Ford’s Rushbrook details strategy behind Hypercar plan

It’s all systems go at Ford Performance’s sports car racing division, as it prepares for the debut of its Hypercar program in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Speaking with RACER earlier today, Mark Rushbrook, the global director of Ford Performance, shed some light on the movements behind the scenes. Work is, as you’d expect, already well underway to ensure the first season with its LMDh prototype -- slated for 2027 -- is a successful one.

The subject of timing is where the conversation began. Rushbrook feels that waiting for the Hypercar/GTP era to mature before joining the fun made sense when the current status of the American brand’s wider sporting commitments is considered.

“As our motorsport strategy developed, as the Ford GT program ended and we looked at where we wanted to race, prototypes at that point in time were discussing convergence and whether it would happen,” Rushbrook said, when asked about the journey to this point. “As we needed to make key decisions, it didn’t seem right for us, but what became clear in the strategy was to focus on the four pillars: racing Mustang globally, off-road racing, electric demonstrators and Formula 1.

“So we focused on racing Mustangs, with the seventh generation rolling out as a road car. It’s an icon. It took a lot of effort alongside doing a Raptor for Dakar, and demonstrators for Pikes Peak. So in sports cars, we were on the design and development of three brand-new race car designs for Mustangs.

“I guess you could say that’s now behind us -- it’s not! We’ve got a lot of work to do racing them, with more than 20 GT3s out there now, over 20 GT4s, we have a second batch of Dark Horse Rs in build. But it felt right to join prototypes now. With the regulations being extended through 2029, taking the decision now or at the end of last year, is right in terms of workload management and getting on the racetrack.”

At this stage, there are still plenty of key decisions to come and finer details to be worked on, though some of the most critical choices have already been made concerning the car.

First, the platform. LMDh was chosen over LMH after the initial evaluation process. “We did our due diligence,” Rushbrook said. “We looked at LMH but we believe we can win with LMDh, we believe we can get the tech transfer and learning right.”

A chassis partner needed to be selected quickly in order for design concepts to be worked up. Ford isn’t quite ready to reveal which manufacturer it is, though Rushbrook noted that the final decision has now been made internally.

Two of the four eligible constructors -- Multimatic and ORECA -- have been tipped to be close to the deal. After initially leaning towards selecting the former – which operates its factory effort in IMSA GTD PRO -- the latter is now understood to be the desired option.

The engine platform is another significant area that Ford will need to decide on soon. Rushbrook confirmed that the car will be powered by a V8, though whether it’s going to be naturally aspirated or boosted is still being looked at.

2025 will be a year of working “virtually” on the design of the car, before track testing begins in 2026. The design is still very much in an embryonic phase, as you’d expect. On the subject of styling, for instance, a platform to base the cues on has not yet been chosen.

“It’s still up in the air -- we just want to be seen as Ford.” Rushbrook said.

The inference is that we should not assume it will a badged as a Mustang. However, Ford has decided that, in line with its GTD PRO effort, it will employ a service provider to run the cars rather than set up its own race team.

A “modest-sized list” of potential teams has been drawn up as it looks to find a “like-minded” partner to sign up later this year. Rushbrook wouldn’t be drawn into specifics or namecheck anyone -- Chip Ganassi Racing, which is a free agent and has previous history with the brand, was not mentioned -- though he did hint that it would make the most sense for the program to be based in Europe rather than North America, as the car will be run first in the WEC.

That element has certainly generated plenty of speculation. When the program was first teased in North Carolina last month, only the WEC was mentioned. The allure of racing in a world championship and specifically Le Mans is a huge draw, Rushbrook explained, when asked why Hypercar over GTP is the focus at this stage.

“In IMSA we are already able to compete as a factory, with Multimatic Motorsports as the team,” he noted. “In the WEC we are not. Proton Competition is a great partner but with the way LMGT3 races in WEC, we can’t do it as a full factory. That’s another reason.”

This doesn’t mean we will not see the car for a full program in North America further down the line -- like Genesis for instance -- although it is an “if” not “when” prospect.

“It may become a global program for IMSA, and we need to be prepared,” Rushbrook explained. "If we do, we would only want one race team to cover both series as a factory, not two teams doing two different series. All we are saying is that it (IMSA) could be a potential program.”

Rushbrook stressed that Ford Performance is in this for the long term, and the door has been left open for IMSA. The WEC effort will run through the end of the regulation cycle in 2029, and should the ruleset be extended, we may well see Ford take this project further.

The LMDh program will also not impact the GTD PRO factory effort with the Mustang GT3. “Nobody should expect any changes to what we are doing in GT3,” he clarified.

It’s certainly an exciting time to be a fan of the Blue Oval in sports car racing. The Mustang GT3, GT4 and Dark Horse R are selling well, customer interest is strong, results are coming and in the near future, we will see Ford return to Le Mans and fight for its fifth overall win.

“This (racing at Le Mans against major manufacturers and a rival like Ferrari) means so much to us as a company, with the 'Ford vs Ferrari' movie a few years ago bringing it all back into the eyes of the public,” Rushbrook said. “It’s a massive story from the ’60s and since then on and off.

“We look forward to the competition. We want Ford vs Ferrari but even more important is the number of manufacturers in LMDh and LMH. It’s top-level competition and we want to be there.”