Le Mans “Shot in the Arm” for Mustang One-Make Expansion

Photo: Ford

The inaugural Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational was a “shot in the arm” for Ford in the expansion of its Mustang Dark Horse R platform on a world’s stage according to Ford Performance global one-make series manager Chris Ward, who is eying further markets beyond the U.S. and Australia.

Announced during the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, Ford Performance will launch Mustang Cup Australia beginning next year, following the success of both Mustang Challenge and Cup in North America.

Speaking with Sportscar365, Ward said the Le Mans Invitational, won by Australian rising star Cameron McLeod, “exceeded” all of Ford Performance’s expectations.

“The event itself was a resounding success,” said Ward.

“Having our CEO, Mr. Jim Farley, racing in the car and beaming from ear to ear every time he got out of the car, and seeing him in the paddock talking to customers and competitors alike, both pre and post-race, fills me with great optimism for the future of our one-make series and the strategy of the platform.

“Mustang is the world’s best-selling sports car. The fans reacted in France at La Sarthe just overwhelmingly positive.

“Hearing 40 of them barreling down the Mulsanne, rev-matching, as the customers went into the first chicane, is a sound and a memory I’ll never forget.

“Fast forward only a couple of weeks and we were at Spa-Francorchamps, where the announcement of Mustang Cup Australia was made. I was delighted to have Cameron with us waving the Australian flag.

“The reception to the car has been really wonderful, really even surprised us. Since the [Australia] announcement, we’ve had tremendous feedback and are looking forward to the category’s debut at Phillip Island in 2026.”

For McLeod, who swept the weekend in his debut in the Dark Horse R, it provided the 20-year-old with the confidence he needed to take the fight to the diverse grid that included Mustang Challenge and Cup America entrants as well as wildcard entries.

“To come to grips with the car pretty quickly, it’s got to be a pretty consistent car,” McLeod said. “You know you have trust in it, which obviously it’s Ford-built so it’s ‘Ford Tough.’

“To go out of the gate and be on the pace straight away was really cool. I wasn’t quite expecting it. I’ve never raced against the Americans; they’re certainly great talent.

“To put a show on for Australia and for Ford as well was really cool. I’ve had a lot of support back home, which was really, really good. I hope it does some good stuff for the category.”

McLeod, who currently races in the Dunlop Super2 Series in Australia, which sits on the rung directly below the Repco Supercars Championship, believes Mustang Cup will be a perfect fit for the region.

“To have it in Australia, it fills that intermediate [gap],” said McLeod. “I think if you can go from a go-kart into a Mustang Cup pretty easily I think. They’ve still got that bit of power and you have to learn how to control your right foot.

“It’s a race car. I think more young people could get into it, the better the category is going to keep accelerating.

“Also the older people coming back to racing as well. It’s a Mustang. How can you go wrong with that? To get them into a Mustang; it’s loud, it sounds good, fans love it.

“I think it will take off.”

Ward added: “With Cameron winning at Le Mans, we had already set out sights on Australia.

“I was at Round 1 of the Shannon’s Speed Series this year at Phillip Island to see that series, to meet with the executives, to meet with Sunil [Vohra] from Motorsport Australia, who has given us a very warm reception as we began discussions around the introduction of the series there.

“We thank them for their support in the introduction of the category.

“Le Mans really did give it another shot in the arm and exceeded our expectations.

“We were then in Europe [after Le Mans] gauging interest in the car. But it’s not a forgone conclusion at all that Europe would be the next step.

“There’s a litany of other geographies… Canada is in our sights. Knowing the fanbase for V8s and even stock car racing down in South America, I’d love think that could maybe be a market of interest for us.

“The Middle East is another interesting area, as well as Asia-Pacific.

“We’d like to be everywhere, of course. But we have to learn to walk before we run and have step by step growth and make sure we can keep delivering a consistent customer experience.

“Demand for the car right now is exceeding supply right now. The engineers and team at Ford Performance in Dearborn are building the cars as fast as they can.

“Now logistics seems easy having got 40 cars to Le Mans and back in only a matter of weeks.

“We’ve got a logistics base to start up between now and the end of the year to support Australia, and the other geographies as they come on tap over the next couple of years.”

Ward confirmed that FIA-rated Bronze (Dark Horse Legends) and Silver (Dark Horse) drivers will be permitted in Mustang Cup Australia, which will follow a near-identical format seen in Mustang Cup North America, which launched this year.

“We want to keep both Cup, and ultimately when Challenge expands as well globally, we want to keep some consistency to those rule packages,” he explained.

“If we were to bring those series together in the future in some sort of global format, then the customers are familiar with our way of operating.”

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