If you thought the sight of a train of Mustang Dark Horse Rs pounding through the Forest Esses to Tertre Rouge and onto the Mulsanne straight was magnificent, imagine driving one of those cars in the midst of the thundering horde.
“Such an experience that Ford has provided here for all of these drivers,” said Tanner Foust, one of the celebrity drivers in the one-off Dark Horse Stars category for the inaugural Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational.
“There’s no one here that won’t remember absolutely every minute of this weekend for the rest of their lives, and that’s something that is hard to describe how deeply rooted this experience and everything will be with these owners. Super proud to be a part of it.”
Ford launched the IMSA-sanctioned Mustang Challenge in the U.S. last year, a one-make series featuring the Mustang Dark Horse R racecar. The Dark Horse R is based on the 500-plus horsepower Mustang Dark Horse road car, but upgraded with the usual safety equipment and the addition of such features as a Recaro racing seat, Brembo brakes, and Michelin 18in. Racing slicks on Apex forged wheels.
The series visited such tracks as Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Watkins Glen, Circuit of the Americas and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in its inaugural season. For 2025, a special race was announced – not part of the championship, but perhaps more eagerly anticipated: The Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational, a one-off, non-points event that would attract not only the Mustang Challenge regulars, but racers from Australia, Europe, and a few special guests.
Among the racers were all six of the Ford Performance Junior Team members (above), racing together for the first time: Robert Noaker, Sam Paley, Jenson Altzman, Marco Signoretti, Erik Evans and Nathan Vanspringel.
“It was the first time that all the Junior drivers raced with each other, and we had a moment there where we were almost three wide for second, third, and fourth, between me, Jensen, and Robert,” noted Paley. “To have everyone together was awesome. Cameron [McLeod] did a great job as well to get dicey with us, so did Matt [Nicoll-Jones]. Special thanks to Ford for giving everyone the opportunity and especially us Junior drivers, providing us with the platform.”
Then there were the drivers in the Dark Horse Stars category, some of whom had a lot of motorsports experience, and others who had very little. Drifter, rallycrosser and television personality Foust; fellow drifter Chelsea DeNofa; television presenter Chris Harris; cycling legend Chris Hoy; actor and NASCAR racer Frankie Muniz; and, of course, Ford CEO Jim Farley wouldn’t miss the opportunity to race at Le Mans.
With a sizable field of Dark Horse Legends entrants as well, it marked the largest group of Mustang Dark Horse Rs to take a green flag. Noaker, the defending Mustang Challenge champion and the only person to win a race in 2025 so far, should have been up front. Fastest in the practice sessions and qualifying, the races could have been a walkover. But the ride height of Noaker’s #13 Robert Noaker Racing Dark Horse R was off; the splitter height didn’t meet the minimum after qualifying, and Noaker had to start both 45-minute races at the back.
His outright pace – plus a little advice from someone that had previously run at Le Mans and could relay the grip level to facilitate a good starting setup – meant he would work his way through much of the field in both races, including to a brief lead in the second contest, to achieve a result despite the adversity. While he surely would have liked to leave France with a pair of victories, there’s no doubt he had fun.
“With the horsepower, it loves the straights. And I love the handling around here, especially through the Porsche Curves,” Noaker enthused about the Dark Horse R with which he has so much experience.
“Being a car with not a lot of aero and just mechanical grip … you’re going through there so fast, minimum speed is just around 100mph [160kph] and the car is dancing all over the place You’re trying to wrangle the thing, to keep it on line and out of the walls. When you get it right, it’s such a fun car.”
While Noaker didn’t manage to take either victory – and here’s to hoping that there’s some in-car video of his impressive runs through the field – there was still some stellar racing. McLeod took both wins, although a mistake with Le Mans unique caution rules nearly caught him out.
“That race was really exciting,” McLeod said after the second of two races. “It’s probably a position I didn’t need to put myself in at all. It was a great race just to win that, it’s such a relief after missing that green flag and going back down to third. But it’s fantastic and it’s great to be here.
“I must thank Ford, for putting everything together. It’s a big deal. It’s a massive program that they haven’t shortchanged on anything. They treat the drivers and the teams really well. They put a lot of effort into it, and I think it’s paying off, so they’ve done a fantastic job.”
That includes getting 40 Mustang Dark Horse Rs to France with a combination of air and sea freight. Teams brought their own engineers and crew, although some of them were completely new to Mustang Challenge. That includes Andrew Dean, who runs a Mustang race programme from the UK with Academy Motorsport.
“I take my hat off to whoever did the support that Ford has offered, both technically and in terms of logistics and hospitality. I’ve been around race paddocks for 30-odd years, and this is right up there. They’ve done a really, really good job,” Dean said.
Ultimately, it was a way to make dreams come true for several drivers. Some of the drivers will be here again sometime in the future to run the 24 Hours. For others, they may never get another shot. For many, getting a good run out of Tertre Rouge and running down the Mulsanne, or hitting the Arnage apex perfectly, was nothing more than a dream before.
Just ask Dan McKeever, who finished second in Dark Horse Legends in Race 1. He’s been around racing all his life, including many years running the Ford Performance Racing School at Utah Motorsports Campus.
His father operated one of the longest-running racing schools in the U.S. at the venerable Willow Springs Raceway in California, and he’s even related to some racing royalty. But racing at Circuit de la Sarthe as a prelude to the 24 Hours of Le Mans? That was something else.
“Driving this Mustang Dark Horse R around this track is amazing. It’s a dream come true,” McKeever exclaimed. “I’ve been watching this race since I was a kid, and I never really imagined I’d be here. So it wasn’t necessarily a dream until this came up and it’s like, ‘Hey, this is a chance to be here.’”
But it didn’t really hit him until after a couple of practice sessions, until he was qualifying for the doubleheader races.
“It’s just crazy. I’m in the driver’s seat, driving a Mustang, on the Mulsanne straight.”
For others, it may have been negotiating Indianapolis, flying through the Porsche Curves, or sailing under the famed Dunlop Bridge. Whatever the moment was, it hit a few drivers who may not have the chance again.
Images courtesy of Ford Performance
