100 WheelsMag.com.au
Ford first came here in 1964 after the
company’s attempt to buy Ferrari was
rebuffed by old Enzo himself and Henry II
decided to exact revenge by snatching the
Scuderia’s pet event.
The GT40 project was designed to ramp
Ford’s brand throughout the world, but it
was also a hugely expensive “screw you”
to Il Commendatore. It took three years to
finally win the race, and the 1966 victory
brought added controversy when Ford
tried to stage a dead-heat, only for Bruce
McLaren to sneak past leader Ken Miles
right on the line.
Ford won’t be challenging for overall
victory this year. Even Uncle Henry’s
credit card would have wilted trying to
outspend Porsche, Audi and Toyota in the
senior LMP1 class. Instead it has entered
the equally hard-fought GTE Pro category
(basically GT3), bringing no fewer than
four cars to Le Mans with a roster of 12
top-flight drivers. Ford won’t say how much
this has cost, but probably didn’t leave
much change from $US250m.
Le Mans really matters. Everyone from
Bill Ford Jr to CEO Mark Fields are here to
lend support. Technical chief Raj Nair, the
man who pushed the GT program through,
admits the car is “optimised not just for
the class, but for here. It was designed
for this track”.
LE MANS 2016 will be known forever as
the one that got away for Toyota after the
most heart-breaking finish in the race’s
incredible 93-year history. But for much of
the 24 hours the battle in GTE Pro is just
as thrilling.
Things get off to a bad start for Ford,
despite qualifying first, second, fourth and
fifth in class. The #66 car is pushed off the
grid with a broken gearbox, then the sort
of torrential rain that got Noah studying
woodwork means the race starts behind the
safety car and for the first couple of hours
the GTs struggle in the wet conditions,
passed by the Ferraris and Porsches.
As the rain stops and the track dries,
the race comes back to Ford. By 7.30 in
the evening both works Ferraris are out,
the Porsches are struggling for pace and
the #68 Ford soars past the privateer Risi
Competizione 488 to take the lead.
The GT looks great; for my money it’s
the most handsome car on the track, wider
and more muscular than the Ferrari 488.
And the turbocharged V6 sounds like it’s
gargling gravel as the traction control cuts
in and out. As the light fades I walk out to
the famous Dunlop Bridge and the GTs are
easy to spot with their yellow headlights,
and carry massive speed into the tight
sequence that follows, yet look like they’re
barely moving compared to the low-flyingLMP1s that lap 30 seconds quicker.
Yet, despite the GT’s pace and the fact
all four are still running after the #66 car
is patched up and sent out, they just can’t
shake off that awkward Ferrari, the leaders
running within half a minute of each other
for hours at a time and swapping positions
several times.
Ford takes the lead with just three hours
to go, but F1 veteran Giancarlo Fisichella
drives the last stint in the Ferrari and
fights a brilliant rearguard action that soon
has the crowd – and certainly the members
of the press room – on his side.
Ford’s desperation for a podium sweep
creates some drama when, with 15 minutes
to go, the timing screen announces the Risi
car has to report to the pits to fix a broken
position light (the cluster that shows where
in class it’s running), after a complaint
from Ford. The Ferrari stays out – the sort
of thing you can get away with at Le Mans- and later counter-claims that Ford was
speeding in a ‘slow zone’, equalising things.
The excitement caused by Toyota’s
meltdown means few people are paying
much attention when the class-winning GT
crosses the line, and the Ferrari holds on
to finish second and deny Ford the 1-2-3 it
would have loved to put on the posters.
Somewhere I reckon Enzo is chuckling at
that one.
The Ford GT looks great out on the track,
wider and more muscular than the Ferrari 488