Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational: Thunder on the Mulsanne

The fleet of 39 Ford Mustang Dark Horse Rs entered for the Le Mans Invitational made for an impressive sight running down the Mulsanne Straight for the first time during first practice on Wednesday, in what was the true European track debut for Ford’s young single-make racer.

Each car looked immaculately presented, and the rumbling soundtrack generated by the parade of Coyote V8 engines, echoing off the grandstands and barriers, was an audible treat. Making headway in the ultra-competitive world of single-make racing is no easy feat, but with this format, this product, Ford has found a way to crack the code quickly.

Through practice and qualifying at the Circuit de la Sarthe the past two days, Ford Performance Junior and 2024 Mustang Challenge champion Robert Noaker has been among the pace-setters. The 21-year-old from Pennsylvania has lapped up the chance to open up the throttle and compete in a field packed with talent from all over the world.

“With the horsepower, it loves the straights and the handling is so good around here, especially through the Porsche Curves,” he tells RACER. “This is a car with not a lot of aero, but it has so much mechanical grip. The car dances all over the place; you have to wrangle it, but when you get it right, it’s such a fun car.

“Over the whole lap, it’s a treat, with the brake package especially. It handles this long, tough track so well. We knew people who ran here before, we knew what the grip level would be like, and it turned out to be easy to get a car set up. We nailed it first time out, and I don’t think we’ll be changing anything for the rest of the weekend.

“There are a lot of new drivers here, new to the event and the car. There are lots of Americans, but lots of Australians and Europeans, which has made it so interesting.”

One of the drivers giving the Le Mans Invitational a truly international flavor is David Wall. The 42-year-old Australian Supercars regular is one of six drivers making the trip from Down Under to get a taste of the Dark Horse R package. He, along with a set of crew members from Wall Racing, packed light and have since benefited from paddock camaraderie and Ford’s foresight in going the extra mile to accommodate teams from outside of Europe.

“We had to do this in a realistic manner; we brought everything in hand luggage,” Wall explains. “To be able to do that is a box-ticker. We haven’t needed to fly over loads of pit walling and equipment, which would have made it too expensive. The teams from America have allowed us to use things we didn’t bring, and it’s made a huge difference.”

For Wall, travelling almost 11,000 miles from Sydney, New South Wales, to Le Mans was worth all the effort, allowing him and his team to sample a new car and race at one of the most important events in world motorsport.

“I’ve raced in Australia, New Zealand, America and Asia, but never in Europe," he says. "I was close to being involved in the main event back in 2013, but it didn’t come off, so now, here we are 12 years later, and I’m here with my own team. We brought our own engineer, mechanic and a few others to give us all an exciting life experience.

“Prior to this week, I’d done a handful of laps in a demo car at Eastern Creek back home to prepare, so not much, but this is a really good car. It’s very forgiving, the engine is strong, the tires are fantastic too.

“All together it’s a fantastic package that has allowed me to fly here all the way from Australia, jump straight in and be in the top 10 in the first session.”

And it’s not just the drivers getting the sensation in the cockpit that have been impressed by the Dark Horse R and Ford’s efforts to make the event tick along. The engineers and team personnel operating the cars are giving firm nods of approval, too.

UK-based outfit Academy Motorsport has drivers in all three categories as part of its five-car effort, including the No. 77 car in the Dark Horse Stars division, driven by a combination of automotive journalist Chris Harris and Olympic Cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy.

Team manager Andrew Dean tells RACER he feels the car has a real future outside of its domestic market, if and when Ford opts to expand its Mustang Challenge program with dedicated series outside North America.

“The pre-event organization for this has been faultless,” he says. “Ford has been so supportive with various meetings among teams to keep everyone on the same page. I take my hat off to them. It’s also been great to receive technical assistance and hospitality, too.

“The nice thing about the guys at Ford is they’ve been very approachable. They’re racers and they understand us and will move heaven and earth to help. And that’s been the way it’s always worked when we’ve worked with them in GT4 competition.

“Running five cars here has made us step up in terms of personnel. It’s a steep learning curve, and the guys from the U.S. have a head start in understanding the cars, but it’s workable. These cars look good, they make a fantastic noise, and it’s great to see a car like this with an H pattern box. It’s old school.

“Ford’s ultimate game plan is to take this Challenge initiative further than the United States, and we’d love to get involved in that.”

Wall agrees. “If there were a way for us to be involved in a Mustang Challenge series and run cars for some young up-and-comers in Australia, it would be great," he says. "It’s a good, straightforward car that I think would be a good stepping stone to something like Supercars if it does turn up back home.”

The first 45-minute race is scheduled to get underway on Friday at 11:00am local time in France, ahead of the second race, when the drivers will get to perform in front of packed grandstands as part of the build-up to the Le Mans 24 Hours on Saturday at 8:45am (2:45am ET).

Stream both Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational races live on RACER.com.

Race 1, Friday, June 13, 5:00am ET

Race 2, Saturday, June 14, 2:45am ET