Ryan Hardwick from the United States, Zacharie Robichon from Canada, and Ben Barker from Great Britain are the drivers of the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3. They participated in the FIA World Endurance Championship Le Mans Test, which took place from June 7th to 9th, 2024 in Le Mans, France.
During the qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ben Barker, a driver from Proton Competition, showcased his skills and secured the first position. This race also marked the debut of the Ford Mustang GT3. In a one-hour session, the 62 cars from three different classes fought for a spot among the top eight.
In the LMGT3 category, 22 cars competed for a place in the Hyperpole, except for the #86 GR Racing Ferrari 296, which faced an electronic issue during the first free practice session. The team tried to solve the problem by changing the ECU during the qualifying session, avoiding the need to change the engine.
Ben Barker achieved an impressive lap time of 3:55.263, securing the pole position for the Ford Mustang GT3, which was making its debut at Le Mans. No other competitor managed to surpass his time during the session. The top eight positions were represented by six different manufacturers, including the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 and the Aston Martin AMR Vantages. All eyes were on Michelle Gatting, also known as Iron Dame, as she tried to qualify for the Hyperpole with her pink car. However, Larry ten Voorde from JMW Motorsport Ferrari 296 managed to secure the seventh position, pushing the Iron Dames out.
The #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3, followed by the #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S and the #82 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R driven by Daniel Juncadella, managed to qualify for the 30-minute Hyperpole session. The Lamborghini Huracan #60 Iron Lynx by Franck Perera, the Porsche 911 LMGT3.R #92 Manthey PureRxing by Klaus Bachler, and Alex Riberas in sixth place also qualified. Larry ten Voorde was the only Ferrari among the top eight, securing seventh position. Marco Sorensen of D’station Racing placed the Aston Martin Vantage AMR #777 in eighth place. Unfortunately, the Lamborghini #85 Iron Dames came very close to qualifying for the Hyperpole, with their best lap time being 3:56.530.
