The #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing of Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook finished third in the GT Le Mans class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, its second podium in a row.
Lacking pace compared to the rest of their class rivals, the #67 Ford GT had to rely on a well-executed strategy to haul themselves into contention, benefitting from a fuel pressure alarm in the #911 Porsche which relegated the car of Patrick Pilet and Dirk Werner to seventh.
With rain affecting the race on two occasions, the team was able to secure the final podium spot behind both BMW Team RLL cars, the #25 taking victory over the #24. Ford Chip Ganassi Racing’s other car, the #66 piloted by Joey Hand and Dirk Muller, finished fifth.
Team principal Mike O’Gara was relieved with the team’s result, stating that “the weather was definitely a curveball today!”
O’Gara added: “We still didn’t have the speed, but we used a little bit of strategy and managed to be at the right place at the right time and kept the cars clean, and ended up with a third and a fifth.
“We’ll take this finish and move on and go race for a championship the rest of the year.”
Westbrook also waxed lyrical over the team’s efforts, and was complimentary about the team’s use of strategy to overcome the performance deficit.
“A podium feels like a win for us today. We certainly didn’t have the pace of the others, but we made the most of what we had.
“It’s very similar to what we did at Watkins Glen. We can all be proud of ourselves. We’re achieving the maximum results possible for what we’ve been given.
“I’m really proud of the team. Perfect pitstops, perfect strategy. Can’t ask for any more from them.”
