
Carrera DIGITAL 124 Ford GT Race Car
Carrera DIGITAL 124 Ford GT Race Car

Item No. 23893
In the test report for item no. 23892, I already pointed out that the Ford GT Race Car No. 66 actually has a different name (Ford GT Ecoboost 3.5L Turbo V6 "Team FORD Chip Ganassi USA") and what kind of team it is (CHIP GANASSI RACING).
The number 66 car in question was driven by the English GANASSI team in 2019. The car, in this livery, participated in the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans. The drivers were Stefan MÜCKE, Olivier PLA, and Billy JOHNSON. The GT finished seventh in the LM GTE Pro class, just behind the aforementioned number 69.
The light blue Ford sported a livery reminiscent of the Ford GT40 shared by 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours winners Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. The No. 69 ECOBOOST qualified 37th with a time of 3:49.511, achieved by Stefan Mücke in the third lap. Although the No. 66 Ford GT struggled to find the right pace early in the race, the driver and mechanics pulled together, and the car crossed the finish line in 25th place overall and seventh in the LM GTE-Pro class.
A few more words about the FORD GT in general:
The Ford GT marked the end of an era for Ford Performance Motorsports when it crossed the finish line for the last time in December 2019 at the ROAD ALTANTA race track in Georgia, USA. Racing has been a core part of Ford's history since the company was founded over 100 years ago, when Henry Ford's victories on the track attracted investors. But this closes only one chapter in Ford's ongoing assault on the racing record books. It will be interesting to see what Ford does next. The company plans to focus its motorsport efforts on hybrid and electric vehicles, among other areas.
As the standard-bearer of Ford's international racing efforts over the past four years, the GT earned its place in the history books in 2016 when it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in its first outing—exactly 50 years after its GT40 ancestor shocked the racing world by beating Ferrari for the overall victory in the 1966 race. The story is legendary, most recently captured in the 2020 film "Le Mans 66: Against All Odds."
Since 2016, the mid-engined, carbon-fiber GT—the most advanced sports car ever to bear the famous FORD badge—has raced around the globe in the IMSA Weathertech and Endurance World Championships. It has won 19 races and taken home the prestigious IMSA Manufacturers' Championship in 2018. It has also helped sell 1,350 production GTs for princely sums starting at $500,000 to enthusiasts and collectors eager to own a piece of history.
The end of the Ford GT racing program also coincides with the end of the production car program. All 1,350 Ford GTs, manufactured by the Multimatic racing shop outside Toronto, have already been allocated. The last GT will roll off the assembly line in 2022—and enter the history books.
CoMod Lotus