Chip Ganassi is heading an armada of four Ford GTs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in what is undoubtedly the biggest challenge of his career as a team owner. He will also be resuming his own Le Mans story, which began in 1987 at the wheel of a Sauber-Mercedes shared with New Zealander Mike Thackwell and Scot Johnny Dumfries (who would go on to win the 24 Hours with Jaguar in 1988). Unfortunately, they didn’t make it to the chequered flag. “I wanted to be back here at Le Mans,” Ganassi states immediately. “But the thing for me was to come back with the right auspices, the right team, the right company, the right drivers, the right engine builder, the right tyres, and the right attitude. The Ford opportunity presented itself and filled all these boxes.”

Fast forward a quarter of a century and Chip Ganassi has become one of the most powerful team bosses in American motorsport, with numerous victories at all of the major US races, including the the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona.. He believes the ups and downs of his career have all been valuable: “In motor racing, they say that you must learn how to lose before you learn how to win. We have had some success, but we have also had some failures as well.”

Nonetheless, his list of triumphs is as compelling as the man himself and leaves no doubt as to his ambitions at Le Mans, a very different challenge to those he has met in the United States over the past 25 years. “Here in Europe and at Le Mans, it is often company vs. company, and the WEC is a kind of industry-important championship.” affirms Chip Ganassi.

The Ford entry has raised a great deal of interest on the American motor racing scene: “We’ve received a lot of different reactions but they were all positive. When people talk about Ford in the sixties, they mention the track, cars, times, the Ford vs. Ferrari story, but the constant thing through the discussions is passion. The passion about sport comes out in each conversation.” The exploits of Chip Ganassi and his squad are sure to thrill not only American sports fans but racing enthusiasts the world over. Things have certainly got off to a good start for them at Le Mans as the team will be starting out from the LM GTE pole position.

Photo: For Chip Ganassi’s first 24 Hours of Le Mans as team owner, the Ford GT driven by Joey Hand, Dirk Müller and Sébastien Bourdais has taken pole in the LM GTE Pro class.

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