THOROUGHBREDS: MUSTANG ON TRACK

Ford wasted no time in getting the new Mustang into competition, with three Alan Mann Racing cars giving the model its race debut on the ’64 Tour de France, securing a 1-2 in the Touring class. Roy Pierpoint (above) won the 1965 British Saloon Car Championship with an AMR car, too.

Back in the USA, Ford called on Holmanmoody to build the A/FX racer (below) for the 1965 drag-racing circuit, while Shelby prepared 36 GT350RS, one of which won the Mustang’s first Sports Car Club of America race in the hands of Ken Miles on 14 February of the same year. It went on to land the 1965 B/production title, with further SCCA series wins in ’66 and ’67.

Ford joined Chrysler as one of the early supporters of the new Trans-am series in 1966, winning the first two seasons with the Mustang. Penske Camaros became the model’s arch rival as works teams piled into Trans-am, but the Ford came back to win again in 1970 before factory support was pulled. The Mustang remained ever present in privateer hands, however, including a trophy-laden period in the late ’80s and early ’90s for Roush Racing.

The GT40 and later GT have always stolen Ford’s headlines at Le Mans, but Claude Dubois took a Shelby GT350 to the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1967, while Saleen followed its SCCA successes with Le Mans showings in the late ’90s (below). After 60 years, however, Ford has promised to return a factory-backed Mustang to the 24 Hours in 2024, having unveiled the new Mustang GT3 at last year’s race.