senor honda

[h=2]IMSA: Four Ganassi Fords for Rolex 24[/h] Wednesday, 14 December 2016


RACER staff / Image by LAT








Ford and Chip Ganassi Racing have announced that the works team will field four Ford GT entries at next month's Rolex 24 at Daytona. It will mark the first time since June's 24 Hours of Le Mans that all four Ford GTs in the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing stable – two from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCa Championship and two from the World Endurance Championship – have raced together.
A full four-car effort in the Rolex 24 is a continuation of the historical trail the current Ford GT team has been following, one that was blazed by the original GT40s of the 1960s. Those earlier cars won the most important endurance racing titles around the world, including the Rolex 24, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the Le Mans 24 Hours.


Ford Chip Ganassi Racing may have ticked off one box in that legendary list in the debut year, but there is still work to do.
"It would be easy to just talk about what we've already done with this Ford GT but really we're focused on the future," said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance. "We didn't have the strongest race at the Rolex 24 last year but we have a season of learning experiences behind us with this program now and we're proud that when we come back to Daytona in 2017, we'll come with all four Ford GTs."
The Ford GT program won six races and started from the front of the grid eight times in 2016, with victories coming at Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Mosport, Le Mans, Fuji and Shanghai.
"Even with the success we had last season winning six races, I think we have some unfinished business in Daytona," said team owner Chip Ganassi, who with the 2016 Le Mans win became the only team owner in history to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
"The Rolex 24 last year was our first big test to see where we were with the program, and although we didn't win, I can tell you that we learned a lot. We also learned a lot in Le Mans working with all four cars through the 24 hours. I'm excited we have another opportunity to assemble the full lineup for Daytona. The opportunity to compete with all four cars at the same time, in a race as prestigious as Daytona, is very special."
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing will again campaign four Ford GTs full time for its second year of competition – two in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and two in the global FIA World Endurance Championship.

senor honda

[h=2]IMSA: Kanaan to make Ford GT debut at Rolex 24[/h] Marshall Pruett (words and images)

Chip Ganassi Racing IndyCar star Tony Kanaan will complete Ford's four-car assault on the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January. The 2004 IndyCar Series champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner will join the cast of Ford GT regulars at IMSA's season opener, and will share the No. 69 GT Le Mans entry with Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell.


"I'm very excited and couldn't wait for the opportunity," the Brazilian told RACER. "I was jealous from Day 1. I was in the other Ford [DP] program last year when the GTs came out at Daytona and then watching the team win Le Mans, it was jealousy – good jealousy – that I wanted to be part of it."
Multimatic owner Larry Holt delivered the good news over the phone, and with the chance to race a Ford GT at Daytona, Kanaan will take a trip back to where his Rolex 24 journey started three decades ago.
"When Larry from Multimatic called and said he wanted me to drive, it became my best Christmas gift of the year," Kanaan added. "My first time at Daytona I raced in a Ford Mustang; that was 1997, so it will be great to race another Ford car 20 years later."
Kanaan and Scott Dixon's 2015 Rolex-winning teammates, NASCAR's Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray, weren't part of the announced lineup for the 2017 race.