Ganassi team uses Road America to prepare for LeMans

Ganassi Ford GT

The road to sports-car history runs through the rolling hills of rural Wisconsin for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The Indianapolis-based team made its final preparations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year at Road America in Elkhart Lake and then delivered Ford a memorable win in the world’s most famous endurance race.

Monday and Tuesday the team was back, putting one of its Ford GTs through its paces for the final time before shipping a pair of them to France to race next month.

“Of all the tracks in the country … this is definitely the best track to simulate high speeds and somewhat similar corners," said Joey Hand, one of three co-drivers in the Le Mans winning car last year.

Road America’s 4-mile layout features two long straightaways and a variety of turns. The Carousel is a long sweeper that bears some resemblance to Le Mans’ Porsche Curves, and the Kink is a challenging right-hand bend that becomes even more daunting with the low-downforce setup teams are allowed to run at Le Mans.

The Road America test last year was the first time Hand and his partners had driven their cars with that package.

The cars are made to cut through the air most efficiently to maximize speed on the long Le Mans straights, but there’s a trade-off. To get the tires to grip through the corners, teams must rely more on mechanical parts such as dampers, springs and anti-roll bars.

“We really felt good as drivers (after that test)," Hand said.

“I remember specifically sitting here thinking, if that car is as good at Le Mans, we’ll be good. And we really were." JSonline