Ford returns to Le Mans in 2016

Ford has announced it will return to the Le Mans grid in 2016 with its new GT supercar.

It has timed its return to commemorate 50 years since Ford's first Le Mans win in 1966, when it secured a 1-2-3 finish with the iconic GT40, a victory it backed up in 1967, 1968 and 1969.

The cars will be entered in the GTE Pro class and run by legendary US race team Chip Ganassi Racing.

“When the GT40 competed at Le Mans in the 1960s, Henry Ford II sought to prove Ford could beat endurance racing’s most legendary manufacturers,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company.

“We are still extremely proud of having won this iconic race four times in a row, and that same spirit that drove the innovation behind the first Ford GT still drives us today.”

Like the road car, the Ford GT GTE will be powered by a 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 and feature a extensive use of carbon fibre.

While Le Mans is the headline act, Ford will campaign the GT in both the full FIA World Endurance Championship and the US-based TUDOR United Sportscar Championship, making its competition debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2016.

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