RE: Ford GT to race Le Mans

[MG CHRIS]

The ford looks awesome and if this is the way of the new gtpro group im liking it. For way to long gt pro and am have looked very similar to each other but this is looking to be going in the right direction.
Pretty exciting times ahead with gt/lmp1/2 racing for years to come.

[Matt_N]

Gandahar said:

Problem with the LMP cars is they sound like my vacuum cleaner now the bearing has gone. And you can have the close racing without that sound if the regs were right.

Granted the Audi is quiet but the rest are anything but!

The Toyota LMP1 motor is savage, not heard thr Porsche first hand though.

[MikeT66]

zebedee said:

MikeT66 said:

Brilliant news - come on Ford! Looks great, too.

Glad it's in the GTE PRO class as opposed to the LMP categories, which I actually dislike. To me, GT Racing is all about road-cars competing against each other, not the high-tech stuff of the LMP categories. Not that the Prototypes hasn't thrown up some great cars in the past (Porsche 917, among others), but the current crop are, IMHO, hideous and largely irrelevant to road cars. Yes, the technology is amazing, but the machinery leaves me stone cold - like Formula 1.

It does, however, throw up a real conundrum for me - Le Mans 2016 or Le Mans Classic 2016 for my 50th birthday? Hmmmmm...

GT racing is not LMP racing, as you say. They might not be the nicest things to look at, but seeing those LMPs going at it hammer and tongs and passing and re-passing several times a lap and going side by side through traffic at the speeds they do is sensational, and to me a lot of that emotion and thrill seems to absorb back into these extraordinary machines when the heat of battle is over. I used to think the same as you but over the years I have grown to love the prototypes and this year at Le Mans really should be thrilling. I can't see anyone having a clear run at it, I think we will have more time in the pits for the P cars than in recent years, so the question is how far will each get pushing at 100% (which I am sure they will) and what problems will it lead to and will they have built up enough gap to fix it and maintain their lead?

Don't get me wrong, zebedee - yes, the racing and technology is outstanding, again like current F1... it's just as machines, they don't really appeal, and I can't quite put my finger on why. Maybe you just have to see and experience it live, so I understand your comment.

Galileo said:

1966 was a good year. I'll be celebrating my 50th at Le Mans next year as well. Maybe we could get hospitality as we are the same age as the cars first victory? Worth a go.

Hospitality? That would be a great idea... I can dream, I suppose! To me, 1966 was never about England's World Cup vcitory in sporting terms, but Ford's famous victory at Le Mans.

Finally managed to watch the Ford GT video tonight (wouldn't show on the work computers today) - brilliant... and I love that startled black horse' The poor 'cavallino rampante' has never recovered at Le Mans since that 1-2-3!

[Amirhussain]

Oh yhh

[mark0006]

Here are some live photos.



From the article:
Ford unveiled the new car today at the Circuit de la Sarthe on the occasion of this years race. This new GT car will race in the Le Mans GT Endurance class and not the top LMP1 category.

5 pictures and in the gallery

.

[MikeT66]

Official announcement from Ford, with Bill Ford leading, here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWZUBO-9H98

[unpc]

IMO road based cars should be the top class now we have P1s and 918s etc. I think the prototypes have outlived their usefulness and while fast, are dull to watch.

[bluerainer101]

Little reference at the end there to Ferrari by any chance!?

[MG CHRIS]

PW said:

unpc said:

IMO road based cars should be the top class now we have P1s and 918s etc. I think the prototypes have outlived their usefulness and while fast, are dull to watch.

Remember 20 years ago when road based GT1 cars were the top class, and within 3 years had evolved into prototypes that had 1 highly dubious "road legal" version locked in a garage somewhere, almost killing off top level sportscar racing in the process, and how prototypes have dominated since?

.

If prototype cars went to be replaced with the hypercars not only times would go up massively they wouldn't be that much quicker than the gte pro groups. This year the audi and Porsche broke the race lap record by several seconds and were quicker than the mighty 917 without the chicains going down the mulsane straight in that era prototype racing is here to stay and dull f1 is dull lmp1 is far from dull.

[wst]

bluerainer101 said:

Little reference at the end there to Ferrari by any chance!?

About as subtle as the Ford GT is, yeah.

[TransverseTight]

LMP Dull? You've obviously not sat on the outside of the Dunlop curves and watch one come from under the bridge and pass 4 GT cars before it disappears round Tet rouge! The corner speed difference is staggering. Quite how they don't have a crash every lap is beyond me! The GT car drivers are the superheroes in my mind as they need to look whats coming up behind as well as what's in front.

But LMP aside - I'm really excited to see ford coming. It's a bit boring with so many Prosche and Ferraris in the GT class. Some more makes are needed. Am kind of hoping some news might be afoot from Maclaren ;-) They were hanging around in the car park near the stadium with a truck full of cars including the one of the GTR long that tails won in the 1990s and a P1.

[zebedee]

unpc said:

IMO road based cars should be the top class now we have P1s and 918s etc. I think the prototypes have outlived their usefulness and while fast, are dull to watch.

yeah, right. should have gone to specsavers. Which season are you watching exactly?!