The Ford Mustang GT3 is part of the Dark Horse-inspired stable of racing machines, turned loose on the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) circuit at the start of the 2024 racing season with sights set on putting the competition to shame. However, it’s been an uphill battle for The Blue Oval racers on the endurance circuit, and there’s one major obstacle in the way of Ford muscling its way to the podium: torque sensors.
According to a report from Motorsport, Ryan Hardwick and Giorgio Roda, both drivers of Ford GT3 race cars fielded by Proton Competition, the torque sensors mounted to the vehicles’ driveshafts have made things difficult. The sensors are a new requirement for the LMGT3 division this year, and they are coupled with the engine control unit (ECU) to compensate for peaks in power that exceed the maximum torque allowed.
“The main thing is the experience from the torque sensor,” Roda said. “It’s completely new for Ford. And every race is a new thing for us. Mechanically and set-up-wise we are getting there, every race we are getting closer. But the main issue is that torque sensor thing.”
Hardwick said that ne noticed the greatest power disparity while cornering, which he attributes to growing pains with the torque sensors.
“The Ford makes plenty of power, we just aren’t good at putting the power to the ground in an appropriate way, which is this software and the coding with the torque sensor,” he said. “Pretty much in every straightaway, our ECU is pulling power away from us where the others are getting power.”
With eyes ahead to Le Mans in June, the Ford Mustang GT3 teams are hopeful that practice sessions will give them ample time to sort out these issues – and maybe even find a way to get up front.
We’ll have more on the Mustang GT3 soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Mustang news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
Comments
Why is it struggling? You don’t have to be a genius to know the answer. M-Sport prepares the engines, this squad is world champion in selling their business and turning weak performances into great achievements! When will Ford STOP any connection with M-Sport? Mind you, they want to win Paris-Dakar with the Raptor, in their dreams!
Growing pains to be sure. Rear wing issues, now this. They’ll get it sorted. Very few if any brand entering a new vehicle in a series has stellar performances out of the gate unless they’ve been competing in other similar series for awhile and can parlay those experiences.
I’d be curious as to where Ford’s engineering resources are being allocated. I remember hearing about the GT3 program and thought it was a money pit of an idea. Turning out to be just that. Its as if Ford decided that their product development time would be the 1st season itself. Every team deals with the same rules … how did they not see this staring them in the face?