Mike Rockenfeller, who is racing the #64 GTD Pro entry with Harry Tincknell and Christopher Mies run by the factory Multimatic squad, told Autosport that “for sure the car is not at the sharp end of the field” ahead of the opening round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
“That is my feeling from being around the other cars, seeing their straightline speed, acceleration and handling,” said Rockenfeller in the wake of the opening sessions on Thursday.
“I would say that we are struggling a little bit — today has not been very positive for us.”
The Mustang, developed by Multimatic, was given a 15kg increase in minimum weight between qualifying last Sunday and the start of the free practice sessions leading up to the start of the 24 Hours on Saturday.
Ford was the hardest hit of 11 manufacturers competing in GTD along with Ferrari, whose 296 GT3 has been handed a 10kg weight increase and a 5kW or 5.4bhp decrease in power.
The moves to slow the Mustang came despite the two factory entries ending up ninth and 13th of the 13 cars in GTD Pro in the 15-minute qualifying session last weekend.
Dirk Muller was a second off the pace in the #65 car he shares with Joey Hand and Frederic Vervisch in ninth place, while Tincknell was a further six tenths behind after encountering traffic on his best lap.
Source: Autosport