The Ford GT40 is a high-performance mid-engined racing car originally designed and built for and by the Ford Motor Company to compete in 1960s European endurance racing. Its specific impetus was to best Scuderia Ferrari, which had won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race for six years running from 1960 to 1965. Around 100 cars have been made, mostly as 289 cu in (4.7 L) V8-powered Mk Is, some sold to private teams or as road legal Mk III cars. Racing started in 1964, with Ford winning World Championships categories from 1966 to 1968. The first Le Mans win came in 1966 with two 427 cu in (7.0 L) powered Mk.II prototypes crossing the finish line together, the second in 1967 by a similarly powered highly modified US-built Mk.IV "J-car" prototype. In order to lower ever-higher race top speeds, a rule change from 1968 onwards limited prototypes to 3.0 litre Formula 1 engines; a loophole, however, allowed the private JW "Gulf Oil" team win at Le Mans in 1968 and 1969 running a Mk.I with a 5.0 litre engines.
Denis Clive Hulme was a New Zealand racing driver who won the 1967 Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his final race in the 1974 US Grand Prix, he started 112 Grands Prix, resulting in eight victories and 33 podium finishes. He also finished third in the overall standing in 1968 and 1972.
Daniel Sexton Gurney was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, and Trans-Am Series. Gurney is the first of three drivers to have won races in sports cars (1958), Formula One (1962), NASCAR (1963), and Indy cars (1967), the other two being Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya.
The Ford GT is a mid-engine two-seater sports car manufactured and marketed by American automobile manufacturer Ford for the 2005 model year in conjunction with the company's 2003 centenary. The second generation Ford GT became available for the 2017 model year.
Kenneth Henry Jarvis Miles was an English sports car racing engineer and driver best known for his motorsport career in the U.S. and with American teams on the international scene. He is an inductee to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. As an automotive engineer, he is known for developing the Ford GT40 along with driver and designer Carroll Shelby, which won at Le Mans in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969. His and Shelby's efforts at Le Mans were dramatized in the 2019 Oscar-winning film Ford v Ferrari.
Joest Racing is a German sports car racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. Their headquarters are in Wald-Michelbach, Germany.
The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. The team operates the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 Dallara-Chevrolet entries for Pato O'Ward, Nolan Siegel, and Alexander Rossi respectively.
The Howmet TX is an American sports prototype racing car designed in 1968 to test the competitive use of a gas turbine engine in sports car racing. Planned by racing driver Ray Heppenstall, the TX combined a chassis built by McKee Engineering, turbine engines leased from Continental Aviation & Engineering, and financial backing and materials from the Howmet Corporation.
Josef Nicolai Newgarden is an American racing driver who races the No. 2 Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet in the IndyCar Series. He was the 2011 Indy Lights champion, and 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion. He won the 2023 and 2024 Indianapolis 500, and the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona, becoming the 16th driver to win both an Indy 500 and a 24 Hours of Daytona, as well as the first driver since Helio Castroneves to win the Indianapolis 500 two years in a row.
Colchester Racing Developments produced Merlyn racing cars from 1960 to 1979. The company was founded by Clive Maskrey, Selwyn Hayward and continued by Hayward's brother, Clive. When the manufacture of Merlyn racing cars stopped, Clive Hayward continued to manufacture Merlyn parts as CRD Tool and Engineering Ltd. This company stopped trading in November 2015. Still, Clive Hayward continues to run Colchester Racing Developments, manufacturing Merlyn components and carrying out chassis repairs.
Colton Thomas Herta is an American racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Andretti Global with Curb Agajanian. He is the youngest person to ever win an IndyCar Series race.
Action Express Racing (AXR) dba Whelen Cadillac Racing for the 2024 season is a sports car racing team that currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team is owned by NASCAR CEO Jim France and run by Bob Johnson and former NASCAR champion crew chief Gary Nelson. Based in Denver, North Carolina, the team currently fields the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-LMDh for Jack Aitken, Pipo Derani and Tom Blomqvist.
David Malukas is an American racing driver currently competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Meyer Shank Racing.
Zacharie Richard Robichon is a Canadian sportscar racer, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Heart of Racing and in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Proton Competition.
The McKee Mk.7, also designated as the McKee Mk.VII, is a special purpose-built American sports prototype race car, designed and developed by Bob Nagel, and built to Group 7 specifications, for the Can-Am series, in 1967. It won a total of 2 races, and achieved 4 podium finishes. The configuration is a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. The chassis is constructed out of a tubular space frame, wrapped in a fiberglass body. The powerplant that was used varied, but included a Chevrolet small-block, a Chevrolet big-block, an Oldsmobile V8, and even a Ford FE big-block engine.
The McKee Mk.14, is a special purpose-built American sports prototype race car, designed, developed and built by Bob McKee, and built to Group 7 specifications, for the Can-Am series, in 1969. It was experimental, but ultimately unsuccessful, failing to start the only race it entered; the 1969 Road America Can-Am round.
The Cooper T49 , also known as the Cooper Monaco T49, or the Cooper T49 Monaco, is a lightweight sports racing car, designed, developed and built by the British manufacturer Cooper, in 1959. It was manufactured as the successor to the Cooper T39. It competed in motor racing between 1959 and 1966, and was extremely successful, as well as being very competitive. It won 89 races, scored 136 podium finishes, and clinched 11 pole positions. It was powered by a Coventry Climax four-cylinder engine of varying displacements; those being 1,098 cc (67.0 cu in), 1,450 cc (88 cu in), and 2,000 cc (120 cu in).
The Cooper T61 , also known as the Cooper T61 Monaco, or the Cooper Monaco T61, is a sports racing car, designed, developed and built by British manufacturer Cooper, in 1961. It is the successor and evolution of the T57. Its motor racing career spanned 6 years ; where it won a total of 16 races, achieved 23 podium finishes, and clinched 3 pole positions. It was powered by a number of different engines, including a Coventry Climax four-cylinder engine, a Maserati V8 engine, a Ford FE engine, and a Chevrolet small-block engine.
Stevan Gordon McAleer is a British racing driver who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, GT World Challenge Europe, and Michelin Pilot Challenge.
