Ford GT to make Japanese debut this weekend

The Ford GT will make its first ever appearance in Japan this weekend when the two Ford Chip Ganassi Racing GTs compete in Round Seven of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji Speedway.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship concluded recently with the #67 Ford GT taking the runner up spot in the driver’s and teams’ championship and Ford taking second place in the battle of the manufacturers.

With just three more WEC rounds remaining it is vital to score points at each round of the championship in order to finish the Ford GT’s first season in the WEC on a strong note.

“It was great to see the IMSA Ford Chip Ganassi Racing team fight until the end at Petit Le Mans,” said Dave Pericak, Ford Performance global director. “The second place finish is a fantastic way to end our debut season with the Ford GT in North America. We have three races left for the Ford GT in 2016 and we are going to give it everything we’ve got in Japan, China and Bahrain to finish off the WEC season.”

#66 Ford GT to be raced by Stefan Mücke and Olivier Pla

The #66 Ford GT will be raced at the ‘6 Hours of Fuji’ by its regular crew of Germany’s Stefan Mücke and Frenchman Olivier Pla. Currently in sixth place in the driver’s championship, the duo will be on the hunt for the points they need to pull them up the order.

“I'm really looking forward to Fuji and to Japan,” Mücke said. “It is a very interesting track and I really enjoy the culture of the country. Fuji is a challenging circuit as you have a very long straight, a high-speed middle section and a technical last section. Finding the right set up and compromise is one of the main targets during the practice sessions but I'm pretty sure the corners will suit our car. I can't wait to get out there and fight for a podium result.”

#67 Ford GT to be raced by Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell

In the #67 Ford GT, Britons Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell are also looking for a good finish to move them up from ninth place in the driver’s championship standings.

“This will be my first time at Fuji but I’ve done my homework on the simulator,” Tincknell said. “The first two sectors are quite high speed so that should really suit the Ford GT. It looks like a really flowing track and that should play to our strengths. I'm setting a personal target of three podiums in the last three races and obviously that starts at Fuji. We're going for the win absolutely but we need that consistency of three strong results to finish the season.”

The 6 Hours of Fuji takes place at 11:00 local time (04:00 CET) on Sunday, Oct. 16, with a 20-minute qualifying session getting underway at 14:00 local time (07:00 CET) on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Ford Chip Ganassi Racing