Marino Franchitti, Stefan Mucke, Olivier Pla, and Andy Priaulx will race for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship, at the wheel of the all-new Ford GT, the team announced in a press conference today.
The radical new Ford GT is making its return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans on what will be the fiftieth anniversary of the Ford GT40's inaugural triumph in the race in 1966, and Chip Ganassi Racing have selected an experienced, veteran quartet of drivers to compete in the full WEC campaign. Ford plans to field four cars at Le Mans, combining their WEC squads with the two Ford teams competing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship - who will be represented by full-time drivers Ryan Briscoe, Joey Hand, Dirk Müller, and Richard Westbrook.
“Make no mistake, we are racing to win,” said Ford Performance global director Dave Pericak. “To compete at this level you need the best car, the best team and the best drivers, and we have selected Stefan, Olivier, Andy and Marino to drive the Ford GT to take on the best in the world.”
“Just like when we announced the Ford GT drivers for the Weathertech Sportscar Championship last month, we’ve again chosen drivers with heart, speed and proven endurance racing credentials," said team owner Chip Ganassi. "It’s a global team running in two championships and I can’t wait for the racing to begin.”
Marino Franchitti has been a stalwart of endurance racing for over a decade, in 2014 he won the 12 Hours of Sebring driving for Ganassi in a Ford-engined Daytona Prototype. His brother, Dario, is a four-time IndyCar Series champion and three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. A ninth-place finish in the LMP2 class for Highcroft Racing in 2010 is Marino's best Le Mans result to date. "From my first test in the Ford GT I fell in love with it and just wanted to drive it more and more. It’s incredible to be part of Ford’s return to international GT racing and to go to Le Mans 50 years after Ford’s first win there will be extremely special," Franchitti said of his new car and team.
Stefan Mücke joins Ford after spending seven years at Aston Martin Racing, where he finished third in GTE Pro at Le Mans in 2012 and 2013. This year will mark the German's tenth consecutive Le Mans entry. He'll be the first of the four drivers to race the new Ford GT when he teams with Briscoe and Westbrook in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona on 30-31 January.
Long-time LMP2 front-runner Olivier Pla is back in action after a lost season at NISMO in 2015. The Frenchman has entered Le Mans eight times, finishing second in the LMP2 category in 2013. "It's a huge honour for me to represent Ford,- the Ford GT is a very special car and it is a privilege for me to drive it," said Pla. "Personally as a Frenchman, lining up at Le Mans as a Ford GT driver will be something very special."
Andy Priaulx is also beginning a new chapter in racing after a thirteen-year affiliation with BMW. The Guernsey driver is a triple WTCC champion, a winner of the 24 Hours Nürburgring, and last year, Priaulx was a race winner in both the BTCC and European Le Mans Series. This will be Priaulx's first Le Mans entry since he placed third in the GT2 category in 2011, and like Mücke, he'll be in action at Daytona in January, driving for Ganassi's Daytona Prototype team in a car shared with reigning World Endurance Drivers' Champion Brendon Hartley, two-time Le Mans winner Alexander Wurz, and European Formula 3 star Lance Stroll.
Priaulx added: "Any motorsport fan will remember the iconic Ford GT40 cars of the past, and for me to be part of this programme 50 years after Ford’s historic win at Le Mans is such a privilege."
The Ford GT will make its WEC debut on 17 April at the 6 Hours of Silverstone, and its long-anticipated return to Le Mans on 18-19 June.
Will Ford's experienced driver lineup give them the edge to triumph at Le Mans and in the WEC on debut?
