Image via Ford Performance/Facebook
With barely a year under its belt, the fledgling Ford Mustang Challenge series is hitting the big time at Le Mans. No, the pony cars aren’t racing at the famous endurance race, but they will be competing on the same track, Circuit de la Sarthe, for the two days before the big event.
NASCAR drivers did some weird things to prepare for this weekend’s race in Mexico.
That’s right, on the mornings of June 13 and 14 the Dark Horse Rs will go head-to-head against each other for 45 minutes of racing thrills. It might seem insane to transport everything and everyone for the American race series to France for an hour and a half of competition, but the opportunity is immense.
After all, crowds will be gathering, eager to take in any motorsport before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which starts on June 14. That means big time exposure for a series that began in June 2024.
As a one-make series, everyone competing in the Mustang Challenge pilots a Dark Horse R. Like other single-make race series, there are competitors with little and plenty of experience, as well as those at every stage in between. Since everyone’s driving the same spec, winning comes down to superior skill and maybe a little bit of luck.
Currently, the Mustang Challenge is an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship support series. There are two classes in the series. The Dark Horse is for drivers under 45, while Dark Horse Legends is for drivers over 45.
Just getting the Ford Mustang Dark Horse Rs to Circuit de la Sarthe was a logistical challenge. They were loaded up on giant rolling racks in South Carolina onto a Boeing 747 freighter. Plus, all of the equipment and spare parts for the race teams were loaded onto the airplane.
Congratulations to the racers competing at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France this week!
Image via Ford Performance/Facebook
