Ford CEO Jim Farley said that the seventh-generation Ford Mustang was built to eat the competition alive – including Porsche – both on and off the track. At the Battle on the Bricks at Indy on September 22nd, 2024, the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 of Mike Rockenfeller and Harry Ticknell spent quite a bit of time in front of the AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, but as the laps ticked down, it seemed that the Dark Horse-based race car just didn’t have anything on the Porsche.
Rockenfeller spoke with Sportscar365 about the No. 64 Mustang’s apparent lack of speed late in the race. He and Ticknell finished second in the GT3 class after a strong showing all race, but he couldn’t help but wonder what might have been.
“We didn’t expect that with the BoP [balance of performance] change coming here,” Rockenfeller said. “We thought we’d struggle a bit more and we were in the race. Clearly, we had nothing for the Porsche. It was obvious.”
That’s not to say the No. 64 Mustang GT3Â didn’t have speed. In fact, it led 50 laps, but as the six-hour sprint drew to a close, the No. 77 Porsche 911 closed the gap. Rockenfeller drove the wheels off his Mustang trying to hold the competition off and might have succeeded if he hadn’t lost valuable time in the pits. In fact, that was what ultimately did him in.
“I think if we had the chance to stay in front, maybe we maybe had the chance to do it, but the Porsche was just a little faster,” Rockenfeller said. “I don’t know if he could have passed me through. I would have defended like I had a three Mustangs-wide car, but it didn’t come to that unfortunately because we lost it in the pits.”
He added, “But it will come and P2 is nothing to be ashamed of in this category. Everyone was pushing to the limit at the end.”
After struggling with the Mustang GT3 at first, it seems that the Ford teams have made peace with the new race car, and the No. 64 Mustang’s result at Indy is evidence of that. In fact, the Mustang GT3 is in high demand for the 2025 season, meaning that IMSA’s competitors recognize its potential on track.
Comments
I’ve seen racing mustangs achieve astonishing feats on the racetrack, but rule of thumb, winners don’t have to talk it, they let results speak for them first. Jim Farley is great and the mustang is as well, but if they want more out the car it must be an outright sports car from ground up. No more multiple roles which only makes for compromises. No more mixed agendas.
Why is a regular car in the same race with a prototype racer? 😮
The “balance of performance” seems to always go hard against Ford in every type of racing. When they win a race, the rules cripple them hard.
Cry some more for more BOP changes you whiners!
The Stang is an awesome car no doubt about that. Show me another muscle car that can compete with a true sport car!