MOTORSPORT: Reality check for Ford's GT

Ford has discovered just how tough international racing with its new GT is going to be.

The pair of turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 GTs in the Daytona 24-Hour were in trouble from early on with brake and transmission problems and, while running at the finish, were classified seventh and ninth of 11 cars in the GT Le Mans class.

To make matters worse for the Blue Oval, Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs finished first and second in the class — just 0.034 seconds apart, with the victorious one driven by Brit Oliver Gavin.

New Zealander Earl Bamber crossed the line third in GT LM in a Porsche 911 RSR.

German Rene Rast, who has replaced the injured Craig Lowndes in next weekend's Bathurst 12-Hour, won the GT Daytona class in the race debut of Audi's latest R8.

The Porsche 991 GT3 in which Shane Van Gisbergen was one of five drivers led GTD but ran into problems late, with 'The Giz' darting off course with little more than an hour to go. The Porsche's rear wing had slumped backwards and the front air intake was filled with grass as Van Gisbergen pitted.

The outright race winner was a Honda-engined Ligier in which 22-year-old Brazilian sports car rookie Pipo Derani was the star driver and took the chequered flag with that car having completed 736 laps.

It was the first time a tier-two Le Mans prototype car had beaten the Daytona prototypes in America's biggest endurance race on a 5.7km Daytona course that combines flat track with a large section of the famous banked speedway.

The arrow-shaped Deltawing led early after starting only 13th as British woman Katherine Legge drove a brilliant opening stint. However, the Deltawing retired after just several hours when it hit another car.

The Ford GTs were 46 laps and 176 laps down at the finish, with Australian Ryan Briscoe having been the lead driver in the latter.

The car created by Ford for its return to Le Mans 50 years after its historic first outright victory there was competitive on speed with the other four makes in GT LM, although the Ferrari 488 was the most impressive of the new turbocharged machinery in that class.

The Fords finished 31st and 40th outright while the Chevrolet Corvettes were seventh and eighth.

“It was a pretty tough race for us, but it was the first true test for the Ford GT," said Ryan Briscoe after driving the #67 Ford GT.

"We showed awesome speed and competitiveness, so I think there are a lot of positives to take from the race. Obviously, we have a list of items to go through post-race, you know, work on our reliability, but for me, driving the car was so much fun. It’s an awesome race car.

"It was really comfortable to drive and really racy, so from that standpoint, it was really promising and I’m sure the team and Ford and everyone involved will be able to work out the kinks that we got in our first-ever race with the Ford GT.”