It’s rare that a successful sportscar racing double act spans multiple manufacturers. Once strong foundations are built up, loyalty (and an accompanying pay bonus) typically keeps one or both drivers in the environment where they hit it big. Examples of both parties moving on to the same destination, then recapturing previous glories in entirely different surroundings without it being the result of a boardroom-level mandate (such as the one that triggered Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas switching from Porsche to sister brand Audi for the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours) are scarce.
But Dirk Muller and Joey Hand proved to be the exception to that rule when the former BMW colleagues, who together claimed the American Le Mans Series GT class title in 2011, were reunited at Ford and conquered the GTE Pro division at Le Mans 50 years on from the Blue Oval’s famous inaugural triumph. Fittingly, this one too came at the expense of Ferrari.
