Mike Rockenfeller said the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course should suit his #64 Ford Multimatic Mustang GT3 as they eye out their first IMSA GTD Pro win.
On this Sunday 22 September, the six-hour Battle on the Bricks race will run at the iconic Indianapolis venue as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Rockenfeller and his co-driver Harry Tincknell will attempt to claim their first victory with the new Mustang in a class of 12 GTD Pro entries.
They scored Ford’s first IMSA GTD Pro podium with a P2 finish at the VIRginia International Raceway.
Speaking to selected media ahead of the penultimate round of the 2024, he said:
“I think the track should suit us pretty well.
“And like I said, we have been testing there. In my opinion, we’ve made some progress in the setup.
“We found something there which we were fighting pretty much all year long.
“So I hope that plays out and I hope that basically we will hopefully see that in the result at the end.
“But you never know, I mean, GTD Pro or GTD is so close and you know the characteristics of each car is a bit different.
“So [at] VIR, to be honest, we have been testing as well before that race and that played out for us.
“And I hope we just can continue this good preparation and knowledge about the track and what the car needs for each track.
“And like I said, I’m quite confident. I mean, you never know, obviously, but I definitely think that we should be very competitive.”
During the most recent races, apart from Road America, the Ford Mustang has made steady yet significant steps against its competition.
Excluding Road America, the #64 has performed better at each round since Tincknell knocked on the door of a podium finish at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
For the first time since the Sportscar Weekend, all of the four IMSA WeatherTech classes will reunite at Indianapolis this weekend.
Therefore, traffic management will become more of a factor even with Indianapolis’ wide track width.
Ford Multimatic’s last IMSA victory was taken by current #65 duo Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller in the 2019 season, when the manufacturer fielded two Ford GTs in the GTLM category.