The 24 Hours of Le Mans is vital to Ford. Its consecutive general victories there from 1966-1969 are the stuff of legend, and a terrific supply of satisfaction for Ford to today. In 2027, Ford will look to repeat the feat. At a Thursday occasion in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ford introduced that it is constructing a automobile to compete within the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), together with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2027.
Ford’s announcement is sparse. The automaker merely confirmed it is coming into WEC with a manufacturing unit workforce and a automobile constructed to the LMDh ruleset.
LMDh is a joint creation of America’s premier sports-car governing physique, IMSA, and the governing physique of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the ACO. The principles stipulate vehicles with chassis from one in every of 4 suppliers and use a standard hybrid system with an electrical motor between the engine and transmission. Bodywork can mirror the model’s styling, and engine restrictions are pretty permissive.
Aimed toward being cheaper than prior top-level racing formulation and eligible for each the IMSA WeatherTech sequence and WEC, LMDh has been an enormous success, with Acura, Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Lamborghini, and Porsche all signing up. Hyundai’s luxurious model Genesis has additionally introduced it is constructing an LMDh automobile, the GMR-001, to compete in IMSA and WEC, and do not be shocked to see McLaren be a part of the category, too.
In each sequence, LMDh vehicles compete in opposition to vehicles constructed to the FIA’s Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) ruleset, which stipulate that entrants should construct their very own chassis and permit for extra technical freedom. Among the many LMH ranks are Ferrari, Peugeot, Toyota, a handful of privateers, and shortly, Aston Martin.
Photograph by: Motorsport Photos
Ford is not saying whether or not it will compete within the IMSA WeatherTech sequence but, and it hasn’t introduced a chassis companion both. It is simple to see Ford working with Multimatic, although, because the Canadian firm constructed its second-generation GT highway and race vehicles, and at present builds the Mustang GT3. Multimatic additionally makes the chassis for the Porsche 963, at present essentially the most profitable LMDh automobile.
We additionally do not know what workforce Ford is partnering with for this program. In recent times, it is turned to Chip Ganassi Racing, which has availability now that it is partnership has ended. Ford additionally has a relationship with Proton Racing, which whereas historically a Porsche workforce, at present fielding a buyer 963, runs the Mustang GT3 program in Europe.
Ford hasn’t had an outright victory at Le Mans since 1969. It ran a Group C automobile within the early Eighties, the C100, although it by no means completed the race. In 2016, it returned to Le Mans with the GT GTLM automobile, getting a category win on the fiftieth anniversary of the 1966 race, and whereas that program led to 2019, Ford returned final yr with the Mustang GT3.
“After we race, we race to win,” stated Ford chairman Invoice Ford in an announcement. “And there’s no observe or race meaning extra to our historical past than Le Mans. It’s the place we took on Ferrari and received within the Nineteen Sixties. It’s the place we returned 50 years later and shocked the world and beat Ferrari once more. I’m thrilled that we’re going again to Le Mans and competing on the highest degree of endurance racing. We’re able to as soon as once more problem the world, and ‘go like hell!’”
