FORD HEADS BACK INTO THE FRAY.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. Ford is returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a new Ford GT race car, a machine based on the all-new ultra-high-performance supercar of the same name that goes on sale next year. The Ford GT racer will compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the most prestigious sports car race in the world – starting next year. Ford executives Bill Ford, Mark Fields and Raj Nair - along with Chip Ganassi - revealed the new racing machine at the famous circuit in Le Mans, France, on Friday, June 12th.

The bigger news perhaps - and I will have more on this in another column - is that Ford will not be contesting for the overall win, as it did in the 60s when Ford-powered racing machines won the race overall in 1966, '67, '68 and '69. The new Ford GT racer will compete instead in the Le Mans GT Endurance class (LM GTE Pro).

Both the production car and race car will arrive in 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary of Ford GT race cars placing 1-2-3 at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. “When the GT40 competed at Le Mans in the 1960s, Henry Ford II sought to prove Ford could beat endurance racing’s most legendary manufacturers,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company. “We are still extremely proud of having won this iconic race four times in a row, and that same spirit that drove the innovation behind the first Ford GT still drives us today.”

The new Ford GT race car will run the full 2016 schedules of the FIA World Endurance Championship and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, making its competition debut in January 2016 at the Daytona 24 Hour race (Rolex 24), in Daytona Beach, Florida. The two Ford teams will be operated by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS). Both series teams intend to compete with a four-car effort at Le Mans. Drivers will be announced later.

Ford plans to leverage its performance lineup with the new GT racing program as the company recognizes its customers’ desire for "vehicles that offer excellent fuel economy, leading technology and a great driving experience." The Ford Performance lineup includes the new Ford GT, Focus RS, F-150 Raptor, Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT350R, Focus ST and Fiesta ST.

“Ford remains focused on three priorities globally – accelerating our One Ford plan, delivering product excellence with passion and driving innovation in every part of our business,” said Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company president and CEO. “All three came together to create the new Ford GT. We also know from our rich history in motorsports that world-class competition is a great incubator for even further product innovation.”

The Ford GT race car features a number of innovations Ford believes will not only make it competitive in LM GTE Pro, but ultimately positioned to provide benefits to each vehicle in the Ford lineup. These include state-of-the-art aerodynamics to deliver outstanding levels of downforce for improved stability with minimal drag, advanced lightweight composites featuring carbon fiber for an exceptionally rigid but light chassis, and the power and efficiency of EcoBoost technology.

“As we developed the Ford GT, from the outset we wanted to ensure we had a car that has what it takes to return Ford to the world of GT racing,” said Raj Nair, Ford Motor Company group vice president, Global Product Development and chief technical officer. “We believe the Ford GT’s advances in aerodynamics, light-weighting and EcoBoost power will make for a compelling race car that can once again compete on a global stage.”

The key players who will join Ford on the project include Multimatic Motorsports, Roush Yates Engines, Castrol, Michelin, Forza Motorsport, Sparco, Brembo and CGRFS. The race car has undergone extensive design and testing within Ford and Multimatic, with CGRFS providing input into the development. Roush Yates is supporting development of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 – the most powerful EcoBoost production engine ever - and the same engine which debuted in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in 2014. Since then, Ford, along with CGRFS, has won the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Daytona 24 Hour race (Rolex 24).

“We’ve won races and championships, but we’ve never run Le Mans,” said team owner Chip Ganassi. “When presented the opportunity to compete with the all-new Ford GT on the world’s biggest sports car stage, and on the 50th anniversary of one of the most storied victories in racing history, how could any race team not want to be part of that? Will it be a challenge? Absolutely, but we couldn’t be with a better partner than Ford.” Check out the video for the new Ford GT racing machine here.

I will have more, much more on this story in the coming weeks.

(Images courtesy of Ford)

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Photos courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
New York, New York, March, 1964. The first Lola-based Ford GT 40 Mark I (above) sits at New York's Idlewild airport (now JFK). One of the first two Ford GT 40s built, it was flown to New York for inspection by Ford executives and upon approval, was immediately returned to England to be prepared for the LeMans practice day that April (below). Remember, it was a different time and a different era, and Henry Ford II was out to humiliate Enzo Ferrari, "no matter what it costs." In the pre-ROI era it was perfectly logical to fly the car to New York for presentation to Ford executives, and return it to England the next day. Except that the early Ford GT though fast, was an aerodynamic nightmare on the Mulsanne straight with a propensity for diabolical front-end lift, and Ford suffered myriad teething problems with the cars in those early days. It wasn't until Carroll Shelby got involved with the program in late 1964 that the Ford GT program began to come together. The first major victory for the Ford GT came in the then "Daytona 2000" when Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby (No. 73 Shelby American Ford GT40) won the race overall in February, 1965. The rest of that year, however, was filled with disappointment. Once the 427-powered Ford Mk II made its debut at Daytona in 1966, the Ford contingent was well on its way to becoming a force at the top level of international sports car racing. Watch some excellent videos here and here.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD