Hartshorne Replaces Ried in Third Proton Mustang GT3

Proton Competition has revealed the driver lineup for its No. 44 Ford Mustang GT3 for next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, with John Hartshorne replacing Christian Ried.

The No. 44 Mustang, which comes on top of Proton’s two full-time FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 entries, was originally listed with team owner Ried alongside Ben Tuck and Ford factory driver Christopher Mies as the three drivers.

However, on Tuesday, it was announced that 67-year-old Briton Hartshorne will take over from Ried as the car’s Bronze-rated driver.

It marks Hartshorne’s first Le Mans outing since 2021, when he raced in the GTE Am class in a TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GTE.

Prior to that, he raced a Jetalliance Lotus Evora GTE in 2011 and a TVR Tuscan T400R with Racesport Peninsula in 2005.

Hartshorne and Tuck currently race together in both the European Le Mans Series and the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup, in both cases driving a Ferrari 296 GT3.

Ried meanwhile is set to sit out Le Mans as a driver for the first time since 2010, having opted to end his full-time driving career upon the conclusion of last season.

The German told Sportscar365 earlier this year that he remained undecided about racing at La Sarthe after his name was listed against the No. 44 Mustang upon the initial reveal of the entry list back in February.

A distinctive black-and-yellow color scheme for the No. 44 car, featuring sponsorship from Hartshorne’s company C.T.C. Wholesalers, was also revealed.