IGTC Manufacturer Status a “Priority” for Ford

Photo: Gruppe C Photography/SRO

Entering Intercontinental GT Challenge as an official manufacturer has been earmarked as a “priority” for Ford Racing according to the brand’s global sports car program manager Alex Allmandinger.

The Detroit brand, which was represented in three of the five rounds of SRO Motorsports Group’s globe-trotting series this year, but not as a registered manufacturer, is looking to take the next step, amid reports that the car is likely to make its Meguair’s Bathurst 12 Hour debut in February.

A possible effort between Triple Eight Race Engineering and Haupt Racing Team has been recently reported in Australian media, although has yet to be confirmed by either organization.

While declining to confirm any team-related specifics, Allmandinger said an IGTC entry is the next major objective for the Mustang GT3 program, which will enter its third year of global competition in 2026.

This year’s IGTC campaign saw four registered manufacturers in BMW, Ferrari, Porsche and Mercedes-AMG, with Chevrolet also exploring its options to join the series full-time in 2026.

“That’s certainly on the radar for us,” Ford’s Allmandinger told Sportscar365. “One of the big places we’re not currently competing in is doing a full IGTC entry as a manufacturer.

“It’s certainly something we want to be competing, where the best manufacturers are competing. IGTC is one of those places.

“We’ve been working on that program. There’s nothing we can release yet, nothing to announce, but certainly a priority for us.”

When asked if Ford Racing would rely on local teams, such as HRT, which already competes in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and at the Nürburgring 24, as well as GTWC America entrant Dollahite Racing, Allmandinger indicated that could be a route.

“It’s an important balance,” he said. “There’s two ways of doing it. SRO encourages you to have the local in-region model. We would love to have really strong partners globally that we could rely on and build a really good manufacturer entry for IGTC.

“Australia, Suzuka, some of the more further-away races from Europe and U.S., it makes it a bit more challenging to do the in-region ones but we’d love to grow the program to a point where we’ve got cars racing in GT World Challenge Asia and Australia.

“That’s, of course, the end goal, but we’re looking to make it happen, however we can.”

The Mustang GT3, which will roll out a comprehensive EVO package next year, will be in the hands of more customers in 2026, including a new effort from Myers Riley Motorsports in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD class.

“Bringing Myers Riley Motorsports on board for next year is awesome,” said Allmandinger. “I think having more cars competing in IMSA is great.

“Obviously it’s our home battle ground. IMSA is obviously a very important series for us.

“But continuing to see the car grow globally is awesome. From my perspective, sitting on the Ford Racing side as a program manager, seeing a car that we designed and worked on for what’s now been a five-year program now….

“Seeing it as it grows globally and we have more customers and representation in Australia, Europe and in America and hopefully we continue to grow globally in Asia and other markets.

“It’s really cool to see this product that we’ve put so much blood, sweat and tears into, and just continue to grow and compete everywhere.

“Obviously Bathurst is a really iconic track for us. We’ve been in Supercars forever and had a big win in the Bathurst 1000 this year.

“We would love to compete there and be there on track in the 12 Hour. We’re certainly circling that one on the calendar and [will] try and see what we can make happen.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John