Experience Ford’s historic Le Mans return as never before with Eurosport

Having failed in his quest to purchase Ferrari, Henry Ford II dedicated himself to winning Le Mans and beating the Italian giants, who had virtually claimed ownership of the world’s premier endurance race.

The year was 1966 and by the time the GT40 got to Le Mans, having already won at Daytona and Sebring, nothing was going to stop the Americans. Ford himself was bestowed the honour of signalling the famous race start, and it couldn’t have turned out much better. The result, a 1-2-3 finish and a complete domination of Ferrari and the German Porsches, was the start of four straight years of success for the GT40 at Le Mans.

Half a century later and that iconic model is once again attempting an assault on Le Mans in the GTE Pro Class for professional teams and drivers. Ford has entered four cars and two teams, one from the UK and one from the USA. Driving the no.66 UK entrant are France’s Olivier Pla, Germany’s Stefan Mücke and American Billy Johnson and an all-British line-up pilots the no.67 entrant with Marino Franchitti, Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell behind the wheel.

The US no.68 machine is driven by American Joey Hand, Germany’s Dirk Müller and France’s Sébastien Bourdais and the final no.69 GT has a Commonwealth feel with Englishman Richard Westbrook partnered by New Zealander Scott Dixon and Australian Ryan Briscoe.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of that very special victory, Eurosport has partnered with Ford to offer a unique live perspective of the race. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be in the pressure cooker of a performance race car cockpit during this most famous of races, this is your chance.

Four on-board cameras will broadcast live footage across the Eurosport website and App during the race weekend. The experience will be further enhanced by a dedicated website where you will be able to switch between the four video streams.

There’s also a social media wall for you to share the experience with friends, family and colleagues via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram complete with updates from the drivers themselves.

Back in 1966, Henry Ford II realised his dream of conquering Le Mans, witnessed only by the fans at the track.

Today, the world can share Ford’s renewed quest for endurance racing glory, as Eurosport and Ford bring you unparalleled round-the-clock coverage wherever you are.

Click here to watch the Ford GT documentary : Ford GT Documentary - The Return: Chapter 1 (The Decision)