MIGUEL MOLINA LEANS FORWARD IN HIS SEAT: 'It's difficult to separate the emotion, of driving for Ferrari in the top class of endurance racing, on the centenary of the Le Mans 24 Hours, 50 years after Ferrari was last here, starting on pole. I will try not to think about it, but... it's difficult.' M It's Friday, Le Mans weekend, in Ferrari's sweltering HQ behind the pits. The team is in part-buoyant, part-cautious mood. Yesterday, Molina's teammate Antonio Fuoco stuck the no.51 Ferrari 499P on pole, and Alessandro Pier Guidi qualified second in the no.50 sister car. 'From what I understand from Antonio, it was a perfect lap,' Molina says. 'I will say it was quite a good lap,' Fuoco understates. 'If I were to go back, I'm not sure where I would find more time.' It's a historic moment in every sense but you can see the focus etched in the eyes of every team member. This is far from a done deal.
Of course, two sunrises later, the deal was very much done: Pier Guidi crossed the line 1m22sec ahead of Toyota's Ryo Hirakawa, and the subsequent victory run down the pitlane, team-mates James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi sitting side-saddle on the 499P's flanks, will surely still be an iconic image when Le Mans' double centenary rolls around in 3023. This is the story of what happened in the moments in between the qualifying debrief and that final flag fall, with evo a fly on the wall in the Prancing Horse's paddock.
Esta historia es de la edición August 2023 de Evo UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 2023 de Evo UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
HONDA ACCORD TYPE R
A liberal sprinkling of Honda Type R fairy dust on the late-'90s Accord produced an unlikely evo icon and a genuine performance bargain
TOY STORY
Where best to store some of Toyota’s most prized and valuable racing superstars? Under the wind tunnel at its Cologne HO, of course...
POWER PLAY
It develops 819bhp. It has no turbochargers, no hybrid assistance. Ferrari describes it as the most complete GT it's ever made. And it’s so proud of its mighty V12 engine it’s named the whole car after it. This is the 12 Cilindri
THE FIRST SAMURAIS
Japan has been responsible for many of our favourite driver's cars of recent decades, but their ancestors are often much less well known. We take a look at where the big manufacturers began their performance car journeys
DEFINITELY. NO MAYBE
Three Japanese performance icons - Lexus LFA, Subaru Impreza 22B and Nissan GT-R. Over three days on some of our favourite roads we explore what makes each uniquely thrilling, but also the car culture that unites them
1V3.0
F1, P1... and now W1. The next chapter in McLaren's Ultimate Series is the British firm's challenger to the forthcoming new Ferrari hypercar and a £2million, 1257bhp, hybrid-powered, technical tour de force
Thornley Kelham European RS
One man’s dream to build the perfect Porsche 911 has resulted inthis aaticMously restored and enhanced classic. We delve into the details and take it for a drive
Bentley Continental GT Speed
The new Continental GT is the most powerful Bentley ever, and the beginning of anew plug-in hybrid era for Crewe. But is it still a benchmark grand tourer?
