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Ford GT “won on racecraft,” not performance breaks, says Ganassi chief

Chip Ganassi Racing team director Mike Hull says Balance of Performance changes is part of life in sportscar racing – but says the system opens up an unnecessary world of complication.

#66 Ford Performance Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Joey Hand, Dirk Müller

#66 Ford Performance Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Joey Hand, Dirk Müller

David Yowe

#67 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook
Mike Hull, Chip Ganassi Racing managing director
#66 Ford Performance Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Joey Hand, Dirk Müller
#66 Ford Performance Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Joey Hand, Dirk Müller
#66 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Joey Hand, Dirk Müller
#911 Porsche Team North America Porsche 911 RSR: Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet, #67 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook
Ryan Briscoe, Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT, Tommy Milner, Corvette Racing
#67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook

Following a victory for the Chip Ganassi Racing-run Ford GT of Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and a 1-2 for the Fords at Watkins Glen, IMSA added 15kg [33lbs] weight and restricted the turbo of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine. However, Westbrook and Briscoe and scored their third win on the bounce at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport), albeit as much by strategy as out-and-out pace.

In today’s qualifying session at Lime Rock, Westbrook put the #67 Ford on pole.

Said Hull: “We just do what we do, we just race the best way we can like we always do. And I don’t know that we’re any different than the other four manufacturers in the series in this category. Everybody races with the hand they’re dealt and tries to get the most out of the racecar on a given day. That’s what we do.

“We went through the same thing in Daytona Prototypes with first Lexus, then BMW and then Ford. When we started winning in 2005, that’s when everyone started getting after us. It’s just the nature of it.”

Hull went on: “My personal opinion is this: if they just had a set of rules and let the manufacturers do what they want to do within the confine of those rules, I seriously doubt the results would be any different in these races.

“And it would be a lot less work for the sanctioning body. It’s got to be painful for them to go through all the data, calculate the changes, and then field the phone calls from people complaining they’re being treated unfairly.

“The sanctioning body is saying, ‘We’re trying to save the manufacturers from themselves, spending so much money’ Are you kidding me? This is a serious class, they spend money here. So maybe just set the rules by fuel usage, and that’s it. That controls the speed right there. And it still allows the manufacturers to use their technology any way they want to. They can determine how much money they want to spend doing it.”

“The truth is, we won a couple of races on racecraft, not by having the out and out fastest car and I don’t know how they can police against that…” 

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