2016 Le Mans and Ford GT Update!

[VoodooBoss]

The Ford GT's were the fastest in the first qualifying session. Let's see where they start on Saturday. So far they are in positions: 1, 2, 4, and 5. Not bad for a bunch of rookies!

http://autoweek.com/article/24-hours-le-mans/24-hours-le-mans-qualifying-porshe-ford-gt-provisional-pole-24-hours-le?utm_source=RacingDaily20160616&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=headline-top&utm_content=body&utm_campaign=awracingdaily

 

[TMSBOSS]

Impressive.

Lets hope for a fast, safe race!!

 

[fuhrius]

Ford
Ford
Ferrari
Ford
Ford
Ferrari
Ferrari

Oh my, this is going to be a good one. The GT's have been fast...but not consistent. Can't wait to watch the race and, now, really regretting not having pulled the trigger on going in person.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

The Corvette guys online are losing their minds right now after the Balance of Performance adjustments that the C7.Rs received. Based on how far their lap time are (4-6 seconds behind leader) it does seem a bit severe. There are some thoughts that this may positively impact their fuel mileage over the course of the race but that remains to be seen for certain.

Also they are now crying that the Ford GTs were sandbagging during practice etc as to not be affected by BoP. It could be true; Ganassi is a smart guy with respect to racing.

It could be a good run between Ford and Ferrari, but it would be a shame to see Corvette regulated out of the fight in this one--IMO it will lessen the legitimacy of a Ford GT win, if one happens.

Regardless, I am looking forward to tuning a few times over the course of the weekend to see what's happening.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Let Ford win Le Mans and they can win the others.

Here's a link to an article on the BoP.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/06/16/le-mans-talking-balance-of-performance-with-the-gt-field.html

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

That's a good article indeed and the last part of it is the most interesting.

I don't honestly think that Ford intentionally left something on the table at the earlier races (I'd attribute earlier results to the still-new nature of the car), but I wouldn't put it past Ganassi, either. This (entire FGT program) has all been a long-play strategy to show up STRONG at 24HLM this year.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Looks like further BoP adjustments were made to equalize the Fords and Ferraris with the rest of the GTE field, post-qualifying

http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/item/130912-lm24-ford-takes-bop-changes-in-stride

LM24: Ford takes BoP changes in stride
Friday, 17 June 2016
Marshall Pruett (words & image)

The pole-winning Ford Chip Ganassi Racing GTE-Pro team has taken the pre-race Balance of Performance changes aimed at slowing its fleet of Ford GTs in stride.

The four GTs have taken on extra weight and lost turbo boost for the 24 Hours of Le Mans after qualifying P1-2-4-5. Those changes, along with penalties to the rapid turbo Ferrari 488s, and breaks for the slow Aston Martin V8 Vantages and Corvette C7.Rs, should reduce the sizeable 3.7-second gap that separated turbos from non-turbos.

"What we do as a race team is we race the race and try to minimize the things that can stop you from being at the front at the end," Chip Ganassi Racing managing director Mike Hull told RACER. "You win on racecraft, take what's given to you, and the faster you accept that, the faster you can push yourself to find the best strategy."

Although Hull's outlook might not be shared within every corner of the combined FCGR, Ford, and Multimatic factory Le Mans program, the ace race strategist will use all 24 hours to try and overcomeany performance reductions that may appear on the stopwatch.

"What I like about what's happened with the [BoP change] is it's a compliment to what's Ford's done and the team's done and the sanctioning body's done," he said. "They try to make it fair. You have to accept what you're given. It's the most carnivorous class of racing. The race will demonstrate who has the best racecraft."

 

[Jabooh]

A coupe of mates met up for the race... 15 GT's all together, 8 from the US, rest from Europe.

 

[VoodooBoss]

This article makes it sound like Ford and Ferrari were both sandbagging. Who knows maybe they were. ;D

http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/the-ford-gt-and-ferrari-488-teams-were-sandbagging-befo-1782160181

"In order to set Balance of Performance, race organizers rely on teams to run at race pace in practice and shakedown sessions. Data acquired then goes into setting Balance of Performance. Of course, that means there’s a huge incentive for a team to sandbag so that they won’t be slowed down for the race.

The only problem with this, as Ferrari and Ford found out today, is that it’s oh-so-easy to get caught in the lie as soon as you drop your imaginary sandbags from the car.

None of the starting positions have been changed. However, this means that teams only have a quick 45-minute warm-up to get used to the changes made in the cars. 11 of the 14 LM GTE Pro cars are affected by these changes. "

 

[VoodooBoss]

For those watching American's Billy Johnson is in #66 and Joey Hand is in #68. Two of the cars are in first and second.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Is there a good link to a leader board?

 

[VoodooBoss]

www.fordperformance.tv

 

[TMSBOSS]

Got it. THANKS.

 

[blacksheep-1]

Sandbagging is part of the gamesmanship, It's hard for me to hear about it from the Corvette guys since Chevrolet pretty much fine tuned the art in PWC and IMSA.

 

[VoodooBoss]

FGT's still running up front!

 

[TMSBOSS]

Ford wins!!!
1,3&4.

 

[buland]

Great race!!! Congratulation to Ford

 

[Racerpilotalan]

Yee-Haw y'all!

 

[VoodooBoss]

That's awesome! Congratulations Ford and Joey Hand! Both Joey and Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi grew up in the Sacramento area and raced karts in the area along with NASCAR driver Kyle Larson. Now if Kyle can win a race this season that would be icing on the cake.

 

[VoodooBoss]

http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/ford-takes-historic-gte-pro-win-at-le-mans/