Ford GT to race Le Mans?
"Significant news" coming from Ford Performance on Friday ... just what could that be?
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.
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.
[GT40 images: LAT]
Given that, would Ford bother to run it in the 'lower' category of GT3? Not convinced by that, but fingers crossed they make the decision to return. In the global marketplace as it is right now, I think Ford need to raise their profile above the newer brands like Kia/Hyundai,etc. and getting back into motor sports, given Ford's heritage, is the way to do it.
The 1968 edition of the Le Mans 24 hrs was run in September due to political unrest in France earlier in the year. In fact it was at the end of September, 28th & 29th to be exact.
Which means, all the footage filmed on the Saturday was taken on the day I was born.
I'd love to see Ford return to LM with the new GT, it looks like it belongs there already.
I'd love to see Ford return to LM with the new GT, it looks like it belongs there already.
Also - my recollection is that Ford won in 1967 with the Mk4, which was a derivative of the J-car and featured a 7l engine.
I'd love to see Ford return to LM with the new GT, it looks like it belongs there already.
Also - my recollection is that Ford won in 1967 with the Mk4, which was a derivative of the J-car and featured a 7l engine.
Given that, would Ford bother to run it in the 'lower' category of GT3? Not convinced by that, but fingers crossed they make the decision to return. In the global marketplace as it is right now, I think Ford need to raise their profile above the newer brands like Kia/Hyundai,etc. and getting back into motor sports, given Ford's heritage, is the way to do it.
I hope they choose to do both!
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