24 Hours Of LeMans 2016: A Record Field Of Cars And Four Fords In The Lineup!


24 Hours Of LeMans 2016: A Record Field Of Cars And Four Fords In The Lineup!

This year’s 24 Hours of LeMans looks to be the one to watch. Not only is there the aura of the 50th anniversary of Ford’s 1-2-3 finish, but the starting grid will be packed, with sixty cars slated for the starting grid, the largest group of vehicles to start at LeMans since 1955. More garages have been added to pit lane in order to facilitate the large volume of cars running. What does the breakdown look like for fans of the series? This year’s LeMans will be one to watch…just by a numerical breakdown of the four classes, you have nine cars in LMP1, twenty-two entries in LMP2, and fourteen cars each in GTE Pro and GTE Am. And that doesn’t even count the one invitational entry or the ten teams that are sitting on reserve!

2015 porsche lmp1

Porsche will be fighting Audi and Toyota once again for overall honors in LMP1, but the real news comes in GTE Pro, where Ford has all four of their GT race cars entered. The four Chip Ganassi Racing cars are already known: #66 and #67 will be coming from World Endurance Championship racing as they are, while the two  IMSA WeatherTechSportsCar Championship cars are going to be renumbered #68 and #69. The driver lineups and the identities of the third drivers are not known yet, though Marino Franchitti, Olivier Pla, Joey Hand and Ryan Briscoe are currently listed as drivers for one car each. “I’m very happy that we can run all four Ford GTs at Le Mans,” said Chip Ganassi, owner of Ford Chip Ganassi Racing. “It will be a big challenge for us but one we are thrilled to undertake. We have prepared well and can’t wait to get the Ford GTs onto the track there and show everyone what they can do.” Here’s hoping so, because we doubt that Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Corvette Racing are going to go easy on the new kids.

Motorsport.com has the complete list of entries for the 84th Annual 24 Hours of LeMans, which is scheduled for June 18-19, 2016.

Corvette C7R LeMans


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