FORD GTs TAKE MOMENTUM TO SHANGHAI

October 31, 2016 by Ford

• Ford Chip Ganassi Racing to take momentum from Fuji victory to Shanghai

• Penultimate round of the 2016 World Endurance Championship this Sunday

SHANGHAI, China, Oct. 31, 2016 – Fresh from the perfect weekend crowned with victory in Japan, the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing team travels to Shanghai in China this week for the penultimate round of the 2016 FIA Word Endurance Championship.

Located in China's commercial and financial capital, the Shanghai International Circuit is a modern race track, shaped to mimic the Chinese character 'shang', which means 'above' ('hai' means 'sea', hence the name of the city). The demanding, technical track features tricky, twisting turns connected by high-speed straights.

'We were very pleased to take the first WEC team win at Fuji,' said George Howard-Chappell, WEC Team Principal. 'Every member of the team delivered and it got us the result we wanted. We go to Shanghai hopeful of another good showing. The circuit in Fuji really suited our car and the Michelin tyres worked very well on the Fuji surface. It remains to be seen if we will be quite as well off in Shanghai but we will be exploiting every bit of the Ford GT's performance to try to get another great result.'

Andy Priaulx and newly crowned European Le Mans Series LMP2 Champion Harry Tincknell took the #67 Ford GT to victory last time out. The Shanghai track is new to them, but so was Fuji and that didn't slow them down!

'I haven't been to Shanghai before so it's new territory for me,' Priaulx said. 'Having said that, Fuji was a new one for me and I was quickest in the first free practice session so the fact it is a new track for me won't hold me back. I'll do some simulator work, along with Harry, before we go to China and hopefully we will be able to build on the performance we had in Fuji. We're feeling positive and looking forward to getting on track in Shanghai. If we can repeat our performance from Fuji and nail all those pit stops again I think we will be competitive.'

Olivier Pla was the fastest man in GTE qualifying at Fuji. Pole position and second place in the race for him and his teammate, Stefan Mücke, has fired up the Frenchman for Shanghai.

'I've raced in Shanghai on three occasions and I won there in 2014 while racing in the LMP2 class,' Pla said. 'I really like the circuit as it has a good mixture of fast and technical corners and I think it will be a good track for the Ford GT. Our goal is to continue on the same dynamic as Fuji as the result there was very important for Ford and the people inside the team who work so hard. We all feel very confident and we are going to go for it 100 per cent.'

The first free practice session gets underway in Shanghai on Friday, Nov. 4 at 10:00 local time (03:00 CET) with further sessions taking place on Friday at 15:30 (08:30 CET) and Saturday, Nov. 5 at 09:00 (02:00 CET). Qualifying is on Saturday at 13:30 (06:30 CET) and the lights go green for the 6 Hours of Shanghai at 11:00 (04:00 CET) on Sunday, Nov. 6.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is a global automotive and mobility company based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 203,000 employees and 62 plants worldwide, the company's core business includes designing, manufacturing, marketing and servicing a full line of Ford cars, trucks and SUVs, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. To expand its business model, Ford is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities with investments in electrification, autonomy and mobility. Ford provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products and services, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 53,000 employees at its wholly owned facilities and approximately 68,000 people when joint ventures and unconsolidated businesses are included. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 24 manufacturing facilities (16 wholly owned or consolidated joint venture facilities and 8 unconsolidated joint venture facilities). The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.

About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams

Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, two cars in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, two factory Ford GT's in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, two factory Ford GT's in the FIA World Endurance Championship and two Supercars in Red Bull Global Rallycross. Overall his teams have 18 championships and over 170 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400, a Le Mans 24 Hours, six Rolex 24 At Daytonas and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn. For more information log onto: www.chipganassiracing.com

Photo credit: Ford
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