The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing World Endurance Championship campaign hit another milestone on March 25-26 as the team completed the Prologue test at Paul Ricard.
Factory driver Stefan Mücke said the team is “really coming together” with just three weeks to go until the 6 Hours of Silverstone in April.
Ford’s turbocharged V6 GTE-Pro racers finished third and fourth quickest at the Prologue behind the pair of AF Corse Ferraris.
The #66 car of Mucke, Billy Johnson and Olivier Pla set the fastest lap of the weekend at 1:58.525, while the sister #67 car driven by Andy Priaulx, Marino Franchitti and Harry Tincknell registered a 1:58.697 best.
“The three of us like the same things in the car so driver comfort won’t be an issue for us,” said Mücke. “We have completed some good race simulation work and I’m very happy to say there is a good feeling in the team and I think we have a good season ahead of us.”
“It’s really good to be on track with our competition for the first time,” added Franchitti. “We’re a new team so we’re still finding our way but there is already a great camaraderie between the two Ford GT crews. To win in the WEC everything has to be perfect. It’s going to be a dogfight but we’re looking forward to the battle.”
The results put the Ford GT around seven tenths slower than the quickest Ferrari 488, with Aston Martin Racing and Dempsey Proton Porsche finishing further behind.
Ford remained at Paul Ricard on March 28-29 to conduct a closed endurance test prior to the opening round of the season at Silverstone. The marque is making its return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, 50 years after its first victory at the French endurance classic.
