The big retro 2023 AUTOhebdo: our favorites

Jean-Michel’s favorite

The victory of Ferrari during the Centenary of 24 Hours of Le Mans

Legend joins legend. This Sunday, June 11, for the centenary edition of the 24 Hours, Ferrari achieves the feat of building a bridge between the past and the future by magnifying the present. At the end of a duel of rare intensity against the Toyota #8 of the trio Buemi-Hartley-Hirakawa, the 499P #51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi returns the Maranello firm to where it forged its reputation, where it belongs. At Le Mans! Seventy-two hours earlier, it was the #50 of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen which, after 50 years of absence and only a few months of work, had reached the front row of the most important race in the world. world by unhooking the Hyperpole. Nobody thought then that the Red Army of Antonello Coletta, responsible for the program WEC, can write one of the most beautiful pages in the history of “Cavalino Rampante” and motorsport.

Winning comeback for Ferrari in Sarthe. The Prancing Horse returns to the premier Sport-Proto category for the Centenary and wins ahead of Toyota. / © DPPI

Jérémy’s favorite

The title of champion F2 de Theo Pourchaire

It’s not just in dry pruning that Théo Pourchaire has grown over the last four years. At the end of 2019, when a solid relationship of trust began to be built between AUTOhebdo, Théo and his entourage, the little guy from Grasse, who was then far from measuring his current 1m86, won the title of German F4 champion, the most difficult championship of the time at this level. By skipping the Formula Renault to reach directly the F3 in 2020, he was promised hell. We explained to ART Grand Prix that they were crazy to bet everything on him in these conditions. His honorary title of vice-champion, six months later, definitively propelled him among the great talents of his generation. Behind, the F2 was more delicate. His demonstration in the streets of Monaco in 2021 was unfortunately followed by an accident in Baku, causing him some physical torment and stopping his momentum. His 2022 campaign was somewhat disappointing, with (legitimate!) inexperience catching up with him in places and at times. Seeing him finally triumph in the antechamber of the F1 in Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago sounds like a fair reward, a fair return of things for this talented, enthusiastic, but above all adorable boy, who will never have changed one iota as he got closer to the intoxicating world of F1. Théo has always made himself available to AUTOhebdo readers, out of loyalty for all these years. So for all that, well done and thank you Théo! And may the rest be even more beautiful…

Théo Pourchaire will have given up nothing to seek a title with forceps. / © DPPI

Dorian's favorite

The intensity of the fights in IMSA

In the middle of world disciplines (F1, WEC, WRC) monotonous and/or dominated by a single manufacturer or driver, the American championships performed well in 2023. In addition to theIndyCar, IMSA was the most interesting competition to follow this year. Crazy races, sometimes with twists and turns in the final moments (see 12 Hours of Sebring), a close fight for the title in all categories and drivers who enjoy racing! The WEC could suffer from comparison with its American equivalent: the IMSA format – a mix of racesEndurance and Sprint – is much more exciting and thrilling to follow! No controversy around the BoP, circuits with real character (Road Atlanta, Long Beach, Laguna Seca to name a few) and real healthy competition where all manufacturers can win: this is what real sport should be automobile! The controversy surrounding Meyer Shank Racing's controversial victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona will remain the only shadow on the table for this 2023 season.

Old-school circuits and furious battles at all levels, IMSA is fun galore. / © DPPI

Valentin's favorite

The historic victory of the Iron Dames at the 8 Hours of Bahrain

November 4, 2023 is a milestone in the history of the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship and the Iron Dames project. That day, by crossing the finish line victoriously, Michelle Gatting ratified the first success of an all-female crew in the FIA ​​WEC and de facto the first of the project launched by Deborah Mayer in 2019. A deliverance for the trio formed by Gatting, Sarah Bovy and Rahel Frey after several disappointments, notably during the last 24 Hours of Le Mans. A victory whose symbolism is strong since it brings a wind of renewal, especially since it corresponds to the last race of the GTE era, and which made it possible to demonstrate even more that women have indeed their place in the world of motorsport. The Iron Dames have led the way, but they are not the only ones. Note that the four women entered in the LMGTE category of the WEC this season all won, since Lilou Wadoux also won the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with her teammates Alessio Rovera and Luis Pérez Companc. Well done ladies!

The Iron Dames won the last race of the LMGTE Am era. / © DPPI

Gonzalo's favorite

The return of the real Macau Grand Prix

Without doubt one of the events that still makes a large number of enthusiasts dream. This year, after three editions impacted by the health crisis, the Macau Grand Prix, in its most traditional form, made its return to the delight of the players but also the spectators. The opportunity to return in particular to the FIA ​​GT and GT3 World Cups with high-level fields. Raffaele Marciello, Kévin Estre, Maro Engel, Edoardo Mortara… in GT3. Isack Hadjar, Gabriele Mini, Dino Beganovic, Dan Ticktum… in Formula 3. The 70th edition of one of the craziest races in the world once again did not disappoint. Neither did my discovery of this monument. Macau was one of the events that I wanted to add to my “hunting list”. There, I discovered a new culture. I was warned “you’ll see, it’s crazy!” ". I must admit that it was. Nestled in the middle of the ancient city, the Guia circuit is stunning, unique of its kind. A first section which goes almost flat out, an uphill and very winding portion, its hairpin which always traps the drivers, even the most experienced, of the passages between the tall buildings... A separate route and just as "natural" in sum with its own charm, as we don't really do anymore these days. A first successful experience both on a personal and professional level that I hope to relive in the future, and that I wish all enthusiasts to experience one day in their lives because events like Macau are like no other.

After several years of absence due to Covid-19, the Macau Grand Prix and the GT World Cup have made their grand return to the calendar. / © Pirelli Motorsport

Medhi’s favorite

Josef Newgarden's celebration at the Indy 500

High-level motorsport sometimes lacks a connection with its base, that is to say its fans. Take F1 drivers. They are adored and go around in circles on circuits in isolation. If they thank the spectators who pay fortunes to see them go by at high speed for 2 hours on Sunday, it is only to be politically correct, because the “best fans” type messages at the Lewis Hamilton sorely lacking in authenticity. And then, on the other side of the Atlantic, you have Josef Newgarden.
The American taught the entire world of motorsport a lesson about what a moment of sharing with supporters should be. Barely the winner of an unbreathable edition of the Indianapolis 500, marked by two red flags and a restart on a single and final lap, the Penske driver rushed straight between the fences to celebrate his victory with anonymous spectators. An unprecedented gesture in 113 years of history at Indy! The winner could have first celebrated his victory with his mechanics, or with his boss Roger Penske. No, his first gesture, almost instinctive since he was finishing his parade turn, was to jump from the car and rush towards the stands. It doesn't matter if among the public there were people who were fans of a rival team or driver. All that mattered was to share his joy with an audience who made the effort to come on a Sunday, to stay for more than 3 hours with their butts glued to a plastic seat under a very beating sun. of sunshine when returning to work on Monday. This gesture of communion delighted the American public, who now remember this crowd bath more than his overtaking Marcus Ericsson on the last lap.

Josef Newgarden leaves to commune with the public in Indianapolis after winning the 107th edition of the Indy 500. / © IndyCar Media

Julien's favorite

The recovery of McLaren

It’s a great F1 team that is chasing its glory that has passed for too long, a team synonymous with Fittipaldi, Hunt, Lauda, Cheers, Senna, Häkkinen, or even Hamilton, a name that exudes motorsport: McLaren. Once an indisputable top team, the Woking team gradually slipped down the world hierarchy to the point of hitting rock bottom during a catastrophic meeting with Honda between 2015 and 2017. Since then, McLaren has experienced a great improvement and found its way back to the victory but the team founded by Bruce McLaren 60 years ago has not yet returned to the splendor of its golden periods. Its mixed 2022 financial year and its disappointing start to the 2023 campaign even suggested that the British team was suffering a relapse. This was without counting on a recovery as dazzling as it was astonishing. Indeed, few teams are capable of such a leap in the hierarchy during the season. On the evening of the Canadian GP, ​​8th of the 22 stages of the season, McLaren only had 17 small points. Five months later, the orange house had 302 with no less than nine podiums in the second half of the season. He will only have missed one victory (and still Oscar piastri won the Qatar Sprint) so that the return to favor is complete. Lando Norris flirted with the laurels on several occasions (Silverstone, Singapore, Austin, and Interlagos) but the ogre Max Verstappen left only crumbs for his adversaries. As for his rookie new teammate Piastri, he immediately proved more incisive than his predecessor Daniel Ricciardo. The healthy emulation between the McLaren drivers, coupled with clear technical direction and the opening of a completely overhauled in-house wind tunnel, augurs the return of good times to Woking. Finally !

With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, McLaren has nothing to envy of the top teams on the Driver side. / © DPPI