Ford
really made sure to take every aspect of the new LMGTE
regulations in their favor with their new Ford
GT,
and to be in condition to fight for a class win, two machines will
race the whole FIA
World Endurance Championship
while two reinforcement units will come to aid at the 24
Hours of Le Mans.
Cars
ready for the season ahead, there was also another matter to deal
with: drivers, twelve of them. Ford not only worked well to get some
interesting names from other manufacturers, but also got the
strongest lineups of the class, with experiences ranging into open
wheel, touring cars, GTs and even prototypes.
FIA
WEC cars:
The
No. 66 machine, to be driven by Stefan Mücke and Olivier Pla, coming
from Aston Martin and Nissan respectively, will get the company of
Billy Johnson at Le Mans, who was one of the guys who drove the Ford
GT during its tests. The No. 67 one will have a British trio, with
Marino Franchitti and ex-BMW driver Andy Priaulx welcome the former
Nissan driver Harry Tincknell to their car at La Sarthe.
Le
Mans-only cars:
The
extra pair of cars that Ford will bring to Le Mans are exactly the
ones which will race in the IMSA
WeatherTech Sportscar Championship
this season. The No. 68 machine will have Joey Hand and Dirk Müller,
both with past ties with BMW, along with IndyCar racer and triple Le
Mans runner-up Sébastien Bourdais. The No. 69 car will have Ryan
Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and the current IndyCar champion Scott
Dixon.
Out
of these twelve guys, only Billy Johnson and Scott Dixon never made
the trip to La Sarthe to race in the French endurance classic, but
Johnson has lots of experience with GT machinery and Dixon always
does his appearances with Chip Ganassi Racing in American sportscar
racing. And despite the number of super stars in the team, only one
man, Harry Tincknell, has a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans,
while Bourdais, Müller and Hand have podium finishes in France.
Also, class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring are included in some CVs
out there.
PHOTO: Ford Performance
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