Ford Performance Offers Behind the Scenes Look into the Development of the Mustang GT3
The Mustang GT3 is about to begin its inaugural season in the top level of endurance racing.
Ford Performance has teamed up again with Multimatic and this time it is to create a Mustang race car to compete at the top level of endurance racing. The Mustang GT3 race car will make its racing debut in just over a month at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. But before that happens the new Mustang GT3 has to be put through its paces and tested. Developing a car on paper and a computer is one thing. But the real testing begins when the car is first let loose on a racetrack. How is that 5.4L Coyote-derived naturally aspirated V8 engine going to hold up? How does the suspension perform? What is the performance like in the rain? These questions and many others must be answered before a race car is ready to compete.
Ford Performance is offering us a behind the scenes look into the development and testing process of the Mustang GT3 with a new video uploaded to their YouTube channel. In this video we hear from the principals at Ford Performance, Multimatic, and the drivers behind the wheel of the Mustang GT3. This is a major step for the Mustang brand as it prepares to enter the top tier of endurance racing. It was not an easy road to get to this point. And there are surely many challenges ahead. But the teams are committed to making the Mustang GT3 a success.
Racing Class
The Mustang GT3 will compete in the IMSA GTD Pro class in 2024. And it is expected to be more competitive than ever in 2024. The number of cars competing in GTD Pro will be doubled compared to 2023. A key battle to watch will be the new Mustang against the Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvettes. An old-fashioned Ford versus Chevy battle. Cars in the GT3 class are basically race versions of the street cars. That makes this type of racing more interesting to the fans, as they get to watch their Mustang compete on the world stage.
First Test
After about two years of development the Mustang GT3 first hit the track at speed in September of this year at Road America in Wisconsin. And as you would expect at Road America, the team was faced with wet track conditions. Rain happens in endurance racing so the car needs to be ready for it. But the drivers were apprehensive about pushing a brand-new racing car too hard in the wet. Still a lot of valuable information was gathered during these testing sessions. Even a broken oil line that halted testing was a good learning experience for the team.
Private Teams
The Mustang GT3 will also be sold to and raced by private teams all over the world. So, Ford needs to make sure the car is reliable and well supported. Dinamic GT is one of those private teams and they got their hands on a new car at Circuit De Barcelona in Spain. First impressions are good and on the first day of testing the new Mustang was faster than the car the Dinamic GT competed with the day before at the same circuit. The new Mustang GT3 surely has a lot of promise. The Ford Performance team will release another video showing more of the car on December 22. Stay tuned.
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