Ford GT race stint ends after 4 years, 19 wins

Ford Motor Co. had a singular goal when it resurrected the GT race program in 2016: win at Le Mans to honor the 50th anniversary of the company's legendary victory there over Ferrari in 1966.

It did that — and won 18 other races to boot — over the course of a four-year campaign that ended last week at Petit Le Mans in Atlanta. Aside from its success on the track, executives say the revived GT race program helped validate technologies and features that have made their way down Ford's lineup to F-150s, Mustangs and other vehicles.

"The GT program was intended to be a halo for the company in terms of what we do and what we're capable of doing," Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance motorsports, told Automotive News. "The race car element is the pinnacle of that, allowing us to put cars in front of fans around the world and prove we can compete against the best companies and win races and championships."

The GT's on-track success was further validation for Ford's EcoBoost-branded line of turbocharged engines. The car was powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine, the one found in F-150 pickups, although uniquely tuned for the track. Beyond that, Rushbrook said, insight gained on lightweighting and aerodynamics also have informed decisions on production vehicles.

"There's a direct link between what a customer buys in the showroom and what we race on the track," he said. "This program gave us the opportunity to tell that story directly."

The GT's first event, the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway in January 2016, ended in disaster.

Both vehicles Ford entered suffered from a faulty gearbox actuator and other problems that caused them to pit numerous times. The No. 66 GT finished seventh and the No. 67 GT finished ninth of 11 cars in the GTLM class.

"It was so emotional that this can't be happening," Rushbrook said. "But nobody blinked an eye, and that really cemented how strong the team was."

Ford ran into trouble at subsequent races, including a crash at the 12 Hours of Sebring, but began to iron out its issues as the racing season continued.

One of Rushbrook's favorite memories, he says, was the GT's first victory at Laguna Seca in May 2016.

"It really made a statement to win that early in the program with a brand new car," he said. "What the team really needed was something to pick up their spirits and keep everybody fighting to go to Le Mans after that."

Roughly a month later, with Executive Chairman Bill Ford and then-CEO Mark Fields watching, Ford placed first, third and fourth in its class at Le Mans. Ferrari finished second.

Rushbrook said he remembered Ford, Fields and other executives popping in during the 24-hour race even in the early morning hours, which he saw as a sign of their commitment to the program. The end of the race, he said, felt surreal.

"For me, we were so focused on the task, you're not paying attention to anything else that's going on around you," he said. "When you do deliver it, the relief and the joy of celebrating with team members that have been along on the journey was one of the best moments of this whole program."

Ford will continue to make road versions of the GT through the 2022 model year, or until production of the allotted 1,350 cars is complete.

On the racing side, Ford will continue to compete in NASCAR and other series.

"Our focus is not to be in racing just to be in racing," Rushbrook said. "Our focus has been to be on the track in the series and championships that matter and are important, and to win those."

He said that as the industry transitions to electric vehicles, Ford will look to that technology in racing as well.

Does that mean the next GT, whenever it's resurrected again, will come with a battery instead of a gas engine?

"It's honestly too early to say," he said. "There's a lot of technology developments out there. Any of those decisions will be based on what we think the best tech is and the right time to introduce it."