Rahal scores dream win on home soil in Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio

By Aug 2, 2015, 4:02 PM EDT
5 Comments

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Courtesy of a strategic masterstroke, one well-timed caution flag and a brilliant late race defense, Graham Rahal secured a perfect result at his home race.

The Columbus native, with a special Ohio State University helmet, captured Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the No. 15 Steak ‘n Shake RLL Honda, to close to within single digits of Verizon IndyCar Series points leader Juan Pablo Montoya.

Rahal pitted just before a caution for a spin by Sage Karam, then cycled forward to the lead as the leaders ahead of him made their final stop.

After another caution for Charlie Kimball being stuck in the gravel after contact from Rodolfo Gonzalez, Rahal then had to hold off fellow Honda driver Justin Wilson on the restart.

He did, and the American won his second race of the season (Fontana), and first of his career on a permanent road course.

His first win occurred at St. Petersburg’s street course in 2008.

Simon Pagenaud completed the podium with Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan rounding out the top five.

Montoya finished just 11th and saw his points lead continue to shrink, now to just nine points after entering with a 42-point lead.

The Karam spin on Lap 66, which brought out the third full-course caution of the day, was the turning point of the race.

But an earlier debris caution on Lap 21 also caught a handful of drivers out.

The two cautions changed the complexion of the race and altered the top 10. Rahal, Wilson and Pagenaud started 13th, 14th and 15th, respectively, and fellow top-10 finishers Tristan Vautier (sixth), Jack Hawksworth (eighth), Carlos Munoz (ninth) and Marco Andretti (10th) all also started outside the top-10.  Ryan Hunter-Reay started and finished seventh.

Montoya ended 11th while top-five starters Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Helio Castroneves and Sebastien Bourdais ended 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th, respectively.

The series has two weeks off before resuming with the ABC Supply Co. 500 at Pocono Raceway on August 23.

RESULTS

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Results Sunday of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, aero kit-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1.  (13) Graham Rahal, Honda, 90, Running
2.  (14) Justin Wilson, Honda, 90, Running
3.  (15) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 90, Running
4.  (1) Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, 90, Running
5.  (8) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 90, Running
6.  (24) Tristan Vautier, Honda, 90, Running
7.  (7) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 90, Running
8.  (11) Jack Hawksworth, Honda, 90, Running
9.  (23) Carlos Munoz, Honda, 90, Running
10.  (12) Marco Andretti, Honda, 90, Running
11.  (10) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 90, Running
12.  (21) Gabby Chaves, Honda, 90, Running
13.  (5) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 90, Running
14.  (2) Will Power, Chevrolet, 90, Running
15.  (4) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 90, Running
16.  (17) James Jakes, Honda, 90, Running
17.  (3) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 90, Running
18.  (20) Ryan Briscoe, Honda, 90, Running
19.  (18) Stefano Coletti, Chevrolet, 90, Running
20.  (22) Rodolfo Gonzalez, Honda, 90, Running
21.  (9) Luca Filippi, Chevrolet, 89, Off course
22.  (19) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 89, Running
23.  (6) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 87, Running
24.  (16) Takuma Sato, Honda, 60, Contact

Race Statistics        
Winners average speed:  105.720
Time of Race: 01:55:20.0864
Margin of victory: 3.4049  seconds
Cautions: 4 for 16 laps
Lead changes: 7 among 7 drivers
Lap Leaders:        
Dixon 1 – 22
Vautier 23 – 32
Wilson 33 – 38
Montoya 39 – 40
Newgarden 41 – 42
Castroneves 43 – 48
Montoya 49 – 67
Rahal 68 – 90
Verizon IndyCar Series Point Standings: Montoya 465, Rahal 456, Dixon 431, Castroneves 407, Power 406, Bourdais 379, Andretti 378, Newgarden 370, Kanaan 354, Pagenaud 329.

Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
2 Comments

LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).