Three Ford GTs confirmed for Sebring

Published Mar. 4, 2017 1:34 p.m. ET

John Dagys

Ford has confirmed a third entry for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, in an attempt to sweep all three major endurance races in the span of 12 months.

Stefan Muecke, Olivier Pla and Billy Johnson will drive the No. 68 Ford GT in the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, alongside the two full-season cars of Joey Hand/Dirk Mueller and Ryan Briscoe/Richard Westbrook.

As was the case at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon will complete the lineups in the Nos. 66 and 67 entries, respectively.

“We wish we could send all four cars like we did at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, but the WEC cars will already be prepped for The Prologue test at Monza and the first race at Silverstone,” said Ford Performance Global Director Dave Pericak.

“Even though it’s impossible to bring all of our Ford GTs, we didn’t want to see this important opportunity to continue our cross-development pass us by.”

Ford heads into Sebring on the heels of GT Le Mans class victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, with Hand, Mueller and Bourdais, the same trio that claimed GTE-Pro honors in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year.

It therefore positions the manufacturer to potentially pull off the “triple crown” of endurance race wins, should one of its three entries visit victory lane at Sebring.

“This is another great opportunity for our WEC and IMSA teams to work together as the opportunity to data share is invaluable,” team owner Chip Ganassi said.

“There are not a lot of opportunities for us to get together so when we have the chance we will always try to take advantage of it. Plus, to be able to bring another car to a legendary endurance event like Sebring is something special to all of us.”