Ford Mustang GT3
The Ford Mustang GT3 being driven at the 2024 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps | |
| Category | IMSA SportsCar Championship (GTD Pro & GTD) FIA World Endurance Championship (LMGT3) GT World Challenge Europe |
|---|---|
| Constructor | United States Ford (Multimatic) |
| Designer(s) | Anthony Colard (Design Manager, Ford Performance)[1] |
| Technical specifications | |
| Engine | Ford Coyote 5.4 L (330 cu in) V8 naturally aspirated, Front-engine |
| Transmission | Xtrac racing transaxle with ESA shift 6-speed sequential manual |
| Power | 550 hp (410 kW) |
| Weight | 1289 kg |
| Fuel | TotalEnergies (WEC) VP Racing Fuels (IMSA) |
| Competition history | |
| Notable entrants | Canada Multimatic Motorsports Germany Proton Competition |
| Notable drivers | Germany Mike Rockenfeller United States Joey Hand Germany Christopher Mies United Kingdom Harry Tincknell |
| Debut | 2024 24 Hours of Daytona |
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The Ford Mustang GT3 is a racing car designed and developed by Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports according to GT3 regulations.[2][3] In 2022 it was announced that the Ford Mustang GT3 is in development. The car is the race variant of the seventh-generation edition of the Ford Mustang. It was unveiled as part of the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 9, 2023. Its first race was the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona. It competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the FIA WEC as well as other major GT races such as the 24 Hours of Spa. The German racing team Proton Competition has been confirmed as the first customer team to run the Ford Mustang GT3.[4]
Powertrain
The Ford Mustang GT3 car is powered by 5.4-litre naturally aspirated Ford Coyote-based V8 which was developed by Ford Performance and their long-term partner in the World Rally Championship M-Sport. For better weight distribution they moved the Six speed Xtrac racing transaxle with ESA shift to the rear axle. Also, there are Bosch Motorsport MS6.4 ECU, Four-plate AP racing clutch as well as MEGA-line E-clutch actuation built into the car.[5]
Chassis
The chassis is based on the seventh-generation Mustang. It features a FIA homologated fully-integrated compliant racing cage as well as other safety devices. It has Multimatic five-way adjustable DSSV dampers, a double wishbone suspension on both axles and Alcon brake discs.[5] The Ford is equipped with a highly developed aero-package and has quickly replaceable parts of carbon fiber bodywork which caused some issues in the races when boot lids and diffusers came loose or completely fell off the race cars.[6]
Teams
| Team | Competition | Entries |
|---|---|---|
| United States Gradient Racing | IMSA SportsCar Championship (GTD class: from 2025) | IMSA: #66 |
| Germany Haupt Racing Team | Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup, Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie / Nürburgring 24 Hours (SP9 class) (from 2025) |
DTM: #68, #TBC GTWC Europe: #TBC NLS/N24: #TBC |
| Germany Proton Competition | FIA WEC, GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup,[7] IMSA SportsCar Championship (GTD class) |
WEC: #77, #88 GTWC Europe: #64 IMSA: #55 |
| Canada Multimatic Motorsports | IMSA SportsCar Championship (GTD Pro class) | IMSA: #64, #65 |
Successes
In its first season the Ford Mustang GT3 experienced a couple of tough races. Even though some problems[6] the #64 Ford run by Multimatic Motorsports achieved a second-place finish at Virginia International Raceway in the GTD Pro class. On the same race weekend the Mustang by Proton Competition also achieved the first pole position for a Ford Mustang GT3 car.[8] However, the biggest achievement was the podium at the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans when the #88 scored a third place at the famous race.[9]
Racing results
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(key) Races in bold indicates pole position. Races in italics indicates fastest lap.
| Year | Entrant | Class | Drivers | No. | Rds. | Rounds | Pos. | Pts. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||||||||
| 2024 | Canada Ford Multimatic Motorsports | GTD Pro | Germany Mike Rockenfeller United Kingdom Harry Tincknell Germany Christopher Mies |
64 | All All 1-2 |
DAY 6 |
SEB 7 |
LGA 9 |
DET 11 |
WGL 5 |
MOS 4 |
ELK 10 |
VIR 2 |
IMS |
PET |
8th* | 2176* |
| United States Joey Hand Germany Dirk Müller Belgium Frédéric Vervisch |
65 | All All 1-2 |
DAY 9 |
SEB 8 |
LGA 8 |
DET 6 |
WGL 10 |
MOS 7 |
ELK 8 |
VIR 4 |
IMS |
PET |
9th* | 2070* | |||
| Germany Proton Competition | GTD | Italy Giammarco Levorato United States Corey Lewis United States Ryan Hardwick Norway Dennis Olsen |
55 | All All 1-2, 5 1 |
DAY 20 |
SEB 16 |
LBH 5 |
LGA 7 |
WGL 17 |
MOS 12 |
ELK 8 |
VIR 8 |
IMS |
PET |
13th* | 1731* | |
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Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(key) Races in bold indicates pole position. Races in italics indicates fastest lap.
| Year | Entrant | Class | Drivers | No. | Rds. | Rounds | Pos. | Pts. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||
| 2024 | Germany Proton Competition | LMGT3 | United Kingdom John Hartshorne Germany Christopher Mies United Kingdom Ben Tuck |
44 | 4 4 4 |
QAT |
IMO |
SPA |
LMS 4 |
SAP |
COA |
FUJ |
BHR |
NC* | 0* |
| United Kingdom Ben Barker United States Ryan Hardwick Canada Zacharie Robichon |
77 | All All All |
QAT 11 |
IMO 9 |
SPA 9 |
LMS 17 |
SAP 7 |
COA 6 |
FUJ |
BHR |
14th* | 18* | |||
| Norway Dennis Olsen Denmark Mikkel O. Pedersen Italy Giorgio Roda Germany Christian Ried United States Ben Keating |
88 | All All 1-4 5, 7 6 |
QAT 9 |
IMO Ret |
SPA 8 |
LMS 3 |
SAP 13 |
COA NC |
FUJ |
BHR |
9th* | 37* | |||
References
- ↑ "Anthony Colard: designer des Mustang GTD et GT3" [Anthony Colard: designer of the Mustang GTD and GT3]. Pony 'N Snake. September 3, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
- ↑ Ford (September 3, 2024). "Ford Mustang® GT3 Race Car". www.ford.com. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ↑ Multimatic Motorsports (September 3, 2024). "Ford Mustang® GT3 Bred to Race". www.multimaticmotorsports.com. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ↑ Ford Media (June 9, 2023). "Ford kehrt 2024 mit dem Mustang GT3 in den GT-Rennsport und zu den 24 Stunden von Le Mans zurück". media.ford.com. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports (August 5, 2024). "FORD MUSTANG GT3: BRED TO RACE" (PDF). www.multimaticmotorsports.com. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Purcell, Alexandra (May 11, 2024). "FIA approves fix for Ford Mustang GT3". fordauthority.com. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ↑ GT World Challenge Europe (September 4, 2024). "Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3". www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ↑ MediaProton (August 25, 2024). "Proton Competition holt in Virginia die weltweit erste Pole für den neuen Ford Mustang GT3". proton-competition.com. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ↑ MediaProton (June 16, 2024). "Podium in Le Mans für Proton Competition und den Ford Mustang GT3". proton-competition.com. Retrieved September 4, 2024.