MIEDECKE: The Little Team That Can

By: George Miedecke

We’ve been involved with Ford in racing for decades. My father, Andrew Miedecke, is probably most famous for racing the Sierra RS500 Cosworth at Bathurst, leading the Eggenberger cars there in 1989-1990.

Since then, I’ve spent a lot of my own career racing in a Ford, and we have been a dealer for 40-plus years – standing. We expressed interest to Multimatic Motorsports of the all-new Mustang GT4 even before the car was launched, because we believe in the brand and love GT racing.

To take the plunge having the first car in the southern hemisphere, have it arrive the week of the first race and our team smash it out of the park within three day’s time… I just can’t even explain how excited I was.

Not just for the work behind the scenes, but this car fits the Miedecke Motorsport brand. We are proud supporters of Ford in the new-car space. Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports moved mountains for us to get the Mustang GT4 in time for the first round, and it has been a fairytale.

We just couldn’t believe how well it panned out, though we knew the Mustang would be competitive right away. It’s similar to a V8 Supercar in a lot of ways – we like the simplicity and toughness that Ford Performance and Multimatic had given the Mustang GT4.

There are a lot incredible pieces that emulate the road car, but also a great bit of technology in there as well. Race cars usually act like race cars, but this has true Mustang DNA.

We knew we’d also have a really good driver pairing. We have believed in Rylan Gray for a very long time, and he’s showing everyone that he’s worthy of that. I also feel like I’m at the peak of my game. Combined with a great car, team and support from Ford Performance and Ford Australia, we have all the pieces to make a true run at the championship.

The SRO Monochrome GT4 Australia series has been seen as an avenue to further the career of these bleeding-edge young drivers. The Method Motorsport McLarens have two cars with a full junior program lineup, owned by a V8 Supercars driver, and they put up a really stiff fight. It will be right to the end.

To be the lone rangers in Mustang GT4, primarily versus these two cars, it’s such great competition. The Mustang may not be as light or as small as the other cars, but it has the bald eagles under the bonnet and is very strong from a competitive standpoint. You can be aggressive with great straight-line speed, and it also has a very good handling package. Overall, it enables you to fight.

From a fan perspective, they love the underdog story – the “little guys who could” and those who are relatable. Ford Mustang is relatable. To see and hear the car taking it to the biggest European brands, it has developed a huge following in Australia and beyond. We’re really finding that big swell that it’s universally liked.

While we present ourselves as a small family team, we have this sort of “special sauce” that makes us unique. My father ran open-wheeled through Europe and Asia, touring car in Australia and I’ve been racing since 2006. While we’re the “little team that could,” the great thing about our operation is that we’re able to reason quickly.

We’re not afraid to take risks, and given this Mustang GT4 is a new product, I think that’s the reason why we’ve been able to adapt so quickly. We are used to taking risks and being experimental, and it’s paid off.

I couldn’t ask for a better partnership with Ford Australia. We’ve been in business with them for a very long time, but now in a sports car racing relationship, Ben Nightingale and the team have been hugely supportive.

Ford Performance has offered tremendous engineering support, giving us all the latest updates.

I’m sure my father will always remember coming back to the AirBnB Saturday night at Phillip Island to a phone call from a bloke named Jim Farley congratulating us and thanking us for choosing Ford. That speaks volumes for Jim to take the time to call a small team from across the world.

The Ford Mustang is so closely tied to how I see myself and a part of our family identity. It’s been such a pleasure to be able to represent it in Australia.

We were successful at the start of the year, and I think moving forward, we have genuinely a good car to keep the momentum.

The season finale at Bathurst will be a strength for the Mustang with a lot of straight-line and pulling up and down the hill. I think we have everything to truly contend for this championship and bring it home for Ford.