Though some drivers change teams every year, or almost, Scott Dixon, who shares the wheel of the #69 Ford GT with Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook, prefers to feel supported: "I would not have done Le Mans with another team. I have a lot to learn, so I feel comfortable to be with a team that's like family to me. But I do have experience in endurance racing - I raced at the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the first time in 2004. My first race in the U.S. was with a Ferrari 333SP at Petit Le Mans back in 1999."

The New Zealander has never won the race in Georgia, unlike the Rolex 24 at Daytona at which he won in both 2006 and 2015 with Chip Ganassi Racing, who has entered the Ford GT in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. It was also with the Chip Ganassi outfit that he won his sole victory at the Indianapolis 500, in 2008, the year of his second win in the IndyCar Series.

Unlike Graham Hill and A.J. Foyt, Dixon will be unable to achieve the Indy 500/24 Hours of Le Mans one-two since he is entered in the LM GTE Pro class at Le Mans: "I had to get used to looking in my rearview mirrors! Luckily, I competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring in the Ford GT, so I know what to expect. I would love to win Le Mans, of course, but I am here first to take experience and enjoy."

It's something that isn't bothering Dixon though because he arrived Monday at Le Mans, at the same time as one his Ford teammates, Sébastien Bourdais, against whom he often competes in the IndyCar Series. "It's strange to find myself with teammates I am used to battling. I have known most of them for several years (Dixon has competed in several races in the American Le Mans Series, Grand-Am Series and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, editor's note) but as opponents, and now suddenly I have to share everything with them. It's reciprocal though, like yesterday we ran a lap of the circuit so I could familiarize myself. I have practiced a great deal via simulator, but it's the first time I will race at a such a long circuit."

The track is of course nothing like the oval in Forth Worth, Texas, site of last weekend's IndyCar Series race which was abbreviated then postponed until August due to horrible weather conditions. But the circuit is not what has most impressed the driver who holds the most wins (39) in the American single-seaters championship: "It is just incredible to be in pit lane where all the fans gather after the race. I have seen that moment so many times on television that for me it's what most symbolizes Le Mans, a race I have wanted to do for many years."

It will be a done deal next weekend…

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Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO