Before Matt Damon played Carroll Shelby in a movie, only a few people knew about Ford and Ferrari’s 1960s Le Mans race. Because Ford vs. Ferrari is so famous, a lot of people around the world know about the rivalry. Ford still needs to be able to beat Ferrari as the overall winner of Le Mans, even though the two companies have fought in motorsports since then. But it might give it another chance. Ford was asked if it would enter a competitor in the prototype class at Le Mans. Mark Rushbrook, global head of Ford Performance, said that the team is “constantly studying or looking at where we can race or should race.” In Le Mans, Ford races against Ferrari in the lower GT3 class. The Mustang goes up against the 296. Ferrari also races in the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) class, which is the top level of the race. The LMH class is mostly made up of hybrid prototypes that are trying to win the race overall at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Ford hasn’t raced in the top classes since the famous GT40 stopped making cars in 1967, and the P68 that replaced it didn’t do well the next year. Still, Ford is there for good. We had a single goal for GT racing after GT3, GT LM, and GTE merged. This helped us protect the Mustang GT3. Even though the separate LMDh and LMH models have yet to really help with convergence at the prototype stage, Rushbrook thinks that being able to race them together has been helpful. “You can tell that there are a lot of manufacturers because some use LMDh and others use LMH. So, even though we are thinking about it, that doesn’t mean we will tell you about our plans.” There is no doubt that Ford will do whatever it believes is best for the business. Ford has already thought about how the Mustang’s performance at Le Mans and other events has made people more interested in sports cars. The F-150 Lightning SuperTruck Pikes Peak racer, which is neither an F-150 Lightning nor a truck, is also used by Ford to market their electric pickups. So, the company can fight with Ferrari for first place at Le Mans if it can show that making an LMH or LMDh car is good for business. These are two formulas that race in the same Hypercar class in the World Endurance Championship and IMSA. “Ford CEO Jim Farley has a clear understanding of motorsports, including what it takes to be successful and the real benefits it offers.” Rushbrook said, “He holds us accountable from a business point of view—to do it in a responsible and long-lasting way.” Ford may agree to race against Ferrari again since the team is feeling great after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second year in a row. Since Ford has yet to make plans to make another GT supercar right now, they might not be able to connect the race car to a road vehicle right away. However, it might use the recent movie’s box office success to loudly challenge the status quo again and bring attention to the brand.
