Ford Wins Class at 24 Hours of LeMans, Swaps Protests with Ferrari
The 2016 24 Hours of LeMans was held last week, and the biggest news of the race — other than Toyota snatching defeat from the jaws of victory with mere minutes to go, letting Porsche get the overall win — was that Ford and their Ford GT racing effort managed to finish 1st, 3rd, and 4th in the GT Pro class, besting formidable factory teams from Ferrari and Corvette Racing.
Ferrari filed a protest with the governing body of the race over a Ford GT going to fast through a slow zone, while Ford counter-protested about incorrect market lights on a Ferrari Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE. Both racing teams were penalized, but the standings remained the same, and still resulted in the first win at LeMans for Ford since the epic 1-2-3 sweep of the original Ford GT in the 1996 24 Hour of LeMans, which happened exactly 50 years ago.
The qualifying portion of the race also wasn’t without drama, as the Ford and Ferrari teams were accused of sandbagging during qualifying, meaning that the always robust Corvette and Aston-Martin efforts were at a disadvantage.
While drama will always be an inherent part of motorsport, we have to admit that it was nice to see Ford return to LeMans after such a long absence. Want more proof why the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the best event in motorsport, and you should be watching every year? Just listen to the auditory bliss of each of the four different car classes prepping for Le Mans in the video clip below and try to justify not watching — and listening — to such an incredible spectacle of automotive delights.
