Ben Barker showed both his and the new Ford Mustang GT3’s potential on the biggest sportscar stage of them all, as he provided a pace-setting performance at the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The Briton, who joined Ford Performance’s return to the World Endurance Championship ranks with Proton Competition ahead of the 2024 campaign, is no stranger to success at the Circuit de la Sarthe, having claimed a podium finish there in 2023, but faced an all-new challenge with the latest Mustang model after only three rounds of racing so far this season. It was something of a surprise therefore when the Cambridge resident topped the qualifying times on Wednesday of race week with what would go on to be the fastest lap produced by the closely-matched LMGT3 class in the entire event.
“The car felt really good from the start,” Barker explained. “We didn’t need to change a lot from Sunday’s opening test session, and that is pretty much the ideal situation to be in. Both of my team-mates were quick against their relevant opposition, and I was able to go out and be on the pace from the moment qualifying opened. I banged in an early lap good enough for P2 on the timesheets, and then found another tenth of a second on my next flying lap, which proved to be good enough to go fastest overall and progress to Thursday’s hyperpole session for the first time this season. As you can imagine, there was great energy in the Proton garage after that.”
Although the bright blue #77 Mustang would ultimately start fourth on the LMGT3 grid, Barker remained undeterred, and wasted little time in making his presence felt, vaulting to second in class in the opening laps and harassing the leading McLaren right through to the pit-stop window, where quick work from the Proton crew ensured that team-mate Ryan Hardwick rejoined at the front of the pack. The American, however, would be faced with the first of many changes in the French weather, having to contend with a wet circuit while still running on slick tyres, but coped admirably to ensure the #77 machine remained in contention.
It was particularly galling, therefore, when the Mustang developed a crack in its steering rack, forcing the Proton team into a lengthy repair in order to remain in the race. Although all hope of a potential race win evaporated while the crew pored over the car, it eventually returned to the fray, with Barker, Hardwick and third driver Zach Robichon hardly putting a foot wrong over the remaining 16 hours to bring it home an unrepresentative 17th in class.
“Obviously, this isn’t the result we wanted — or, at one point, thought we could achieve,” Barker, who was making his ninth successive Le Mans appearance, sighed. “Having quickly got up to P2, and to be harrying the McLaren for the class lead, we thought we had a good chance of challenging for the win. Even in the worst of the unpredictable conditions, Ryan and Zach kept the car on the road and maintained a good pace, so things were looking good until the steering rack broke.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t a quick repair, but the Proton team did a sterling job to get the #77 back out on track, and I’m delighted that we were able to reward that effort by getting the car to the finish.”
Barker was again able to show his pace behind the wheel with the repaired car, lapping just a tenth of a second off the fastest times in class and producing an average lap time comparable to those at the front of the field.
“Seeing the chequered flag — and knowing how well the two other Proton entries fared — just shows the rapid progress Ford Performance, Multimatic and Proton are making with the Mustang GT3,” Barker noted. “They all deserve credit for the producing a quick car, and it was only bad luck that stopped us.
“Failures like the one we suffered on the #77 are part and parcel of any new programme, but it’s a shame it happened at the biggest race of the year, and while the car was going so well. Congratulations, however, should go to the #88 car for putting the Ford name back on the podium — the first podium finish for the Mustang GT3 — and also to the #44 for finishing fourth in class.”
Round five of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at Interlagos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, over the weekend of 12-14 July.
