Two new rule sets have led to an explosion of new entries at the top class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Long-time Le Mans competitors Porsche, Ferrari, Peugeot, and Cadillac are re-joining the grid this year, with BMW and Lamborghini following in 2024 and Acura already debuting a car in America that could eventually join those competitors in Europe. That new interest has led to constant speculation that another traditional Le Mans powerhouse, Ford, could eventually join the group.
As recently as the 24 Hours of Daytona last mont, representatives from Ford publicly claimed that the brand was still open to the idea. However, with the company instead making a high-profile move to partner with Red Bull Racing's Formula 1 powertrain team, that no longer seems to be in the cards.
As Ford Performance Motorsports global director Mark Rushbrook told Motor Trend, the brand sees its previously-announced Mustang GT3 factory program as a sort of adequate replacement for a top-level factory sports car program. Rushbrook claims that he sees IMSA's GTD class and GT cars in general as "what's cool in the world."
While that may be an odd claim in an era where class stalwarts GM, Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, and Acura have all shifted their primary focus to prototype racing, it does fit with Ford's current performance push built primarily around the Mustang brand. In addition to the new GT3 program, next-generation Mustangs will also go racing in NASCAR, GT4, drag racing, and Australian Supercars.
While other manufacturers often cite the hybrid components of both new prototype rule sets as a major reason for their interest, Rushbrook claims that Ford is "very satisfied with electrification" after adding the Red Bull Formula 1 program to its existing, recently-electrified World Rally Championship commitments.
Ford has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times, all consecutively in the late 1960s with three separate variations of the GT40. The 1966 win was the subject of the film Ford vs. Ferrari, while the 1967 win in the GT40 Mk. IV with two American drivers is among the greatest achievements in American auto racing history. Ford has never returned to prototype racing in earnest, but the brand did run the race with a GT program for its outgoing Ford GT supercar in the 2010s.
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