Series newcomer Cole Loftsgard in the #42 Round 3 Racing Mustang topped Ford Mustang Challenge qualifying at Sebring in the DH class. His pole time for the first race of the season was a 2:12.622, and came after he set the fastest lap of the day in Practice 2 and finished second-fastest in Practice 1.
Loftsgard has hit the ground running in Florida to kick off the season, showing speed in all three sessions, logging his fastest laps early in each. And with such a short window to perform in Qualifying, this quality paid off for the American driver.
“Once you find what the Dark Horse R likes, it’s really enjoyable and rewarding to put a lap together,” Loftsgard said. “The car is on rails. Round 3 Racing did a phenomenal job with the setup. The Mustang’s fast, so we’ll see what we can do in the races.”
Devin Anderson in the #22 TechSport Racing car will start in second position for Race 1, where he finished at Sebring last year, followed by series newcomer Michael Tosi in the Wheelhouse Motorsports #77.
Will Lucas, second fastest in the combined practice results today, starts tomorrow’s race in fourth, bracketed by teammate Tosi ahead in third, and Sandy Satullo in the Wheelhouse Motorsports #7 behind in fifth. Satullo finished fourth in Race 1 this time last year.
Reigning DHL champion Alex Bachoura in the #33 Spark Performance car finished first in class in qualifying with a 2:15.009 on just his second lap of the session.
“We have a strong Dark Horse R. Spark Performance always gives me an amazing machine; they really understand the technical aspects of the car,” he said. “I think we can have great races. My goal is to win in the Legends class, but I also want to finish in the top four or five overall.”
Chris Clarke was not far behind with his #9 Paley Motorsport with AAG Racing Mustang, just 0.507 off the champion’s time. In third position of the DHL class is the #8 Tom Tait Wheelhouse Motorsports car, a former winner at VIR last season.
Both classes had competitors who did not set a time in qualifying, Ford CEO Jim Farley in DH, and Bruce Griffin in DHL. Griffin had a crash in Practice 2 that brought out a red flag earlier today, his fastest time would have been negated.
Race 1 of the first 2026 Ford Mustang Challenge event is set to start tomorrow, March 19th, at 1:05 pm track time. The race will be available to watch on YouTube on IMSA’s official YouTube channel.
Images courtesy of Ford Racing
