Photo of the day: Four Ford GTs at Le Mans

Half a century has passed since the GT40 locked out the podium at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the anniversary has prompted Ford to celebrate the only way it knows how: by racing.

The four GTs pictured above will contest the 2016 edition of the infamous endurance event this weekend, lining up against 56 other cars at Circuit de La Sarthe.

However, a lot has changed in 50 years. While ‘66 began a run four consecutive race wins there’ll be no repeat of those overall victories this time round. Unless, of course, an almighty accident wipes out every prototype car on the track...

Instead, the GTs will be competing against Ferraris, Porsches, Corvettes and Aston Martins in the GTE Pro class, possibly the most closely matched category of all in the World Endurance Championship this season.

Less than two seconds split the field at last week’s test event. Over 24 hours, it could be anyone’s race.