One year ago, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing – specifically its U.S.-based No. 68 Ford GT team of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Le Mans native Sebastien Bourdais – accomplished its stated mission: to return on the 50th anniversary of the Ford GT40 victory in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans and win.

A book by motorsports writer David Phillips chronicling the team and the Ford GT project’s exploits from its earliest days was entitled, “A Big Ask,” borrowing words from Raj Nair, a top Ford executive who recently was named executive vice president and president of North America for Ford Motor Company. And it was, “A Big Ask,” for a program that began competing just six months earlier in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Nevertheless, the trio of Hand, Mueller and Bourdais accomplished the mission, winning the GTE Pro class, while the team’s other U.S.-based car, the No. 69 Ford GT shared by Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook and another IndyCar star, Scott Dixon, also finished on the podium in third place.

Sandwiched between the two Ford GTs was the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE shared by WeatherTech Championship regulars Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella, alongside Le Mans co-driver Matteo Malucelli. It was ironic that the Risi Ferrari served as the main competition for the Ford GTs, as a well-publicized battle with Ferrari inspired Ford’s original GT40 five decades earlier.

“It was pretty incredible to win in an American car, for an American team owner like Chip Ganassi, and stand on the podium with our teammates from the No. 69 car and the guys we compete with all the time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship,” Hand said. “Going in, we knew the competition would be fierce, because we race these guys all the time and it’s constantly a dogfight every race. We know it’ll be the same this year. We’re proud to represent the U.S. and Ganassi and IMSA, and we’re going to give this our best shot, 100 percent.”

So, as Hand pointed out, the mission heading into this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans is simple: Do it again. As was the case last year, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing will have a total of four Ford GTs in the field. Two of them, the Nos. 66 and 67 machines, regularly compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship and are based in the U.K.

The other two, which usually wear Nos. 66 and 67 in the WeatherTech Championship, will be carrying Nos. 68 and 69 at Le Mans. The No. 69 lineup is the same as it was a year ago with Briscoe, Westbrook and Dixon sharing the ride.

Until last month, the No. 68 lineup of Hand, Mueller and Bourdais – which also won the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in the Rolex 24 At Daytona this year – also was expected to return intact. However, Bourdais was injured in a crash during qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 last month, so yet another IndyCar racer, Tony Kanaan – the 2013 Indy 500 winner and 2004 IndyCar champion – will make his first Le Mans appearance this year.

While it is Kanaan’s first appearance at Le Mans, he joined WEC regulars Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell in the Rolex 24 At Daytona this year in an entry from the U.K.-based Ganassi team. He also is an overall winner of the Rolex 24, which happened in 2015.

“For sure it won’t be the same without Seb at Le Mans,” Hand said. “But we are a strong team and we’re ready for this. I’ve been working out every day to make sure I can physically go the distance and be on my ‘A game’ throughout.

“Le Mans is tough mentally too, but the strong support I have from my family really helps me with that side of things. I think when your mind is right on everything else, your mind will be right on racing.”

Will Hand and the No. 68 team have their ‘A game’ throughout? Will the No. 69 team or one of the U.K.-based Ford GTs break through this time? We’ll find out this weekend.

“Everyone from all four of our car crews are looking forward to being back at Le Mans to defend last year’s win,” said team owner Chip Ganassi. “It is always nice to compete when you know that you have four quality chances to win an historic event like the Le Mans 24 Hours. We had a fantastic 2016 with the Ford GT and we look to make 2017 even better.”

The 24 Hours of Le Mans begins Saturday, June 17 at 9 a.m. ET.

For the second event in a row, a Wright Motorsports driver stepped onto the podium following an IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series race Friday at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). The last time it was Andrew Longe who took the accolades, but this time it was young McKay Snow of Lehi, Utah, who finished third in the UIS #63. He almost had two top-five finishes in Texas, as he placed sixth in the second 45-minute race on Saturday.

Another Wright Motorsports driver, Anthony Imperato of Brooklyn, N.Y., is getting closer to a podium finish all the time. He placed seventh on Friday and fifth on Saturday with his Henry Repeating Arms #91, but ran as high as second.

Longe, of Naples, Fla., was involved in an incident in Friday's twilight race and finished 11th in the Platinum class, but he placed eighth on Saturday morning with his Trianon Hotels #47.

Rookie Charlie Luck of Richmond, Va., recorded two top-10 finishes in the Gold Cup class with a seventh and a ninth.

Another Wright Motorsports driver, Phil Bloom of New York City, escaped serious injury on Friday in an accident. His car was too damaged to make Saturday's race, but it will be back in great shape for the next doubleheader June 29 to July 2 during the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen program at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Snow started seventh in Friday's 45-minute contest, but he was fifth at the end of the first lap around the 3.40-mile, 20-turn road course that hosts America's Formula 1 race. He passed the fourth-place driver on lap nine, and got third working lap 11 of the 19-lap race. He posted the second-fastest lap of the race, just 0.350 off the top time.

The Sinclair Broadcast Group airs the series' races on TV in numerous American markets. The Sebring show is coming up May 13; the Barber doubleheader will air June 17. Check local listings for the COTA date. The broadcasts will also be available internationally on YouTube 24 hours after they air on TV.

For more information on Wright Motorsports, see WrightMotorsports.com and follow it on Facebook and Twitter. For more information on the series, see imsa.com.

Post-race quotes follow:

Anthony Imperato, Brooklyn, N.Y.: "Once again there were positives and negatives to this weekend. I showed decent but not great pace in qualifying and started P6 in the first race with a decent back-up lap to put me P4 in Race 2. Without any testing the team still had a really good set-up for the car. I had a strong start in Race 1 and made it up to third, and stayed there for most of the race. I started dropping off at the end and losing pace. Then I made a mistake in Turn 11 and spun, and wound up finishing P7. That was really disappointing. I tried to shake it off for Race 2. Due to the unfortunate incident in Race 1 I gained a position for the start. At the start I had a good jump and was able to stay on the polesitter's bumper.  I tied to make a pass to the inside of Turn 1. I almost made it stick through Turn 2 for the lead, but it didn't happen. After more mistakes I was in fourth. I lost pace and got passed again on the last lap, and finished fifth. I need to be more consistent. I wanted to have better results for the team. We are going to keep working at it and the results will come.  I'm looking forward to Watkins Glen."

Philip Bloom, New York, N.Y.: "There's not much to say. I believe I crashed on the third lap. I have to thank the amazing medical staff at Circuit of the Americas and to Wright Motorsports for looking after me. I'm doing OK. I'm really looking forward to getting back to it at Watkins Glen."

Charlie Luck, Richmond, Va.: "This was my first race weekend at COTA and my third race weekend in the series. I came into the weekend wanting to learn and also wanting to see myself correct some mistakes from Barber, such as learning not to abuse the tires. One of my big opportunities was going deeper into the corners and then applying my brake pressure, which was good. I generally learned and ran the proper line pretty well and did a good job of moderating brake pressure and avoiding flat-spotting my tires, which had been a problem at Barber. I'm looking forward to The Glen!"

IMSA teams have performed extremely well over the past few years in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with back-to-back GTE Pro victories in 2015 and 2016, a pair of full-time IMSA WeatherTech Championship drivers winning overall in the LM P1 class in 2015, and a GTE Am class win last year.

It stands to reason, then, that IMSA will again have strong representation at Le Mans in 2017 on June 17-18. A total of eight WeatherTech Championship teams will compete, as well as 19 full-time drivers in the series. Thirteen drivers in the Le Mans field have won at least once in the 2017 WeatherTech Championship season, and the field will include more than 40 drivers that have started two or more races in the series this year.

Leading the charge will be the Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA trio of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais, who return to defend their 2016 GTE Pro victory in the No. 68 Ford GT. They’ve since added another crown jewel to their trophy case, a GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory in the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and will be joined by another U.S. entry from Ganassi, the No. 69 Ford GT shared by Richard Westbrook, Ryan Briscoe and IndyCar star Scott Dixon.

The IMSA team carrying the most momentum to Le Mans has to be Corvette Racing. Co-drivers Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia have won two of the past three WeatherTech Championship races in the GTLM class, including another crown jewel in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida. They will be joined in the No. 63 Corvette C7.R by Jordan Taylor, who has won all four 2017 WeatherTech Championship races to date in the Prototype class sharing the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R with his brother, Ricky Taylor. More on him in a moment.

The other Corvette Racing entry, the No 64 C7.R, will be shared by 2016 WeatherTech Championship GTLM champions Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner, being joined once again by endurance teammate Marcel Fassler. Gavin and Milner won earlier this year in the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach, and were 2015 GTE Pro champions at Le Mans with Jordan Taylor as their co-driver.

After finishing on the Le Mans podium last year in GTE Pro, Risi Competizione aims for the top step with its No. 82 Ferrari 488 GTE and full-season WeatherTech Championship co-drivers Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella (who won Le Mans in GTE Pro in 2014) joined by Pierre Kaffer, who previously raced with the Risi team in 2015.

Getting back to Ricky Taylor, he’ll be part of an intriguing three-driver lineup in the LM P2 class, sharing the Gibson-powered No. 43 Multimatic-Riley entry with current WeatherTech Championship GT Daytona (GTD) points co-leaders Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen. Keating and Bleekemolen also have won two of the last three WeatherTech Championship races – at Sebring in March and earlier this month in the Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown at Circuit of The Americas in Keating’s home state of Texas – but are trading their regular Mercedes-AMG GT3 ride for a Prototype at Le Mans.

In the GTE Am class, Scuderia Corsa has doubled down on its efforts to defend its 2016 class victory at Le Mans, entering a pair of Ferrari 488 GTEs. In the No. 62 will be 2016 Le Mans GTE Am winners – and 2015 WeatherTech Championship GTD co-champions – Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell, joined by Cooper MacNeil, who won the GTD class at Long Beach last month in the No. 50 WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The other Scuderia Corsa entry, the No. 65 Ferrari, will be co-driven by 2016 WeatherTech Championship GTD co-champions Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan, along with frequent WeatherTech Championship competitor Bret Curtis.

“Once again this year, IMSA fans will have plenty of familiar drivers and teams to root on this year at Le Mans,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “We’re extremely proud of the record of success our teams have had at Le Mans, recently and throughout our history, and believe we’ve got another stellar crop to take on the world this year.

“Without question the entries from the WeatherTech Championship will be favorites for the podium. We wish all of our teams and drivers the very best as they embark on this grueling test of their abilities and hope to celebrate another Le Mans victory, or two, this year at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen two weeks after Le Mans.”

Practice and qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans begins on Wednesday, June 14.

With the IMSA SportsCar Championship GT Le Mans (GTLM) class off until the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on July 2, the focus for most competitors in the class now shifts fully to the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 17-18.

The GTLM team clearly carrying the most momentum heading to the Circuit de la Sarthe is Corvette Racing, which has won each of the past three events dating back to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida in March. The team’s No. 4 Corvette C7.R shared by defending GTLM co-champions Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin, won last month’s BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach.

The No. 3 Corvette team of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, however, have the most momentum with victories at Sebring and last weekend’s Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown at Circuit of The Americas. And in all actuality, the No. 3 team would be riding a three-race win streak were it not for an unfortunate, last-lap, last-turn incident in Long Beach.

The victory by Magnussen and Garcia at COTA was well-timed. In addition to providing valuable momentum and vindication for Long Beach, it also vaulted the No. 3 team into the lead in the GTLM point standings, as several of their closest competitors fell out of contention for the victory in the first turn of the first lap in a multi-car incident.

“I think it is the perfect way to come back after what happened at Long Beach,” Garcia said. “We have had four races this year with zero mistakes by Corvette Racing in any of them. That is what it takes to be there if you have the pace to win.”

After entering the weekend two points behind Rolex 24 At Daytona winners Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller, co-drivers of the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT, Magnussen and Garcia now lead Mueller and Hand by six points, 124-118.

THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR: Much has been made of the recent run of GT Daytona (GTD) class success for the first-year Mercedes-AMG GT3 program, and the No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG team of Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen, and with good reason. Keating and Bleekemolen did win their second race of the season last weekend at COTA, and made it three in a row for Mercedes, which also won at Long Beach with No. 50 WeatherTech-Riley Motorsports teammates Cooper MacNeil and Gunnar Jeannette in addition to the No. 33’s wins at Sebring and COTA.

However, 2016 WeatherTech Championship GTD co-champions Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan are showing the same type of consistency this year that helped them win last year’s title. The No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 duo picked up their third consecutive podium result with a second-place run in the Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown. They previously finished second at Sebring and third at Long Beach.

“Scuderia Corsa has always performed really well,” said Nielsen after the race. “Today, they executed at the top level. It was an amazing effort by the team, and it was nice to have another podium finish and score some good points for the championship.”

Nielsen and Balzan rode seven podium results from 11 races to the title in 2016.