Mike Rockenfeller, currently driving the #64 GTD Pro entry alongside Harry Tincknell and Christopher Mies under the management of the factory Multimatic squad, shared his perspective with Motorsport.com, acknowledging that their car is not positioned at the forefront of the field leading up to the first round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Expressing his sentiments after the Thursday sessions, Rockenfeller stated, “That is my feeling from being around the other cars, seeing their straight-line speed, acceleration, and handling. I would say that we are struggling a little bit — today has not been very positive for us.”
The Multimatic-developed Mustang encountered a setback as it received a 15kg increase in minimum weight between last Sunday’s qualifying and the initiation of free practice sessions preceding the 24-hour race on Saturday. Ford, among 11 competing manufacturers in GTD, faced the most significant impact, alongside Ferrari, which received a 10kg weight increase for its 296 GT3 and a 5kW or 5.4bhp power decrease.
Despite the two factory Mustang entries securing the ninth and 13th positions among the 13 GTD Pro cars in the recent qualifying session, adjustments were made to slow down the Mustang. Dirk Muller, driving the #65 car, found himself a second behind in ninth place, while Tincknell faced further challenges in traffic on his best lap.
During the track sessions leading to the qualifying, the new Ford showed promise, consistently ranking in the top three. However, it faced difficulties during the recent practice sessions, securing ninth and 13th places in the morning and ninth and 12th in the afternoon.
Rockenfeller emphasized that the primary objective for the Multimatic factory and Proton teams is to complete the race. He acknowledged the nature of the BoP category and expressed understanding, stating, “First of all, we need to focus on ourselves and make sure we have a good race in terms of reliability.”
Despite the challenges, Rockenfeller maintained optimism about their chances, stating, “It is probably wrong to say we don’t have a chance: if we can get to the last four hours without having problems and then make the right calls on strategy, you never know.”
Tincknell echoed this sentiment, expressing quiet confidence in Ford and Multimatic’s readiness for the Mustang’s debut in the longest race of the IMSA season. He highlighted the extensive testing done during high temperatures at Sebring, considering it the acid test for their preparations.
On Wednesday, ten out of the 11 manufacturers in the GTD classes received a revised BoP, with Mercedes emerging as a major beneficiary. The AMG GT3 had its minimum weight reduced by 15kg, and power increased by 8.5kW or 11bhp. Only the two Lexus RC F GT3s run by the Vasser Sullivan team remained unchanged heading into race week.