to clinch DPi championships in its first two seasons. Acura will continue with Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing in IMSA competition for the 2021 season.

Acura’s current chassis, the ARX-05 DPi, employs a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine that shares some parts with your neighborhood Honda Odyssey minivan. French constructor ORECA handled construction of the current chassis, and since ORECA is one of the four constructors ready to make the leap to the LMDh category, we anticipate that Acura will continue the partnership into the new class.

There are more announcements to come, according to Racer. As many as three more LMDh programs are expected to surface in the next few weeks, potentially opening the door Corvette or Ford to join Porsche, Audi, and Acura at the sharp end of the grid. The prospect of a truly global class of prototype competition, with top brands battling on the best tracks in the world, is something all motorsports fans should be thrilled to see on the horizon. In the meantime, we’ll be parked in front of the TV with snacks and beverages this weekend to soak in this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.

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The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a French motorsports institution, not to mention one of the biggest and most high-profile events in the whole country. The event has run nearly every year since 1923, other than in 1936 thanks to a workers’ strike (another French institution) and a little break from 1940–48 in light of World War II. It is by far the world’s most important sports car race, but the list of the 24-hour race’s winners makes clear that the home team hasn’t always come out on top. With 15 Le Mans wins by French cars, France is ahead of Italy (13 wins) but trailing the Brits (17 wins). All are way behind the Germans, whose cars have taken the checkered flag at La Sarthe 34 times.

More than a decade has passed since a French car (a Peugeot 908 HDi in 2009) won Le Mans, but that’s hardly the driest spell in the country’s history. Back in the early 1970s the French were really struggling, having last tasted victory in 1950 with Louis Rosier’s Talbot Lago. After years of persistence, some rule changes, and a little luck, a home-grown team finally took home the hardware in 1972. The Matra MS670 was a French car powered by a French engine, and piloted by a French driver.

That very car is now bound for auction at next month’s Artcurial “Parisienne” sale in Paris. It is expected to sell for €4.0M–€7.5M ($4.84M – $9.08M), but there is at least one loud French voice protesting its public sale.

Industrial origins, racing ambitions

Founded during the 1940s, Matra (Mécanique Aviation Traction) was part of a larger industrial conglomerate that over time built everything from cluster bombs to bicycles. When it won Le Mans it was still fairly new to the car business but had accomplished a lot in a short period of time. In the mid-1960s, after acquiring a small cash-strapped carmaker called Automobiles René Bonnet, the company formed “Matra Automobiles” and sold a Matra badged version of Bonnet’s small sports car—the Djet. It was a handsome little coupe and Matra even gifted one to Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin during his 1965 tour of France. Then, to help promote and sell its road cars, Matra eyed motor racing.

Largely thanks to company boss Jean-Luc Lagardère, Matra embarked on a methodical, multi-year campaign to win at the highest levels of both open-wheel and sports car racing. Matra started with single-seaters in Formula 3, taking its first win at Reims in 1965. Two years later Matra broke into Formula 1, and by 1968 was seriously competitive with Ken Tyrrell managing the team, Jackie Stewart driving, and the venerable Cosworth DFV V-8 powering its car. Matra won both the F1 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in 1969.

In sports cars, meanwhile, Matra first had a go at Le Mans in 1966 with its BRM V-8-powered M 620. Unfortunately, all the Matras dropped out of the race. The same thing happened at Le Mans in 1967. By 1968, though, Matra had built its proprietary V-12—a 60-degree 3.0-liter screamer developed for both F1 and endurance racing—with funding from the French government. If you’ve never heard a Matra V-12 at full song, even through your computer speakers, do yourself a favor and feast your ears:

Matra entered a single MS 630 longtail with its new V-12 engine for the 1968 running of Le Mans, with Frenchmen Johnny Servoz-Gavin and Henri Pescarolo driving. After qualifying fifth, the blue Matra scrambled into second place behind the Ford GT40 that eventually won. Late in the race, unfortunately, an electrical failure forced the French car to retire.

In 1969, the Matra squad finished a respectable fourth and fifth at Le Mans. The 1970 race was a disaster, with all three Matras suffering piston ring failure within a few laps of each other. (Even still, none of the 3.0-liter prototypes, Matra included, were really competitive with the 4.5- or 5.0-liter Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s.) The solo MS 660 entered for 1971 again worked its way up into second before ultimately bowing out.

A taste of victory pour la France

For the 1972 race, a rules change effectively barred larger sports cars like the Porsche 917 from competing at Le Mans. The cars in the 3.0-liter prototype class were suddenly the top dogs.

Seeing a path to victory ahead, Matra pulled out all the stops, entering four cars (all painted blue, of course), including three examples of its newest car, the MS 670, which benefitted from lessons learned over the previous four years. Matra also made sure to put a French driver in each car, completely ignored the rest of the 1972 racing season, and prepared for an all-out assault on Le Mans. It was a matter of national pride. Expectations were high. The French President was there to watch.

Coincidentally, Matra’s greatest opponent, Ferrari, took the opposite approach. The 312PB dominated the rest of the season and had already clinched the ’72 World Championship for constructors, but Ferrari felt that the car wouldn’t perform over the full 24 hours and opted instead to entirely steer clear of Le Mans. Matra’s biggest competition therefore came from the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33TT3, the Cosworth-powered Lola T280, and the aging Porsche 908s.

With President Georges Pompidou serving as the honorary starter, the race began at La Sarthe on June 10, 1972 with a French Matra driver in each car for the first stint. The engine in Jean-Pierre Beltoise’s MS 670 expired after the car completed just one lap of the race, but luckily that didn’t presage doom for the rest of the team. Matra’s remaining cars were running 1-2-3 during the night. Jo Bonnier (F1 veteran and two-time Targa Florio winner) in the quickest of the Lolas fatally crashed during the morning and the MS 660C of Jean-Pierre Jabouille and David Hobbs retired with less than 90 minutes left thanks to gearbox problems, but other than intermittent rain there was little drama at the front. At 4 p.m. on June 11, Pescarolo and Hill’s MS 670 won with a comfortable 11-lap lead over the second-place MS 670 piloted by Francois Cevert and Howden Ganley. It was the first win for a French car in over 20 years, and Graham Hill became the first and only driver to take victory Le Mans, the Formula 1 World Championship, and the Indy 500.

Prelude to a three-peat

Having proved a point, Matra nevertheless expanded its efforts in 1973 and actually paid attention to the rest of the racing season, winning both Le Mans and the world championship for sports cars in 1973 … and 1974.

The 1972 Le Mans winner, Chassis 670-01 (the first MS 670 built) was also part of Matra’s 1973 campaign, taking third at Monza and a win at Zeltweg (Austria). It later became a promo car, in the process dressing up with altered bodywork, a different engine, and a Porsche gearbox. Matra put the car on display at its museum in 1976, and it never left the company’s ownership. Matra started restoration work in 2002, but the veteran racer wasn’t drivable until 2008. Four years later, in 2012, it stretched its long-dormant legs on track at Le Mans for the 40th anniversary of its victory.

A potentially sour end

Now that MS 670-01 is up for auction, controversy surrounding the car’s fate is playing out in the French press.

Back in the early 2000s, Renault had a contract with Matra for the latter company to build its Espace and Avantime (both minivans), but Renault canceled that contract and Matra closed its factory in 2003, firing all its employees. The employees successfully sued Renault for a settlement totaling … wait for it … €4.2M. Curiously close to the presale estimate for Articurial’s Matra lot, no? Indeed, The Lagardère Group, which oversees now-defunct Matra Automobiles and the Matra museum, is angling to sell off the historic machine to pay the compensation.

Henri Pescarolo, the driver who piloted the car to its hard-fought triumph for France, isn’t happy about the decision. “Scandalous! Stupid!” is how he described it to the French AFP news agency. “Arnaud Lagardère is destroying everything his father created,” he contends. Pescarolo, who after driving 670-01 went on to win Le Mans three more times and start his own team, has even tried to get the car classified as a historic monument. That would at least prevent it being sold off to a foreign buyer that would see it leave France.

The Lagardère Group is pressing on regardless, so the car will cross the block at Artcurial’s “Parisienne” auction, which will take place in February despite the rest of the Rétromobile Paris festivities being postponed until June. Other highlights from the sale include a sweet collection of Group B rally cars, an Aston Martin DB4 GT, and a wild one-off DeTomaso Pantera prototype. But this Matra is clearly the belle of the ball, and even though we’re just weeks in to 2021, it will be one of the most significant cars to sell all year. The last time a Le Mans winner sold at auction was in 2016, when the Jaguar D-Type that won the race in 1956 brought $21.78M.

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The 2021 World Endurance Championship will see a new breed of hybrid Le Mans Hypercars tackle some of the most arduous races in the world, including the 1000 Miles of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Toyota’s Gazoo Racing and Peugeot Sport are the two big brand entries, while privateers ByKolles Racing and Glickenhaus are also set to take part in the new formula. Based on the technical details provided by Peugeot the regulations for racing are far from simple.

The Peugeot 508 racer is powered by a system it calls Hybrid4. A mid-mounted twin-turbo 2.6-liter V-6 sends 680 hp to the rear wheels through a seven-speed sequential robotized transmission, and a 272-hp motor-generator delivers its power to the front wheels while also harnessing energy under braking. The battery pack will be fully charged before racing and then use this regeneration to top up throughout a race. Simple so far, no?

Where it all gets very complicated is with the series Balance of Performance rules that cap overall power to 680 hp and restrict the use of electrical energy. Under 75 mph the cars must drive under internal combustion power alone, but after that the electrical oomph can be added up to that 272 hp, so the combustion engine gets its power turned down to compensate. Then, when the batteries are empty the wick is turned right up to 680 hp again. In fact it’s actually allowed to peak at 700 hp in order to send some power back into the battery.

As the car switches between combustion and hybrid power it also switches between rear-drive and all-wheel drive, which could certainly make any wet races rather interesting.

Peugeot’s system is still under development, and not expected to begin testing until late 2021, so the French company will miss the inaugural season which begins in March 2021.

Roadgoing versions of the Le Mans Hypercars will have to go on sale within two years of their competition debut in order to meet the rules, and Toyota has already shown its GR Super Sports model, which should begin to reach customers in 2023.

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There were no fans there to witness it in person, but thousands of spectators from around the world tuned in to watch the 88th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans over the weekend. In the end, there wasn’t a lot of drama, as the No. 8 car from Toyota Gazoo TSO50 Hybrid LMP1 team took the checkered flag five laps ahead of the second-place Rebellion Racing’s No. 1 car.

It was the third straight win for Toyota Gazoo Racing; the winning car was co-piloted by Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley. The No. 7 Toyota placed third, six laps behind.

The real excitement was in the LMP2 class, where the United Autosports No. 22 car took the win, with Philip Hanson at the wheel. The margin of victory in LMP2 was roughly 30 seconds. The No. 38 Jota car placed second, while the No. 31 Panis car took third. All three of the winning LMP2 cars were Oreca 07 chassis with Gibson V-8 engines.

Aston Martin Racing dominated the Le Mans GTE Pro class with its Vantage taking first and third, with the second place going to the AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo No. 51. Aston took first in Le Mans GTE Am with the No. 90 TF Sport team’s Vantage, with the No. 77 Porsche 911 RSR of Dempsey-Proton Racing taking second and the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari placing third.

The 2020 race marked only the second time that the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been held in September, this time due to COVID-19. The first time was in 1968, due to social unrest in France.

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During the livestream recap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans—The 25th Hour with John Hindhaugh and Nick Daman, presented by Hagerty—Brendon Hartley was interviewed fresh from the race in his apartment in Monaco. Not only did Hartley relive his experiences during the race, he also revealed—accidentally, it would appear—some news about his future racing for the Toyota Gazoo team.

The interview started off with Hartley discussing what it was like to race in the month of September and with no crowds “It was strange,” began Hartley. “I don’t want to sugar coat it. I knew going there it would be different. When it really clicked for me was on Wednesday, watching driver-change practice from pit lane. Normally there would have been a sea of people. It got me thinking and you realize how important the fans are. We definitely missed the fans.”

Later in the livestream, Hindhaugh asked Hartley about the race being the “swan song for the TS050.” Hartley answered, “The cars are amazing and I’m really sad. The [hybrid] technology has evolved so much over the years. On the flip side, we’re going into a new era, the hypercar era, and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Peugeot is coming back and I think the other exciting thing about [the new car] is that it’s going to be more road-car relevant. It’s going to be a car that the end user can more or less drive on the road.”

Hindhaugh then straight-up asked Hartley “Does the car exist yet, and if so, have you driven it?” Hartley answered, “No, I haven’t driven it. I saw the wind-tunnel model when I was at the factory two weeks ago…I’m not sure I was meant to say that…oh no, I sat in it! We are testing it in the coming months. Yeah, it exists.”

Next Hindhaugh asked Hartley if he was going to be involved in 2021, as he had heard contracts were going out, to which Hartley answered, “I can confirm that I am there next year. I will be there for the first season of hypercar. I’m really stoked.” Hindhaugh responded, “That’s great news. I’m not sure anybody else has heard that, so we’ve got a bit of an exclusive there for Hagerty Radio Le Mans.”

Hindhaugh then goes on to talk with Zak Brown from United Autosports and Hartley can be seen picking up his phone, reading what appears to be a longish text message, and then smiling to himself. Was he busted for letting slip the news about his new contract? It’s difficult to tell with absolute certainty. You’ll have to watch for yourself here and tell us what you think in the comments below.

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The 24 Hours of Le Mans has provided a rich tapestry of motorsport memories, starting with the first race held there in 1923. A combination of permanent track and public roads that are temporarily closed for the race and conducted nonstop for 24 hours, Le Mans is unique in all the world of motorsports. With the 88th running of the legendary event set for this Saturday, September 19, we thought we’d take a look back at some of its memorable moments.

The 2020 Le Mans is only the fourth time the race has not been held in June

While the first race was held at the end on May 1923, the race has only been held outside of June three other times including this year. In 1956, it was held in July, and in 1968, it was held in September due to the unrest that rocked France that year. The race has been canceled 10 times: once in 1936, due to a labor strike in the heart of the Great Depression; and between 1940 and 1948, due to World War II.

The first 24 Hours of Le Mans is held in 1923

Officially known as the 24 Hours Grand Prix of Endurance, the first race took place on May 26–27, 1923. A total of 37 cars entered by 20 manufacturers took the field; all but three of them (one Bentley and a pair of Belgian-made Excelsiors) were fielded by French automakers. Engine sizes ranged from 1.0 liter in the Amilcar CV up to 5.3 liters in the Excelsiors.

The race was plagued by rain throughout, with drivers racing without goggles pelted by mud kicked up by cars ahead of them. The two Chenard-Walckers finished first and second but were not considered the winners. That was because the race was the first of three consecutive annual races, the Rudge-Whitworth Triennial Cup, where the winner would be the manufacturer with the car that exceeded its nominated target distance by the greatest margin.

That honor would go to the 1.1-liter Salmson piloted by Lucien Desvaux and Georges Casse; their car had completed 98 laps, 46 more than its target of 52 laps. Thirty of the 37 cars finished the race, a number unmatched until 1993. Fun fact: A parts supplier provided a dining area where drivers and crews consumed 150 gallons of onion soup, 50 chickens, 450 bottles of Champagne, and an unrecorded amount of red and white wine.

Ferrari race cars appear for the first time in 1949

Racing returned to Le Mans for the first time since 1939. Two 166 MM Barchettas, which were racing versions of Enzo Ferrari’s first production car, participated in the race. They each featured a 2.0-liter V-12 that developed 140 horsepower and gave the cars a top speed of 130 mph.

Lacking confidence in the reliability of the cars, Ferrari did not enter the pair as factory entrants, instead arranging to have them privately entered. Both cars had been recently purchased after enjoying success in the Mille Miglia; one car was piloted by Jean Lucas and Pierre Luis-Dreyfus and the other by Luigi Chinetti and Peter Mitchell-Thomson. While the Lucas/Luis-Dreyfus car went out in the sixth hour, the Chinetti/Mitchell-Thomson raced to victory, with Chinetti driving for an incredible 22.5 hours and taking his third Le Mans win.

Briggs S. Cunningham goes to Le Mans with a puppy and a monster in 1950

After the race organizers rejected his Ford-Cadillac special, Briggs Swift Cunningham instead entered two Cadillacs. The first was a stock-looking Series 61 that the French nicknamed “Petit Pataud,” which translates roughly as “clumsy puppy,” taking its inspiration from a French children’s book from the 1930s. The second Cadillac’s nickname, “Le Monstre” or “the monster” was not so kind, a result of the ungainly body modifications Cunningham had made by removing the car’s stock body. A completely new body that was lower and narrower was fabricated in aluminum and fitted over a tube framework. Petit Pataud was driven by the Collier brothers, Miles and Sam, to tenth place, while Cunningham and co-driver Phil Walters finished eleventh.

Jaguar wins with C-Types, D-Types, and disc brakes

Jaguar dominated the 1950s, winning in 1951 and 1953 with C-Types, and then in 1955 with a D-Type. The newly formed team, Ecurie Ecosse, would pick up where the Jaguar factory left off, winning with D-Types in 1956 and 1957. The C-Types that won in 1953 were the first cars equipped with disc brakes to not only run at Le Mans, but they would also be the first cars so equipped to win a race anywhere. The disc brakes were able to dissipate braking heat more efficiently and were less prone to brake fade as a result, giving them a distinct advantage over their drum-brake-equipped competitors.

The disaster of 1955

The 1955 race would become known as the darkest day in all of racing history, when just 2.5 hours into the race, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR driven by Pierre Levegh scythed through the crowd, killing somewhere between 80 and 84 spectators and injuring at least 180 more.

The tragedy began when driver Mike Hawthorn in his Jaguar D-Type swooped in front of the Austin-Healey driven by Lance Macklin. While Hawthorn braked hard to enter the pits, Macklin swerved hard to the left to avoid Hawthorn only to pull into the path of Levegh’s Mercedes, which was traveling in excess of 125 mph. While Levegh did not have enough time to react, he did manage to raise his hand to warn teammate Juan Manuel Fangio—following behind in a 300 SLR—and most likely saved Fangio’s life. The rear end of Macklin’s Healey served as a ramp to launch Levegh’s magnesium-bodied Mercedes into the air, where it skipped over a protective earthen berm and impacted the ground at least twice within the crowd of spectators. The Mercedes disintegrated, instantly killing Levegh and sending the engine, front suspension, and hood into the onlookers. The rear of the car landed on the berm and exploded, turning the highly flammable magnesium body into an inferno.

While Hawthorn would go on to win the race, Mercedes withdrew its remaining cars from the race and would not return to racing until 1989.

Snakes alive: Carroll Shelby at Le Mans

Carroll Shelby returned to Le Mans after his 1959 win, this time with his Daytona Cobra coupe. Fresh from its class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring earlier in the year, the Daytona would challenge the mighty Ferraris in their own backyard at the 1964 race. With a 289 under the hood and Bob Bondurant and Dan Gurney behind the wheel, the Daytona coupe hammered along despite high engine temperatures. Try as they might, they could not overtake the Ferraris and would have to settle for a class win and fourth place overall. Shelby would abandon his own efforts and would instead go to work for Ford and assist with its GT40 program.

Hank the Deuce gets his revenge

After having his attempts to buy Ferrari rebuffed by Enzo at the eleventh hour, Henry Ford II issued his team a blank check to beat Ferrari at Le Mans. After the Mark I GT40s failed to finish in 1964 and 1965, Ford would hire Carroll Shelby to revamp the GT40. After making changes to the running gear to improve reliability and using Ford’s mighty 427 V-8, Ford came roaring back in 1966 for a 1-2-3 overall victory and making history as the first overall win for an American constructor.

Ford would compete again in 1967 with the Mark IVs. The car driven by A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney would go on to win after leading from the second hour, making for a trifecta, becoming the first all-American winners—car, team, and drivers—in the history of the race. The Mark IVs would return and win again in 1968 and 1969 but this time in the hands of private entrants. Ford would return to Le Mans again in 2016 with its all-new GT, which would place first and third in its class on the 50th anniversary of its overall win.

The king of cool and Le Mans—the movie

Steve McQueen was famously obsessed by motorsports of all kinds, so it seemed only logical that he would gravitate to the granddaddy of them all to capture it on film. McQueen stars as Michael Delaney, a driver in the 1970 race for the Gulf-Porsche team. Shot on location between June and November, including the actual race of that year, McQueen had initially planned to race a Porsche 917 with Jackie Stewart as his co-driver, but the entry was rejected. He is instead depicted as driving the Gulf-Porsche 917K driven in reality by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman.

McQueen entered the Porsche 908/2 with which he had co-driven to second place in the 12 Hours of Sebring. He loaded it with equipment to serve as his camera car and to record the racing action. The car actually finished in ninth place, but it was deemed ineligible as it had not driven the race’s minimum required distance due to having to stop to change film reels.

Star-spangled racers

Chevrolet took the Corvette racing at Le Mans in 2000 with the C5-R. While many private teams had taken Corvette to the Circuit de la Sarthe in the past, this was the first factory-supported effort. The C5-R would finish fourth in its class in its debut showing, then would go on to first and second in class in 2001, 2002, and 2004. The C6.R and C7.R went on to similar success, though an overall win eluded them. The C8.R will sit out the 2020 Le Mans.

Rising sun rises over Le Mans

While Nissan and Toyota would race prototypes at Le Mans, Mazda would be the one to win in 1991—with its rotary engine, no less—making it both the first Japanese manufacturer as well as the first rotary-powered car to win at Le Mans. Making 700 horsepower in race trim, the 787B is also the only non-piston-powered engine to win.

In 2016, it looked as if Toyota had the race all but won, with the No. 5 car piloted by Kazuki Nakajima leading the No. 2 Porsche of Neel Jani. With just six minutes left in the race, the No. 5 car slowed on the Mulsanne Straight as a connector line between the turbo and the intercooler failed. Nakajima pressed on but two minutes later the car came to a stop just as it passed the start/finish line. Jani’s Porsche 919 would take the checkered flag, while Nakajima’s teammates car would finish second.

Nakajima would be redeemed in 2018: Not only did he put Toyota on the pole, but along with co-drivers Fernando Alonso and Sébastien Buemi, he would drive Toyota to victory. The team and all three drivers would go on to repeat their victory in 2019; another Toyota driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and José Maria López took second.

Flipping out

In 1985 a Sauber-Mercedes driven by John Nielsen launched skyward and flipped while cresting the Mulsanne hump at more than 220 mph. While the car landed on its roof and was destroyed, Nielsen was not injured. Silver Arrows were flying through the air again in 1999, when the Mercedes-Benz CLRs experienced severe aerodynamic instability causing the cars to fly into the air during test day.

After, Mercedes claimed to have fixed the issue, only to have the CLR flip again during warmup; driver Mark Webber was behind the wheel in both incidents and was unhurt each time. The third and most serious incident happened during the race when the CLR driven by Peter Dumbreck took to the air, launching itself over the safety fence and coming to rest in the woods several yards away. While Dumbreck also escaped injury, Mercedes withdrew the remaining CLR and ended its entire sports-car-racing program.

Porsche reigns supreme

The brand went racing early in its existence, taking to the Le Mans circuit first in 1951 and won its class with the 356 SL. Victory eluded Porsche by just 120 yards or so in 1969, with the 908 placing second in the closest Le Mans finish to date. It wasn’t until 1970 that Porsche would win overall with the mighty 917K, driven by Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood. With total of 19 overall victories and 108 class wins, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in the history of Le Mans.

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When the green flag drops at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this Saturday, September 19, at 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET), it will be just the fourth time in the history of the legendary race that it has been held outside of the month of June. Hagerty is proud to announce that we will be the title sponsor for the Radio Le Mans broadcast of the fabled endurance race, and we are putting together special events and coverage to help fans enjoy the experience before, during, and after the race itself. The Radio Le Mans broadcast will air on various FM and satellite radio channels, as well as at www.radiolemans.co.

In addition to joining up with Radio Le Mans, in the run-up to the race, Hagerty will be hosting a contest on our community site. We’ll be posting Le Mans trivia questions, and community members will be able to submit their answers. Members who provide the correct answers will have their names entered into a random drawing to win the same “Hagerty Radio Le Mans” official polos as those worn by John Hindhaugh, the “voice of Le Mans,” and the rest of the Hagerty Radio Le Mans staff.

During the broadcast, CEO McKeel Hagerty will talk with Hindhaugh about motorsports and our focus on saving driving for future generations. “Le Mans is one of the biggest motorsports events of the year, and Radio Le Mans brings it to the people,” notes Hagerty. “With the grandstands around the Circuit de la Sarthe empty this year due to COVID-19, Radio Le Mans is more critical than ever.”

After the race, on Monday, September 21, Hindhaugh will host a new race recap, The 25th Hour. With 30-plus years as the voice of Le Mans, Hindhaugh is an indelible part of the race’s history. Tune in at Hagerty.com/live at 1 p.m. ET to listen to the recap of the race’s best moments and to hear perspectives from the 2020 Le Mans champions that are available nowhere else.

All in all, this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans is set to be unlike any 24 Hours before it. We look forward to you joining us in making it a memorable one!

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Good news for motorsports fans: The 88th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, rescheduled from June, will go off as planned—or replanned—September 19–20.

Bad news: Like the 2020 Indianapolis 500, whose organizers had hoped to have spectators present but ultimately decided against it, Le Mans will be held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After discussions with French public health and safety authorities, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the Sarthe Prefecture announced earlier today that fans will not be allowed trackside for the iconic endurance race.

“Over the last few weeks, we have looked at many ways in which we could hold our event in September with fans present, albeit in limited numbers. However, given the constraints involved in organizing a festival-scale event over several days in the current situation, we have opted [against it],” Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, said in a statement on the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile website. “There were still too many question marks regarding health and safety.”

A limited number of journalists will be allowed access to Le Mans’ Circuit de la Sarthe, located about 130 miles southwest of Paris. Ticket holders will be contacted by the ticket office, and fans will be given options to follow the race digitally.

“You don’t compromise where safety is concerned,” Fillon said.

The 24-hour race will be televised on ESPN2, starting Saturday, September 19 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (2:30 p.m. in France).

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This year’s rescheduled Le Mans 24 Hours will be open only to spectators who have purchased a ticket to the endurance classic by June 29. Those who have purchased grandstand seats, camping, parking, or hospitality admissions for the event will also be able to buy a corresponding general admission ticket.

In today’s statement, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the event organizer, announced that the race will be held in front of a limited audience on the circuit and that “pending the evolution of sanitary conditions and rules concerning events bringing together a large audience, the ticket office is temporarily suspended.” The event will also be open to members of the ACO within the number of available seats.

What the statement did not reveal is how many spectators are expected for the event. Traditionally, attendance for the race is in excess of 250,000.

In addition to the limits on spectators, the ACO has also revised and condensed the timetable for race week. Scrutineering will take place at the track on Wednesday rather than in the center of Le Mans.

The race will be begin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday as opposed to the traditional start time of 4:00 p.m. Practice will now begin at 10:00 on Thursday morning, the first of three sessions on the opening day. The opening 45-minute qualifying session in which all 62 cars will take part has been moved up to 5:15 p.m. The fastest six cars in each of the six World Endurance Championship (WEC) classes will advance to the new Hyperpole session, which is set for 11:30 a.m. on Friday after a final one-hour practice session. The warm-up on Saturday morning has been set back to reflect the fact that the cars will be on track on Friday.

In the statement, ACO president Pierre Fillon said: “At the Le Mans 24 Hours this year, solidarity and responsibility will be more than mere words.

“Responsibility is one of our founding principles. We are therefore sure that our loyal spectators will understand our position and support our decision.

“We will not be breaking any attendance records this year, but all the magic of the race will remain intact and the spectator experience—trackside or from a distance—will remain world-class.”

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When was the last time you thought of the Ligier JS2? Staring blankly into the ether? That’s hardly surprising. Ligier may have been a force in Formula 1 from 1976 until 1996, but lately the French company has focused on microcars with tiny diesel engines rather than mid-engine fire-breathers.

However, back in the mid-’70s, the JS2 emerged as a proper Le Mans contender available both in road and in race car tune—only to be first sabotaged by Ford, then ruined by the financial troubles of Citroën. Redemption came in 1975, when the factory-backed pair of Jean-Louis Lafosse and Guy Chasseuil pushed their Cosworth DFV V-8-powered JS2 into second place behind the Gulf-Mirage GR8 of Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell (which was, coincidentally, also DFV-equipped). Despite the podium finish, the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans was the JS2’s last big event in period, as Ligier moved into Formula 1 for 1976.

The adventure began in 1969, when Automobiles Ligier launched the fiberglass-bodied JS1, powered by Cosworth four-cylinders like the 1.6-liter FVA and the 1.8-liter FVC. Weighing under 1750 pounds with 240 hp onboard, the JS1 was a peppy little prototype, but only three were constructed before Guy Ligier moved on to the JS2 for the 1971 season. The JS2 came with an aluminum honeycomb chassis for racing or a standard steel one for the street. The first prototype displayed in 1970 used Ford’s 2.6-liter Cologne V-6, but since Ford had big racing plans for that engine in its GT70, it decided not to supply a French team with a powertrain.

Having modified the rear of the car accordingly, Ligier went to Citroën for the SM’s Maserati-sourced 2.7-liter V-6. This was later replaced by the Merak’s 3.0-liter 191-hp engine, but after the oil crisis hit in 1973, the partnership with Citroën started to show some cracks. Ligier retired from quite a few races due to the unreliable nature of these Maserati engines, and once Citroën was forced to merge with Peugeot, control of Maserati landed in the hands of Alejandro De Tomaso. The Argentinian-Italian master of platform recycling immediately discontinued the old V-6, and with that, the Ligier JS2’s road-going version became history.

However, sponsored by tobacco giant Gitanes in 1975, Guy Ligier got the final chance to enter two factory-backed JS2s at Le Mans, with Cosworth DFV V-8s installed in place of the Maserati engines for a change. That year, those DOHC prototype engines were detuned to reduce fuel consumption, but as you can tell from video shot at the Circuit Paul Ricard during the 2019 Dix Mille Tours, that has since been fixed on this DFV JS2:

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Corvette Racing is withdrawing the new C8.R from this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, citing concerns over COVID-19 and logistical challenges presented by the rescheduling of the iconic endurance race. The news broke after Porsche announced a similar move with its 911 RSRs last week. Corvette’s exit leaves only Aston Martin and Ferrari among the original, factory-backed GTE Pro entries.

“Corvette Racing has a long history of competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so our decision to not participate in this historic race this year was not an easy one. Several factors played into our decision, including current conditions and the rescheduled timing,” Corvette Racing announced via Twitter. “We’re proud Corvette Racing has been invited to the 24 Hours of Le Mans over the past 20 years and regret that we won’t be participating this year. We hope we have the opportunity to race at Le Mans again.”

Pratt & Miller’s newest weapons already made their state-side endurance racing debuts at Daytona this January, but Le Mans represented more than Corvette Racing’s first challenge on international soil. The infamous 24 Hours of Le Mans still sets the standard for endurance racers—cars and drivers alike—and would have offered the mid-engine Corvette the chance to prove the road-racing chops of its new chassis layout at the most challenging event on the endurance calendar.

While Corvette Racing will continue to focus on the IMSA series, the move to September, along with the uncertainty that COVID-19 brings in committing to any event in the future, subject to local travel restrictions, ultimately led to Corvette Racing’s decision to withhold the incredible armada of equipment that would need to travel to France. According to Racer.com, Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the organizing body of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, were informed of Corvette Racing’s intentions weeks ago.

While some businesses are beginning to reopen under significant constraints, motorsports events continue to live in purgatory. We’re hopeful for a return in 2021 with teams champing at the bit for lost time, but, until then, expect more announcements like this.

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