Why Ford believes that now is the right time to return to the top flight of sportscar racing

Ford is returning to an attempt to resume its overall successes in the 1960s, Le Mans 24 hours, 1966 to 1969. It should be considered really big news, but the question is why it is so long?

Especially that’s the reason why it will happen In 2027 joining the new golden age of sportscar racing with a LMDHFor that rule, the year five or le mans hypercar, the seventh year of the category. It is a relevant question that American manufacturer was one of the main groups of six manufacturers around the table in technical work groups that prepared the latter set of rules.

Opinion: Why Ford’s plans for a new chapter in their own Le Mans Story make a lot of understanding

Ford’s interest in returning to Le Mans is clear for some time. It was at the table in early 2018, when a replacement for LMP1 was being completed and its campaigns were ending with Ford GT in both the World Dheej Championship and the IMSA Sportscar Championship. There was no secret of its investigation in the top-Flight Sportscar racing, nor was it very seriously taken in the formula E.

The global director of Ford Performance Mark Rushbruk says, there was a lot of uncertainty for the company at that time. It was a lack of clarity how the so -called convergence process would play after the announcement of the LMDH formula in WEC in January 2020.

It has been largely forgotten that IMSA did not enable LMH cars to run for one and six months in North America and by it it was a means for another year. The part of that process included fully align the performance of two sets of racing cars manufactured in a separate rule book, whether it was in IMSA or WEC.

Rushbruk explains that the world of sportscar racing she calls it a “state of transition”. There was, he explains, there is no “certainty that we will get convergence”. Through this he means complete convergence.

“At that time we needed to decide, it did not seem to be right,” they say. “So we said that we are not going until we are sure that it is right.”

When it was correct, at a time when there was a continuous stream of other manufacturers for the manufacture of LMH and LMDH machinery, Ford had other fish to fry. In January 2022, a year before the first race for the new breed of LMDH prototype, Ford announced its Mustang GT3 program for 2024. It was quickly after the news that Maskalek would have a seventh generation GT4 version, as well as dark horsepy r tracade machine and one-pack racer.

“As you can imagine, bringing out three new Mustang race cars in 2024 during 2022 and ’23 focused a lot of resources, so it was our focus in Sportscar,” Rushbrook explains, which describes Mustang as a “icon”. This is an important part of what Blue Oval says to its fourth strategy: Mustang, also depicted in the supercar in Australia and NHRA is one of the four columns of its blueprint for drag racing, motorsport.

Plan for expansion in top classes of top-line sportscar racing, Hypercar in IMSA and Hypercar in GTP, stayed on back-barner, but for a significant announcement in last June. Automobile Club Day L’St and FIA, jointly administer WEC, and IMSA took the opportunity Confirm that the life cycle of LMH and LMDH rules will be increased For one and two sessions by the end of 2029. The move opened the door to a new wave of manufacturers to re -look at WEC and IMSA, Ford.

“It is still time to develop a Ford LMDH on these car rules to allow us to run by 2029,” says Rushbruk. “It started creating commercial understanding for the reasons responsible as a company.”

LMH remains a choice, he insists. “Absolutely, it was on the table,” he says, before returning to the subject of those “responsible reasons”.

“On innovation and technical transfer, very openly, LMH provides a little more opportunities because we will design our car and hybrid system,” they explain. “But we believe that a skilled return with a LMDH is better for us.” One LMDH, remembers, is developed around one of the chassis spine available from four licensed suppliers and uses an off-the-shelf or imagination energy-transit system.

Another expansion of Ford’s access to the motorsport comes when it returns to Formula 1 as an engine supplier in partnership with Red Bull. The question arises as to why there is a need to run at the top of sportscar racing, when it is trumping that by competing on the peak of motor). Rushbruk has described the LMDH program as a “Hello” that his commitment to international sports racing with Mustang “Cements”.

There are also emotional reasons, are also those based on the announcement of their LMDH program in late January. Its launch statement was played heavy on those four Le Mans, which was a lump sum win over half a century ago with Ford MKII, MKIV and GT40. And that Ferrari won to do so.

Says Rushbruk, “There are many emotions through the Ford family, Ford leadership team and our entire employee base.” “It is a matter of pride for us to compete in motorsports at various places, but especially le mans.”

Will those “separate places” include LMDH ending in IMSA in 2027 or perhaps after the year after the year. It was one of the major details to disappear from the Ford Launch Declaration.

Rushbruk’s comments about Ford’s concerns about LMH-LMDH convergence process show that an IMSA campaign is very part of the plan for its upcoming prototype. But so far Ford is playing with any intentions to compete for overall glory in North America, a playground in which its recent history is higher than the World Championship level. Think about the 1980s Mustang and Investigation GTP programs and Ford Icobust Detotype Engine Program in the early 2010s.

“We all announced that we have been running in WeC since 2027 and I will not accept anything beyond this,” all Rushbrook will say on this matter.

Ford is also not telling the world that the chassis partner has chosen it, although Rushbruk has confirmed that the decision has been taken. Smart Money, however, is on Oreka, which has already participated with Acura, Alpine and Genesis on its respective LMDH programs.

Hybrid is in the process of final decision -making on the internal combustion component of the powertrain, revealing. The engine, whatever its configuration is to be, will be designed and developed in the house by Ford in Detroit.

One thing that Rushbrook can tell us is Ford’s sportcar racing is an unequal commitment to racing. And this includes racing rights at the top of the tree: it is back and behind for a long race, he says insisting.

“We can all be committed to this point” through 29 because this is good for the rules, “they say. “We will see what happens with the rules, but I do not see a major departure from where they are today (in 2030). I think it will end as a long -term commitment. Whatever we do in motorsports is with a long -term vision and commitment. ,