Yahoo Autos How It Felt to Drive a Ford GT in the 24 Hours of Le Mans
So another Le Mans 24 hours is in the books and what a result for Ford to win on our comeback to this great race. The guys in the 68 did a fantastic job all week and the crew was absolutely flawless to run almost the perfect race and pull off the win. And it was a fantastic performance from the whole team to have the strength in depth to get all cars home with the 69 in 3rd, 66 4th and "my" 67 9th. It was safe to say the party on the Sunday night went well into the "wee hours" as my teammate Marino Franchitti would say.
Unfortunately for Marino, Andy and myself, the 67 car suffered a couple of issues which took us out of contention for the win and very much into a supporting role for the other three cars. We had a gearbox pressure issue on the way to the grid, which meant Andy was stuck in 3rd gear, and seeing the car wheeled off the grid before the start was one of the most gutting sights I've had in my career.
The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing guys managed to do a quick fix to get the car out only two laps down as the race had started under Safety Car conditions. That would have given us a chance to come back, but quick fixes are really not what you need for a 24 hour race. We were soon back in for lengthy repairs which meant we were around 25 laps down on the leaders before we could rejoin the race.
I was in the back of the garage staring at the car in disbelief as the 67 crew went to work repairing the gearbox issues with guys from the 66, 68 and 69 helping in whatever way they could. But then one of the most famous people in the whole world walked in to our garage: Brad Pitt. At that moment I didn't feel like talking to anyone but I thought to myself, I will eventually get over not winning Le Mans in 2016, but would I ever get over not chatting to Brad Pitt when I had the opportunity? All I can say is that he was one of the friendliest people I met all week and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. He asked me what the issue was with the car and put his arm round my shoulder and said thanked me for talking to him since he thought I "must be crying inside." He wasn't wrong. I asked if he fancied doing a "Patrick Dempsey" and while he didn't sound like he had any plans to pull a helmet on competitively, the hints of a film on Le Mans would be truly awesome if they came true!
Back to the race and I was massively proud of the whole team for their efforts to get the car back on track. We were really flying once the car was running on song. The biggest asset of the Ford team is how hard we work collectively to get the right result. Now this is great PR line for media interviews (and dare I say it, magazine columns!) but I was proud to be able to help the other three cars by giving them as much information as we could.
During the race we tried different downforce, tire, brake and pit stop strategies to give the other three cars all the evidence they needed to make the best strategy calls at different parts of the race. It's one thing to say it, another to get out there and do it in the biggest race of all.
By Sunday morning it was a clear fight between the 68 and the Risi Ferrari and it was amazing that there was such a close battle after 20 hours of racing. Ford vs Ferrari 50 years on, you couldn't write it! I got in the car for the final two hours of the race and constantly asked for updates over the radio. It was an amazing experience for me to be the driver to cross the finish line at Le Mans. It was the first time in my 3 years at the race that I'd be the one to complete the final lap and I wasn't the only one to notice the Toyota parked up on the right hand side of the start/finish straight as I started the last lap. I initially thought it was the sister car waiting for the lead car to come through but having glanced at the giant screen on the exit of the Dunlop chicane and seeing all the Porsche guys in the garage, I knew something was up! You can't put into words how gutted I was for Anthony Davidson and the rest of the team, truly unbelievable luck.
I slowed to wait for Stefan Mucke on the final lap and we crossed the line together, Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK both finishing on our return to Le Mans. Having parked up in parc ferme just before the entrance to the pit lane, Stefan and I ran through the Ford Chicane gravel trap to climb up on the tire wall in front of the Ford Hospitality to wave our thanks to the 600 or so guests we had there on Sunday. We had so much support going into the race from Ford employees, owners, dealers and fans around the world and it was a real honour to be able to race for them. Their enthusiasm honestly drove us forward and I was so pleased that we could deliver the result they wanted.
Our car was certainly one of the quickest GTs on the track. It was a strange position for me to be in personally. I felt like I was back to how I felt when I was 10 or 11 years in karting, just driving for pure enjoyment and adrenaline. Rarely in professional motorsport do you get a chance to drive for many hours, just working on your own technique and enjoying being out on track without any pressure or battles to worry about. I just completely switched off from the race itself and soaked up the moment of driving one of the greatest tracks in the world, in an incredible car and made the most of it. It was really a great experience until you get out the car having driven flat out for three hours to find you are now only 24 laps behind the leader!
It was an incredible Le Mans to have been a part of, some say one of the best in many a year. And to be in a team that won their class and have played a part of that success is very special. Of course, I wanted to be standing on the top step of the podium myself, but I'll back. And I met Brad Pitt, not many people can say that!
