7 Reasons Why You Should Care That the Ford GT Is Heading Back to Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans race is less than a month away. Who cares, right? Le Mans is like the metric system or obesity, something that concerns Europeans, not Americans. However, this year’s Le Mans is dramatically different – it is a moment to get excited, or dare I say proud, to be an American. Here are 7 reasons to tune in on June 18th:
#7: 50 Years Is a Long Time
2016 will mark 50 years since Henry Ford II stunned the world by beating Ferrari at LeMans with his first supercar, the GT40. It is an event that put Ford on the international racing map and put a target smack in the center of the blue oval. Now Ford II’s nephew, Bill Ford comes back to France with a car that he thinks can win it all again.
#6: No One Likes To Get Smoked By A ‘Vette
Earlier this year, the GT entered its first endurance race, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and it didn’t go well. The Ford team struggled with blown tires and gearbox/breaking problems, causing them to be beaten by team Chevy. As any Lambo at a stoplight in Vegas will tell you, getting beat by a ‘Vette can be a humbling experience. Even worse, Chevy beat Ford again at Sebring. So you bet Ford is gonna do all that it can to make sure they don’t get beat by Chevy here at Le Mans.
#5: Porsche Will Be Pissed
Last year, Porsche won Le Mans, which was huge for them because they are currently the most successful manufacturer at the race. They’ve got a record 17 wins, including 7 in a row. So if Ford beats Porsche this year, it won’t just be upsetting Ferrari fans, there will be angry Germans as well. It could get ugly.
#4: 30,000 Miles Is a Lot of Driving
No LeMans isn’t THAT long. But Ford is racing four GTs in 2016 with a total of 30,000 expected miles. Why? Well, according to Bill Ford, “If You’re Going To Do A Super Car, It Has To Race.” Hell yeah it does. Logging 30,000 racing miles is a bold way to prove whether or not this highly anticipated supercar is worth its hype.
#3: Brad Pitt Will Be There
Somebody famous has to waive the French flag at Le Mans to get things going. And this year, it will be Mr. Angelina Jolie. Hey, that’s one way to encourage a resistant lady friend to tune in, at least for the first hour.
#2: It Could Be a Cluster
For the first time since the 1950s, the officials in France have decided to include 60 cars at the start of the 24 Hours. That’s a lot of cars, a lot of garages and a lot of hot sweaty dudes running around trying to keep their drivers from imploding. The perfect ingredients for some awesome racing.
#1: Ford Has at Least 6,506 Reasons to Win
That’s the number of people who sent in applications to buy the $450,000 supercar. With only 500 selected, these enthusiasts are the ones with the appropriately deep pockets to be able to buy a GT. If the racing goes well, so will the sales. If not, well, we may have to wait another 50 years.
If these 7 reasons aren’t enough to get you on the 24 hour Frenchie bandwagon, than perhaps the video above will help to convert the hesitant.
