Andretti United drivers Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings third in Extreme E 2022 standings

By Dec 28, 2021, 1:59 PM EST
Andretti United Hansen Munnings
Andretti United
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Three was a magic number for Andretti United drivers Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings after standing on the podium in the season finale and finishing third in the Driver’s Championship.

The duo’s third-place finish in the Jurassic X Prix in Dorset, UK marked the third time this season they stood on the podium – a season that included a Round 3 win in the Arctic X Prix in Greenland. Their other podium finish came in the season opener in Saudi Arabia.

After disastrous qualification sessions in Dorset, the drivers needed to advance to the Main through the “Crazy Race” last chance qualifier. Hansen earned the hole shot and kept Kyle LeDuc behind him before making the driver swap. Munnings held the pace, narrowly edged the Chip Ganassi team and advanced.

In the Main, Munnings face a major challenge with the final grid pick. The only remaining slot was in heavy mud, but she managed to place the car third by the end of the first lap. This time it was up to Hansen to hold the position.

“We’re on the podium again which is always an amazing feeling – especially after we had such rough time in qualifying,” Munnings said in a team release. “We didn’t have an easy grid start for the final, it was practically a swimming pool of mud and I felt like I was sinking.

Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings earned their third podium of 2021 in the Jurassic X Prix. (Andretti United)

“I lost out in the fight for second after I was forced to use the brakes to avoid Mikaela (Ahlin-Kottulinsky) but to finish with another trophy, and our third podium of the year is a great way to round out the season. It’s even sweeter knowing it’s my home race too. It’s been an amazing adventure with Extreme E – I’ve loved working from Timmy and learned so much from him. Well done to our team and the entire Extreme E organization for creating such an awesome series. I can’t wait for season two.”

The number three was even more significant for Hansen, who just 10 days earlier ended the 2021 Nitro Rallycross season third in driver points.

“This was one of the easier courses of the season,” Hansen said. “Of course, the mud made conditions difficult, but it was more about ultimate pace which I really enjoyed.

“The standard of this championship is so high – all the guys and girls are on the limit all the time. Everyone is fast but it’s just about finding the small details which can make a difference. We’ve learned so much this year and I’ve loved working with Catie. It’s an honor to work with Andretti United too – they are a hugely experienced team with knowledge across lots of different disciplines.”

While the drivers finished third in that championship, Andretti United was edged by JBXE by a mere two points and finished fourth in the team standings.

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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).