Evans looking to build on solid 2025 European GT4 campaign with Ford

American driver Erik Evans finished sixth overall in his third full-time season in the European GT4 Series last year, driving the No. 61 Academy Motorsports Ford Mustang S650 GT4. Now, the 22 year-old from Atlanta is getting ready to return for another season.

“I’m itching to get back in the car,” he said. “This off-season has been pretty cool. We had Ford driver evaluations at the beginning of the year. I also just recently got back from the 24 Hours of Daytona, which is always an amazing event for me. I was shadowing the Ford factory GT3 team and just learning as much as I can. I was hanging out with all the drivers and everyone and just understanding more about it. Ford does so much for everyone on the Ford Driver Development Team. They’re progressing us to hopefully be factory drivers for them. Being a GT3 factory driver is the goal for anyone in the sportscar world, for sure.”

Evans was pleased with his 2025 racing campaign.

“It was a fantastic year,” he said. “To come out and win on the first two weekends was excellent. We were leading the championship for the first half of the season. It’s a huge boost of confidence to know that you can win on that stage in Europe. We even led the championship. Unfortunately, we had a lot of things that didn’t go our way in the middle of the season in terms of luck.

“We won the season opener at Paul Ricard, which was a bit surreal. The European Championship is one of those championships where it is really hard to be successful and to win because of how competitive it is. To win the first race of the season was like, ‘Hey, we’re here to compete!’ That was awesome.

"So was getting that first win in Europe in the European Championship was huge for the Mustang GT4 car and for myself and the team. We won at the next race at Zandvoort, as well. That was quite a shock. We didn’t think Zandvoort would be a pro-Mustang track. The car ended up being an absolute rocket ship around there. I mean what a venue Zandvoort is. It’s right there on the beach and going through the sand dunes was awesome. It’s an old school circuit. There was not a whole lot of runoff or anything. It was just guardrail and grass. It’s quite a track and it has become one of my favorite tracks. From there we went through a little bit of a rough run of bad luck through the middle of the season. We came back at the Nurburgring with podium pace and walked out of there with a podium.”

Evans and the No. 61 Academy Motorsports Ford Mustang S650 GT4 are now looking to the opening round of the European GT4 Series set for the Circuit Paul Ricard in France.

"I’m going to be competing in the European GT4 Championship again,” said Evans. “I’m back with Academy Motorsports in a GT4 Ford car and I’m excited for it. Last year we definitely proved that we could go win the championship and I think this is another year to build on that and to take home what we learned last year being in the thick of it. We’re coming into 2026 with a little bit more experience of being up there. We want to take full advantage of it.”

Following the Paul Ricard round, additional races at Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, Misano, Zandvoort and Portimao will round out the 2026 European GT4 schedule. 

“Every track on the schedule is a legendary track, and the fact that we get to do all of them in one season is pretty cool," Evans said. "Monza is always an interesting track because there are so few corners. You have to maximize them to the best of your ability and also make sure you’ve got a slippery car in a straight line. It’s always a judgment call on the balance and the setup. I mean, all the tracks are really difficult in their own right. They are also changing up the season finale to Portimao in Portugal. What an awesome track that is. It’s an absolute roller coaster around there. Obviously going back to Paul Ricard after winning there last year is quite exciting. I’ll be looking forward to Misano. I think that one remained elusive for the Mustang. It’s a very tight and twisty and technical track. We’ve got to find that extra little bit to work the Mustang around there to out us in the fight for the win.

“I am so excited for this year. I’ve got so many good people around me. Ford and being a part of their Driver Development Team and everything that they give us has been amazing in terms of support and access to their simulators. They put so much effort into us. That always helps. And I’m returning to a team that is like family to me. They’ve been my family since 2023. I’ve got a great relationship with everyone there. Between Ford, between Academy Motorsports and between Monster Energy and everyone around me, I think it’s a winning team, for sure.”

Evans talked about what he hopes to achieve in the 2026 European GT4 Series.

“As you know, racing in the European GT4 Championship is no small feat," he said. “It’s probably one of the most competitive championships out there. I mean the level of talent through that grid is absolutely absurd. No part of it is easy. It’s going to be in the boxing ring with the gloves off kind of fight out there every weekend, and you prepare for that.

"As far as my goals in 2026, I think we need to pick up where we left off last year. We were winning races and getting podiums and at the front every weekend. We want to just keep building off of that momentum that we started last year. Hopefully we can just keep pushing forward. We want to win. It’s a really exciting time to be at Ford right now. Mr. Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, is all-in on the whole racing program. He loves racing. I think everyone at the Ford brand loves racing. The coolest bit about it is that all the technology and stuff that we learn from racing is translated to the new cars Ford is building for the future. What a time to be at the famous blue oval.”