Matech clinches FIA GT3 title with Ford GT, developing GT1 contender

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Matech Ford GT racecar

A big part of us dearly wanted the Blue Oval to have a factory race program for the Ford GT. Visions of four straight Le Mans victories danced in our heads, and we're sure Corvette Racing would love to have competed against someone besides themselves the past few years in ALMS. Alas, production of the GT supercar ended near the end of 2006 without so much as a single competitive lap. In the past couple years, however, a few privateer teams have tried their hands, including the Black Swan Racing and Falken, which ran in ALMS this past season. While neither had much success taking on Porsche and Ferrari in GT2, Matech Racing's three-car program dominated the European FIA GT3 by winning more than half the races and capturing the team championship in only its second year. Building on that success, Matech has announced plans to move up to GT1 next year with an upgraded version of the Ford GT race car. Hit the jump for the press release and enjoy the high-res images from Matech's 2008 season in the gallery below. Thanks for the tip, Thomas!

Gallery: Matech Racing Ford GT