Ford GT to race Le Mans?

"Significant news" coming from Ford Performance on Friday ... just what could that be?

It doesn't take much much speculation to place a bet on what Ford Performance has planned for its announcement on Friday. If it does transpire that the Shelby GT350 is coming to the UK or the Focus RS is £25K then we will profusely apologise, while being very happy at the news. But all signs are pointing towards Ford confirming a Le Mans return with the GT.

Any excuse for a heritage pic!

Think about it. It's 24 Hours weekend. Next year will be 50 years since the GT40 first won. The road car's Ecoboost V6 has been proven at Daytona. Everything suggests Ford wants to make a triumphant return to La Sarthe next year and sweep away all before them.

At present all we know is that Bill Ford, CEO Mark Fields and Development Vice President Raj Nair will "be joined by special guests" for a live-streamed press conference at 14:00h on Friday afternoon.

The question now is whether the Ford LM car will be a fully fledged prototype going for outright victory against Audi, Toyota, Porsche and Nissan or a GT3 car that's closer to production. The former of course has the glory associated with a Le Mans triumph while the latter has the opportunity for the old Ford versus Ferrari rivalry to be reignited.

Who wouldn't want to see this race?

An official Ford return to sportscar racing is of course very big news, so it seemed like the ideal opportunity to delve into the YouTube archives for a period GT40 clip. This one suits perfectly. It's a 30-minute Ferodo film from the 1968 race, beginning with a superb onboard lap narrated by Stirling Moss. The video takes us through testing, qualifying and the race, the whole event looking desperately cool with a Matra, the Porsches and some gorgeous Alfas racing the Gulf GT40s too. How anything survived what appears a torrential downpour during the night is a miracle.

This was Ford's third consecutive win at Le Mans, with one more to follow in '69. It was a glorious era for Ford, a key part of its heritage that this new sports car venture will be keen to emulate. More information to follow on Friday...

Le Mans 1968 video here.