9 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT LE MANS 2025

Whether you're heading to France to witness the 93rd running of the world's most famous enduro or tuning in on TV, there are some crucial facts to digest. La Sarthe veteran Gary Watkins is your guide

- Gary Watkins

1 Ferrari goes for the hat-trick

Ferrari will complete a Le Mans 24 Hours hat-trick if it lifts the trophy this year. And the 499P Le Mans Hypercar will remain unbeaten at the French enduro since the Italian manufacturer ended its 50-year factory hiatus from the front of the grid in 2023. Ferrari's avowed aim this season might be the winning of the a World Endurance Championship title after missing out in each of the past two years. But that's not to say it isn't serious about winning Le Mans again. Double points are on offer, so it remains the most important race of the season not just in terms of prestige.

Ferrari has undertaken a no-stone-unturned approach to development of the 499P since its second Le Mans victory. That is, of course, within the confines of the rules that place strict limits on performance upgrades. One so-called evo joker modification was brought online for the Brazilian WEC round at Interlagos last July and there have been none since.

The focus has been on getting the most out of its package, that includes improving reliability. Ferrari wasn't happy with the failures that blunted its WEC challenge in 2024 and that will clearly be of benefit in its bid to win the season's longest race.

2 Toyota looking for legacy victory

A shade over a minute and a half. That’s the cumulative time by which Toyota has lost victory to Ferrari at Le Mans over the past two years. The Japanese manufacturer’s GR010 Hybrid might have triumphed both times with a bit of luck or rather less misfortune and taken a remarkable seven wins on the trot.

It didn’t work out that way, which means that Toyota is still missing a victory here against serious opposition.