IMSA: Ford sticking with factory teams in 2015

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Two wins from the first five rounds of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and second place in all three championship categories – Drivers, Teams, and Manufacturers – has Ford Racing boss Jamie Allison feeling confident about the competitiveness of his two factory teams.

Both Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (pictured, BELOW), winners of the 12 Hours of Sebring and Long Beach events, and perennial contender Michael Shank Racing (ABOVE) have represented the Blue Oval as the brand moved to its new 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost engine and custom body kit, and according to Allison, no changes are expected with Ford's roster.

"We are focused on our factory programs," Allison told RACER. "We see the Ganassi and Shank teams as our factory teams and I do not foresee broadening our efforts outside of those two teams."

The Ganassi team entered a pair of Riley-Ford EcoBoosts during the first two races of the year which counted toward the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup, reverting to a single car with the No. 01 since Long Beach. Shank has run his single, season-long No. 60 Riley-Ford EcoBoost all year, and believes that number will remain the same in 2015.

"I'm 90 percent I'll be one car next year," said Shank. "If I had the funding, I could very likely run a second car and get an engine if it was the right combination, but they and we don't want to just have a second car out there for the sake of it."

Ganassi Racing managing director Mike Hull is hoping to turn the No. 02 entry into a full-time option next season. If it happens, Ford would be at less of a numerical disadvantage to the popular Corvette DP platform which has four cars on the grid at each round this year.

 "We really want to have two full-season entries in the Prototype field," said Hull. "We just haven't been able being able to put together the big pieces – the funding – to make it happen the way we want to represent Ford on the racetrack. We're working on it now for next year. We need to make it happen."

Asked about his thoughts on the recent breakdown of talks regarding a common set of FIA/ACO-based GT rules, Allison said Ford's potential interest in GT racing hasn't diminished, but did suggest he was a fan of the proposed GT rules convergence.

"As a manufacturer, it's interesting when governing bodies try to assimilate rules like in GT convergence to bring stability; it's a good thing in general," he added. "But we have our antennas out. What goes on in the landscape of sports car racing is always of interest to us."