Jordansport Ford Mustang - Britcar 500 Race Report

It’s been an up and down season for the Cambridge Business Travel backed Jordansport Ford Mustang but ahead of the 6 hour Britcar 500 the car was looking fantastic.

There were some important changes to the #77 car on display too – a sequential shift replacing the manual shift that even Mustang lovers would agree is hardly light to the touch.

The car was also sporting a rear wing for the first time – “We actually got a wing from Multimatic,” said Stuart Scott, “but it was made of steel and was so heavy that it buckled the bootlid!  This one is much lighter and you can really feel the difference.

The drivers too were looking well prepared, all three sporting custom made racing overalls and some rather fetching racing boots, specially commissioned to match the Mustang’s livery, a tribute to the Anglo-American mix of drivers (Anglo) and Mustang (American).  Lucky charms? 

Steve Wood would take the start and was immediately in the thick of the action, taking the Production 1 class fight to the #51 Intersport and #60 KG Motorsport BMWs.  Well in the class lead though was the Lotus Exige of pro driver Rob Barff leading the way in an excellent 9th overall.

The BMWs though were firmly in the Mustang’s sights, Steve would finally make the team’s first scheduled pit stop from an excellent 11th place overall, hard on the heels of the #60 BMW M3.  Time for Stuart Scott to use those boots in anger.

Stuart was soon back into the fray and holding his own as the race settled into its rhythm, trading places with BMWs and Ginettas and having a whale of a time as the big Ford found its new endurance racing specification very much to its liking.

Stuart’s stint would see the car well established in the mid teens, a good launch pad to unleash the Jordan!

Yes, GT racer extraordinaire, Mike Jordan was next aboard and he started to make an immediate impact, aided and abetted by troubles for both the #51 BMW and the #66 Lotus, Jordan’s charge would see the Mustang into the top ten by the race’s halfway point, and up to second in class.  The Ford would lose a little track position at its next scheduled stop, Steve Wood climbing back aboard and getting straight back onto terms with British GT regulars Stark Racing and their Ginetta G50. 

Despite a delay enforced by finding itself in the wrong place at the wrong time behind the Safety Car, the Mustang’s charge was still making progress up the overall order, with the car in an excellent 9th overall at the end of the 4th hour, still second in the Production 1 class with the #60 BMW getting a full lap lead courtesy of an extended Safety Car period and a fortunate wave by.

The run to the flag was all that remained and the Mustang seemed to get a second wind. Mike Jordan was back aboard and closing the overall and class gaps ahead. Steve Wood would rejoin after the car’s final scheduled stop in 10th position, but things were about to get much, much better.

The Torquespeed BMW may have got a break under the Safety Car but the M3 was beginning to flag, a long final pitstop saw the charging Ford take 9th overall but more importantly the Production 1 class lead, the BMW would try and fail to close the gap – Right at the death the #77 car was looking set to score a class win.

Bad news for the Stark Racing Ginetta ahead though as the car went missing somewhere out in the darkness, that was further good luck though for the Mustang boys, the car picking up 8th position overall in the last few minutes of the race, a tired but happy crew cheering Steve Wood home to the best result of the season for the #77 Cambridge Business Travel / Jordansport Mustang – Those boot might just have turned out to be lucky after all!