PRUETT: More Ford GT driver rumors

An artfully crafted headline from Corvette Racing during Petit Le Mans could be the first indication of where Ford's first new GT driver has been sourced.

"Corvette Racing Re-Signs Full-Season Drivers For 2016" keenly omitted Ryan Briscoe – its primary endurance driver – from the roster of drivers who re-upped, and if paddock speculation is anything to go by, Briscoe's a lock for a full-time role in IMSA. Based the Australian's long-standing ties with the Chip Ganassi Racing team that will run Ford's return to domestic and international GT racing, Corvette's press release could be a quiet confirmation of where he's headed.

Focusing primarily on the American needs for the Ford GT program, four full-time opportunities and two endurance seats are expected to be filled before the end of the year. CGR's Joey Hand takes one full-time seat, and with his 2015 teammate

Scott Pruett now considered a big question mark

for the GT program, it could leave three more seats open. And if Briscoe is indeed the second full-timer alongside Hand, the list of remaining needs becomes easier to consider.

A few other names have been mentioned repeatedly as strong candidates to earn full-time contracts. Corvette DP ace Richard Westbrook (LEFT) was known as one of the finest GT drivers on the planet before moving up to prototypes, and he was named by quite a few people during Petit Le Mans as a solid contender for a Ford GT ride. Like Briscoe, anything related to Westy heading to Ford is speculation.

Adding to the fun-with-Ford rumors, veteran BMW man Dirk Muller was also the source of plenty of Ford-related mentions in Road Atlanta. Could those four comprise CGR/Ford's primary IMSA driver rotation? Looking back to our July story, a few drivers who were mentioned – and some who were omitted – have also been part of the recent rumor mill, or have received favorable nods from within the program, to make expanding the list worthwhile.

CGR/Ford team manager Mike O'Gara professed his great appreciation for Marino Franchitti in the latest issue of RACER magazine and, with the 2010 ALMS champion's stirring drive to cement Ganassi's overall win in 2014 with the Ford EcoBoost DP at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Scot has at least one admirer within the program. Dodge Viper veteran Marc Goossens has also been cited as a driver of interest for the GCR/Ford brain trust.

With more drivers to choose from than full-time seats to offer, it appears Ford's IMSA GT effort will be saturated with talent to evaluate. And with the same number of seats to fill on the WEC side of the program, missing out on a ride in the WeatherTech Championship doesn't necessarily mean a seat in the Multimatic-run WEC Ford GT effort is out of the question.

Delving into the IMSA endurance seats (which would be for the four Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup rounds at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Road Atlanta), multiple sources place four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais (RIGHT) in a Ford GT for the TPNAEC events.

The Florida-based Frenchman has served in that TPNAEC role for the Action Express Racing Corvette DP team since the TUDOR Championship was formed. With AXR, Bourdais has amassed major wins at Daytona, Sebring, Road Atlanta, and has helped the team to win back-to-back Prototype championships.

The Le Mans native's experience at the legendary French endurance race would also make him a natural ambassador for the brand when CGR's two-car effort joins the FIA WEC program to form Ford's four-car assault on La Sarthe. Another driver whose name has been frequently associated with an endurance seat is former Team Falken Tire driver Bryan Sellers.

Looking at some of the other drivers mentioned in July, rumblings on quite a few of those listed as FIA WEC solutions have surfaced. Whether some could become candidates for IMSA is unknown, but I've heard Olivier Pla, the aforementioned Goossens, Jeroen Bleekemolen, and Stefan Mucke on a rather steady rotation of names with a high probability of racing a Ford GT. McLaren driver Kevin Estre is another whose name has been attached to a Ford drive, but the Frenchman has also been mentioned in a similar capacity with Porsche, and with a return to McLaren.

Throw in other GT heavyweights like Kuno Wittmer, Colin Braun, Jonathan Bomarito, Billy Johnson, Spencer Pumpelly, Gunnar Jeanette, Jonathan Summerton and at least a dozen more prime candidates, and trimming the list to surefire signings and secondary options could be one of the hardest tasks facing CGR, Ford, and Multimatic.