2016 Le Mans 24 hours: preview ~ station of gear

As Ford returns to Le Mans to battle Ferrari in the GT class, we talk to the Brits at the sharp end

2016-06-15 08:00

Exactly 50 years ago this month, the iconic Ford GT40 swept the board at Le Mans, finishing first, second and third in the 1966 running of the gruelling 24-hour event. This fulfilled a promise made by Henry Ford II to beat Enzo Ferrari’s machines on track, after the Italian blocked a planned Ford takeover of the company.

This year, Ford is back with a full works team and an all-new version of the GT, with a four-car armada bidding to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1966 Le Mans 24 hours race with another win.

But this time around, Ford isn’t shooting for overall victory, which is still going to be contested by Audi, Toyota and Porsche’s hybrid prototypes in the top LMP1 class.

Instead, the blue oval has entered the production-based GT class, where it’ll go toe-to-toe with old nemesis Ferrari (which has an all-new 488 racer this year) as well as legendary brands Aston Martin, Porsche and Corvette – all of which have won the GT class at Le Mans in the recent past.

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British drivers feature in all five teams, with one of the Fords boasting an all-British crew of Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell. The squad made a solid but relatively low-key start to its campaign in the Silverstone and Spa World Endurance Championship (WEC) races, leading rivals to suggest Ford hasn’t yet shown its full hand. Tincknell disagrees, however.

“This programme is all about Le Mans, that’s the one we want to win,” he told us at Spa. “It’s a brand-new car, so we’re still learning, but we’re getting faster every single session. Everyone keeps saying that we’re holding back, but I wish they could be in the car with me! I just drive as fast as possible and leave all the politics and whispering to everyone else. Ford wants to do this right, in the spirit of the race – we’re certainly not lifting off on the straight!”

There are definitely no half measures in Ford’s Le Mans effort, then, but the drivers are equally under no illusions about the level of competition they face.

“Every car in the class is a threat, I can’t pick any one,” says Franchitti. “They’re great manufacturers, with great teams and running great drivers. This is definitely no easy ride, but it’s fun to be involved with!”

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Ford GT Le Mans - Priaulx, Tincknell, Franchitti

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The challengers

Ferrari’s #51 entry dominated the GT class at Silverstone and Spa, with Brit Sam Bird and his Italian team-mate Davide Rigon winning both races. “Every team is being cautious and playing their hands close to their chest,” reckons Bird. “We won’t know the true Le Mans pace until qualifying.”

The Londoner insists that his focus is on ensuring Ferrari lifts the WEC manufacturers’ title, but he’s aware of the historic rivalry.

“I’d love to spoil it for Ford,” he says with a grin. “I haven’t won Le Mans yet and I’d love to do it in a Ferrari. Ford are looking for their history, but so am I. It’d be great for the new 488 to win its first Le Mans, too.”

In the other works Ferrari, James Calado was cruelly robbed of a win in Spa by a last-minute engine failure, but the ex-Force India F1 test driver remains confident he and his team-mates in the #71 car have the pace.

“As a team, we’re very strong now across both cars and it’s looking quite good,” he told us. “Ford was definitely playing games at Silverstone and Spa, so we could only take advantage! The car is a little different to drive now that the engine is turbocharged – it feels like the 458’s bigger brother.”

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Image 7 of 19

At Aston Martin, Darren Turner is back for his 14th Le Mans in a row. His co-driver of many years Stefan Mucke defected to Ford over the winter, so Turner has moved from the #97 to the #95 Vantage to join Danish duo Marco Sorensen and Nicki Thiim.

“The only real change is that Stefan and I were a similar size, but now I’ve to use a seat insert, so the driver changes are a little more complicated,” he said. “On the plus side, you have the huge Danish contingent at Le Mans, so it’s a very popular car!”

Turner reckons that Aston Martin can get in among the fight between Ford and Ferrari at the front of the field. “Last year wasn’t our best for various reasons, but in other years we’ve always been one of the front runners and had a decent chance of a podium or a win,” he added.

“Ferrari are looking very strong with the new car, Ford I don’t think have shown their hand and Corvette will come to Le Mans with a strong package.”

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Image 14 of 19

As well as Corvette, Porsche will have two works 911s, with last year’s overall winner Nick Tandy among the driving squad. But with an all-new 911 racer in development for 2017, many feel this may not be Porsche’s year.

Turner concluded: “I can’t see the race being any different this year from any other year: a full-on attack from the word go with everyone pushing as hard as they can.”

Oliver Jarvis interview

While Ford’s storied return to Le Mans has garnered plenty of attention in the run-up to this year’s race, competition in the top LMP1 hybrid class remains intense.

VW Group cuts following the emissions scandal saw Audi and Porsche reduce their entries from three to two cars this year, so last year’s victors Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber and Nico Hulkenberg aren’t defending their crown. Tandy and Bamber step down to the GT class, while F1 driver Hulkenberg is tied up at the Azerbaijan GP, which clashes.

At Audi, meanwhile, Oliver Jarvis is at the sharp end of efforts to wrest the Le Mans trophy back from sister brand Porsche. With Allan McNish’s retirement in 2013, the 32-year-old graduate from the DTM and GT ranks became the brand’s top British driver.

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He contested Le Mans as a one-off in 2013 and 2014, finishing third both times, before tackling the full World Endurance Championship (WEC) season in 2015.

This year, along with co-drivers Lucas di Grassi and Loic Duval, Jarvis scored his first victory in top-level prototype racing at the Spa Six Hours in Belgium last month.

“It was great to get that win, it’s been a long time coming,” Jarvis told us last week. “We’ve had races in the past where we probably deserved to win, but we were unlucky. This time we didn’t quite have the pace, but luck was on our side, so we really hope that signals the start of our season and a change in fortunes.”

Following the Spa win, the #8 car’s run of form continued at the Le Mans test day, where it went fastest overall.

“We had a very promising test day,” said Jarvis. “It’s always nice just to drive the circuit, but to get a full day of dry running with very few red flags is quite rare and to end the event fastest was a huge boost. It just gives us that little bit more momentum heading into race week.”

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Image 18 of 19

Yet while Audi was quickest, analysis of the best individual sector times set by each car reveal the gap to Porsche at the front of the field to be almost nothing.

And after a poor 2015, Toyota has been stronger this year, leading at Spa before hitting mechanical trouble. Jarvis reckons the pressure is starting to show as all three manufacturers push to the limit.

“Reliability is playing a bigger role this year than previously, we’ve seen that already at Silverstone and Spa,” he told us. “In recent seasons, most of the LMP1 cars have made it to the finish without issue, whereas this year it’s not clear where everyone stands in that respect.” On pace, too, the prototype runners are pushing the limit, with last year’s record pole position time likely to be matched or bettered, despite the hybrid cars’ fuel use being further restricted for 2016.

“It’s going to be very close,” continued Jarvis. “In the morning at the test, four tenths covered the first four cars around a 13.6-kilometre circuit – unbelievable when you consider they were in GT traffic as well.

“In the afternoon, the six works cars were covered by about two seconds. When you factor in tyre and fuel strategies, that’s nothing – we’re in for a fantastic race.”

Who do you think will win the LMP1 and GT classes at Le Mans? Let us know below...

Stephen Errity

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