United States GP Paddock Notebook – Saturday

By Oct 24, 2015, 6:08 PM EDT
AP
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AUSTIN, Texas – Let’s face it, today was bad. You can’t really sugarcoat it or attempt to make sense of the situation. It’s just one of those days you’d like to forget very quickly.

A free practice session happened with only a smattering of fans who’d made it in before news came down that Circuit of The Americas spectator gates would be closed until noon local time.

Then a three-hour delay occurred for what was supposed to be qualifying before a decision was announced to push qualifying through to 9:00 a.m. CT and local time (10:00 a.m. ET) on Sunday morning, LIVE on CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra.

As you’d expect, there’s not too much to recap:

SESSION REPORTS

PADDOCK NEWS AND FEATURES 

THOUGHTS FROM THE TRACK*

Weathering the storm

The asterisk in the lead-in to this section denotes the fact that I opted not to go to the track today. Reasoning? With persistent and continuously extending flash flood warnings, late information close to the start of sessions as to when the sessions would run, the ability to work and follow sessions remotely via both NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra and a not-too-far-but-still-somewhat-far potential drive from my hotel to the track, I decided against going. This marks the first day in 10 years since I started my career in 2006 that I’ve been on site for a weekend, yet stayed back at a hotel. Simply put, the risk wasn’t worth it to drive.

U.S. fans rock

A handful of fans made it in before Circuit of The Americas revealed before 9 a.m. CT and local time that the gates would be closed for safety reasons. Those already present could seek shelter in the main grandstand.

If you were stuck either on a bus or in a parking lot before getting in, the agony would have to be palpable.

If you’re a fan… you have every reason to be a bit, or more than a bit aggrieved at how things transpired.

The surreal experience was that at 10 a.m., seemingly against all common sense or logic, FP3 was running and there were not that many fans there to see it. By the time fans were let in by noon, they were treated to a several-hour delay, and no cars on track. It was at best disappointing, at worst, farcical – something U.S. fans have been through before.

The bright side – if any – came from the teams doing their best to entertain in the absence of running. The blog site WTF1.co.uk has a pretty good synopsis of the hilarity that took place up and down the pit lane in the rain delay.

And then both F1 and COTA came good with this bit of news that has come down in the last hour:

Hopefully it’s not a case of too little, too late, but it’s a fantastic – and deserved – gesture to witness.

F1 fans in the U.S. do care, and the ones that have journeyed to Austin this time around are a dedicated lot. It’s easy to forget at times, but they are the reason this whole thing exists – in my opinion, even more than the sponsors and the manufacturers.

F1’s human side becomes present

For the talk that F1 drivers and teams are corporate automatons, devoid of personality, that notion can be squashed as the emotional and human side of F1 shone through brightly today on a day when there was almost no light.

From Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat’s dancing exhibition, to Lewis Hamilton’s pit lane wave to the crowd, to the surprise emergence of Carlos Sainz and Jos Verstappen matching their sons in Toro Rosso firesuits, to the various races up and down to the pit lane, and all the cheekiness and brilliance coming from all the team and driver Twitter accounts, it was plain to see everyone give their best performance. There wasn’t the standard sponsor plugs, cliches and non-answers. There was proper humanity on display.

A busy day now set for Sunday

Qualifying, a race, and a potential World Championship to be decided all in one day. And yet more rain, although mercifully, not as much as we’ve seen the last day or too. Sunday promises to be a long, crazy and potentially historic day.

***

Qualifying coverage is at 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT) on CNBC, with race coverage starting at 2:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. CT) on NBC and lights out at 3 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. CT, on Sunday.

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
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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).