#77 Ford Mustang GT3 ambitions in WEC LMGT3
Second part of Ben Barker's interview at Losail International Circuit: the tests, the team and the ambitions.
📷 © Courtesy of FORD at WEC’s Prologue 2024. #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3
CRR: Have you been able to drive the Ford Mustang GT3?
Ben Barker: “Yes, I did a handful of laps in Monteblanco and a few laps in Paul Ricard. Not as much as I wanted but enough to get a very good idea of the car as GT3s are relatively similar in how they drive. The car has a lot of potential, and it looks to be very strong. So I’m dying to drive more this coming week. I’m looking forward to it.”
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2024. Three Ford Mustang GT3 in IMSA..
The Ford Mustang GT3 results at Daytona with Proton Competition were not as expected, neither for the two Ford Multimatic Motorsports factory entries. Any comment on that first official step for a new program?
Ben Barker: “Not really, other than they learned a lot. They are all very positive. They were all running very clean… just some unfortunate damage. The baseline was there. We’ll capitalize on those positives and make it stronger for the next race. Overall, it wasn’t a negative race at all. It is a long-term goal. It’s not for the result in the first race.”
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2024. Both Ford Multimatic Ford Mustang GT3.
CRR: Will your WEC Mustang be different from the IMSA one?
Ben Barker: “The car is fundamentally very similar. Obviously, you’ve got the BoP aspect that changes a bit how they control it, but the car is the same with the tires being the biggest difference. We got to learn how to drive with the Goodyear. There are quite a lot of people who are new to the yellow brand.”
CRR: Do the delay and shortening of the Prologue penalize your preparation?
Ben Barker: “Not really. They are giving a little bit of flexibility between sessions 1 and 4: if you can’t do session 1, you’ll be able to do session 4 but if you do session 1, you won’t be able to run session 4. That gives the teams who received their cars this morning more time to assemble and prepare their cars.”
CRR: Ryan Hardwick (Bronze driver) and Zacharie Robichon (Silver driver) will be your new co-drivers in car #77. They won the LMGTE ELMS Championship last year and Harwick clinched two poles. A strong tandem to co-drive, isn’t it?
📷 © Luc Warnotte at 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and 4 Hours of Portimao: Ryan Hardwick and Zacharie Robichon won both races clinching the ELMS Championship.
Ben Barker: “Yes, it is. I got to know them during the last few days. They are super relaxed which is a very good start. Ryan has progressed a lot in recent years. He is very dedicated, competitive and focused. He used to race jet-skis professionally, so he has that mentality, which is great. Zach is very fast, very consistent, and stays out of trouble as well, which is very good. So, between the three of us, it’ll be very strong and consistent, which is what you need for long races. I’m excited to work with them as the program is going.”
CRR: Do you consider the Bronze driver as specifically critical in the success of an LMGT3 lineup?
Ben Barker: “That is for sure. Particularly if there are not a lot of safety cars. WEC has never been a safety car-oriented race even though we had more recently. Generally, the race director tries to use as much Full Course Yellow as possible depending on the safety of the marshals. Therefore, the pace of the Bronze is very important.”
📷 Courtesy of Ford. Ben Barker at Losail for WEC Prologue.
CRR: What are the ambitions of team #77 for this WEC season?
Ben Barker: “Learn as quick and as much as we can to build over the season. We are not expecting to win the first race but keep everything clean, keep out of trouble, and make improvements on the car each session and race by race. Collecting points is important each race. When you are going with everything fresh in a new year, it is very hard to know where you are going to be.”
CRR: Any other program than WEC this year?
Ben Barker: “No, not so far. I’d love to be at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. We’ll see what pops up in the year as the Ford Mustang GT3 customer program extends. I don’t know yet, but I hope it extends so that I can extend my calendar as well.”
Related Info
📷 Courtesy of IMSA. The Ford Mustang GT3 story
📷 Courtesy of Ford Performance. Ford expands sports car factory driver lineup
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Ford GT at 24 Hours of Le Mans 2019. 24 Hours of Le Mans 2019 Ferrari win - Ford quit.
📷 © Luc Warnotte: Winning Ford GT at 24 Hours of Le Mans 2016. Ford repeat 1966 win at 24 Hours of Le Mans.
