Ford GT The Return to Le Mans - The Full Documentary

[Music] [Music] [Music] so Edsel where does this story begin that's the hardest question I've ever been asked I think this really starts on October 10th 1901 when Henry Ford won car race with a vehicle call sweepstakes it set the path for Ford Motor Company Ford was born on a racetrack it really is how we began as a company and with my great-grandfather and so ever since then we've raised the gt40 program was our first venture into european-style road racing against European cars we wanted to go racing in Europe to beat the Europeans especially Ferrari new early 60s until Ferrari realized that he needed some corporate help if he wanted his company to continue to grow and if he wanted to compete you know at the uppermost levels of motorsport and at the same time Ford Motor Company realized they they wanted to change their image they wanted to sort of appeal to the younger buyers and I thought racing might be a good way to do that so emissaries from each company sort of found the other and they started negotiating Ford sent Don Frye who was very high up in the hierarchy to negotiate directly with Enzo Ferrari things went well for a while and then they didn't go so well and Ferrari left Ford at the altar Henry Ford the second till we've been running the company he was really peeved that he had essentially gotten the finger from Enzo Ferrari and that's when he told Don Frye you know we can't join them we'll go beat him [Music] back then the pinnacle of road racing around the world was going to be [Music] until the month of June when nearly half a million racing enthusiasts transformed into the motor racing half of all of the work that was about as ambitious as you can get as an American company to go to Europe and race the LeMond to beat Ferrari it was domina at that time actually had just won so many years in a row Harare of Italy has won the race seven times out of the last eight no American car as ever won my father wanted to beat Ferrari and and it didn't make any difference what it cost he was really serious about winning the race we had all the budget and all the facilities and materials that we need needed anything we thought that we needed was right there first Ford GT was actually a modified Lola coupe with the Ford Racing body on it there was an elegant beautiful car problem is at speed the air would lift the front wheels they got pull them off the 64 fill he'll set the fastest laughs the race but he said it's almost undriveable I think the first car caught fire in the third hour or something it was a huge bust we didn't win that first year but we learned a lot they came back in 65 a little better they showed up at Daytona and had some success and then by 66 they were ready for challenge last year with the gt40 mark 1 now they are here with a faster mark to Henry Ford his wife and young son Edsel have arrived to see the investment pay off [Music] in the first lap the track was wet from a light rain still the Americans aggressive strategy is clear from the start take the lead early set up fast and punishing pace and I'll flash the competition all afternoon all night all morning the Ford GTS were still in the lead and here they come for the finish first place the number two Ford GT second place the number one Ford GT third place the number five Ford GT an authoritative win for the American challengers the iconic one two three finish at LeMond was you know perhaps of all the great moments that was probably the defining moment in Ford's race history [Music] my history at Lamar as a kid started when I was four months old the first time I went and then pretty much uninterrupted till I was about 18 I've had five top threes Lamar I've raced there 11 times this is my 36th time to L'Amour so a lot of my life has been spent there and a lot of exposure to big teams there's a genuine excitement that the Ford GT is in there there are fans there that will have remembered the cars in 1966 the sad part about modern sports car racing is that no one really goes you you feel that you're doing it for TV not for the crowd go to the more you feel that you're doing it for for real people for drivers that have never been there before it must seem like a zoo down here at the drivers parade this is tradition on the Friday of the month and we are here to go around the town the fans have come out in their droves you know didn't have a thousand people just over there and we would drive around first of the half-an-hour we've got 8,000 wristbands and flags to throw out to them and it's just a chance for them to see the drivers up close before the big race tomorrow so the unique experience where you feel like a bit of a rock star because there are thousands of fans screaming in America dice incredible experience [Music] this is where I started driving when I was 15 years old and I know a lot of people around the summe grow from the new kid in town trying to make it to kind of an accomplished racecar driver he's the professional who's making a living from his passion which was all I could really hope for in the beginning come on is the line it's the it's a Super Bowl of sports car racing to come back on the 50th anniversary of course we would love to do it again I think there's more competition this year if I'm allowed to say that there's more manufacturers we have Aston Ferrari Porsche call that us with three other Ford's racing so you know the competition has never ever been stronger particularly in this category whoever wins this year is going to really really deserve it I'm someone that loves the history of the sport Ford won this race four times in a row between 66 and 69 to be coming back with the new Ford GT the Ford for incredible cars is very same for everybody I'm very excited to get on with it and get racing on Saturday because that's what really matters well I became a sports car driver for was to race here at LeMond and I can't imagine what it would be like to to win this thing so you know I'm not here really to give you a pep talk you guys are all professionals you know what we're here you know what we're here to do but I think there is one thing that I will remind you of maybe all of you have probably raced in events that were more important to you but there's one thing that I guarantee you you will never race again for its many people as we're racing for this weekend Ford's raced a lot you know that we won the Monaco Grand Prix with one Formula One Championship for one Indy 500 50 years ago we raced here we swept the podium and it meant a lot because of men we took on the world and we want so I'm going to be totally unfair and remind you that unfortunately there's only one chance to celebrate the 50th anniversary the only thing they're asking of us this weekend is to go like hell so let's do that I I can't remember the time that I actually fell in love with motor racing it's strange because there's no one in my family that is into cars and might you know wasn't something my dad introduced me into from as long as I can remember it's something that I've been in love with this is really Raj's baby he absolutely has been the driving force behind this and and the one who had the vision for all of this to happen and so all we're doing is executing on his vision we've always been thinking about building another Ford GT the 50th anniversary of the win in 66 was coming up and we felt we really have to do something to honor that win Raj and Mark came to me and said we got something we think you're gonna like in the car business dates and anniversaries count maybe the 50th anniversary LeMond coming up well let me do another GT when you talk for GT that's a higher calling within the company that's an icon that lives on 50 years later you're still talking about they're still talking about it in France well I mean one thing's for sure you know when we decided to do the GT the birthday party was gonna happen you know the 50th anniversary one way or another and the time was ticking we've got a lot to prove to not only the world but even though people inside our company and we intend to do [Music] the rules in GT racing are these are production based race cars and so you have to have a production car that you're building from but we're still developing the production car so we got agreement from all the other manufacturers to allow us to race as long as we delivered the production car in a customer's hands by the end of the year racecar development production car development almost started opposite ends race car we start from the tire and we optimize everything to what is a tire want production car we start from the driver and then we work everything downstream of the driver to make it feel right it's a lot of engineering to do simultaneously having to go through all the legal things you need to go through and the durability things you need to go through for a street car and then be thinking ahead about what would be ideal on the track [Music] people were identified within the company with areas of expertise engines suspension technology aerodynamics it launched this internal skunk works within Ford it was a completely confidential project it was a decision on the part of the team to build it not so much as a dedicated super car but almost as a laboratory for what is possible for the rest of the Ford line to me that was a very interesting approach but there are difficulties because if you do that can you really be competitive or can we really take an EcoBoost engine and make it a competitive race engine it's a combination of direct injection turbo charging variable cam timing so you can make a tremendous amount of power but you can get really great fuel economy out them - which actually is an advantage quite an advantage for a race engine who would have thought that we'd be putting a v6 engine in a supercar so that's a bold statement when we said we're gonna do that carbon fiber which has had tremendous application and racing already to get the weight out to get the strength of the Ford GT is almost entirely carbon-fiber we're learning a lot from that and we're working with our partners to figure out how to make it lower costs so that we can then expand the use of carbon fiber through the rest of the Ford lineup we get to use racing to push the boundaries for everyday passenger cars that are in people's driveways [Music] first time one is is moving it's actually mobile it's very restricted calibration Rajat thing you've explained to you it's only 3000 rpm shifts are gonna be really delayed I mean it's it's gonna be rough treating 3,000 as a redline it is you're coming in with an all-new car and an all-new team we're still learning that are we're still developing the car things will happen that we didn't anticipate whether it's tactics whether it's endurance whether it's technical issues whether it's deep have enough outright speed you don't know any of that until you get out on the track [Music] it's the most fun I've had doing 20 miles an hour [Laughter] didn't start eating without us all pizzas gone there's pizza and subs we don't have cooling problems with these engines in fact we kind of have the opposite we have trouble keeping temperature in them when when it's cold outside upon tearing out we did not see any other signs of distress the engine looked actually really good for 20 hours and we would say with pretty good confidence that that engine would pass the durability test so we've got a race proven engine in 16th yes we do and Larry's already started bolting it in we're working with Larry Holt masterminds multimatic and multimatic brings to it expertise that we don't have at Ford there are great racers and they know how to put race cars together better than anybody when it comes to the road car and and in a ground-up road car I think I think that there's been a bit of a learning curve there on exactly what it takes but again we're partners in this starting to look at a lot of work on the front underwing where we found we hugely powerful but very sensitive we're trying to move move the center pressure on the under wing so it's not so pitch sensitive we like it a lot but it doesn't pinch on the front of your car guys but we'll work with you on shape and we just need a gaping hole in the front of car if it's okay more you know Ford Motor Company can be a little bit conservative and then you have this mad scientist to really push you know what if we did that what if we did this and and so you have this meld of crazy ideas and sanity coming together and a really great balance 17th of September we have to be there with everybody else with a representative engine basically so that they can set our Bo P seemed like we had so much time last year Ford went to Lamar for the first time in 1964 it took until their third year 66 before they actually want it you know I want to go on record here that you know history says it took three years we're going this year first year in the 50th anniversary with a very high expectation I'm very confident that we have the tools to do it but you'd be an absolutely arrogant idiot to sit here and say you're gonna win Lamar because it's a it's a that's a tough race and it can be very very nasty so when I first heard about this race program my first reaction was I mean I'm 48 and I was like so I mean I'm you want the more winners I'm a lot more winner I have to drive I'm still fit I'm so fast and literally I went into that mode because how could I not and then everyone talked me out of it but it was it was it was such a dynamic program that you in the thought of it was so exciting that who wouldn't want to be a part of it you know fortunately had a lot of interest in in race car drivers and wanting to drive this car and so a lot of applications came in jointly between ourselves and Chip Ganassi we went through that process and really got the cream of the crop how did this whole racing they start for you that's a great question I am when I was when I was probably three years old or four years old my father was in the asphalt paving business he he paved a go-kart track and the guy didn't pay him for some reason so we ended up with three go-karts when they only weigh about 80 pounds five horsepower is a lot that's how my Motorsports career got started you know chips an interesting guy he was a racer himself driver he raced Indy cars he is the second most successful racing team in the u.s. after Roger Penske Chip Ganassi hires the crew he is the personnel the management everyone to oversee that the program works it's so much about the man and the machine and having to optimize both of those to be successful you control a lot of technology at race cars but at the end of the day it's all about the gentleman or the woman who sits behind the wheel and drives the car Edsel wanted to have a meeting he said we'd like to work with your team I said sure you know I mean I'm all ears [Music] and they took this down in the bowels of a building somewhere walked down a hall and down another hall you where the hell are they taking us and sure enough you know we come around the corner and there people beavering away on a car over the corner you go what the hell is that and that was it way they concealed it was genius I mean it was there was no way anyone was gonna know what was down there and the only people that went in there were literally handful they were the designers and then the top people in the company that were involved in the project no one knew about if you could use innovation to build the ultimate Ford performance vehicle what would be well here's an idea [Music] when it came the impact was spectacular in this day and age where you see spy photos of everything all the time it was an amazing accomplishment just to get it out as a surprise then the car itself is fantastic looking at all the details the way the wastegate exits through the tail light you know the fact there's actually plumbing in the buttresses all the stuff it is yeah the absolute pinnacle of what can be done I don't think the GT is successful at all yet I don't think we know I think it's been well-received by the media I think it's been well received by the enthusiasts based on the number of emails I get on how do I sign up to buy one but you know if we haven't really launched the car it's been in the race car has been in testing so we really don't know whether it's successful yep I was thrilled as a strictly as a fan to see for to hear the Ford intended to a build you know a new version of the GT and B go racing that said I got a confess the the idea of winning lamal your first time out in a brand new car is a real big challenge I wish them the best but I think I think I would have been more confident if this were a year two of the program rather than a year one [Music] you know the first time you get in a prototype it's a nervous moment you can kind of tell have you got the basics right is this something you're gonna be able to work with or is this this is gonna be a long haul this is everything we've been working towards here together multimatic and Ford there's gonna be a couple of milestones one will be taking the checkered flag at Lamont 2016 but another important one is the first day we ever run the racing that's an important day for any new production car or race car that first shakedown it's your first chance to figure out the character of the car if it's not good out of the box it's gonna be tough to make it good and really tough to make it great [Music] [Music] today is just exciting to get the car actually on the track right so expectations were not high it was mainly just to see the car move what we're seeing today though is we're seeing a car that's almost ready to race [Music] it's been running good but more importantly it feels right it's doing what the simulation said they would do usually for a shakedown we're working out structural issues that are wrong that you know the car doesn't have the right balance or we need to go back and rethink and we're already beyond that step in talking about tuning the car you know things that usually happen weeks or maybe even months later very good start [Music] [Applause] we don't want to be overconfident it's almost kind of worried about how good it's going [Music] working through our test program really quickly and into development of the vehicle right away those first initial tests we just wanted to make sure we're handing off a car that's ready to be race developed and providing that to Chip Ganassi and chip providing you know the crew and the race car drivers and the operations side of that I think for an engineering team it's it's been great the the development capability of all of our drivers and telling us what they need out of the car four cars three drivers per car that means you need to find 12 great drivers it's a very considered decision selecting the drivers primarily you're looking for the speed and consistency and then after that you start to get into character and whether or not the guy's a team player she has this amazing knack to be able to look you right in the eye and know if you're right for us there are lots of drivers out there that are fast in endurance racing where you share the car you need to compromise there's always a little give-and-take with other drivers that's ultimately I've made the decision for us it's a little bit unheard of really to staff up in such a way because almost every other race program starts with one car then goes to two or whatever and so to staff up for four cars on two continents for full schedules is yeah there's not really a precedent you have 12 of the top drivers in the world who are all by virtue of their success by what made them successful very self-centered egotistical ambitious dog-eat-dog mano-a-mano guys Westbrook is one of the most intensely competitive drivers you know I've ever met such a gentleman but you see him get pissed off when something happens it makes for a great interview in the pits because you know there's no holds barred Joey hand he's a fighter you know he's a is like an MMA fighter and where I've been you know he's right there it's exciting for marina his brother had outstanding success so the first thing is people go got the drag because of his brother you don't do that in a program at this level but this is his biggest chance in his career and he knows it but dirt Muller one of Nurburgring stop drivers has a huge amount of GT manufacturer experience there's nothing they confirm on the radio or on the trap that he won't have seen before I love the fact they brought this group together Ford's history at lamaze one of their greatest stories in motorsports of all time at the return is beyond words it's not too often programs come around like this I haven't even been to Lamaze so it's you know for me there's gonna be a lot of eyes wide open mouth probably a little bit to occasionally just you know taking it all in you know the history of them all the first thing you think about is the 40 T's suddenly of being part of that it's like like a dream come true for me that's the first thinking in mind man I want to be part of that history there's nobody there that wouldn't send that thing right into the fence trying to win that race those are all top-notch front-running badasses in those cars right now you could almost overdo it to be handed the mantle to make this program be successful and win that's a big deal so Ganassi to assemble the kind of driving talent that you know there are no excuses they've been assembled for a reason they're professionals and they're there to win prior to Lamar we'll have six races starting at Daytona so all of those are going to be real races but they're also to some extent gonna be practice for Lamar and certainly our plan is to get better every single race and leading up to make sure we're ready as we can be for Lamar I mean look we have an all-new car we're having all new drivers who have no familiarity with those vehicles so it's a tall order it's a very taller having said that I expect us 24 and that for GT has everyone talking the guy that's been dreaming about this for months is executive EPA chief technical officer of Fort Raj Nair now the battle back then was with Ferrari the crosstown guys are Corvette we all dream about storybook finishes who would you like to be banging doors with and no head out by a nose Corvette or Ferrari in 24 hours well you know we're pretty focused on the wind so hopefully we don't focus too much time on what the order is behind us so we're just going to focus on the front [Music] nervous really yeah nervous stressed stressed out a bit you know everything that we need to do technically we've done I'm very confident that aspect but 24-hour endurance racing is you know that's a bit of statistical luck associated with it I'm not gonna tell you we're not here to win a meter you go racing to win we all go racing to win but this really is all about going to Lamar this is it for my career I don't want to do after this fire but when a winery summer I don't know it's This Is It this is it going to LeMond this year that's it they roll into the throttle we are green 24 speaking of machines there's the 66 joy him he is now up in a second and is running down the 911 a TM even this is first and second a GT out lamb side he pulled the drop the Elliott popped out across the stripe at the lake any all the damage debut Chevrolet here on the high banks this is going to be an interesting one here to take a look latest album yeah certainly lost and drive it up for that turn for wine Frisco guy that [ __ ] drinking here [Music] 450 left [Music] so what it's doing is it's just flickering between 56 here right now it's something internal and we'll go back to the garage [Music] caryl add a bit of diagnosis found that it was one of the pneumatic valves that controls the shifting in the gearbox not something we've seen today in testing it's a shame it had to happen in a race another problem for one of the four GTS it is 66 this is not so Joey's gonna pull it off the racing surface down to the inside he's lost Drive completely is gonna have to rely on safety workers to get it back into the garage area I hate losing I don't like it to be honest we expected the reliability to be better some of the things that rope today are either not even new for the car they're the parts that a lot of the rest of the field are running as well but for some reason they broke on our car some of the things we wouldn't see in normal testing you just have to race to see it that doesn't change the the frustration of having that many issues [Music] this cart since its been back out and running Cal has been running very very quickly it really has I think Ryan Briscoe may have said the fastest lap of the race in the gtlm category is Shawn pace and 24-hour race will now become a test session for them they're looking at the big picture of the championship I know they wanted success their first time out but there's a lot of other milestones they're going to try and reach this year as well you know we've got a good amount of time to go back and take a look at what went right I think well we'll come back ready to go for Sebring it will be even stronger than we are right now both ways you can't have something really really really matter and have it be totally controlled and it just this is the nature of it but that's what makes this sport I mean the highs are so high but they're also not frequent you know and so you know the best guy is win ten percent of the races you know and so to have everything line up on the day on the year just doesn't happen very often we shut up at Daytona with higher hopes and obviously left with our our tail between our legs a little bit I think we were caught out by some by some issues that I would characterize as when you're trying to do things in six months that other people been working on for six years you you you say oh yeah I forgot about that the general conversation after Daytona was it was are they embarrassed they tell you the program is good they tell you the car is strong they tell you that they're going to win a race at some point and then not be able to make it to the first two hours of the race because of a gearbox issue you know you're immediately like all are they embarrassed were they lying if they have these issues and and so it raises some question marks for sure searing probe hours this is spring break for racers and over 80,000 people have been here party this weekend but right now it's time for those races to rock with more money action at the front of the grid is Jamie house with the energy here Seabreeze justin has been felt all week long the nerves and the eggs from not just the drivers but also the crews has been evidence we had some issues we know we have them fixed but this is zebra there's a whole new animal so I don't expect to see the issues that we fixed but it won't surprise me if we see some new issues looks like we're gonna get some rain today and that's a good thing go out and put the car through its paces in a rain so today's gonna be interesting this is the kind of track yeah you know it's we always say it's it's half the size and twice as hard so we'll see what happens [Music] now on board the 66-foot pork butt occurred right now Kurt Muller and you know a lot of people were surprised to see some of the problems that they had at the Rolex 24 I don't think we were brand new car first race and what they really want the prize that they want is the ball coming up at you [Music] [Music] when the airplane crashes who do you blame pilot that's the position that you choose to put yourself in when you want to become a professional racecar driver but sometimes it's not necessarily always fair you don't want to be that guy that writes that thing off it you know you just don't wanna be that guy the right side was a lot yeah the right side didn't show I tried I tried a try but there was so much what I was basically just boating and it was unfortunate but the team came to me and said there was nothing you can do which you know brings me up again because you feel you let your your boy style well it need always someone to [Music] Dirk just got caught out and locked up in a turn one there's really nothing he could do the car hydroplaned all the telemetry said the brake pressure everything was good but the carcass hydroplant went into the tire wall and unfortunately right after that is when the red flagged it for the condition so we just missed that by a little bit and now the car's back here in the garage but during a red flag you can't repair the vehicle it looks like it's going to be a red flag for a while [Music] spent most of my time on the NASCAR side of things and then I fly in on race day race weekend and help these guys I help on the front end of these cars we want to perform well we want to you know make some history and you know back up the program for Ford and for our Celtics fans I think all of us are trying to think more long-term towards LeMond trying to make big gains on our reliability and try to make the best of it [Music] I'm happy I mean I'm not like thrilled jumping up and down happy but I mean all the issues we had at Daytona we didn't have any reoccurrence of those issues so from that perspective where I think we're good through these first few races maybe we get our bad luck out of the way they've seen that 66 car that's been through the wars a little bit here today problems that look like both of these 40 teams I think we've been building momentum system working on getting everything synced together you know getting the whole team getting the car ready to be durable and run you'll want to show off for the track not have a lot of the extra curricular activity and just go rate with every race we continue to improve and get better and get faster and get more reliable and coming in to Laguna I think everybody felt positive and cautiously optimistic about the weekend now I see the second of the four GT Richard Westbrook them to the inside and of the hip-hip what a move what a story this is as they head into the month of June the final turn from Daytona totally Masika you saw a program gel you saw them have problems mechanically you saw them have problems personally and then you saw them all come together and make it work not only was it the first obviously win for the GT but it was the biggest morale boost I think that you could have had in a team that has been working 24 hours a day seven days a week you know giving everything they got and what a validation of what's been going on to Ford's getting ready for the big one this is more like the cars we were expecting the same these are the four [Music] everyone's ready but then the actual race happens and things you just can't predict it's racing and everyone knows and racing things go wrong [Music] the best racer in the world loses more races anyways you have to have a mentality of if you lose you don't dwell on losing you dwell on why did you lose and how are you going to fix that for the next race [Music] sitting here three days before star the race I guess the biggest thing is where do we really stand with the pace of the car and they in turns the car you know I think that's everybody's question it's a lot of stuff going on I don't really like the week I like the race you just building up building up and you want to get out on the track but Wednesdays a good day it's the start of first practice start first qualifying you want to have the fastest lap at the end of the qualifying sessions so that you can start on pole for the 24-hours of them off Ford kind of came in and surprised everybody they weren't spectacular in the test days the middle week leading up to the race but they were spectacular and qualifying before it had their four cars in the top five positions being one two four and five is a good start it was the first time we had run the car and full-out qualifying trim here and I think it's fair to say for all of us the car responded even better than we expected which is why I think there's there's a good mood here we got a lot of work to do so it'll be important to stay focused [Music] people are excited about where we qualified and that's a good thing and it's exciting and it shows the potential of the car in reality in an endurance race qualifying is not very important by Sunday afternoon people will forget where everyone qualified they have a lofty expectation the perfect story is that they win this particular weekend in June no one will blame them for not winning because it's it's too hard a feat to go to Lamar in the first year they'll lead the race for sure they'll lead the race for a lot of it I think their drivers are equally as fast as anybody and the car is super quick but the demands of the long run through and and not getting involved in accidents and what is the weather going to be like is tough when I came on in the first year of Corvette our three-year program was literally just to be able to go there that first year in our car finished third and Ron's car finished fourth and the team was ecstatic never did anybody ever have a delusional thought that we're going there to win the race it's much harder than anybody thinks and you know sometimes you can have all the you know all the components that you think you're right in line but they've got the gel they've got the blend and you know best of luck to them for sure but it is no easy feat to go in there the first time after 50 years and try to win that race Ford's databank of going to limos not is not rich same for Ganassi gas II have no institutional knowledge of going to Lamont I mean everyone else is trying to win Corvette are probably the highest technology race team outside McLaren Pratt & Miller do the guidance systems for trekking missiles in space so they can make a race car go around the track they've won their eight or ten times out of the last 15 years Porsche man they've got that place figured out they are the outright all-time winning brand and it is to this day what creates that aura that makes Porsche what it is Ford it's an unknown entity there's gonna be things that need to be figured out [Music] behind the safety girl [Music] whether aboard yes maybe we've got heavy rain more mass train those honey water just drying a tough thing here at Limoges tracks you know about feet nap miles long so you could have rain on one end and dry on the other that's when it becomes very tricky because you have to stay on slick tires you can't use rains because you'll burn up the reins on the dry part so you just work your way through the wet work both dry and the seconds you can go both dry from a driver's standpoint we just really would like to have one or the other you know it's it becomes really tricky when it goes back and forth it is what it is Lanois is a very treacherous place there was times where there's river crossings and you go over three times and you wouldn't aquaplane and you hit it the same angle the next time at 180 miles an hour and the whole car go like that and then you go oh you got to breathe so we're not engaged in that obviously we've got all the options ready you you did drive in all the conditions so is all the best to judge you give us as much feedback as you can okay may in the moment we would take the drying wet without a doubt yeah with the weather the way it is you can afford to speed up a bit you're okay to give it some more up here copy myopia [Music] you're stuck in third gear mate no pumps you up in the moment no option at the moment Andy just going to find you you're going to find your boat urban in manual mode I have option okay fine downshift it's a bitter freeze it downshift No - you have slowed down shift keep requesting up and down keep pushing up and down does it shift continuously with the question at the moment no it's sickening mate I'm in the last corner onto the grid stuff cause here you can have to push me come on I'm not gonna burn the heart out here okay and if we come until you do what you do the number 67 for GT one of four identical cars in this race being back into its garage and room area can you update yeah well they've definitely got an engine problem with this they file it up a couple of times the rear deck is off so that's why they're working on at the moment I'm pretty sure that this car won't take the start dry the city the wheels about 15 people all clustered around it George Howard Chappell the team manager these directing operations here everybody understand it's worth 10 million going to get like this cuz otherwise basically we're into a really big stuff so it works about [Music] well Harry this is a crushing disappointment I thought it's a motor problem it seems through the gearbox this issue is austere gearbox pressure on the reconnaissance observer but it's the box and dirt always think they found maybe a quick fix so we're going to see if that works if not I think we're gonna be emphasizing longer but we're going to try this now and see how it goes you had one of the forwards starting from the garage the cars are so close there they're built exactly the same so immediately off the bat you're like okay so our four car is gonna make the end of this racer or any car is gonna make the end of the race it was for 24 hours or questioning the survival of the program yeah for that to happen even before the race starts on the one hand you're thinking oh boy this is gonna be a long 24 hours on the other hand I was thinking well I'm glad I brought four cars back live at Lomov on a rainy French day but the Sun is poking through crowd the grandstand are folding their umbrellas and taking off the rain slickers that's a good sign this is the first time any 84 weddings of this race [Music] the safety car Azaria green lights all around safety kasnia [Music] under green the class structure in sports car racing is essentially for different races going on on the racetrack at the same time so you have the prototypes those are things that manufacture to develop things to be on their cars maybe five ten years down the road from a coverage standpoint you always follow the overall leader so that's always in sports car racing going to be a prototype but recently the GT categories have have gained a lot more interest because they are cards that people can relate to GTE Pro cars look like cars that you would see driving down the street the competition level there is so intense what a battle here in GT Pro between the Ferraris and the fours just like we saw fifty years ago in front of the [Music] [Applause] everywhere you go someone remind you about the history that fought in them on so your permit IRRI minded over and you can't really escape they're not I want to [Music] for me I think it's there's definitely some nerves you understand the big picture you understand the emphasis on the 50-year you know there's obviously a big story behind it but to expect to come here and win the first year is is a very large expectation we try to think of everything there's a team you know you try to think of every different scenario but a lot of us haven't been here we haven't raced here before that there's so many things that can take you out of it but I think with having four cars you know definitely you know spreads that stress and emotion a little bit no matter what happens we're part of history you know be one of those guys and 50 years later made it attempted this hopefully we can say that we want it or podiums or whatever but at least made an attempt at it [Music] [Music] you all right that just won't go fake could get on home sorry boy this is not where you want to be at the end of the Molson and two bowls on corner and fabrina Franchitti that's not where he wants to be right now then he said on the radio I just locked him up I couldn't get it unlocked he is not the first car that we have seen in there in fact it's a very popular place to be today but it's an easy mistake to make at the end of the straightaway the good news for Ford is this is the car that had the problem early on it was already several laps down and they did bring four of them so right now the 67 car is really about a contention the 68 car is doing really well it's trading first place back and forth with Ferrari right now so let's see what the night brings [Music] Joey let's hit this laugh and admit we'll do driver change let's connect your cooling to just picture drink you good time to make some driver changes go ahead put those guys and let them go on into the Twilight in it when you put your next driver in and a couple of stints from now a few steps from now they could get in and total darkness and they'll already be acclimated to it we saw the 68 Joey Han pitted from the lead Sebastien Bourdais has taken over at that car Billy Johnson aboard the 66 now and you brought up the point to Brian about having the same driver in in this transitional period from daylight to darkness that's the effect that the Sun has on your eyes the different places that you that it bothers you around the racetrack and having someone in there as it's transitioning and not just in there right away the beginning of the race it was a little bit stressful because number 67 you know had some gearbox problems but got back in and they're all racing now and I can't wait till the Sun Goes Down because that's when it becomes really really special [Music] beautiful overhead view as the night falls and the party begins in earnest [Music] Racing a llama especially at night is very out-of-body experience not that it's so pleasant but you're doing it and the visual input you're getting as a human is very out of this world [Music] the guides do get into uh let's not call it you know trance state that sounds crazy but guys get in the zone and and at night especially and and you get in a rhythm of driving that track and where on occasion you know you talk to you driver on the radio and and they'll they'll not answer you it's like you're almost in a dream because everything is so weird the lights the weather the racing itself you know you have to really trust your knowledge of the course because you're going into corners hundred seven hundred eighty miles an hour and you know if you get it wrong you know you're gonna get really hurt I mean it is dangerous it is dangerous I mean you can't get away from that is it's that sort of tunnel feeling when you go through touch' Rouge down the long straight and then sometimes it can get a bit lonely out there it's weird it's you know sometimes in a night you don't see any other cars and you you might do a radio check just to check you know your tables still we put repeaters out all around the track radio repeaters our telemetry can't deal with the size of that track so if you're just trying to take everything in and out from the pits the malls a mosaic corner is too far away so you got all these repeaters out there and you do everything you can to keep in radio contact with the driver [Music] back at la ma lighter still of the skies overhead partly cloudy skies looks like hopefully we are free of rain in the run to the finish a little over nine hours away overnight Ford and Ferrari went back and forth and then when the Sun came up for the second day Ferrari was leading and Ford found themselves in a second [Music] [Music] you're playing here a little bit not Ferrari really came to life yes we go as dollars last night as it led up since some majors reading into the six eight hours taught me that the Ford seems to be a bit susceptible to the cooler conditions and running behind the pace car has a bell of a tire temp in there at the track conditions are the high either right now so info the car I'm not quite coming to life as quickly as the Ferrari [Music] which is kind of deep through our thesis that maybe is between compounds would like a softer one right now in these conditions now if things get warmer does that put them right into their sweet spot start to take the Ferrari out of theirs is maybe the question you may you'd say so Lamar born and bred Sebastien Bourdais trying to run down Tony Wilander at the class-leading Ferrari he doesn't like being second he's finished in second three times overall Frenchman Swingtown is Lamar wants that one position ahead of the Ferrari [Music] for me it's really tough because I've been dominating this space so many times and came short within the last few hours or something's gone wrong in the morning or whatever and and it's just one of those where you're kind of dreading almost the moment where it's just gonna go haywire and you know you can almost start to feel like there might be a curse or something last time I was in the car around from 16 9 a.m. or something like that the computer went bananas and now I had like no no no information it speed limiter wasn't working anymore so I had to come through the pits you know what AGG estimated speed because the display wasn't displaying anything anymore and I could have stopped the car and [Music] this is happening again [Music] we're having trouble with electronics in the car and so much of it goes through our steering wheel including when we come into the pits the drivers shut the engine off through the steering wheel and only then are we allowed to refuel the car so the rule says engine must be off while we're refueling and when he came in the engine didn't shut off [Applause] [Music] penalty on car 68 [Music] huge that's Dirk Mueller that's the second place GTE Pro entry and they'll have to come to pit lane and right now the gap only 12 and a half seconds in GTE Pro but this is huge for for having to serve a penalty at lamothe means that you have to exit the racetrack you're your race speed drop to pit lane speed drive all the way down pit lane and then get yourself back up to speed again in a safe manner it can cost you at least 30 seconds [Music] [Music] that's what separates racing from every other sport you can hit the worst shot in the history of golf and still win the Masters on one of your shots you can throw it absolutely atrocious pass on the Super Bowl if you have a bad corner at my mom you're not winning we talk about mistakes that can take you out of this event before just make a mistake on pit lane we'll have to see how that pans out you've got plenty time left you you had a problem over six hours to go and you come in you take your medicine and now you focus forward on getting the job done again and you make up that distance you can't let that affect you mentally [Music] the car is very easy on its tires which we designed it that way but it also means it doesn't always get heat in the tires particularly on a cold night and as it warmed up we knew the car was going to get faster and so we knew we still had a good chance of catching them but it was going to require us to really run flat out from that point got that message and and he just ran lap after lap after lap and cut into that lead and I think you know by the time he handed the car over he had cut almost a minute down to 15 seconds or so Gator pit this lap it fit this connector helmet to Disneynature green tip driver change [Music] the joy they live Balotelli in your seven seconds back beeping buzzes buddy good clean last year and now behind the wheel of 68 as he hunts down matéo malice jelly you ride on board with Joey right now and the car that you see in flood is the polite red number 82 this [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] continues to warm up throughout the day to get better and better and better in sorry Kevin [Music] this is right my wheelhouse this is where I lived right here going to chase somebody down and pass that point of the race you know you're starting to wind down when you pass somebody for the lead that could be the past if you have a car that can go run some a down past and keep going they're gonna have to catch you right there's not gonna be any freebies the Ford accelerated seems to bout the same level but eventually the floor is to a plateau and the four just seem to keep rollin working [Music] [Music] [Music] a lot of time left Ford versus tomorrow it feels like it's 50 years ago but now we'll have to wait you know until the end of the race but you know the cars look good and very optimistic [Music] [Applause] ryan briscoe for the 69 so in the top three right now in GTE Pro with Ford Ferrari and four years to us-based cars from for Chip Ganassi in the top three [Music] that is a big spin this is what's scary right now hopefully people are paying attention to the yellows in Wilander trying to get out of the way and then back on track this is also huge for for you can't give away anything [Music] again sword will say thank you very much and take that and capitalize on a big time [Music] made that little spin and given us a little breather I think the race has switched a little bit now it's going to be a pure reliability match and the place seems to be very evenly matched fingers crossed and bring it on right now just kind of sit tight let the guys figure it out now there's nothing I can do anymore just watch him at home before Wilander spun it was it was just over five seconds it's now two minutes and five seconds that that cost them huge and what it does is it moves tony Wilander back closer to ryan briscoe in the sixty nine so it's like one moment you're trying to hang on to the lead the next moment the state can hang on second place [Music] [Music] okay Joey made this laugh there's been a trick to forgive or forget sitting in the dark two hours to go at this point the Lord has been nearly neither going in [Music] enjoy helping them out [Music] until the checker two hours left so he gives him a pat says have a good run brother [Music] meanwhile the 82 and second not about to give a fight [Music] painter here from us 36 seconds right now few hours to go there few hours ago focus forward keep the car clean [Music] I tried to go slow to be honest but I was making little mistakes just told myself just do your normal pace I mean if the car is not able to do ten more laps I mean then then it's it I had to be focus plus forty three seconds four three here a good job I wasn't halfway through this day let's go to and room area yeah we've got a thirty seven minutes to go and maybe I'll smile then keep everything crossed Raj yeah I've got all my fingers and toes crossed thank you sounded nervous didn't he yeah he did 2003 we had about a two lap lead I came in for the last pit stop and the center lock nut that holds the wheel on it rolled underneath the car sharp side up it's hard to tell a story because that's how I lost the race but the sharp edge punctured right through the carbon-fiber bottle a car into the oil pan and all the oil came out of the car what it takes to get to Lamar and to be in a winning car in a winning position and have it taken away from you and no that will never happen I will never win Lamar that was a tough pill because I knew this was awesome twenty-four minutes ago Dirk your gap is one minute 19 seconds you guys mind to put on tires they're a little quicker but we have Pawnee gap when I was really little probably about four or five but I remember my father coming home and he was so excited to tell me about it and what a great win it had been for Ford and I remember thinking you know I wish I had been there [Music] this is the last part [Music] coming to the checkered here buddy coming to the checkered [Music] [Applause] [Music] that's like a dream come true this weekend I mean that's something you will never ever dream about I mean it's crazy I think we have achieved something big yesterday [Applause] when we approve this program we did it to come race here at home on and I think we proved it was the right decision we did what we came here to do we did it for her employees and our families and everybody who loves sport [Music] Sebastien Bourdais Sebastian's dad Patrick drove in this race when you race for so many people and you feel that there's kind of greatness in the whole thing it is it's just something I've never experienced before than to be able to see how much it meant to family name is just priceless you know I think back after years to my father who I was there with and I think he would be extremely proud and he would have been even proud of the minute we passed that Ferrari what a moment made him I sort of take a whole way so that was really incredible [Applause] [Music] holy cow we won them off you know you dream about this stuff you try and picture yourself in the moment you know it's crazy to think about the amount of people it took to get here I don't know but I know it feels good it was about coming back to the MA and showing that we as Ford Motor Company have what it takes to win it took all of us to make this happen every one of those people and every one of those garages put the Ford GT across the finish line that I do know this is what it means to be a team [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: RICCIMedia

Views: 263,551

Keywords: ford gt, gt 40, LeMans, ford, 24 hours, shelby

Id: xcWT3CcJ6uc

Length: 78min 15sec (4695 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 21 2019