A wild enduro race at Sandown on September 15th, 2024 didn’t quite fall the way the Supercars Ford teams would have liked. While a pair of Chevy Camaro race cars duked it out for the lead in the closing laps, the best Ford Mustang GT quietly finished fourth.
The No. 19 Mustang duo of Garth Tander and Matt Payne led The Blue Oval in the opening enduro race of the season, finishing just 0.3941 seconds off the podium. It was a hard-fought P4 for the team, though, as they used pit strategy and overcame an on-track skirmish with the No. 9 Camaro of Jack Le Brocq to power back toward the front. The No. 19 Mustang was unhurt in the incident that sent Le Brocq spinning into the tire barrier, and recovered to finish within the top five.
Cam Waters and James Moffat split duties in the No. 6 Mustang, bringing it home sixth. While the No. 6 Mustang had the speed to keep pace with the leaders, Waters and Moffat just couldn’t seal the deal at the end and fell in behind the Camaro freight train and their fellow Supercars Ford drivers, Tander and Payne.
Chaz Mostert had help from veteran Lee Holdsworth behind the wheel of the No. 25 Mustang. They were able to recover a seventh-place finish after Holdsworth spun out early in the race. Mostert went on to lay down some blistering laps, making up ground and salvaging a decent finish by the time the checkered flag dropped. Currently, Mostert in 189 points back from Will Brown, driver of the No. 87 Camaro, who was able to extend his points lead by winning at Sandown.
Driving the No. 55 Mustang with a special Castrol livery, Thomas Randle and Tyler Everingham finished 13th, followed by the No. 11 Mustang of Anton De Pasquale and Tony D’Alberto in 14th and the No. 2 Mustang of Ryan Wood and Fabian Coulthard in 15th.
In short, the Supercars Ford teams fought hard at Sandown, but The Blue Oval must wait for another race to snap its five-year-long enduro winless streak. Additionally, it’s worth noting that several Mustang race cars were felled by engine issues, including the No. 26 Mustang of Richie Stanaway, which Ford has said that it will investigate.
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