LEXINGTON, OHIO — Mustang Challenge, the IMSA-sanctioned single-make series featuring Mustang Dark Horse R, will officially launch June 7-9 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The series not only extends the rich six-decade racing heritage of Mustang, but also offers a competitive platform for passionate customers and racing enthusiasts to take to the track.
“Joining the recently announced Mustang GT3 and Mustang GT4 derivatives, the Mustang Dark Horse R bridges the gap between Dark Horse and Mustang GT4,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “Production-based Mustang vehicles have raced from the very beginning, all the way back to winning the 1964 Tour de France, even. Dark Horse R offers our passionate customers not just an attainable, factory-built race car, but also a racing series to compete with other Mustang enthusiasts.”
The Mustang Challenge schedule features a five-round, 10-race calendar, visiting such iconic North American circuits as Watkins Glen International (June 20-23), Road America (August 2-4) and Circuit of The Americas (August 31-September 1). Ford is excited to hold the series’ finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (October 4-6), as a precursor to the SRO Indianapolis 8-Hour presented by AWS endurance race and as a part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge championship.
“What makes Mustang Challenge so special and anticipated is that Mustang has been so iconic over the last 60 years, and we’re getting to celebrate the brand by racing a car in a professional series that is really close to what you could drive on the street,” said Glenn Long, the Mustang Challenge Series Director.
“It’s an amazing collection of enthusiasts that are passionate – from the tire manufacturer to Ford Performance and its entire engineering team. Everyone is committed to delivering a quality product that will provide competitive racing.”
Racing Format, Classes & Support
Each event will feature two 30-minute practice sessions, one 15-minute qualifying session and two 45-minute sprint races. The field will be split into two classes – Dark Horse and Dark Horse Legends, the latter being an optional classification eligible to bronze-level drivers 45 years old and over. Overall, the series allows for drivers up to FIA silver ratings.
Michelin has developed an all-new bespoke race tire for the series, and teams will be eligible to purchase three new sets per weekend. Ford Performance and Michelin will also have personnel onsite at each race weekend to directly support entrants of the series.
Parts will be available at the track, however as this is also a production-based car, many parts will be available through local Ford dealers.
Prize Structure, “Ladder System”
Each race will feature a podium celebration for both classes, as well as prize money awarded to overall first through third place finishers. Ford Performance will be offering an innovative championship prize structure for Mustang Challenge, encouraging progression in the Mustang sports car racing stable.
“You have a group that can retrace the history of Mustang in their lives and those that have been involved with cars and the brand for a long time – the Dark Horse Legends class,” Long said. “The other important piece, which Ford now completes within the IMSA ladder system, is for professional drivers aspiring to progress their racing careers. There are few professional series that have created a system like this, where drivers can take their previous experiences and progress through Mustang Challenge to Michelin Pilot Challenge (Mustang GT4) or even the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (Mustang GT3). Mustang Challenge offers a unique experience to its drivers, providing this single-source funnel to escalate their careers.”
Dark Horse season champions will have two paths to choose from for prizes: a $40,000 cash prize or a $100,000 scholarship towards a Mustang GT3 or Mustang GT4 seat the following year. Both paths will be accompanied by a test day in a Mustang GT4.
Series tire partner Michelin is also supporting the Mustang racing ladder with overall championship prize of a set of tires per weekend for any driver racing a Mustang Dark Horse R, Mustang GT4 or Mustang GT3 in a Michelin series the following year.
Those finishing second and third place overall in the championship will also receive cash payouts of $20,000 and $10,000 respectively.
Dark Horse Legends champions will receive a cash prize of $20,000 or a test day in a Mustang GT4.
Mustang Dark Horse R
The Mustang Dark Horse R, engineered for competition by Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports, is a turn-key race car that is capable of generating more than 500 horsepower to compete at the most demanding racing circuits.
“Dark Horse R is a culmination of experience and lessons learned that are being applied,” Long said. “The engineering and management team at Ford are really stacking all that experience into a single platform. The successes, through time, have been built into this platform which has made it possible for a single-make series with Dark Horse R. This isn’t only specific to Dark Horse R but building off that same platform for Mustang GT4 and Mustang GT3. That’s quite a range of flexibility for Dark Horse, and it’s widely successful at the consumer level.”
The Dark Horse R features a 5.0-liter Coyote V8, with updated oil and cooling systems by Ford Performance. The bespoke Michelin 295/30R19 racing slick tire can also navigate the tight sectors with Brembo braking system and Bosch Motorsport ABS. Additional safety features have been included such as an FIA compliant roll cage, fuel cell and Recaro racing seat.
“I think this entire operation can be traced back to those who designed and tested the street car,” Long said. “Ford Performance had an incredible platform to build Mustang Challenge, and they turned it up to 11. The car is amazing and sounds spectacular. Everyone included in this has some sort of racing experience, and that’s one of the key factors toward developing the car and this series. We continue to drive from past experiences to further develop this series into a special product that can be enjoyed by the customers and fans alike.”