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Ferrari’s new 499P Hypercar has been built in-house and will be run as a full factory program in the 2023 WEC. Photo: Philip Prupprecht/Ferrari

It's an enormous week for sportscar racing as thousands descend on Central Florida for another installment of "Super Sebring," a combination of the WEC's 1000 Miles of Sebring season opener and the storied 12 Hours of Sebring. This weekend will also mark the return of Ferrari to top-level, factory-based sports car racing for the first time in 50 years. Richard S. James traveled to Italy for the unveiling of the 499P Hypercar and detailed the latest weapon from the Maranello manufacturer in the Fall 2022 issue of RACER - No. 319.


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Large rear-wing endplates add to 499P’s striking looks. Photo: Philip Prupprecht/Ferrari

Ferrari has been a near constant in the world of motorsports, Enzo Ferrari famously starting to build road cars to finance his racing programs. Formula 1, of course, but prototype and GT sports cars, too…the company’s spent time at the top of several racing disciplines. Yet for the last half century, there has been no Ferrari factory effort at the top levels of sports car endurance racing, despite the brilliant, privateer-focused 333 SP in the 1990s’ World Sports Car era and the company’s recent successes in WEC GTE Pro. That changes in 2023 with the introduction of the 499P Hypercar, destined for the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Ferrari joins Toyota, Glickenhaus and Peugeot in building cars to the joint FIA/ACO Hypercar ruleset. Those four will be joined by Porsche and Cadillac bringing LMDh cars to the top class in 2023 as well, with Alpine, Lamborghini and BMW joining in 2024 with their LMDh designs. The convergence of sports car racing categories, with the IMSA-initiated LMDh class conceived for parity with Hypercar performance, along with the maverick nature of the Hypercar category, created the right conditions for Ferrari to jump back in the pool after a 50-year dry spell.


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Factory 330 P4s finished 1-2 in the ’67 Daytona 24 Hours. Could the 499P be Daytona bound in 2024? Ferrari S.p.A./Daytona International Speedway

 

"We chose this moment because after many years, the rules have changed," declared Antonello Colletta, head of Ferrari Attività Sportive GT. "We sat at the table from the first day of the new discussions with the FIA, ACO and IMSA. And we realized that Ferrari had the chance to create 100 percent of the car with less budget than the past.

"We chose LMH because for Ferrari it’s important to make all the car and parts. Ferrari is a constructor, a manufacturer. And our philosophy is to create the cars. This is a manifesto of the technologies of Ferrari, so we need to create 100 percent of the cars."

The 499P takes its name straight from Ferrari history, 499 being the displacement of a single cylinder of the 2.9-liter, twin-turbo V6 developed with common architecture from the engine in the 296 GTB/GTS road cars, the latest offering from Ferrari that also includes a hybrid-electric drivetrain. The P, of course, stands for prototype, having adorned successful Ferrari racecars from the 330 P3/4 to the last car raced by the marque, the 312 P.

The 120-degree V6 engine – chosen after also evaluating the V12s and turbo V8s in Ferrari’s road car lineup, according to Ferrari’s head of track car development Ferdinando Cannizzo – while based on the 296 road car powerplant, undergoes several changes to make it suitable for endurance racing and also to be a stressed member in the carbonfiber monocoque chassis. The hot-V six cylinder offers many packaging benefits as well as being light. As with most of the other Hypercars, the ICE is paired with a 200kW (270hp) electric motor driving the front wheels, although total combined output is limited by the rules to 500kW (670hp), a number easily achieved by the engine alone.
Ferrari is bullish about its return to prototype sports car racing’s top tier. "The 499P sees us return to compete for outright victory in the WEC," says executive chairman John Elkann. Photo: Philip Prupprecht/Ferrari



FERRARI 499P
Technical specifications
Category Le Mans Hybrid (LMH)
Chassis carbon-fiber monocoque
Engine twin-turbo, 2,992cc, 120-degree V6 (common architecture with 296 GT3 road car engine); longitudinally mounted
Maximum engine power 670hp
Energy recovery system front-axle mounted, brake-by-wire system w/ 900-volt storage battery
Maximum ERS power 200kW/268hp
Maximum combined ICE/ERS power 500kW/670hp
Transmission Xtrac 7-speed sequential
Configuration all-wheel drive (ICE to rear axle; ERS to front axle)
Suspension double wishbone w/ pushrods
Minimum weight 1,030kg/2,270lbs
NINE WINS AND COUNTING…Ferrari 312 Ps started 1-2 at the ’73 24 Hours of Le Mans (ABOVE), but lost out on a 10th overall win to Matra. Factory prototypes return in ’23. Motorsport Images Archive

With the rules limiting Hypercars to a single adjustable aerodynamic device, Ferrari chose a rear wing. Two actually, with an adjustable airfoil at top and a second fixed wing below, all connected with strikingly large endplates and the now near-ubiquitous shark fin.

While Ferrari hasn’t named drivers for the 499P yet, it’s indicated they will come from the existing roster of factory drivers. Multitime FIA GT Pro champ and two-time Le Mans class winner Alessandro Pier Guidi has logged many of the testing miles so far and is expected to be on the squad. Pier Guidi happily expresses his enthusiasm for working on the project, but is under no illusion that winning is likely to happen straightaway.

"The pressure is high," he states. "The expectation is also very high when Ferrari is involved – one expects it to be at the top level. And we also expect to be at the top level. But we know that will be very difficult. There are brands like Toyota that are involved since 10 years in this kind of prototype. So we’re not stupid, we know that everyone is doing an amazing job, and it’s difficult to compete against them. That’s why we need to push even harder than what we are doing and try to not leave anything behind."

 

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Fall 2023 RACER magazine: The Champions Issue

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emailBy Laurence Foster | December 14, 2023 12:31 PM ET

The star of RACER’s annual Champions Issue that’s now heading to mailboxes and available for digital subscribers is Formula 1 dominator Max Verstappen.

For us, there’s something refreshingly old school about the three-time champ and shatterer of F1 records.

Not for Verstappen the endless, micro-obsessing debriefs fueled by seemingly infinite amounts of available data. Instead, his interactions with Red Bull Racing’s engineering cadre are succinct, yet obviously effective: this is what I feel, and this is what I like/don’t like. The what and the how of making his car better is left to others, and Max’s next interaction with the process is climbing aboard and performing even more effectively.

Of course, the superiority of 2023’s Red Bull RB19 was such that the team rarely struggled to find its sweet spot, a misstep in Singapore being the obvious exception. And as RACER Formula 1 writer Edd Straw notes, Verstappen’s ability to be comfortable with the uncomfortable and to thrive at the edge of RB19’s performance envelope — that arcane feel thing again — meant that the sum of driver and car was even greater than the parts.

For six-time NTT IndyCar Series champ Scott Dixon, who provides some fascinating insight to our man Mark Glendenning, adaptability is a key to his incredible longevity at the top of open-wheel racing. He won his first title 20 years ago, and despite losing out to Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Alex Palou this time around, Dixon’s late-season form showed that the 43-year-old Kiwi is still very much one of the drivers to beat.

Next year, IndyCar introduces hybrid power. As always, rather than trying to bend the new tech to his will, Dixon will adapt to it — likely more quickly than anyone else — and no doubt be a major factor as he guns for that seventh title.

Also in this issue, we explore the debut season for IMSA’s GTP hybrids, celebrate Ryan Blaney’s first NASCAR Cup Series crown and look at the end of an era for Corvette Racing — all without getting bogged down in the data.

And the champions theme continues with insight on why two-time FIA World Rally champion Kalle Rovanpera is scaling back his schedule in 2024 and what Robert Wickens is planning next after his inspirational title win in IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class.

Plus, how Toyota got the better of a whole wave of new opposition in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s headlining Hypercar class and who Eli Tomac feels he’ll need to beat to get back on top of Monster Energy AMA Supercross after his 2023 season-ending injury.

Beyond the 2023 champions, former NASCAR Cup Series champ Kurt Busch looks back on a dead-cert Hall of Fame career, we check out a weekend of bust to boom at Formula 1’s return to Las Vegas, and NASCAR ace Kyle Larson begins his journey to the 2024 Indianapolis 500.

Enjoy the issue, and happy holidays!

CLICK HERE to purchase the new issue of RACER. Interested in having RACER delivered to your mailbox? CLICK HERE to find out more about print and digital subscriptions.

 

FREE DIGITAL MAGAZINE! RACER’s 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship preview

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emailBy RACER Staff | January 25, 2024 2:00 PM ET

Get ready for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with your FREE digital season preview magazine from RACER.

CLICK HEREto enjoy the digital magazine experience and get up to speed with the 2024 storylines from each of the WeatherTech Championship’s four classes.

From Ford vs. Chevrolet grabbing headlines in a packed field of GTD Pro and GTD contenders, to season two for the high-tech, high-speed GTP hybrid prototypes, we’ve got you covered.

With stunning images from some of the best photographers in sports car racing, plus insight from RACER’s own IMSA experts, it’s the perfect way to get up to speed before the Rolex 24 At Daytona goes green.

Want RACER magazine delivered to your mailbox? CLICK HERE to find out more about print and digital subscriptions.

 

This is your invitation to the Spring 2024 Port Richey Rod Run Car Show May 25

https://carstoshow.com/eventdetails.aspx?eventid=99114

PORT RICHEY SPRING 2024 ROD RUN AT COAST BUICK GMC

May 25 2024 (4th Saturday)
10133 U S HIGHWAY 19 PORT RICHEY 34668.
East-West Cross Street with U S Highway 19 is Graphic Drive 34668.
Both Spectators and Show Cars are eligible for Door Prize Drawings.

FREE BURGERS AND DOGS FROM THE GRILL LOCATED IN THE “CERTIFIED SERVICE
TUNNEL” PLUS FREE CHIPS AND DRINKS

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM officially. 9AM EARLY ROLL IN for a good paved parking spot for your car + shade lawn chairs.
Show cars may EMAIL pre-register for confirmation numbers at no cost and have a LEFT SIDE EXPRESS LINE 30 second sign-in on Day Of Show.
Say your confirmation number and it goes faster.

Contact is Bob Vail, bobfixesitup@yahoo.com, 813-839-4281 with 24 hour recording, but no texting.

EMAIL for free confirmation number and have a 30 second Express Sign-in at LEFT side of registration table.
Email 1. Your Name 2. Car Year and 3. Type Car and we do the rest.

 

Sitting on back-to-back top-5 finishes and currently sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series Standings, Ty Gibbs looks to be a force to be reckoned with in 2024. A point that he made clear when he spoke with RACER Magazine ahead of the season. The 2023 rookie of the year outlined his goals and seems to be trending steadily toward them four races into the season. Written by Eric Johnson for the Winter 2024 issue is "Ty Break"


So, just where on the curve is 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year and ’22 NASCAR Xfinity Series champ Ty Gibbs as the 2024 Cup Series gets set for the season-opening Daytona 500 and the 35-race marathon that will follow?

Over to Gibbs’ Cup crew chief, Chris Gayle...
“I think the sky’s the limit with Ty,” says Gayle, who teamed with his young charge to post four top fives and six other top-10 finishes across the 2023 season. “For me, Ty can be super-good – as good as any of these guys that are at Joe Gibbs Racing now. I think it’s just a matter of him getting more Cup Series experience and learning.

“I feel like he’s going to improve at a rapid pace,” he adds. “What you want is the driver to have a ton of confidence and to want to win every race. We have that with Ty. He knows he can do it. I think he’ll start this year much more confidence than last year.”

Gibbs and Gayle might even have raced their way into the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, if not for being caught up in a car-crushing wreck in the all-important regular season final round at Daytona International Spedway. And while frustrated with what might have been, Gibbs has now put full focus on all things 2024 Cup.

“The most important thing right now is, of course, preparing and getting ready for the season,” explains the 21-year-old driver who led 112 laps in the No. 54 Monster Energy JGR Toyota Camry in his rookie season. “I want to hit the ground running. The [pre-season, non-points] Clash is pretty important and it’s a race I definitely want to win. Then there’s the Daytona 500, as well. Of course, that’s a race I’d love to win, too. I’m really excited to just get going, to be honest with you.



2023 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Ty Gibbs is the center of attention during a media huddle at the awards banquet in Nashville, Tenn. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

SUBSCRIBE TO RACER“This off-season has flown by really quickly and I want to get racing again. It’s like January is the longest month because you’re just preparing and getting excited to get going. But, yeah, my mindset is just to go out there and try and start winning from the start.”

During the off-season, Gibbs was refreshingly honest that he was by no means satisfied with his Cup Series run last season. That being said, the grandson of JGR owner Joe Gibbs doesn’t feel like he wants to change a whole lot of things heading into the 2024 campaign.

“I’m looking at 2024 much as I was last year,” he says. “I’m just going to go after it and try and win as many races as I can and a championship. I don’t think I’d be competing if it was any other way. And I want to maximize my experience from last year and all that. It’s real important to get going and have a great year.”

To Ty Gibbs’ way of seeing things for the approaching Cup campaign, you go for the win every weekend and everything else will take care of itself. Then again, there’s a couple dozen other drivers who’d love to roll into Victory Lane on any given Sunday, all most probably with a similar mindset.

“It’s definitely a selfish sport, for sure,” reasons Gibbs. “For me, I’ve grown up around competition, and winning is the only way. Yes, winning and finishing and doing the best you can and working as hard as you can is the only way. You know what you’re aiming for and you just have to do everything you can to win the war. You’ve got to fight every day.”





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In what will be his second full season at NASCAR’s premier level, Gibbs has made it a point to focus on his destination – wins and, ultimately, championships – but still enjoy the journey along the way.

“Being able to enjoy the journey I’m on right now is great,” he says. “This is a very rare experience for someone like me to get to do this stuff, so I’m enjoying every moment and maximizing the experiences. That’s really important, right? Because if I’m not enjoying it, I shouldn’t be doing it.”

But enjoying the journey doesn’t come at the expense of absolute focus and effort amid the intensity of each Cup Series weekend, where every lap and every moment has to count.

“It’s definitely a lot to take in,” says Gibbs. “We don’t have that much practice. You really have to take in a lot in 20 minutes to get ready for qualifying and then you have to race the next day, so it’s really important for your team to bring the right setup and you to get the most out of it, because you don’t have that much time to change it.

“It’s really important for you to learn as much as you can within those 20 minutes of practice, but that’s what I train for and study for. It’s all part of it. You never stop learning. I don’t think you can.”

Focusing in, getting the most from every precious minute, is part and parcel of a mindset that, for Gibbs, begins and ends with an overwhelming desire to win.

“I want to win in everything I do,” he says. “If it’s something on the track or something off the track, I want to win. That’s just the way I was raised. It’s the way my family raised me and I don’t really see any other way. I think that’s the right way. I don’t really care about the other drivers; I only care about myself and my team, I guess you could say.”
Ty Gibbs with crew chief Chris Gayle. The duo have proved an effective pairing in their three seasons together. Photo: Matthew T. Thacker/Motorsport Images

At 20 years of age, Gibbs was the youngest full-time driver competing in the 2023 Cup Series. With the age span between the youngest and oldest drivers at the Cup level sitting at about 20 years, Gibbs is proud of his brutal youth, but doesn’t see age as anything of a factor – for him or the competition.

“It’s definitely a transitioning period in the sport, for sure, with a lot of young guys coming in,” he muses. “But there are a lot of older guys that have been around for a long time and are still right there. It’s all pretty cool, but I guess I race them all the same way. As I say, I just care about winning races and championships and doing the best that I can.”

One thing worth noting is Gibbs’ ability on road courses. Two of his top fives from his Cup rookie season came turning left and right, and he’s a four-time road-course winner in the Xfinity Series, including a win on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course last year.

“Yeah, with road courses I just think they’re a lot different and I really enjoy them,” he says.

In which case, does he fancy trying something beyond the Cup Series in the future? Something more road course-centric, perhaps?

“Yeah, for sure I’m interested in trying Formula 1 in the future,” says Gibbs. “Maybe I’ll be over there one day. Of course, my priority is having a strong Cup career, but wherever God takes me, I’m going.

“But right now, I’m in my dream job, I’m getting to do this every day, and it’s really important for me to enjoy the experience and not take it for granted. Maybe I’ll be over there in F1 one day. However, the next stop is the Busch Clash and after that I’m very excited for the Daytona 500. Those are what I’m thinking of and focused on right now, and I love it.”


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By John Oreovicz for the Feb/Mar 2024 issue of Vintage Motorsport

The NTT IndyCar Series’ creation of the $1 Million Challenge – a made-for-television, in-season, non-points exhibition race set for March 22-24 at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, Calif. – certainly created a talking point for the sport’s fanbase. It also stirred memories of the last time Indy car racing put up a non-points, big cash jackpot in an attempt to increase awareness and excitement. No, not the stillborn Hawaiian Super Prix set for November 1999, but the Marlboro Challenge, founded on much firmer footing.


It was not without controversy. Emerson Fittipaldi is credited with attracting Philip Morris USA into the CART series in 1986, first to sponsor his car fielded by Patrick Racing. Within a year, the tobacco giant was all-in. A week before the start of the ’87 season, CART CEO John Frasco unveiled the Marlboro Challenge, a limited-field, non-points event consisting of pole winners (who would receive a $5,000 bonus), race winners, and top points scorers. The inaugural edition would be staged at the Tamiami Park circuit in Miami on October 31, 1987 – the day before the PPG/CART IndyCar World Series season finale.

The $730,000 purse for the Marlboro Challenge exceeded all other races on the CART schedule outside of the Indy 500, and its inclusion as a high-profile sideshow to the title decider upset CART’s title sponsor PPG Industries. The company’s racing director Jim Chapman, told Indianapolis Star reporter Robin Miller: “We don’t want to make a federal case out of this. I told (Frasco) we didn’t object to the event, but we do object to the timing and priorities that permit the prize money to exceed not only the purse for the official Miami race, but for any other official race on the CART schedule.”



1989, and Al Unser Jr. chases down Rick Mears for second, before eventually making a smooth pass on erstwhile leader Michael Andretti to claim victory. Photo: Dan R Boyd

SUBSCRIBE TO VINTAGE MOTORSPORTBut the furor soon died down, and with the ’87 CART championship already decided in Bobby Rahal’s favor, Rahal drew the No. 2 grid spot for the inaugural Marlboro Challenge. The then two-time series champion dominated the 42-lap race to collect $225,000. Fittipaldi was Rahal’s most convincing challenger, but his Lola-Chevrolet ran out of fuel midway around the penultimate lap. That left Danny Sullivan and Team Penske to collect the $135,000 prize for second place.

“I think with about seven laps to go they hung out a ‘Fuel’ sign, and I thought, ‘My God…please!’” Rahal said in Victory Lane. “The last two laps, my fuel light was flashing on and off and on. It looks like the race was more of an economy run than a dash.”

A new promotion called the Marlboro Million was added in 1988, inspired by similar schemes launched in stock car racing and golf. Any Indy car driver who won the Marlboro 500 at Michigan Speedway, the Marlboro Grand Prix at the Meadowlands, and the Marlboro Challenge would take home a seven-figure payday. The Challenge grid would now be based on poles and wins from the season proper, instead of a random draw.

The second Challenge, also held in conjunction with the Miami season finale, was delayed two hours by tropical storms. Rain started again on the pace laps, but by the end of the race, the sun was shining brightly. Mario Andretti took the early lead, but Unser Jr. spun him out in an incident that foreshadowed their contentious collision six months later in Long Beach. Michael Andretti then passed Unser for the lead before the mandatory pit stops.

Michael again reclaimed the lead from Unser when Al Jr. emerged from his stop, but Junior reeled him back in as the track dried. Unser made a move for the lead with two laps remaining, but hit a puddle and crashed at Turn 9, allowing Andretti to win by 2.455sec over Fittipaldi.