Amidst anticipation for the new Ford Mustang to hit Australian shores, its GT4 racing variant is set to make its local premiere this weekend. The Ford Mustang GT4 will participate in its inaugural race in Australia at Phillip Island, although enthusiasts will have to wait a bit longer for the road car to arrive.
Ford is commemorating the occasion by renaming the April 12-14 event as the Shannons SpeedSeries round to the Ford Mustang 60 Years Race Phillip Island, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the iconic pony car’s debut at the World’s Fair in New York. While the US division of the brand is gearing up to launch a special edition model on April 17 to mark the anniversary, Australian fans can witness the GT4 car in action at Phillip Island during the Monochrome GT4 Australia championship.
Additionally, off-track exhibitions celebrating the Mustang’s legacy will be available for enthusiasts to enjoy. Despite the exciting racing debut of the Ford Mustang GT4, the latest seventh-generation Mustang road car is still not available to the public in Australia. Local deliveries have been delayed, with Ford Australia postponing its arrival to the second half of 2024 despite its global reveal in September 2022.
The Ford Mustang GT4 will be driven by Miedecke Motorsport, with 2024 Bathurst 6 Hour winner George Miedecke and 17-year-old Rylan Gray, who races for Tickford Racing in a Mustang Supercar in the Super2 Championship, behind the wheel.
Unlike the Mustangs competing in the Supercars Championship, which are built on bespoke, control chassis with minimal parts from the road car, the GT4 racer utilizes the platform from its mass-production counterpart with significant modifications. These include a racing roll cage, a paddle-shift sequential transmission, adjustable dampers, a substantial front splitter, a rear wing, and lightweight body panels.
GT4 regulations stipulate the use of the engine found in production models, meaning the new-generation Mustang’s 5.0-liter Coyote V8 is retained, although any alterations to its 373kW and 567Nm outputs from the US Dark Horse variant remain undisclosed.
While the full entry list for the round is pending, previous GT4 entries have included the McLaren Artura, Mercedes-AMG GT, and BMW M4, among others. Despite the initial success of the Ford Mustang in Supercars, winning titles in 2019 and 2020, the transition to the new Gen3 regulations in 2023 posed challenges, leading to fewer wins in races due to technical parity issues between the Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro.
