Ford has announced that it will make its return to the legendary 24 hour endurance race in June of 2016
24 Hours of Le Mans
Ford will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its celebrated 1966 1-2-3 victory at the Circuit de la Sarthe when it returns next year with the Ford GT race car.
Earlier today at a press conference in Le Mans, Ford announced that beginning in 2016 the Ford GT will run the full 2016 schedules of the FIA World Endurance Championship and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, an agenda that includes the famous 24-hour endurance race held in June of every year in the Pays de la Loire region of France.
"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."
Ford GT
The racecar Ford will campaign is based on the all-new Ford GT supercar unveiled in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
According to Ford, the two Ford teams will be operated by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS). Both series teams intend to compete at Le Mans and, all told, will field four cars between them. Drivers have yet to be chosen and will be announced at a later date.
In addition:
Joining Ford in this project are 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.
"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."
So all you racing fans out there stay tuned, as the car will be making its race debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, 2016.