Altzman Excited to ‘Lead Charge’ in Mustang GT4 Series Debut

Photo: Bob Chapman/Ford

Jenson Altzman said he’s excited to “lead the charge” for the latest-generation Ford Mustang GT4’s debut in SRO America, as part of an expanded effort for the car in North America.

The Ford Racing Driver Development Team member, a race winner with the S650-based machine in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, has shifted his full season focus to Pirelli GT4 America team with McCumbee McAleer Racing and co-driver Zachry Lee.

While coming in addition to his Michelin Endurance Cup campaign in Myers Riley Motorsports’ Ford Mustang GT3 EVO, Altzman said the expansion of the Mustang GT4 program has been a personal goal of his.

A total of three Mustang GT4s are set for the season, with MMR being joined by efforts from TechSport and LAP Motorsports.

“It’s something that Ford and I have known was our next place to tackle,” Altzman told Sportscar365.

“If we have ten GT4s racing in Australia, we need to have at least a couple in SRO America, where Ford is from (U.S.).

“It’s been on our radar; we didn’t want to do it half-baked. I’m glad MMR is here. I’m also glad we’re not the only one; we’ve got TechSport and LAP here as well.

“Both teams have Mustang experience, one in Pilot Challenge, one in Mustang Challenge, which is great.

“I think we’re just really excited to be competing everywhere.

“Mustang is a global street car platform and it’s also a global race car platform. We’re excited to be here to sort of lead the charge.

“It’s something I set out for, especially after I went down to race with Wallis Motorsport in Australia, to come back and realize, ‘OK, we need to figure out how we’re going to make this happen.'”

Despite having been in the works since late last year, Altzman said the MMR program was only finalized recently, which has seen Mustang Challenge North America Dark Horse Legends class front-runner Lee make his GT4 debut.

“Zach was the first guy to put his hand up to really come and run something,” said Altzman. “I appreciate the way he’s done it.

“He’s run MX-5 Cup for a number of years and Mustang Challenge for a couple of years. He didn’t just jump into it. He’s waited and he’s really at the point where I think he can learn at the appropriate rate.

“We’ve already got him rolling pretty well for his third day in the car. We’re having a lot of fun.”

With fellow Ford Development Team member Clayton Williams in LAP’s Mustang GT4 and Ford ambassador Frankie Muniz making his GT4 debut with TechSport, alongside Mustang Challenge graduate Lee, Altzman said he’s been proud to see the progression of Ford drivers through the road racing ranks.

“It just shows that there’s a lot of opportunities for us,” he said.

“When we have so many customer programs and we offer a feeder series, in Mustang Cup and Mustang Challenge, it gets teams and drivers interested to go run.

“When they go and run, if they’re teams, they need drivers, and if they’re drivers, they need co-drivers.

“I think they look at us, and Ford has positioned it in a way, we’re looked at as a good asset.”

Altzman Not Yet Thinking of Title Prospects

The 23-year-old Californian said he’s not yet thinking about a potential title run in the Pro-Am class entry, which features the same engineering team and several mechanics from last year’s Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign with the Chad McCumbee and Stevan McAleer-led outfit.

Altzman, who had three different co-drivers in the GS season, finished fourth in the Pilot Challenge standings.

“I would love to but it’s not necessarily right at the top of my mind,” he said about his and Lee’s GT4 America title prospects. “If we can extract everything out of the weekends that we can…

“If I can do my best, if I can help Zach do his best and I can help the team do their best, then I think we’re happy.

“But I do think that if we all do our best, wins and a championships is certainly not out of the question.”

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