Ford has unveiled a series of special ‘Celebration’ liveries for the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing GTs ahead of the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours race, in honor of the automaker’s success at the famous French venue both in the present as well as during the 1960s.
This year’s race will mark the final Le Mans for the current factory Ford GT program, thus closing a very important chapter for these race cars as far as this track is concerned.
“In 2016, Ford Ford returned to Le Mans to mark the 50th anniversary of our incredible 1966 win and we celebrated in the best way possible by winning the race,” said Bill Ford, the automaker’s executive chairman. “To stand on that podium on behalf of the employees was a proud moment for me and I look forward returning to Le Mans this year to support the team as we approach our final race in this chapter.”
The four factory Ford GTs will be joined by a fifth model racing in the GTE AM class with Keating Motorsports, as seen in the gallery bellow rocking a purple, orange and pink livery with the number 85.
As for the other cars, there’s the #66 Ford GT with a black livery echoing that of the GT40 of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon that won Le Mans in 1966, the #67 car mirroring the look of the GT40 that won in 1967, and the #69 GT that resembles the car that came in second during Ford’s 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans in 1966.
Last but not least is the #68 car, which actually features the same colors from 2016, another winning year for the blue oval.
“The Ford GT was created to take Ford back to the world of GT endurance racing,” stated Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “This factory Ford GT programme has been a great success for our brand and we have enjoyed the many challenges that have come our way during this four-year programme. Le Mans is not quite the end of the factory programme as we still have many more IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races to go in 2019.”
The five Ford GTs will be on the track this Sunday, June 2nd for the official Le Mans test. The 24-Hour race takes place on June 15-16 when fans will be able to follow the action from inside the cockpit of these factory Ford GTs via a livestream.