Marino Franchitti, Stefan Mücke, Olivier Pla and Andy Priaulx will race the latest Ford GT – not GT40 since the latest car is not 40-inches high – in FIA World Endurance Championship for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing. Ford is running two cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship in Europe and two in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the U.S. All of the GT’s will be at Circuit de la Sarthe close to the village of Le Mans, France for an endurance race that has been run since 1923. Fifty years later this could be a rerun of a classic duel with Ferrari.
The intention is for the two endurance racing teams to come together in June for a four-car effort at arguably the most famous endurance race in the world, the Le Mans 24 Hours, fifty years after Ford’s historic 1-2-3 finish in France. The FIA WEC will visit a another three locations in Europe: Silverstone (UK), Nürburgring (Germany) and Spa (Belgium).
Briton Marino Franchitti is an endurance-specialist and has raced at Le Mans five times. Stefan Mücke, from Germany, knows what it takes to make it onto the podium at Le Mans. Frenchman, Olivier Pla, also has driving experience in WEC. Briton Andy Priaulx is a three-time FIA World Touring Car Champion the Nürburgring 24 Hours – and stood on the podium at Le Mans.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
