There will be six Ford GT chassis prepped for the 2016 season, a pair of race cars each for IMSA and WEC programmes with each of the squads having a fully rebuilt development car as a spare.
The car at the launch of the WEC driver squads today was Chassis 1, the first development car that was joined in September/ October by the second, that car is the IMSA spare.
Both development cars will require some detail changes to meet full FIA regulations (including relocation of crutch strap mount points etc.
Both WEC cars were visible under construction at Greatworth Park today.
There are no plans for customer cars to be offered during the first two years of the factory Ford GTE/ GTLM programme.
Neither Andy Priaulx nor Stefan Mucke have yet driven the Ford due to contractual restrictions. Indeed Andy only saw a complete car for the first time today!
Mucke is set to drive for the first time at the Roar before the 24 at Daytona this weekend with Priaulx set to test next month.
Marino Franchitti has undertaken extensive testing in the development cars with Olivier Pla joining the programme in October we believe.
Production tooling for the road cars in underway with development cars testing ahead of pre production runs in the summer, production at the rate of a car a day is set to begin in the Autumn of this year.
Those plans “fully meet the new homologation requirements”.
The newly fully restored 1966 Le Mans winning Ford GT is set to grace the paddock, and possibly the track too, at Le Mans this year. (pic below copyright Henry Ford Collection/ Dave Friedman)
The 1966 car is now owned by Chip Ganassi Racing partner and ex Le Mans racer Rob Kaufmann.
We’ll have interviews with Rob, Chip Ganassi, Head of Ford Performance Dave Pericak, WEC Team Principal George Howard Chappell, all four WEC drivers, and FIA WEC CEO Gerard Neveu who was also present at the launch, on DSC in the coming hours.
