Several drivers from Ford’s racing past will be reunited as it embarks on the future with a two-car, Multimatic-run Ford Mustang GT3 team for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season in GTD PRO. Joey Hand as one of the four full-season drivers is no surprise, as he did much of the development work on the Mustang GT3. He will be reunited with Dirk Muller in one car, while Harry Tincknell and Mike Rockenfeller will partner in the other.
Hand and Muller spent four years together in the Ford GT program, including a 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans victory and a win in the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Tincknell is also a veteran of the Ford GT program in IMSA GTLM and WEC GTE.
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“We’re thrilled to embark on this exciting endeavor and to put our 58 years of global Mustang racing heritage and performance to the test against some of the world’s greatest manufacturers,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “We want to welcome Joey and Dirk back to the Ford family after a great few years with the GT program. Combined with Harry’s four wins during the Ford GT program and Mike’s impressive racecraft and resume, this puts us in a strong starting position in the Mustang GT3’s debut season.”
A little over a year and a half ago, Ford announced it would be building a GT3 car based on the seventh-generation Mustang intended to debut at the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Fully revealed at Le Mans in June, two Mustang GT3s are slated to run the full season in IMSA competition in the GTD PRO category.
“I’m super excited to finally announce this program and get going with it,” Hand said. “It’s been a long time coming – been working on this thing for over a year. I’m super thankful and proud to be involved in the early stages of testing the car. We’ve had it on track a lot. I tell you, the first time I drove it, I really liked it. It’s one of those cars, for me, it just fits my style. I knew it right away. I think there are going to be a lot of great years of racing this car.”
Hand has competed alongside German talent Muller both globally and stateside, as the two spent four seasons (2016-2019) piloting the No. 66 Ford GT in IMSA and helping the team to five wins, 14 podiums and seven pole positions.
“I’m happy, honored and grateful to be part of this fantastic Mustang GT3 program with Ford Performance and Multimatic,” Muller said. “We’ve been working on the new car for a while now and I can’t wait to get out there and start racing. I’m really happy to be back with my buddy Joey; we are already great friends and we’ve enjoyed a lot of success together. I can’t thank Ford and Multimatic enough for this opportunity. Daytona is suddenly just around the corner so let’s get going.”
Tincknell, racing at Petit Le Mans this weekend with Proton Competition (the team slated to run the Mustang GT3 in the FIA World Endurance Championship) in a Porsche 963, was also a key part of the Ford GT race program from 2016 to’19, driving the No. 67 car in WEC with Multimatic Motorsports. That included class victories at Silverstone, Fuji and Shanghai, and a runner-up performance in the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“I’m very excited to be back with Ford where the family feeling runs right through the organization,” Tincknell said. “I am working with my race engineer from the Ford GT days and many of the crew are old friends from that time and subsequent Multimatic race programs. I’m looking forward to driving with Rocky. When I was racing in European Formula 3 in 2013, German DTM was the headline event and that was the year that Rocky won the title. Now, competing at the same level as him is pretty surreal when I think back to those days.”
Rockenfeller is also in a 963 this weekend, driving for JDC-Miller Motorsports. But next season he’ll return to GT competition with Ford and Multimatic.
“To have the opportunity to join Ford at this point in my career is fantastic and I’m excited to be part of a new program with a new car,” Rockenfeller said. “I drove the Mustang GT3 at Sebring a couple of months ago and I have raced against the Ford GT many times so I know I am joining a very strong organization.”
The Ford Mustang GT3 is the first GT3 car produced by the company, built in conjunction with Ford Performance and Multimatic. The GTD PRO effort next season will mark the company’s first run in IMSA competition since the Ford GT program in GTLM ended.