Triple Eight open to Ford GT
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 31 January 2025
There may be no Ford at the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour this weekend, but that may not be the case for long thanks to Triple Eight as the American brand also plots a return to Le Mans 24 Hours glory.
Triple Eight Race Engineering will reunite with Ford after 16 years with GM in the 2026 Supercars Championship.
Whilst adding its haul of 53 wins, three Bathursts and two championships with the “Blue Oval” will be the focus, Supercars may be far from the only thing involved in the partnership.
Ford has a growing GT program with GT3 and GT4 varieties of the Ford Mustang racing around the world including IMSA, while it has already had wins in the Australian GT4 Championship.
The American brand is not being represented at the Bathurst 12 Hour this weekend and Ford Performance Global Director Mark Rushbrook has voiced his disappointment.
And Triple Eight might be the perfect partner to make that happen.
The new Ford Mustang GT4 flying around Phillip Island at the hands of Andrew Miedecke and Rylan Gray. Image: Rebecca Hind Revved Photography
Whilst also missing this year’s “International Enduro” Triple Eight has a number of 12 Hour wins under its belt and led a GT program racing Mercedes throughout Australia and Asia recently.
Triple Eight Managing Director Jamie Whincup confirmed that whilst nothing is locked in, racing a Ford at the Bathurst 12 Hour is high on the priorities list in their second chapter together.
“It is a new era and it will be exciting and we will do some great things together,” he said.
“There is that great historical piece where we won championships and Bathurst’s together which is fantastic.
“We are an engineering business and love going racing and that is a lot wider than just Supercars.
“We have done a lot of GT racing in the last four or five years and we would like to continue that.
“Absolutely after we get past this announcement and crack on to the 2026 Supercars season we will start discussions about GT racing.
The Mercedes-AMG GT3 Triple Eight in the GT WC Australia in 2022. Image: Daniel Kalisz
“We would love to do that as a business and will make that happen.”
Rushbrook further backed that up, stating he wants Ford on the Bathurst 12 Hour grid in 2026.
“For us when we have a great partner we want to do as much as possible,” he said.
“We are very excited about what we have already established on the Supercars side of things which is the first step.
“What they have at Triple Eight Race Engineering, we can do more. We have the GT3, GT4 cars and there might be some projects behind that.
“With the partnership we desperately want a Mustang GT3 racing at the Bathurst 12 Hour.
“We are sad we are not there this year but we will find a way to get there next year.”
In addition to Supercars, Ford has a rich history at Le Mans, taking four straight wins at the iconic 24 Hour race between 1966 and 1969.
Chris Amon waves to the fans as he celebrates 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours victory in his Shelby American Inc. Ford Mk II shared with Bruce McLaren. Photo by Rainer Schlegelmilch
Since then Ford has focused on class success led in 2016 with the Ford GT in GTLM and more recently with the Ford Mustang GT3.
In 2027 Ford will be chasing outright Le Mans 24 Hours glory by taking on the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Rushbrook confirmed the news, but said there will be a lot more to come.
“We are excited to announce the LMPH program tonight so people know that it is coming,” he said.
“There are more announcements to come about chassis contractor, team, engine and etc.
“If you look at what we have in the mustang and many other products we love our V8s.
“They sound fantastic and perform great. More details to come.”
Photo by Jake Galstad / LAT Images
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