{"id":497018,"date":"2017-10-01T03:57:53","date_gmt":"2017-10-01T10:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=51139"},"modified":"2025-01-06T00:24:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T00:24:26","slug":"route-66-part","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/route-66-part\/","title":{"rendered":"Route to \u201966 – Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fifty years after its first victory, to the day, Ford returned to Le Mans and won again, this time in the GTE Pro class with its EcoBoost GT piloted by S\u00e9bastien Bourdais, Joey Hand and Dirk M\u00fcller. Unlike 1966, Ferrari pushed them all the way this time, and by finishing 2nd the Ferrari 488GTE of Giancarlo Fisichella, Toni Vilander and Mateo Malucelli managed to rob the blue oval of a 1-2-3 finish. \u201cFord\u2019s latest GT was optimized not only for its class, but particularly to win at Le Mans,\u201d said Raj Nair, Ford\u2019s chief technical officer.\u00a0 \u201cWe had some false starts and would have preferred to run the car in 2015 and then really make a run for the 2016 50th anniversary win, but we didn\u2019t get the program approved in time.\u201d Nair\u2019s admission hints at the problems of working within a giant corporation with its multiple layers of administration hampering communication and delaying development, something that came close to ruining Ford\u2019s original Le Mans effort 50 years before.<\/p>\n

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Colotti gearbox was first-generation GT40\u2019s Achilles heel.\u00a0Photo: Courtesy Ford Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the mid 1960s (1964-\u201967) the Ford Motor Company invested $25-plus million into its GT racing program and all because Signor Ferrari had said, \u201cNo!\u201d At least, that\u2019s how history portrays it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n