Ford GT’s Racing Program Comes To An End After Petit Le Mans

Ford has ended its four-year racing campaign with the GT following the car’s outing at last weekend’s Petit Le Mans.

The Blue Oval went racing with the latest-generation GT with the aim of winning its class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016, exactly 50 years after its overall victory at the same endurance race way in 1966. The new GT claimed that coveted win and Ford proceeded to compete with factory support for four full seasons.

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While Ford did claim a class victory at Le Mans in 2016, it didn’t have everything its way. At the car’s debut during the Rolex 24 Hours in January 2016, both GTs entered by the factory team encountered a series of mechanical issues which saw them only finish 7th and 9th respectively. They also encountered problems at the 12 Hours of Sebring later on, before things turned around at Laguna Seca in May 2016.

“The GT program was intended to be a halo for the company in terms of what we do and what we’re capable of doing,” global director of Ford Performance motorsports Mark Rushbrook recently told Automotive News. “The race car element is the pinnacle of that, allowing us to put cars in front of fans around the world and prove we can compete against the best companies and win races and championships.”

Chip Ganassi Racing says it is open to a privately funded effort to compete in the GT in a future season of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.