The battle for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship resumes this weekend with the “6 Hours of Nürburgring” – and the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Team is on maximum attack, keen to maintain the momentum after a strong result at last month’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
The Nürburgring is the “home” circuit for Ford’s European headquarters in Cologne, in Germany, so the team will enjoy local support as it fights for top honours.
“With Le Mans behind us, we are now very much focused on the WEC championship,” said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance. “The #67 Ford GT scored major points at Le Mans so we need to keep the momentum going this weekend in Germany and onwards as the team moves into the ‘long haul’ stretch of the season.”
In the GT FIA World Endurance Manufacturers Championship, Ford currently tops the table, just nine points ahead of last year’s winners, Ferrari.
Andy Priaulx (GB) and Harry Tincknell (GB) are riding high in the GT FIA World Endurance Drivers Championship, with an 11-point lead over the #97 Aston Martin crew. Team mates Stefan Mücke (GER) and Olivier Pla (FRA) are in fifth place, 31 points adrift of the sister #67 Ford GT but there are six races to go and everything to play for.
“It’s great to see Ford at the top of the manufacturers’ world title standings,” said Mücke. “It’s also good to see our team mates at the top of the drivers’ standings but Olivier (Pla) and I will be doing everything we can to get up there with them. Nürburgring is the home race for me so it is great to be racing there again.”
“We have an 11-point lead over the Aston Martin going into the Nürburgring,” said Priaulx. “But just behind the Aston is a Ferrari, then a Porsche. It’s 25 points for a win in WEC so we might be leading the championship but the competition is still wide open. The next two races in particular will be tough for us so we need to focus and score as many points as possible. Every point counts!”
The 6 Hours of Nürburgring takes place this Sunday at 13:00 CET.
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 202,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.
is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 52,000 employees at its wholly owned facilities and approximately 66,000 people when joint ventures and unconsolidated businesses are included. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 24 manufacturing facilities (16 wholly owned or consolidated joint venture facilities and eight unconsolidated joint venture facilities). The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.
Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 30 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, two cars in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, two factory Ford GT’s in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and two factory Ford GT’s in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Overall his teams have 18 championships and over 190 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400, a Le Mans 24 Hours, seven Rolex 24 At Daytonas and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn. For more information log onto: www.chipganassiracing.com
Craig Morelli
Chip Ganassi Racing
+1 317 766 2202
cmorelli@ganassi.com
