Dixon To Make Le Mans Debut With Ford

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Four-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon will make his Le Mans 24 Hours debut with the Chip Ganassi Ford squad in June.

Dixon, who will race the new Ford GT for the first time in this weekend's Sebring 12 Hours, has been confirmed as an additional driver for Ganassi's four-car assault on the GTE Pro class at Le Mans together with Sebastien Bourdais, Harry Tincknell and Billy Johnson.

Two-time Rolex 24 at Daytona winner Dixon will line up in the #69 Ford GT entered under the Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA banner alongside Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe, his teammates at the Sebring IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round on Saturday.

Bourdais last raced at Le Mans in 2012 with a Pescarolo-run Dome and will return to share the U.S.-run #68 car with Dirk Muller and Joey Hand.

Ford development driver Billy Johnson, who is racing a factory Shelby GT350R-C Mustang in IMSA this year, will drive the #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK entry with Stefan Mucke and Olivier Pla.

An LMP2 class winner at Le Mans, Tincknell will be teamed with Andy Priaulx and Marino Franchitti in the #67 car.

"Like any driver, it is a dream come true for me to race at Le Mans and I can't wait to get started," Dixon said. "The history of Ford at Le Mans is very well documented, and I'm proud to be part of this very special program."

Ford vice president Raj Nair added that manufacturer was "pleased to have a very strong driver line-up for our return to Le Mans.”

"We have assembled a talented and experienced team on all fronts and are all focused on creating a new chapter in Ford's history at Le Mans," he said.

The announcement of the Le Mans line-ups confirms the pairings in the two Britsh-run Fords entered in the full World Endurance Championship.

Johnson and Tincknell will also race alongside their respective Le Mans team-mates in the opening two rounds of the WEC at Silverstone and Spa.

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