Ford has named former System 1 racer among the many first batch of drivers for its entry into the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class in 2027.
Sargeant will be a part of present manufacturing unit drivers and in racing the as-yet-unnamed Ford LMDh, which will likely be based mostly on an Oreca LMP2 chassis.
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His appointment to Ford’s Hypercar programme follows a shock look at WEC’s Bahrain rookie take a look at in November, the place he accomplished his first laps aboard the Ford Mustang GT3.
Ford LMDh chief Dan Sayers stated the 25-year-old brings a “stage of technical sophistication and high-downforce expertise that’s important for a program of this scale”.
He added that recruiting an American within the group’s line-up was “a nod to giants like Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt”, who gained the 1967 Le Mans 24 Hours with the Ford GT40 Mk. IV.
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Sargeant raced in F1 with in 2023 and 2024, however was dropped by the group midway by means of his second season as a result of an absence of outcomes. His solely factors end got here on the 2023 US Grand Prix, the place he completed tenth behind team-mate .
He had been as a result of contest the 2025 European Le Mans Collection with IDEC Sport as a part of a programme that might have led to a job with Genesis’ LMDh venture in 2026, however withdrew from the championship on the eve of the season.
Sargeant returned to racing on the finish of final 12 months, contesting the ultimate two rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship with the PR1 Mathiasen LMP2 group earlier than participating within the Bahrain rookie take a look at.
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Whereas he’s comparatively new to sportscar racing, Rockenfeller and Priaulx carry a wealth of endurance expertise with them.
#64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3: Mike Rockenfeller, Sebastian Priaulx
#64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3: Mike Rockenfeller, Sebastian Priaulx
Rockenfeller gained the 2010 Le Mans throughout his lengthy stint as an Audi manufacturing unit driver that additionally noticed him clinch the 2013 DTM title. He joined Ford’s steady of drivers in 2024 and spent the final season racing the Mustang GT3 in IMSA with a number of GTD Professional winner Priaulx.
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The latter additionally has an extended affiliation with Ford by means of his father , who was part of the Chip Ganassi-run Ford GT programme within the WEC between 2016 and 2019.
Ford additionally introduced that each Rockenfeller and Priaulx will contest the 2026 ELMS season within the LMP2 ranks to organize for his or her Hypercar programme, however stopped wanting revealing the group they’d race for, or explaining whether or not Ford would have any operational involvement.
No particulars had been revealed about Sargeant’s plans for 2026, however he’s already as a result of contest this month’s Daytona 24 Hours in an Oreca 07 entered by Period Motorsport.
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Ford shares engine particulars
Precisely a 12 months after Ford introduced its plans to return to the top-flight of sportscar racing, the American model has revealed key particulars of the powertrain that can underpin its LMDh prototype.
The Blue Oval has opted for a naturally-aspirated 5.4-litre V8 engine, an M-Sport-tuned model of which already does responsibility within the Mustang GT3, amongst different automobiles.
As with all different LMDh prototypes, Ford’s Coyote-based engine will likely be paired with a spec hybrid system designed collectively by Bosch, Xtrac and Williams Superior Engineering.
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Sayers stated that “whenever you hear a Ford coming down the Mulsanne Straight at three within the morning, you shouldn’t have to take a look at the badge to know who it’s.”
Ford clarified that the engine will likely be developed fully in-house, with its group in Michigan working in collaboration with the Pink Bull Ford Powertrains division in Milton Keynes.
, Ford will deal with the operational facets of its Hypercar venture by itself moderately than partnering with an impartial group.
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The race group will likely be based mostly at a brand new facility in Banbury, UK, with Sayers – who beforehand helped arrange Pink Bull’s F1 engine programme – heading up the venture.
Sayers’ earlier background in sportscar racing consists of working with Prodrive on Aston Martin’s Vantage GTE and GT3 efforts.
To date, Ford has solely dedicated to a WEC Hypercar entry, with no indication but of whether or not it might run a parallel programme in IMSA’s GTP class within the coming years.
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