Race Ready

Want to see the Ford GT race next year? Here’s its complete schedule

By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company

It’s certainly good karma that Scott Pruett piloted the Ford Daytona Prototype to both the pole and a win at the Lone Star Le Mans race at the Circuit of Americas in Austin, Texas. That’s because a version of the same six-cylinder EcoBoost engine that powers that car will propel the new Ford Performance Ford GT racer into competition at home and abroad, including and appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in June of 2016.

“We believe the Ford GT’s advances in aerodynamics, light-weighting and EcoBoost power will make for a compelling race car that can once again compete on a global stage,” Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development and chief technical officer, said. “The same spirit that drove the innovation behind the first Ford GT still drives us as a company today. Let the racing begin!”

With 2016 being the 50^th anniversary of the historic 1-2-3 at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, there’s obviously a good reason for Ford to return to the world stage with the all-new Ford GT. Of course, you might not be able to make it to Le Mans, but if you still want to see this EcoBoost racer do its thing, you will have a chance to see it compete in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

That’s pretty exciting stuff, and Ford has just released a video announcing its appearances across the world…

If you want to mark your calendars, we have the Ford GT’s full racing schedule here. As you know, it will make its racing debut with IMSA in January of 2016, and here is the full IMSA schedule:

2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Schedule

• January 30-31: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida**
• March 19: Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida**
• April 16: Long Beach Street Circuit, Long Beach, California (WeatherTechChampionship Prototype (P), Prototype Challenge (PC) and GT Le Mans (GTLM) only)
• May 1: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California
• June 4: Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Michigan (P, PC and GT Daytona (GTD) only)
• July 3: Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York**
• July 10: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
• July 23: Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Connecticut (PC, GTLM and GTD only)
• August 7: Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
• August 21: Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia (GTLM and GTD only)
• September 17: Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas
• October 1: Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia**

The GT will compete in nine races across four continents and make its international racing debut before Le Mans. Here is the Ford GT’s full FIA schedule, including a race in Mexico that has yet to be confirmed:

2016 FIA World Endurance Championship Provisional Calendar

• March 25-26: The Prologue, Circuit Paul Ricard, France
• April 17: 6 Hours of Silverstone, Great Britain
• May 7: WEC 6 Hours of Spa, Belgium
• June 5: 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day
• June 18-19: 24 Hours of Le Mans, France
• July 24: 6 Hours of Nürburgring, Germany
• September 4: 6 Hours of Mexico City, Mexico (TBC)
• September 17: 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas (Lone Star Le Mans), U.S.
• October 16: 6 Hours of Fuji, Japan
• November 6: 6 Hours of Shanghai, China
• November 19: 6 Hours of Bahrain, Bahrain

We know that the Chip Ganassi Racing will run the Ford GT racing program, but the drivers will be announced at a later date.

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