Ford extends its racing programme until 2019

Following its 1-3-4 finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans just over a fortnight ago, Ford has confirmed that its racing programme will continue until at least the end of 2019.

When Ford unveiled the racing spec GT back in January, the plan had been to compete in the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship for just two seasons.

However, success on the track has reassured company bosses that the programme has a long-term future.

“We wanted to make sure everyone knows that we are committed to sports car racing globally with WEC and IMSA,” said Ford exec Raj Nair. “The stated goal of our Ford GT program was to win Le Mans, and we're very proud that we were able to do that in our first year. To commit to a full, four-year assault on both the IMSA and WEC championships shows how serious we are about taking Ford GT racing around the world.”

He added that competing in the two series would allow Ford to improve its EcoBoost engines whilst also making strides with aerodynamics and lightweight materials.

Meanwhile, Ford Performance director Dave Pericak believes that the extension sends “an important message to the industry”.

“But we remain committed to doing racing the right way,” he continued. “Developing the GT production car and the race car at the same time has been a challenging task for everyone, but it has also showed how the production vehicle side and racing side of Ford Performance can work together to benefit everyone.”

First deliveries of the road car are expected later this year. We’d be counting down the days if we knew the exact date...