Since the very first edition of the Bathurst 1000, the Blue Oval of Ford has been a constant presence on ‘The Mountain’, forming one half of one of motorsport’s great rivalries.
This weekend, a new chapter will begin in the American marque’s relationship with the famed Mount Panorama Circuit, as HRT Ford Racing takes on the Bathurst 12 Hour with a Pro-class Mustang GT3.
The #64 Mustang GT3, Ford’s first entry into the race’s top category during the GT era, will be driven by Ford Racing factory drivers Christopher Mies and Dennis Olsen, and Supercars star Broc Feeney.
“When I signed with Ford, obviously I always dreamed of going to Bathurst with our Mustang GT3, so that finally happening makes me very happy to be part of it,” two-time Bathurst 12 Hour winner Mies tells DSC.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in Australia. A big part of my career was in Australia, and I’ve got to know the people there. The fanbase in general is incredible, a lot like in the US, where every race is full of spectators, so it’s really cool to drive there.
“To bring the Mustang there, for people to hear the sound for the first time in real life, it’s a nice project. I think people will love it, the sound of the car, the way it looks. It’s different to the cars they know from previous years, so I’m really looking forward to showing them the car. I also think that the track will suit the car very well.”
Ford Racing’s arrival, along with that of its traditional nemesis Corvette, appears to be signalling the beginning of a new era for the Bathurst 12 Hour, which suffered greatly in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year’s field, the largest since 2020, features 35 cars, with 15 of them representing eight different manufacturers in Pro. It very much feels like a return to the grid complexion seen at the race towards the end of the last decade, when manufacturer and fan interest arguably peaked.
“I felt like the last couple of years, the event didn’t get the attention it deserved,” Mies says. “And now finally, we have one of, if not the best, field the race has ever had, in terms of the drivers and manufacturers. The race is growing, with a good number of cars, special teams, drivers and manufacturers, and you can see the interest is growing again.”
This weekend is Ford’s first race as a part of SRO’s Intercontinental GT Challenge, which the American marque has registered for for the first time this year.
After Bathurst, Ford Racing is planning to compete in at least two more IGTC events this season, with HRT Ford Racing set to enter both May’s ADAC 24H Nürburgring and June’s 24 Hours of Spa with Pro-level efforts. The brand’s drivers for these races are yet to be announced.
For Mies, the growth of the Mustang GT3’s racing programme globally is a welcome one, with it giving him the opportunity to expand upon his existing schedule.
“I think it’s pretty good. Obviously, the more races you can do as a driver the better it is,” he says.
“I’m very happy in America [where he races in IMSA’s GTD Pro class]. It was always my dream to race there full-time, so I don’t want to miss that, but if I can add some races like Bathurst and other special places, that’s obviously a cherry on the cake.”
The Bathurst 12 Hour offers teams a unique challenge in modern sportscar racing, with the shortest turnaround between the earliest possible track time and the start of the race of any major event. With no private testing at the track possible and no official test day, HRT Ford Racing’s first laps will be completed during Friday’s Free Practice 1, less than 48 hours before the race begins.
On top of this, entries without a Bronze-rated driver, such as the #64 Ford, will only have 200 minutes of track time split across four short sessions before qualifying.
“At least we all three know the track, so that box is already ticked,” Mies says.
“It’s not going to be easy, to be honest. The car has never been there, so we need to find our base setup first. HRT has a lot of experience now with the car from the past year, and we have Ford Racing there to support as well, so although the car has never been there before, we are quite well prepared, but still, the sessions are quite short.
“Usually, there are a lot of red flags during the practice sessions, so time will be very limited. We need to bring our A-game, everyone in the team, to hopefully find the right setup straight away, then fine-tune it, and then hopefully be quick.”
The lack of practice time will be especially challenging for 23-year-old Feeney, who is yet to drive the Mustang GT3.
We need to bring our A-game, everyone in the team, to hopefully find the right setup straight away
“He has the most track experience, so he can tick that box, and obviously we’ll try to help him as much as possible,” Mies says.
“I have no doubt that he will adapt very quickly to the car. What I saw in the first year [of the Mustang GT3 programme, 2024], when we had Bronze drivers driving the car, they’re very quick on pace. The weight distribution and long wheelbase really help to get familiar with the car very quickly, so I think he will have no struggles and be right up there.”
With 11 starts, Mies can now consider himself a Bathurst veteran. The Mustang GT3 is a very different machine from the mid-engined Audi R8 he has traditionally raced at ‘The Mountain’, however, something which will require a certain level of recalibration from the 36-year-old.
“I have been there before, obviously with a different car, so now all the reference points are different,” he explains.
“The Mustang is front-engined, so it will be totally different from what I know from my experience in my past. I know the car quite well, and the track. It’s going to take some laps to get the reference points, but after I think we can go for it.”
The HRT in HRT Ford Racing stands for Haupt Racing Team, Ford Racing’s official team in Europe. The German outfit joined the Ford ranks at the beginning of last season, running the Mustang GT3 in a wide variety of championships, with this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour set to be the team’s first appearance Down Under.
As a European-based operation, racing on the other side of the world brings with it its own difficulties, but Mies has no concerns that Hubert Haupt’s eponymous team is up to the task.
“It’s far from home, so they need to prep the car [early],” he says.
“I know the team from when I did the first test with them, when they first got the car. It’s a very professional team, engineering group, mechanics, so I think from that perspective, they will just prepare for the race like they have been there ten times, and then see how the car goes.
“They know the car very well, and the tyre, which is obviously another step for Dennis and me.”
This year’s Bathurst 12 Hour will utilise the Pirelli P Zero DHG, which first raced last April. Although both Mies and Olsen are very familiar with Pirelli’s previous GT3 offerings, the DHG will be new to them, adding another item to the team’s Free Practice to-do list.
The good news, however, is that HRT Ford Racing is very familiar with the product, having raced on the P Zero DHG in three different series last year.
“I really have no clue what the tyre will be like,” Mies admits.
“Obviously, you’re learning in practice very quickly, when is the peak, when is the peak coming, how is the degradation of the tyre. I’ve raced on the Pirelli for a long time, but this is the new spec, and I just purely rely on the team to help prepare us as much as possible with what to expect.
“From what I remember in the past, Bathurst is not really hard on tyres, degradation from trackside is pretty low. That should also help to have a good read on car balance, even with an older set of tyres. The tyre sets are limited to 12 sets for the week, which includes practice, qualifying and the race, so we need to use as few sets of tyres as possible in practice.”
Last month, Ford debuted its new Mustang GT3 Evo, which brought with it aerodynamic and mechanical changes, at IMSA’s blue-riband Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Primarily for homologation and Balance of Performance purposes, however, 2026 machinery is not permitted at Bathurst, meaning that HRT Ford Racing will be running the original-spec Mustang GT3 this weekend.
Despite the Mustang GT3 Evo being an improvement over its predecessor, Mies sees a potential short-term advantage in returning to the older car, given it’s a package Haupt Racing Team is familiar with.
“Obviously, the Evo is there for a reason,” he explains.
“We improved the points where we thought we needed to improve, but the car has been good on the Pirellis last year with HRT, and obviously right now I think maybe it [2024-spec] is even better, because they have all their setups and references from last year.
“The combination of the pre-Evo car with HRT and the Pirelli tyre, I think, is good. If you go [to Bathurst] with the Evo, that would be one more box to tick, as HRT gets to know the Evo.”
Images courtesy of Ford Racing, Frozenspeed, ADAC & Jack Webster
