European manufacturers have been running a monopoly on Motorsport championships since the glory days of Bugatti and it’s Type 37 as well as Alfa Romeo and their Ferrari driven 8C of the 1930’s. While American automakers have always been relevant in talks of performance on a global scale, they haven’t been able to prove their worthiness where it really counts; the track. Aside from Ford’s Le Mans victories that spanned from 1966-1969, the Europeans have written off American race cars as excessively brash and unsophisticated when compared to their own examples; however, GM and Ford are now making the rest of the field reconsider their opinions of Detroit.


The fabled story of Ford’s victory over Ferrari in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans has been put on repeat in recent months leading up to this year’s race. With Ford bringing back the GT this season some fifty years after its famous win, the media has been all over the boys at Chip Ganassi Racing. Coverage of the team has been full of analytical tidbits as well as stratospherically high standards that the new GT must live up to. This has brought about a whole new excitement to American Motorsport; one that has not been present since the days of Carroll Shelby and Henry Ford II.


Since the road going version of the GT was displayed nearly a year ago, Ford made it clear that their purpose was to go racing. The revamping of the company’s pioneering image has brought a particular aura that’s been lacking in the states for years. Gone are the days of unbalanced muscle cars that couldn’t stand on their own two feet at the sight of a canyon corner. Hell, Ford makes a Mustang with a flat plane crank and magnetic suspension! That’s beside the point, though. Ford’s continued support of smaller displacement and higher volumetric efficiency has carried over to the GT’s 3.5L twin turbo EcoBoost V6. With air being fed to those turbochargers through integrated buttresses on the car’s rear haunches, the Ford’s pedigree can be clearly seen by everyday people and enthusiasts alike. Ford is referenced saying that the race car is eerily similar to the road car with the only differences being small adjustments to meet FIA standards like fixed aero pieces. Out of all the freshly introduced Ford performance products like the Focus RS and Shelby GT350R, the GT has had the largest share of racing influence and purpose; understandably so as it is the company’s flagship spectacle.


With Le Mans taking place this weekend, both Ford and GM must take into account all of their experiences from the season to capitalize on what is undoubtedly the most critical race of the year. The GT’s spotlight has been consistently growing as time advances, leading to all of its successes, as well as failures, being publicized. Ford’s racing team experienced bashing woes at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, ending in an embarrassing finish for the pony-boys of endurance racing. Results improved at the 12 Hours of Sebring, one of the season’s most challenging races, but the No. 66 and No. 67 GT racers both fell short of a podium finish. This allowed for Chevrolet’s Corvette C7.R group to swoop in as the bad-news victors. Repeated victories of the C7.R over the GT have played a significant role in the outlooks of both teams with Chevrolet wanting to continue their dominating performances and Ford striving to prove that they are worth the noise they’ve created.


The GT has gained momentum as it achieved a pole position in the race around Le Mans, but that is not to discredit the ability of Team Corvette’s car or drivers. Also, the prancing horse Italians refuse to be forgotten with their turbocharged Ferrari 488 GTE that competes in the same class as the GT and C7.R. With controversy of the GT and Ferrari sandbagging their qualifying laps, they have both been taken down a notch while the Corvette team has been awarded a larger fuel capacity (upped 2.0 liters from previous amount) as well as a marginal increase in boost pressure from its restrictor. These changes will surely make a difference, but the end result will come down to the reliability of the cars, moxy of the drivers, and luck of the draw.


As the end draws nigh for these teams, the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans is potentially promising to bring American automakers to a higher pinnacle than ever before. For the first time in fifty years, Detroit has brought a trump deck to the table that may bring home a second Le Mans championship to the glorious USofA. The presence of Ganassi’s team is unparalleled, but Corvette’s race proven experience gives them the upperhand in a variety of crucial fields. Opinions differ, but this year’s French battle will go down as one of the most significant races since the days of Ickx, Stewart, and Bell.


Photos courtesy of Hot Rod Magazine, Car and Driver, and Motor Trend.