Why Ford’s plans for a new chapter in its Le Mans story make so much sense

America’s love affair with the Le Mans 24 Hours still burns bright. It has endured for more than 60 years and is a big reason why a manufacturer that has had so much to do with propelling the French enduro into the consciousness of a continent is going back in pursuit of outright victory after a long absence.

Ford will return to Le Mans in the prototype ranks from 2027 with an LMDh contender, bidding to repeat its successes of the 1960s when it won the French enduro four times on the trot in the last years of the decade. The race, says company head honcho Bill Ford, means more to Ford than any other.

That’s a big statement from a manufacturer that has enjoyed so much success in so many motorsport arenas — Formula 1 included, albeit only as an engine supplier. But it indicates how embedded Le Mans is in the psyche of Ford’s senior management in the present era.

If you doubt that, think back to its GTE Pro class victory in 2016 in the maiden season of the Ford GT. The Blue Oval was desperate to win the category in what was the 50th anniversary year of its first outright victory in ’66 with the Shelby American-run MkII shared by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. Tales of high-ranking figures from the company stomping up to race control to complain that the Ferrari with which it was battling had inoperative race leader lights — the illuminations that show if a car is in the top three – are almost certainly true.

Ford didn’t win GTE Pro again, but it did celebrate its rich history at Le Mans in the final year of the programme in 2019. Three of its four entries ran in retro liveries paying homage to its contenders from the 1960s, the fourth in the colours of its 2016 class winner.

Coincidentally, 2019 was the year of the release of Ford v Ferrari, known as Le Mans ’66 in some markets. If anyone at or near the top of the Ford hierarchy didn’t know the story behind its Le Mans successes of 40 years previous, they did after watching the movie. Or at least Hollywood’s version of it.

It hasn’t always been that way. Ford suggests in the announcement of what will be a belated entry into the LMDh ranks that it has never challenged for outright Le Mans honours in the years since ’69. It insists that its focus has been on class wins, referencing the Ford GT and its current involvement in the LMGT3 category with its Mustang. That’s not correct.

It conveniently overlooks the Ford C100 of the early ’80s, a car that flew the flag for the brand as a factory entry at Le Mans only once in 1982. It’s an arguably forgettable machine; an underachiever that started life as a Group 6 car and became a Group C was blighted by internal company politics.

Just when it looked like it might come good with a third generation of car designed by Tony Southgate for 1983, the project was canned. What might have been possible is clear to see: a line of Southgate-penned V12 TWR Jaguars went on to take most of the big prizes on offer in sportscar racing, Le Mans included.

Nor should it be forgotten that Ford has won Le Mans outright in the years since ’69. Twice in fact, but only as an engine supplier. The ubiquitous Ford Cosworth DFV powered the Gulf Mirage GR8 Group 6 roadster that triumphed in 1975 and the winning Rondeau M379B coupe in 1980.

What better way for Ford to cement its position in the Le Mans history books by going back to renew battle with Ferrari, but also Porsche, BMW, Toyota et al?

They weren’t Ford factory projects. In fact, Cosworth boss Keith Duckworth was openly hostile to the DFV’s use by John Wyer’s Gulf-backed team. He believed that the inherent vibrations from the engine made it unsuitable for endurance racing.

“I wouldn’t go lad,” were Duckworth’s words, it’s said, when Wyer told him of his plans to put one in the back of his new car for Le Mans. Wyer had to heed his words initially: the new M6 was scratched from the 24 Hours in 1972 because it was still shaking itself to pieces.

Sportscar racing is much stronger now than in the mid to late-1970s, a time of weak grids and poor spectator attendances at Le Mans. It’s also in much ruder health now than it was when the Ford GT race programme ended after four seasons in 2019. The branch of the sport I have followed for more than 30 years is on the up, and then some. Ford will become the 10th manufacturer racing in the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class, presuming, of course, that all those currently signed up hang around until 2027.

What better way for Ford to cement its position in the Le Mans history books by going back to renew battle with Ferrari, but also Porsche, BMW, Toyota et al? What’s more, in developing an LMDh prototype, Ford can slot straight into the IMSA SportsCar Championship in its homeland.

Ford returned to Le Mans last year in the LMGT3 ranks, earning a podium with partner squad Proton, and will now take on the leading Hypercar manufacturers

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

There was no mention of IMSA on the announcement of Ford’s bid for Le Mans victory number five. It appears it didn’t want to dilute the message about its return to the Circuit de la Sarthe. Its statement was light on detail, but included words from all three of the wise men of the WEC, Pierre Fillon, president of Le Mans organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, FIA Endurance Commission head Richard Mille and series boss Frederic Lequien. That is significant.

But it can be taken as read that Ford will race its new prototype in its backyard, perhaps not in year one in ’27 but surely from the season after. After all, Ford has more recent history at the top table of North American sportscar racing than in Europe: that includes the Mustang and Probe GTP IMSA racers of the 1980s and, more recently, the EcoBoost Daytona Prototype engine programme that yielded a Daytona 24 Hours victory with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2015.

That ability to race the same car in both WEC and IMSA is what makes sportscar racing so attractive for manufacturers right now. They can compete for victory at all the big races, Le Mans, Daytona and the Sebring 12 Hours, as well as two major championships, at a reasonable cost with a single design. This duality is the foundation of what I am going to have to call a golden era. A cliche, I know, but there is no better term for it.

The budgets stretching well north of the 100 million mark – in pounds, euros, dollars or whatever – of the LMP1 era that preceded the current one are a thing of the past. I’ve even been told by someone who should know that Peugeot is spending less today than it was 30 years ago when it twice won Le Mans with the 905 3.5-litre Group C car. Sportscar racing today represents good value for money.

It all stacks up to make a compelling case for Ford to return to the party at Le Mans and beyond. It can justify adding a programme at the pinnacle of sportscar racing to an already broad global motorsport footprint. That’s even at a time when it is ending its absence from F1 via its partnership with Red Bull from 2026. Why its decision has taken so long isn’t clear: it has been known to have been evaluating a Hypercar/GTP project for some time.

But there’s more to Ford’s decision than numbers on a spreadsheet. There’s an emotional pull in taking it back to Le Mans in an attempt to rekindle its 1960s glories. You could definitely call it love.

Foyt and Gurney won Le Mans outright in 1967 aboard a GT40 – can Ford emulate that when it returns 60 years on in 2027?

Photo by: Motorsport Images