Ian Lacy Racing Switches to Ford Mustang GT4

Ian Lacy Racing, in partnership with G3 Racing, will campaign a pair of Ford Mustang GT4s next year, with both SRO’s GT4 America and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge under evaluation.

Drivers Drew Staveley and Frank Gannett will remain a part of the program for 2019.

After running Ginetta G55 GT4s for the last few seasons in Pirelli World Challenge, the team elected to make the switch to the highly successful Mustang GT4 platform, in part due to the car’s flexibility of running in both U.S.-based series.

The British-built Ginetta is currently not eligible for Michelin Pilot Challenge competition.

Previous experience running Mustangs and the team’s base at Utah Motorsports Campus, home to the Ford Performance Driving School, also factored into the decision, according to team owner Ian Lacy.

The team is coming off a season that saw Staveley win the PWC GTS Am SprintX championship and score multiple wins, including an overall victory at Lime Rock Park.

“I am very excited to renew our relationship with the brand,” Lacy said. “We began our Pirelli World Challenge involvement in 2015 when we built a Mustang V6 for VP Racing Fuels’ Steve Burns to compete in the TC class.

“We subsequently ran a Mustang Trans-Am car for Burns over the next couple seasons before taking a hiatus with another manufacturer in PWC GT4. 2019 will see us return to Ford for our next effort.”

Staveley works as a lead instructor at the Ford Performance Driving School and said that while other manufacturers were under consideration, he hoped this would be the end result.

“I was quietly hopeful the team would choose the Ford as the first race car I ever drove was a Mustang,” he said. “I spend Monday through Friday driving GT350s so I’m confident I can run at the front of any field with the car.

“I think it’s going to be a great fit for Frank and I, and it ensures that I can get time off work at the Ford school to make all the test days!”

G3 owner and driver Gannett also has ties to the Ford, which helped make the decision to choose the Mustang GT4 that much easier.

“My dad worked for Ford in Michigan as well England where he had a position in the engineering division,” he said. “We considered all the GT4 cars before deciding that our historical and local ties to the brand, as well as the car’s success in different series throughout the year made the Mustang the obvious choice.”

The team expects delivery of the new cars in a week or so to be followed by initial testing, with the team hinting at a 2019 race debut at Daytona in January.