CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS FORD’S GLOBAL GT ASSAULT CHASING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN IMSA AND THE FIA WEC THE BIG STORY Ones and Zeroes into Heroes The biggest story in In addition to turning the design, data, and engineering of the race cars and Ford 2016 motorsports kicked- GT production cars in reality, there was the harsh matter of racing them against long- off in June 2015 when established competitors in one of the toughest classes in international motorsports. Ford unveiled the new And Ford doubled the challenge, entering both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GTE Pro class Ford GT and Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2016. TAKING ON announced its plan to return Ironically, in selecting the ultra–successful Chip Ganassi Racing team, Ford was choosing to Le Mans in 2016. a team that had never entered Le Mans! With four full season cars competing in two Ford Performance’s different series the logistics alone were daunting. incredibly ambitious, Based in Concord, NC, for the WeatherTech Championship entries, the Ford Chip seemingly outrageous, Ganassi Racing team would be led by Mike Hull and Mike O’Gara. The European arm virtually impossible goal was of Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, based in Greatworth, UK, was led by Multimatic’s George THE WORLD to win Le Mans…this year! Howard-Chappell. Finding the Talent The Ford CGR team needed at least eight drivers for the regular seasons and a full dozen for Le Mans, with Le Mans experience a major consideration. CGR paired Ryan Briscoe with former Corvette driver Richard Westbrook for the WeatherTech Championship, adding IndyCar champ Scott Dixon for the long races and Le Mans. The IMSA sister car put American favorite Joey Hand with former BMW driver teammate Dirk Müller. They would be joined by Le Mans native and IndyCar star Sebastien Bourdais. The WEC team features French sports car ace Olivier Pla and ex-Aston Martin racer Stefan Mücke in one car. The sister WEC Ford GT is raced by Marino Franchitti, 3-time touring car World Champion Andy Priaulx and rising British star Harry Tincknell. For crews, CGR and its Euro based operation blended a mix of sportscar, IndyCar and NASCAR veterans with a mix of European based veterans of sports car and Formula One racing and rising talents. Every hire, simulation, test, and early season race lap was made with the goal of winning Le Mans. 2 TAKING ON THE WORLD Resetting the targets Despite an exhausting stretch from last fall all the way through Christmas and into June, the Ford CGR team returned from Le Mans inspired. Their confidence and energy soared. An Ominous Start Led by Westbrook and Briscoe, the Ford GTs The 2016 racing season kicked off with the Rolex 24 At delivered a big 1-2 finish at Watkins Glen and Daytona and it didn’t take long to recognize the uphill climb Westbrook and Briscoe immediately scored yet again in Ford faced. Just 20 minutes into the race, Briscoe pitted with a Canada. gear change issue, fulfilling Ford exec Raj Nair’s prediction that With three consecutive wins, the WeatherTech during the 24 hours team engineers would report a problem Championship points were suddenly mounting and the that hadn’t happened before. Corvette of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner was getting Finding the Talent bigger in their WeatherTech Championship windshield as the The Ford CGR team needed at least eight drivers for the regular Success! season progressed. seasons and a full dozen for Le Mans, with Le Mans experience a major With Briscoe and Westbrook having delivered the Now, heading into the penultimate round of the consideration. appetizer with a victory at Monterey, Ford’s return to Le WeatherTech Championship here at COTA, the No. 67 Ford CGR CGR paired Ryan Briscoe with former Corvette driver Richard Westbrook Mans generated enormous interest and enthusiasm. team and Briscoe/Westbrook trails the No. 4 Corvette Racing, for the WeatherTech Championship, adding IndyCar champ Scott Dixon for Ford Performance and the CGR teams did not Gavin and Milner by just seven points. the long races and Le Mans. disappoint. The IMSA sister car put American favorite Joey Hand with former BMW Müller won the pole and in the race it was Ready for COTA driver teammate Dirk Müller. They would be joined by Le Mans native and Hand, Müller and hometown favorite Bourdais “The coordination and exchange of information never stops,” said IndyCar star Sebastien Bourdais. celebrating atop the podium with Ford executive Howard-Chappell. The WEC team features French sports car ace Olivier Pla and ex-Aston Martin chairman Bill Ford. Briscoe, Westbrook “We were racing in Mexico and the IMSA team were testing at COTA racer Stefan Mücke in one car. The sister WEC Ford GT is raced by Marino Franchitti, and Dixon took third, flanking the Risi at the same time. Before the guys had even packed up in Austin, we had 3-time touring car World Champion Andy Priaulx and rising British star Harry Competizione Ferrari, making it an IMSA downloaded all the data, all the in-car video, everything,” Tincknell. WeatherTech podium sweep. “It is a huge advantage to have two teams racing and testing and For crews, CGR and its Euro based operation blended a mix of sportscar, IndyCar Finishing fourth at Le Mans, Pla and everything is fed back to both sides.” and NASCAR veterans with a mix of European based veterans of sports car and Formula Mücke were the top placed WEC entry and And race fans will enjoy seeing all four Ford GTs, albeit in separate races. One racing and rising talents. Every hire, simulation, test, and early season race lap was claimed the big bonus points toward the made with the goal of winning Le Mans. FIA WEC Championship. READ MORE AT: www.michelinalley.com/ford2016/ 3 PROTOTYPE LINE-UP Fans of Prototype sports cars will have plenty of Prototype entries to choose from here at the Lone Star Le Mans. Between the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship there will be four different styles of Prototypes competing at The Circuit of The Americas this weekend. Three of the four Prototype combinations compete in the WeatherTech Championship, where the top Prototype class matches the Chevrolet powered Corvette Daytona Prototypes from Action Express, Wayne Taylor Racing and VisitFlorida Racing against the LMP2 styled Mazda, Michael Shank Racing Ligier Honda and radical DeltaWing entries. With just two races remaining in the 2016 WeatherTech Championship, Action Express co-drivers Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa have a one-point lead over teammates Dane Cameron and Eric Curran. Christmas in Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky and Jordan Taylor are just eleven points out as the Daytona Prototype era draws to a close here and at Road Atlanta. Looking for their first win after leading recent events, the MAZDA Motorsports pairing of Jonathan Bomarito and Tristan Nunez may be the ones to break the recent DP stranglehold. Texas Teams in the top class in the WeatherTech Championship can use an all-pro driver line-up, for Prototype Fans while the similar WEC LMP2 class uses a Pro-Am driver combination. Prototype Challenge One of the most cost-efficient formulas in motorsports, the WeatherTech Championship Prototype Challenge class features a single- specification package of identical, open-cockpit, Chevrolet powered Prototypes. With identical cars, the Pro-Am format puts a premium on car set-ups, race strategies and the performance of the lower rated driver to match up with his or her peers. Leading the WeatherTech Championship is the Starworks Motorsport pair of Alex Popow and Renger van der Zande who hold a seven point lead over PR1/Mathiasen’s Tom Kimber- Smith and Robert Alon. Misha Goikhberg and Stephen Simpson of JDC-Miller are third. CORE autosport’s PC stalwarts Jonathan Bennett and Colin Braun stand only a distant fourth despite victories at Sebring and Canada, leaving them shooting for race wins rather than worrying about points in the final rounds. 4 FIA WEC LMP1 Class The FIA WEC has a different approach to its top Prototype class. Centered on the Le Mans 24 Hours race, the WEC series features some of the most exotic cars in motorsports today. Pairs of hybrid Audi, Toyota and Porsche factory team entries do battle in six-hour races at Silverstone, Spa, Nurburgring, Mexico, COTA, Fuji, Shanghai and Bahrain. The WEC LMP1 hybrids combine an internal combustion engine with powerful hybrid and energy recovery systems to generate nearly 1,000 horsepower. Series organizers have steadily ratcheted down fuel allocations each year to encourage development of alternative powertrains. As a result, each manufacturer has chosen a distinct path. Toyota PORSCHE AUDI 2.4 liter direct 2.0 liter turbocharged 4.0 liter turbo injection twin- engine with a lithium- diesel V6 and turbo V6 with ion battery and a lithium- an 8MJ hybrid engine generator unit ion system Christmas in system. on the front axle. generating 6MJ. Fresh from the victory at Mexico earlier this month, Porsche’s Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, the defending WEC series champions, arrive at COTA desperately trying to regain ground in the WEC Driver Championship and narrow the gap to their Le Mans winning teammates, Neal Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb. Texas Toyota, which saw its victory hopes cruelly evaporate in the final minutes at Le Mans, has Kamui Kobayashi, Mike for Prototype Fans Conway and Stephane Sarrazin currently second in the championship. They are followed by Audi’s Loic Duval, Lucas Di Grassi and Oliver Jarvis in third and Audi’s Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler stand fourth.