While Ford is throwing money at Red Bull in Formula 1, the brand is now also aiming to win the overall victory in the 24-hour race at Le Mans in France.
Ford is aiming to win the overall victory at the Le Mans track, Circuit de la Sarthe. But not until 2027.
The brand confirms this in a press release this week.
Unlike in 2016, when Ford competed – and won – in the GT Pro class, the Americans are now aiming to win the top class LMDh. This is done in an attempt to repeat the overall victories that Ford secured from 1966 to 1969 in the GT40 cars.
Ford's return to Le Mans is the brand's first factory-backed attempt to secure overall victory since 1982.
It was Bill Ford, the great-great-grandson of Henry Ford, who was able to lift the veil on the news. The great-great-grandson also believes that there is no other racetrack in the world that means more to Ford than the one in Le Mans.
– This is where we took on Ferrari in the 1960s and won. And this is where we came back 50 years later, shook the world and beat Ferrari again.
With Ford's return to the top of Le Mans, 7 car brands will be fighting for the same overall victory. There should have been 8. But Lamborghini withdrew from the sport after just one season last year. Read more about it here.
The Americans have not yet announced a driver line-up. But they could very well be joined by Danish Kevin Magnussen, who signed a contract with BMW's World Endurance team after his exit from Formula 1 last year.
The Dane's first attempt, however, was not the success that neither he nor BMW had hoped for. Third time would not be the lucky one for K-Mag in his attempt to win the 24-hour edition of the next equally legendary Daytona race in Florida.
