I haven’t been so excited about a movie in years. I grew up following this stuff and eventually became a gear head, largely because of these types of rivalries; Ford v Ferrari, Snake and Mongoose, Shirley Muldowney v Big Daddy, etc.
Side note: I think the Gulf livery is the greatest of all race teams ever. Beautiful. This film seems to be primarily about the ‘66 Le Mans. The Gulf livery wasn’t until 67, so it may not be shown.
Knowing a bit about the real people, I can say it looks like Damon and Bale have these guys down perfectly. If you’re interested, there are a number of documentaries about the history of the rivalry.
If you’re unfamiliar, Le Mans is a 24 hour endurance race. The track is 8 miles around. The cars typically average about 3,000 miles in the 24 hours.