Art.Nr. 23893
The catalog lists the new part number 23892 as Ford GT Race Car No. 69.
The correct designation would be GT Ford EcoBoost 3.5L Turbo V6 “Team FORD Chip Ganassi USA.”
CHIP GANASSI RACING is a U.S. racing team based in Concord, North Carolina.
It was founded by the race car driver of the same name, Chip GANASSI, who entered the CHAMP CAR series in 1981 and competed five times in the Indianapolis 500. After being forced to end his career due to injury, he bought into the PATRICK team in 1988; a few years later, he founded his own racing team, with which he competes in NASCAR, the INDY Racing League, and the Champ Car Series.
By the way, there are two GANASSI teams: Team USA and Team UK (the British division).
The Ford with start number 69 is part of the U.S. team and competed in the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans. The drivers were Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, and Richard Westbrook. The paint scheme on this car was inspired by the design of the Ford GT40, which finished second at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the American brand’s three-peat. I like the red stripes against the very subtle light blue of the paint job.
Ryan Briscoe qualified the No. 69 Ford GT in 38th place with a time of 3:49.546. Apart from a spin by Richard Westbrook in the Dunlop chicane, the race went smoothly; the car finished 24th overall and sixth in the LM GTE Pro class. This put him one spot ahead of his brand colleague from the English team, the No. 66 car, which CARRERA also has in its lineup this year.
As for the model’s handling, I refer you to the test reports on previous versions: The FORD handles really well, but compared to the competition, it’s just a bit too heavy to be truly competitive. That said, the body offers plenty of opportunities to shave some weight off. And when it’s racing against other GTs, that doesn’t matter anyway.
CoMod Lotus
