In its final stateside race before heading to Le Mans, the Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT of Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe capture the car’s maiden victory in the GT-Le Mans category of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. The victory came at storied Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and it wasn’t without some trying conditions. The #67 Ford outlasted a deep GTLM field with an impressive individual performance in the race’s second half.
To get the win, Westbrook took over the #67 from Briscoe with 75 minutes remaining. He managed to stretch a tank of fuel to the end, a monumental feat when most tanks last 65 minutes or so. He inherited the lead late in the race from teammate Joey Hand, who pitted at the same time but was unable to make his fuel last and had to stop for fuel late. The same was also true of Antonio Garcia in the #3 Corvette, who was only 15 seconds behind his former teammate Westbrook in the closing moments, but the Spaniard had to take a splash of fuel with five minutes remaining.
Garcia rejoined to finish fourth place and Hand could only muster sixth behind the #68 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 and the #912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR. The #67 also made the car’s best qualifying effort, starting from the front row next to the #68 Ferrari 488 GTE. The team’s second car qualified right behind in third with both cars hanging around the front of the field the entire race.
The race was the final tune-up for the #66 and #67 Fords before packing up for France, where they will run as #68 and #69, respectively. The full-season FIA WEC entries, which will wear #66 and #67 at Circuit de la Sarthe next month, have their final pre-Le Mans races next weekend at the WEC’s second round at the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps.
In the Prototype class, the two Mazdas prototypes started from the front row, but an engine failure and a spin knocked them out of contention. Michael Shank Racing, who will also race at Le Mans, picked up the overall victory with a relatively easy win over the field’s Corvette Daytona Prototypes.
[Photo: Ford Performance PR]
I have a theory the Ford GTs have been sand bagging pre LeMans to avoid weight penalty adjustments. We might see something unexpected at that time, or I may be out to lunch again.
They hinted at that on the TV broadcast. Don’t be suprised if the frenchies slap something on them pre race. If they pull off a victory at Le Mans Ford could give a damn what happens after as far as performance limits
I think that’s probably true to some extent in the WEC. They were virtually nowhere on pace at Silverstone and I’d expect something similar at Spa, possibly all the way through test day and even qualifying at Le Mans. If they really have been holding back, I’ll bet nobody sees it publicly until the green flag at Le Mans.
…or until the final hour of the race. That would be pretty sweet! Ford wouldn’t be just thumbing their nose at the red cars, but at everybody.