Ferrari ended a 50-year absence from the 24 Hours of Le Mans by toppling mighty Toyota on Sunday in the centenary running of the most iconic sports car race in the world.
Ferrari last competed at Le Mans in 1973 but returned to Circuit de la Sarthe this year as part of a new hyperclass category that features hybrid technology.
The hyperclass came from a rules convergence that allowed competitors from the United States’ sports car series, IMSA, to compete at Le Mans and created an enticing platform automakers viewed as an opportunity to showcase their street car technology.
Ferrari developed its program — a two-car effort that competes in the World Endurance Championship — over several years in a strategy similar to what was depicted in “Ford v Ferrari,” the 2019 film that focused on the boardroom pressures and drama surrounding Ford’s 1963 successful effort to end Ferrari’s reign at Le Mans.
Only this time it was Ferrari trying to knock down a giant: the two-car Toyota Gazoo effort, which had entered the twice-round-the-clock race on a five-year winning streak.
Toyota was dealt a blow before the race even began when race officials this week added weight to the dominant GR010s in a controversial “balance of performance” adjustment designed to level the playing field.
Ferrari, in a pair of 499Ps, pounced, sweeping the front row in qualifying and handling every challenge from Toyota. Its chances were aided overnight when Kamui Kobayashi was wrecked out of the race, making it two versus one in favor of Ferrari.
The team of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi — with Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc in the garage watching — was the easy winner while completing 342 laps of the 8.467-mile track, the fewest by the victor since 2001.
“It’s emotional. Unbelievable. I have no words,” Giovinazzi, a former F1 driver, told Eurosport television.
Said Calado: “It’s a great achievement, and after so long, I think this one will go down in history for sure.”
The trio had a solid lead even before defending race winner Ryō Hirakawa locked the brakes on his Toyota and hit the wall with 1 hour, 44 minutes remaining.
It took roughly three minutes for repairs to the car, not enough time to help Chip Ganassi Racing, which carried the American flag at Le Mans for IMSA.
The centenary marked the first year IMSA’s top class was granted participation at Le Mans, and the new hyperclass brought Cadillac back to both IMSA and WEC with Ganassi, same for Porsche with Roger Penske in the 86-year-old’s attempt to win one of the few races missing on his list. It also brought a slew of new manufacturer interest to sports car racing, which helped draw a sold-out crowd of 300,000-plus spectators.
The Ganassi Cadillacs were running third and fourth when Hirakawa spun, eliminating the defending champions’ chances at a repeat. But it briefly created an opportunity for one or both Cadillacs to improve their finishing position.
Toyota executed flawlessly on its pit stop, and the Cadillacs gained no ground. The WEC team of Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook took the final spot on the podium, with the IMSA team of Sebastien Bourdais, a Le Mans native, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon finishing fourth.
Ferrari’s second car finished fifth, one spot ahead of the top-finishing Porsche from Team Penske. His other two 963s both had early retirements.
The third Cadillac, fielded by Action Express Racing out of IMSA, crashed on the first lap and was never in contention. That team is supported by IMSA and NASCAR owner Jim France, who successfully brought a stock car to Le Mans to represent the American series in its 75th anniversary season.
NASCAR last had a presence at Le Mans in 1976 and returned this year with a version of its second-year Next Gen car. The “Garage 56” car was fielded by Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, the winningest team, manufacturer and tire supplier in NASCAR’s 75 years.
The No. 24 Camaro was in a class by itself racing against no other cars. The initial goal was simply to finish the race and showcase NASCAR, but the Chad Knaus-led project was so outstanding that until a brake issue with about five hours remaining, it seemed as though the lineup of seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button and former Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller might actually beat the entire 21-car GTE AM field.
The time to fix the brakes took that off the table, and it felt like a disappointment for all that NASCAR had accomplished. The car had a later issue that required a gear box change, but the engine lasted the distance and the car crossed under the checkered flag for a champagne celebration.
“How’s it feel to take the checkered flag at Le Mans?” team owner Rick Hendrick radioed Johnson as he completed the 285th lap for the Camaro.
“Awesome,” Johnson replied.
The car finished 39th in the 62-car field — good enough for 10th among the GTE cars. The Camaro was second among that class when it had to stop to change its brakes.
“That was thousands of hours of hard work by hundreds of people that went into making this thing happen. And then the way the team and the pit crews and everybody performed all week, it was just fantastic,” France said. “I hope my dad and my brother are somewhere up there looking down and smiling, but the goal when we set out was to try and finish the race running at the end and not be last. And we accomplished that.”
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida has offensive help on the way with a freshman receiver who just might make a difference against No. 9 Texas on Saturday.
Dallas Wilson is practicing for the first time since injuring his left foot in training camp and is scheduled to make his collegiate debut against the Longhorns, coach Billy Napier said Monday.
Napier called Wilson’s availability “a big deal.”
“Three good days of work last week, and I thought he handled the load well,” Napier said. “He feels really good. So far, so good.”
Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 213-pound newcomer from Tampa, was the star of Florida’s spring game in April. He caught 10 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and all indications in fall practice pointed to it not being a fluke.
But Wilson injured his foot late in camp, spent weeks in a protective boot and watched from afar as the Gators (1-3, 0-1 SEC) struggled to move the ball and find the end zone. Florida scored 16, 10 and 7 points, respectively, in consecutive losses to South Florida, LSU and Miami, raising speculation about Napier’s future in Gainesville.
Quarterback DJ Lagway has been the focus of the team’s offensive woes. The sophomore who went 6-1 as a starter last season missed most of the year dealing with injuries and looked rusty when the season began.
Although Lagway’s mechanics seemed improved in the team’s 26-7 setback at Miami on Sept. 20, his offensive line got manhandled and allowed way too much pressure for anyone to notice. Lagway completed 12 of 23 passes for 61 yards against the Hurricanes.
Napier used the off week to get Lagway more live-action reps in hopes of getting him “caught up.” But he also reiterated the need to “play better around him.”
“Each position group needs to step up,” Napier said. “More detail, eliminate errors, eliminate penalties, whatever the case may be. I just think more detail and better overall play around him. And, obviously, he needs to continue to get back closer to being himself.”
Dallas Wilson has been unable to help — until now. The Gators are confident he will change the narrative against the No. 1 scoring defense in the SEC.
“Just having him out is going to be amazing for us,” Lagway said. “His ability to go deep, his ability to make plays underneath and be able to make miraculous plays with the ball in his hands, it’s going to be great to have him back.”
SEC Network host Paul Finebaum said Monday that he would consider leaving ESPN to run for the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama.
The 70-year-old Finebaum said during a recent interview with Outkick that he’d run as a Republican to fill the seat vacated by former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, who has said he’ll run for Alabama governor in the 2026 elections. Tuberville’s current Senate term ends in 2027.
The qualifying deadline to run for Senate is Jan. 26, 2026. Finebaum said he would likely have to leave his hosting and analyst duties if he decided to run. He told Outkick he’d make a decision within the next 30-45 days.
Finebaum said he hadn’t seriously considered politics, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk was the impetus to give a run at politics further thought. He noted that he had received a “text” from “one or two people in Washington” gauging his interest in politics.
“[It was] something I never thought about before,” Finebaum told Outkick.
Finebaum is currently registered as a Republican in North Carolina, where he works for the SEC Network. He told Outkick he recently moved to Alabama, where he hosted a radio show for years, and would re-register there.
Finebaum hosted radio shows in Alabama for almost 30 years before joining ESPN and the SEC Network. He started his media career as a newspaper writer and columnist.
“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years, and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”
Bobby Petrino has fired three defensive assistants just one day after being named interim head coach at Arkansas as part of an overhaul of the Razorbacks’ coaching staff.
Petrino dismissed defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive assistant Marcus Woodson in the latest moves after being appointed interim coach for the rest of the season to replace Sam Pittman, who was fired Sunday following five-plus seasons as Arkansas’ head coach.
“I just felt like how we performed on Saturday gave me an indication that maybe Sam had lost the team a little bit because they generally had played really hard for him throughout his tenure,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said of the move, which came on the heels of a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.
Petrino, 64, returned to Arkansas in 2023 as offensive coordinator after serving in a number of jobs. In four years as the Razorbacks’ head coach, he went 34-17, including consecutive seasons with double-digit victories in 2010 and 2011.
“Coach Petrino, as we met yesterday, he accepted this opportunity with the understanding that he also wanted an opportunity to formally be a candidate for our head coaching position, and he will have that opportunity, but we’ll also subsequently run a search for our next head coach at the same time,” Yurachek said.
Pittman’s dismissal, Petrino’s temporary promotion and the defensive assistant dismissals weren’t the only changes. Chris Wilson was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator.
Petrino had high praise for Wilson, who was in his first year with the Razorbacks as an assistant defensive line coach.
“My experience [with Wilson] goes way back to having to battle against him when he had all the great defensive linemen at Mississippi State,” Petrino said. “Very, very impressed with what he’s done throughout his career. Guy’s got a Super Bowl ring. He brings a lot of credibility into the room.”
Several defensive players posted cryptic messages on social media following the firing of Williams, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2023. Yurachek and Petrino encouraged players to welcome change amid a 2-3 start to the season.
“The No. 1 thing is, you have to get used to change. You know, your whole life there’s going to be change. So how we handle that, our attitude on how we handle that, will determine how quickly we improve,” Petrino said.
Petrino was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in April 2012 that left him with four broken ribs. At first, he said he was riding alone, but a police report revealed a woman was riding with him. The woman turned out to be a former Arkansas athlete who was in a romantic relationship with the married Petrino. The coach had given her a job in the football program and a $20,000 gift.
Petrino was fired by then-athletic director Jeff Long for misleading his bosses about what happened with the accident and his relationship with the football staffer.
Pittman, 63, went 32-34 with the Razorbacks.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.