Ford has one of the greatest pedigrees in the history of motorsport, with countless successes across every discipline. What’s more they also produced what are arguably two of the most iconic cars ever produced in the Mustang and GT40. However history also shows that Ford had not produced a car to allow them to compete in the topflight of endurance racing for a number of decades. This would change when they launched their homage to the GT40 in 2004, with a car they simply called the ‘GT’. Resembling the most iconic Ford race car of all time, the natural thought would be that the Ford GT would be accompanied by a race program. However, this was not the case until Micheal Bartek stepped in. Bartek and his company ‘Matech Concepts’ would set their sights on replicating the success of the GT40.

The first racing steps for the Ford GT would be in the brand new FIA GT3 category created by Stephane Ratel’s SRO organisation. This was a hotly contested championship which the likes of Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lamborghini all competing for honours. But Matech’s Ford GT beat them all to take the European GT3 Championship honours in 2008. After their success in GT3, and with the blessing of Ford’s management, Bartek’s outfit set their sights on the highest level of GT racing, the FIA GT1 World Championship.

During the 2000s, the GT1 category was home to some of the most iconic GT racing cars of all time. From Aston Martin’s glorious DBR9 to scintillating Ferrari’s 550 & 575s, Chevrolet’s mighty Corvette and Maserati’s spectacular MC12 to name just a few. Matech wanted the Ford GT to join the ranks of these iconic cars and in order to do that, a new car needed to be developed. Using the GT3 car as a foundational base, the 2009 season was regarded as a development year with Marc VDS Racing joining Matech’s own team in fielding cars. The GT GT1 was enjoyed in all its glory on track by drivers and fans alike, quickly garnering adoration across the globe. The unique sounding 5.3-litre V8, built by iconic engine company Roush, was mated to a six-speed sequential Xtrac gearbox and of course its design was arguably the most iconic on the grid.

Both teams returned to GT1 in 2010 with full campaigns. Competing against the best GT1 cars of the day the GT scored 2 victories and 5 podiums across the 2010 season. In addition Matech would take two cars to the Le Mans 24 Hours, whilst Marc VDS competed with a solo entry.

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This chassis was one of the cars selected to compete in the FIA GT1 World Championship with the team Marc VDS. This chassis participated in the FIA GT1 world championship in the 2010 and 2011 season as part of the Marc VDS team. Even though the team remained the same, the driver lineups would differ between seasons.

In the 2011 season, chassis #003 would pick up three wins in the ‘qualifying race’ format of the championship. These wins would take place at Abu Dhabi, Sachsenring and Ordos. These wins would accumulate points to go towards both the driver and the manufacturer championship standings

The 2011 season saw #003 being piloted by Maxime Martin and Frederic Makowiecki. Maxime would continue with the Marc VDS team post GT1 era as they would become one of the factory BMW GT3 teams. Following BMW, Maxime would become an Aston Martin Factory driver in the WEC where he would become a Le Mans winner. Fred Makoweicki would continue his career after the Ford program as he became a factory Porsche driver in the WEC whilst also winning the Nürburgring 24hrs overall for Manthey Racing.

#003 has an excellent racing pedigree and would make the perfect car to take on major historic race events such as: Le Mans Classic, Daytona historic, Sebring historic and the Endurance Racing Legends series by Peter Auto.

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