Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK have every reason to be satisfied with that result. For their first outing in Europe, the team did very well. There is no shame in conceding to AF Corse’s two Ferrari 488 GTEs and the #95 Aston Martin Vantage V8. Franchitti, Priaulx and Tincknell in the #67 finished ahead of Johnson, Mücke and Pla in the #66. The Ford GTs still lack a little speed, but they have made great progress since the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Stefan Mücke banked the best race lap time for the constructor, clocking 2:01.214 on the second lap. However, the new GT has a way to go to equal the #51 Ferrari 488’s 1:58.885. All the same, each car covered almost 1,000 kilometres in the six hours, which is precious race experience in preparation for the big one, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “We’re very happy that the car ran well mechanically. We had a couple of issues; we were caught out on safety car timing and we lost radio with Olivier (Pla) towards the end of the race, which had an impact on strategy. This is a great start though and a good stepping stone to the Le Mans 24 Hours”, said Ford director Raj Nair.

 

Wrapping up the day at @silverstonecircuit #6hsilverstone. We qualified 3rd and 4th for our first @fiawec_official race. #fordsofinstagram #fordgt #FordWEC

Une photo publiée par Ford Performance (@fordperformance) le 16 Avril 2016 à 12h52 PDT

The variations in track temperature over the six hours meant the race provided the ideal conditions to test tyres. Drivers did double stints, enabling both cars to stay in the race despite their slower pace. Andy Priaulx confirmed the positive attitude that reigns in the Ford camp: “We can drive the Ford GT with confidence and combined with our strategy this makes us strong”.

All that remains then, is to shave a few tenths off those lap times.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA came fourth in the BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach in California. Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook in the #67 missed the podium, finishing behind a Ferrari 488 GTE, the Corvette C7.R and the winning Porsche 911 RSR. The Long Beach road race is a one-hour, forty-minute sprint rather than an endurance race, but as Ford driver Dirk Müller says, it still provides “useful data for Le Mans”.

FORD A STEP CLOSER TO LE MANS This weekend, the 6 Hours of Silverstone staged Ford's debut in the World Endurance Championship (WEC). After the first round, the GTs stand in fourth and fifth place. More:24h-lemans.com/en/ WEC et Le Mans - Ford progresse sur sa route vers les 24 Heures du Mans 2016 Ford faisait