IMSA: 2024 Ford driver lineup brings experience, success to new GT entries
On Thursday afternoon, Ford Multimatic Motorsports unveiled its full-time driver lineups for its two entries beginning in 2024, and there is success, experience, and history amongst the four new members of the squad.
The driver pairings will consist of Joey Hand, who made a handful of starts across multiple IMSA series; Dirk Mueller, a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner with Hand; and the combo of Mike Rockenfeller and Harry Tincknell, both of whom currently have seats in the GTP class with the two customer car teams.
For Hand, Mueller, and Tincknell, this is a reunion of the squad with Ford, given that all three of them were on the same Ford team together in 2016 racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
“We’ve been working on the new car for a while now, and I can’t wait to get out there and start racing,” Mueller said. “I’m really happy to be back with my buddy Joey. We are already great friends, and we’ve enjoyed a lot of success together.
"I can’t thank Ford and Multimatic enough for this opportunity. Daytona (the 2024 season-opening Rolex 24 in late January) is suddenly just around the corner, so let’s get going.”
For Ford GT, the two-car squad will be contested in the GTD Pro class, which will see a positive uptick in entries for 2024. And there should be a fun American battle between Ford's Mustang and Chevrolet's Corvette come next season with both cars being new updates to the series.
The driver combos that Ford decided to go with were smart on Ford’s end, giving them a distinct leg up heading into the 2024 slate.
Having three Ford gurus in the sports car racing scene will be a massive positive, especially for Rockenfeller, given that he has not driven in any GT Mustang in his racing career.
The tandem of Hand and Mueller should have automatic chemistry and create what could be a race favorite from the get-go at Daytona.
Coming from the driver announcement are openings now in the GTP class in both the #59 Proton Competition and #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports entries.
The logical scenario would be that Klaus Bachler and/or Patrick Pilet would slide into each of the potential Porsche GTP openings, given that Pfaff will be moving to McLaren in 2024, but time will only tell if that happens.
Neel Jani is also another driver who could be thrown into that mix, based on the fact that he will be with Proton Competition this weekend at Road Atlanta, the team’s first endurance race in the class.
Nevertheless, it awaits to be seen if Ford will be a force out of the gate. But one thing is for certain: the Blue Oval squad definitely has the right tandems for the job, hopefully making Ford an immediate contender at least on paper.