Can a Fiesta ST beat the winning Ford GT at Le Mans?

Not even a tyre test can be a calm affair for the guys at Ford Performance. As soon as the bosses turn their backs, the drivers of the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Team, the men in charge of the test runs, get up to their tricks and set up a staggered time trial with every model in the range from the tuner of the brand’s most performance-oriented models.

It happened at the Motorland circuit (in Alcañiz, Spain), when the mischievous test drivers of Ford took eight models of wildly different types out onto the track at the same time: F-150 Raptor, Fiesta ST 2017, Fiesta ST 2018, Focus RS, Mustang GT, Mustang GT350R, Ford GT and Ford GT Racecar, with the aim of having them race directly against one another in a wild race.

To offset the mechanical differences between them, the race would be timed and the cars would start with a delay based on their power and speed. A one-lap race over 5.345 km, in which each car and each driver would have to show what they were capable of.

The waiting times were set based on the times achieved during the various tyre tests by each car. Behind the wheel were Andy Priaulx, Harry Tinckell, Olivier Pla and Stefan Mückle, drivers from the FIA World Endurance Championship; and Dirk Müller, Joey Hand, Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Eight drivers who challenged one another throughout the day and who gave everything they had in this race, first on their solo laps and, from the final corners before the home straight, in a very tight finish with eight cars competing for victory.

An excellent opportunity to find out whether, allowing for the differences, the new Fiesta ST is capable of beating the Ford GT competition car, Le Mans winner. Or to see the gap between the Mustang GT350R, with its 526 CV 5.2-litre V8 engine, and the iconic Mustang GT with its 5.0-litre V8, which we tested a few days ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMf-qtvYRJc

“A very fun session,” says Harry Tinckell. “With eight racing drivers going flat out on one circuit, anything can happen… and it nearly did. It was truly incredible to be one of the first to drive the new Ford Fiesta ST in these conditions, one of the most popular cars in the world and one whose handling is a real dream.”

“It was a totally different challenge,” says Focus RS driver Richard Westbrook, “like a real explosion of power. Ford Performance offers very different vehicles, all capable of doing very different things while always keeping their virtues and strong points on track.”

For Stefan Mücke, “driving the racing version of the Mustang GT was great fun. It was very special to see all the Ford Performance models on track at the same time, and you have to be very brave to put on a demonstration like that with a group of such competitive drivers. We were going up the verges and everyone wanted to be first. Great fun! It was a truly incredible lap.”

The die was cast. The cars and drivers on track. Can you tell who wins? To find out, you’ll have to watch the video…