2024 is the Mustang’s 60th birthday. As it turns out, the car in Mustang GT3 form gave us the present with a podium finish in its first run in the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 88 Mustang GT3, driven by Dennis Olsen, Giorgio Roda, and Mikkel O. Pedersen, hit the 24-hour mark third in the LMGT3 category. The No. 44 car, driven by Christopher Mies, John Hartshorne, and Ben Tuck, finished close behind in fourth place. This Benna Ford blog post elaborates on this achievement.
It is generally understood that you don’t go to Le Mans the first time to win. You go with the hope of just finishing. You then lick your wounds and determine what you need to do to actually win. Even the now Hollywood-famous Ford GT failed to finish in its first run at LeMans in 1964, only to have its legendary 1-2-3 win two years later. 
While there is nothing like taking first place, reaching third and fourth in a car’s first LeMans run is quite the accomplishment. As an additional victory, all three Mustang GT3s that entered the race finished it 24 hours later.
2024 is not only the Mustang’s 60th anniversary. It is also the 60th anniversary of the nameplate’s first racing win in France when the freshly born 1964 Mustang won its class in the 1964 Tour de France, another automotive endurance race that is now better known as the multi-day bicycle race of the same name. Of the 117 cars that started that race in 1964, only 36 finished. The winner of the Touring 3.0-liter+ Class was the 1964 Mustang, which snatched a victory from Jaguar’s sedans, which had won the class for the previous four years.
The third Mustang GT3 entered the 2024 LeMans was #77, driven by Ryan Hardwick, Ben Barker, and Zacharie Robichon. The car experienced early challenges on the track during the race but completed the 24 hours in the 17th class position. They had a victory earlier in the week when they recorded the fastest qualifying lap on Thursday, advancing to the Hyperpole, a pre-race ceremony of the fastest cars in each class to qualify. It also marked the first lead qualifying position by a Mustang GT3 after four rounds of WEC racing so far in 2024.
“Today’s podium performance shows that Mustang can come and compete on the global stage against the best sports cars in the world,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance Motorsports. “It is such a fantastic feeling to be able to do it in the first outing for Mustang at Le Mans. It’s a great testament to our company, our employees and all our fans who are celebrating Mustang’s 60th anniversary this year and all the great partners we have with Proton Competition, M-Sport and Multimatic Motorsports. We’re racing and winning all around the world, but to have a podium here at Le Mans is such a special moment.”
“It’s always great to be on the podium and especially at Le Mans,” said Christian Ried, Proton Competition Team Principal. “But also, in the first year of a new car, and in the 60th Anniversary of Mustang, there are just so many things that came together to make today possible. It’s unbelievable. We saw that this was a good car at its debut in Daytona, and we’ve since taken all the steps in order to make this work in its first season. From Daytona, Sebring and Long Beach, to Qatar, Imola and Spa, we felt like we could bring a car here after those six months that could fight for the win. To finish on the podium in third is amazing. I’m proud of everyone.”
While the Mustang GT3 is heavily modified to compete in the GT3 class, all GT3 competitors must be based on production models. Redesigned for its 60th year, the production Mustang is quite impressive in its own right. Even the smallest 2.3-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine produces 315 horsepower, over 100 horsepower more than the V8 of the original model. The 4th generation Coyote V8 is rated at 480 – 486 horsepower in the GT, while the Dark Horse model achieves 500 hp. Benna Ford invites you to take a close look at this winning vehicle in its street-legal form.
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