Michael Kranefuss

Mike (Michael) Cranes Foot ( born 1938 ) is a former motor racing boss of Ford

Cranes Foot came about working on a racetrack project in conjunction with Ford Germany. In 1968 he took a job there in the under Jochen Neerpasch newly formed motor sports department at whose head he was four years later. His first project was the development of a Ford Capri for racing in cooperation with the Zakspeed team. The car was successful in the German touring car series with riders like Hans Heyer and Klaus Ludwig. Heyer won with Jochen Mass, the European Championship and the 24 - hour race at Spa-Francorchamps.

The success of Capri cranes brought Foot 1976 the post of European motorsport boss one. In parallel with the continuing involvement in the touring car he intensified his efforts in rally sport and won the World Rally Championship in a Ford Escort RS 1979 with Björn Waldegård.

In September 1980, Kranefuss took over the management of the newly launched Ford Special Vehicle Operations in Detroit. In 1983 he was appointed chief of Ford's global motorsport activities. In the following years, the Group has been successful in the Trans -AM, NASCAR and CART Series. In Formula 1 foot cranes worked the late 1980s and early 1990s with the Benetton team. Alessandro Nannini, Nelson Piquet and Michael Schumacher won the race at this time.

In 1993, Ford cranes foot and tried without success a Indycar team to set up. He then formed a partnership with Carl Haas and formed a NASCAR team that in 1995 his first full season played. 1997 Haas sold his shares to Roger Penske and the new Penske Kranefuss team could enter some success with the driver Jeremy Mayfield. 2002 cranes foot withdrew from the team.

• Motor sports official
• Ford
• German
• Born in 1938
• Man