Checked out the 100th 24 Hours of LeMans race?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I checked out the 100th running of the 24 Hours of LeMans race -- Wow! I didn't expect to see just three racing classes participate this time around including Hypercar, LMP2 (LeMans Prototype 2) and GTE AM (Gran Turismo Endurance) classes. Hendricks Motorsports made their initial debut (in the Innovative Class by itself) with a modified Chevy Camaro and it managed to complete the world famous endurance race with three drivers including Jenson Button (former F1 driver) & Jimmie Johnson (with his seven Nascar championship wins) at the wheel. It's been proven today that a modified Nascar race car can indeed compete/race in a 24 hour endurance race. An unprecedented 325,000 folks in attendance this time around.

I was wondering if Toyota Gazoo Racing Team with their two hydrogen powered hypercars were going win for a sixth consecutive time but had to settle for 2nd place this year -- oh well, there's always next year, right? Was surprised that Ferrari ended up in first place with their Ferrari 499P hypercar with a factory engine installed (not mention that it has been 50 years since Ferrari placed 2nd at the 1973 24 Hours of LeMans race).

The American based Jota racing team was the only privateer team entering the hypercar category this year.

The American Corvette racing team won 1st in the GTE AM class with a C8.R race car (I was hoping that a C8.R car would race in 2022 24 Hours of LeMans race but it was a "no show"). I did not see any Ford GT race cars in this year's race -- are they officially retired from the WEC circuit?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BIL]

Oh shit Good spot, PCEFX! I didn't realise this was on. Always enjoyed casually following them ever since Le Mans 24hrs on Dreamcast bitd.

[Vexorg]

I've always had an interest in endurance racing, but it's kind of hard to follow too closely because of how long the races are. I actually went to the Rolex 24 at Daytona a few years ago and quite enjoyed that, and also went to a number of American Le Mans Series races when that was still around.

Since I recently moved I now live right near the heart of NASCAR country (less than 100 miles from Charlotte Motor Speedway and about 35 miles from Martinsville Speedway) so I've been watching the Hendrick car with some interest. I've never been a big fan of Hendrick since they seem to be the New York Yankees of NASCAR (I grew up in a house that followed the various Ford drivers), but it's been interesting to see them go to Le Mans. I've also been wanting to go see the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta, and might go at some point now that we live about 300 miles away from there. Hendrick has an interesting little museum on their campus near the Charlotte Motor Speedway where they keep a collection of their historic cars, and I'm guessing the Garage 56 car will eventually end up there.