Cole Loftsgard in the #42 Round 3 Racing Dark Horse R converted pole position into an overall victory in the first race of the 2026 Ford Mustang Challenge season this afternoon at Sebring.
Loftsgard made an aggressive launch down the straight and into the first corner at the start, pulling away from the chasing pack. Behind, Devin Anderson in the #22 TechSport Racing, who qualified second, got into a battle with the third-position #77 Wheelhouse Motorsports car of Michael Tosi, but got through the first lap cleanly. Their battle left Loftsgard some breathing room to find his rhythm in his first race.
Loftsgard may have felt the pressure of Michael Tosi under a second behind him in the first few laps, but he didn’t show it. His consistent laps in the low 2:16s built a six-second lead, which he carried to the chequered flag. He also set the fastest lap of the race, a 2:14.288.
“Round 3 Racing did a phenomenal job,” he said. “The Ford Mustang Dark Horse R is a new platform for us, and we came out of the gate swinging. This race was one of 12 throughout the year so the job’s just begun, but I’m definitely going to enjoy this.”
Tosi in the #77 finished in second position in his series debut race, ahead of two-time Mustang Cup champion and Ford Racing Driver Development member Will Lucas in the #34 Wheelhouse Motorsports in third place.
Devin Anderson would take fourth, ahead of the Dark Horse Legends class winner, Alex Bachoura, who won his third consecutive Mustang Challenge race at Sebring in a controlling fashion. He went unchallenged throughout the 45-minute race.
In an exciting turn of events in the closing moments of the race, though, Bachoura managed to catch up to the back of the Anderson’s #22 car, challenging for fourth overall while leading the DHL class by 37 seconds! 2025 Mustang Challenge USA DH runner-up Anderson was able to hold him off, but Bachoura showed impressive pace in his first class win of the season, proving his speed around Sebring once again after sweeping both races in Florida last season.
“Spark Performance really dialled in the Mustang Dark Horse R for the race,” Bachoura exclaimed. “I won here last year, so this track feels like home and winning again here is special. Thank you to Ford. Racing here is the best fun you can ever have.”
Tom Tait, who qualified third yesterday in the #8 Wheelhouse Motorsports car, finished second in DHL. Behind him was Chris Clarke in the #9 Paley Motorsports with AAG Racing Mustang, finishing third, marking a fantastic turnaround after making some mistakes early in the race.
Chris Clarke, who started second in DHL, spun after getting on the throttle too early. He spent time chasing down polesitter Bachoura at the start of the race, who maintained his overall sixth-place position amongst the DH runners. But another spin with 37 minutes remaining left him with a mountain to climb to return to the front of DHL, but climb it he did, landing himself a podium finish.
18-year-old Ryan Persing made his series debut this weekend, after taking part in his first-ever session in the #29 Paley Motorsport with AAG Racing machine yesterday afternoon. The young American raced exceptionally well, adapting the car nicely after just an hour and fifteen minutes of combined running to get his footing before Race 1.
The former Radical Cup North America driver had Colin Harrison’s black-and-orange #21 TechSport Racing car in all three mirrors for the better part of 15 minutes before he was eventually overtaken. Harrison took seventh overall and sixth in class. Persing would finish ninth and eighth in DH. Tom Tait completed the top 10.
Race 2 for Mustang Challenge is set to get underway at 10:20 local time.
Image courtesy of Ford Racing
