When the newest iteration of the Ford GT was announced, there was a lot of commotion about the car, and rightfully so because the GT is a huge deal for Ford. We’re racing junkies and all we could think about when we heard the Ford GT was making a comeback was if they’re going to race it.

It took a while, but finally Ford revealed a test/development car a couple of weeks ago at Le Mans. We all saw it coming, but didn’t know exactly when. Before the reveal, there was also talks of Canadian-based firm, Multimatic, having a lot to do with the car’s development. Not just the race car, though, but the road car as well.

“What the Ford GT gives you in its base form as a road car is a fantastic starting point for a race car,” George Howard-Chappell told Sportscar365 during the program’s launch last weekend at Le Mans. Although we have a great deal of really experienced people in the program, we don’t have a current GTE car, so it’s important to start early and get experience with the car.”

Before going to work for Multimatic, Howard-Chappell was the team principal for Prodrive, which more than qualifies him to manage the GT program. He has been with Multimatic from the Ford GT program’s inception, about two years ago, and he’s also the operations director for the FIA World Endurance Championship. Howard-Chappell has confirmed that the car has tested at multiple venues, with Scott Pruett and a few other drivers behind the wheel giving initial feedback. Being that the car was built off of draft 2016 regulations, Howard-Chappell said that there could be revisions to the car in the upcoming months before its debut at the Rolex 24 in January of 2016.

“I’ve run teams that have won [Le Mans] with Ferrari and Aston Martin. It’s great to go racing against those guys,” Howard-Chappell said. “We also have a longstanding rivalry with Corvette. I’m really looking forward to it.”

We’re amongst those who can’t wait to see this car in action. It will be really refreshing to see a Ford GT in motorsports again.