Alessandro Pier Guidi thought the #51 Ferrari’s hopes of victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans were over when he spun on the Mulsanne.

Around 16 hours later, however, he had the honour of taking the chequered flag to seal the win in what was the Prancing Horse’s first factory assault on the top division of Le Mans in half a century.

Their prospects had looked far worse, at least in the Italian’s mind, when he was caught out by an LMP2 and a GTE car going off at the first chicane on the Mulsanne, looping his 499P Hypercar in sympathy.

Car #51 dropped from first to fourth, although it stayed on the lead lap.

“To be honest, it was a difficult moment,” said Pier Guidi.

“I tried to avoid a collision, I went on the wet, and I went in the gravel trap.

“I was just hoping the marshals were quick, and at the end, they did an amazing job.”

He added, “With the next Safety Car, I was back in the game.

“Of course, in that couple of minutes in the gravel trap, it was not a nice feeling at all.

“I said, ‘Everything is lost.’ I was in the lead, and it was a shame.

“But there was still a long time to go, and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, anything can happen.

“I didn’t give up. I tried to push, and when I was back in the game, I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’”

Co-driver James Calado rose to second before AF Corse’s strategic decision to not take new tyres when he pitted during the 12th hour meant the Briton was released ahead of the #8 Toyota and back in top spot.

Their duel continued for much of the latter half of the race, with Antonio Giovinazzi in the #51 Ferrari almost a minute clear of the #8 Toyota at the end of Hour 18.

However, trouble restarting from a pit stop in the 19th hour meant Sebastien Buemi snatched the lead in the GR010.

Eventually, Pier Guidi chased him down and, with Buemi baulked by traffic on the Mulsanne, reclaimed first position.

Once Ryo Hirakawa lost control and hit a barrier, causing damage to Car #8, the battle was realistically over, with Ferrari defeating Toyota by 1:21.793s in the end.