The #64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 of Harry Tincknell and Mike Rockenfeller crossed the line in second place at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at VIR, taking the first IMSA podium finish for the all-new Mustang GT3. The #65 Mustang, raced by Joey Hand and Dirk Müller also came home in its best finish of the season so far, taking fourth place.
The Mustang GT3 has been making good progress throughout its debut IMSA season and Tincknell and Rockenfeller have recorded a top-five in three of the series’ last four races, showcasing the growing strength of the new race car.
For the VIR race, Tincknell qualified the #64 Mustang in third place, with Joey Hand right by his side in fourth in the #65, locking out the second row of the grid.
Speaking just after the chequered flag, Tincknell said: “This is another advancement for the Mustang. We’re racing against cars that have been out there a long time – some seven or eight years. Of course, our learning curve is huge, but it feels great to be here and it’ll be even better when we’re one step higher.”
“We tested at VIR last week. It was my first-ever time here and it was good to find out what a fun and challenging track it is. When you test the week before, you go into the first free practice session and in the first couple of laps, you’re already at the limit because you had recently been there. I looked at the track layout before I came here and I wouldn’t necessarily have said it was going to play to our strengths but the car really worked well, especially through the Esses.”
“I think every race we’ve improved a little bit. We’d like to get that first win this year, and I think all the boys and girls really deserve it with all the hours they put in. That first win is just around the corner. It’s going to be special for them, too.”
Driver of the #65 Mustang, Joey Hand added: “It started this morning when Larry [Holt] had a meeting with all of us drivers. He said, ‘Today’s the day that we’re going to execute.’ That’s what we did. In the background, we’ve been getting all the details right – like great pit-stops, which we had again today. There is going to come a time when it all comes together.
“I saved tyres and fuel during my first stint, and I was able to stay with the pack. We were able to give it to Dirk and even leapfrog our sister car in the pits for second. The refueling penalty set us back a bit [drive through penalty], but we still worked with it. The team is excited for this because we gave ourselves a chance. If we keep giving ourselves chances to win or get podiums, it’s up to us to capitalise. It’s great for our guys to get their first podium. We were very close to having both cars on the podium, but we had good pace and gave ourselves a chance. That’s what counts.”
