The 2026 season will see Ford introduce the Mustang GT3 Evo, an early mid-cycle replace to its GT3 contender. A key participant within the replace has been HRT, which runs the automotive within the DTM, amongst different classes.
HRT was compelled to postpone the check debut of the brand new Evo bundle for the Mustang for a second time. In mid-December at Portimao, a consequential technical difficulty following a buyer crash was the trigger, whereas poor climate in Estoril in January prevented the Evo from making its first deliberate look. The plan is now to run the check in early February in Portimao, as group principal Ulrich Fritz revealed.
“Plenty of areas have been addressed — and I consider the most important challenges of the automotive have been tackled,” Fritz advised Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Complete.com.
He’s satisfied: “In concept, these are the fitting measures. The information additionally seems promising. So I consider it is a step in the fitting path.”
The place the Ford Mustang GT3’s weak level lies
In its first DTM season, the Ford Mustang struggled with an absence of front-end downforce. That made it troublesome to hustle the automotive by corners, particularly given its lengthy wheelbase, which already limits agility. On high of that, the tyres overheated shortly and there was nonetheless room for enchancment in braking efficiency.
This made it troublesome to carry the Mustang GT3 into the identical efficiency window as its rivals beneath Stability of Efficiency rules.
“The BoP officers may give us an enormous restrictor, which made the automotive a lot quicker on the straights than anything — however you don’t win races like that,” Fritz defined.
“If you happen to’re driving a Mercedes that struggles with high pace, that factor simply whistles previous you. And within the corners, you’re extra of an impediment.”
Ford Mustang GT3 Evo
Picture by: Haupt Racing Crew/smg
Overheating and pitstops: New wheels set to repair the problems
The replace is meant to make the Mustang GT3 extra aggressive total. “We’ve got a brand new braking system that, in concept, ought to generate much less warmth,” Fritz mentioned. “However the principle matter is that we’re getting new wheels that ought to have higher warmth administration.”
As a result of the wheel now conducts much less warmth, total temperatures mustn’t rise as a lot. “Our downside was that the tyre was getting far too sizzling,” mentioned Fritz.
As well as, in line with him, the brand new wheels are designed to behave like a form of “extractor”, serving to to tug sizzling air out of the wheel properly.
“They’re much extra open,” he mentioned of the brand new rims. “They need to even be higher for pitstops, which was one other one among our issues. And I feel that’s really a fairly large change.”
HRT mechanics repeatedly misplaced time throughout tyre adjustments as a result of they couldn’t get a correct grip on the wheel. That ought to now be a factor of the previous due to the replace.
What HRT expects from the Mustang replace within the DTM
Requested what he expects from the replace in DTM, Fritz replied with a counter-question: “Will the automotive wipe the ground with every little thing at Oschersleben? No, I don’t suppose so. The idea simply isn’t suited to that — with the lengthy wheelbase and so forth. Will we be in a greater place than final 12 months? Sure, I’m sure of that.”
It’s understood that HRT’s enter performed a serious function within the growth of the Mustang replace. Proof of that is the truth that the 2 new flaps on the entrance of the automotive have been already examined a 12 months in the past on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. “These aren’t amateurs,” Fritz mentioned, referring to the opposite Ford groups, who have been equally conscious of the automotive’s weak factors.
Nonetheless, HRT supplied important enter, notably with Pirelli and Yokohama tyres on the Nordschleife. “We undoubtedly gathered probably the most information of anybody, as a result of we fielded probably the most automobiles,” Fritz defined. “I feel there have been 14 Mustangs operating commonly final 12 months, eight of them from us alone.”
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