Mardenborough: HRT, Ford Tie-Up “Something to Grow Into”

Photo: Ford Performance

Jann Mardenborough says his new alliance with Haupt Racing Team and Ford Performance is “something to grow into” as he aims to re-establish a long-term presence in top-level GT3 racing starting with this weekend’s GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup opener at Paul Ricard.

The British racer will make his series return with HRT Ford Performance as part of the lineup for the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3, sharing driving duties with factory driver Arjun Maini and Thomas Drouet.

It will mark Mardenborough’s first full season of competition since 2020, when he competed in SUPER GT with Kondo Racing.

Since then, he has made select appearances in Super Taikyu, the British GT Championship as well as in last year’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, where he secured a Pro-Am class podium.

Mardenborough explained that the return to GTWC Europe, in which he previously mainly competed with Nissan and Team RJN, forms part of a push to re-establish himself as a regular presence in endurance racing.

“I made a promise to myself since 2021 to make it back to the top level of sports car GT racing,” said Mardenborough.

“I managed to put a package together with HRT and Ford Performance to challenge for championships and wins.

“I feel this is the best place for me to be because there’s room to grow with this structure with Ford coming back to GT3 racing and with the amount of support HRT has had from them, it gives me a lot of confidence as well that it’s not a short-term thing.

“It’s something to grow into. I was always wanting to come back, it’s just timing and life, making sure it’s the correct people involved.”

Mardenborough explained that the deal with HRT had been in the works for “over six months,” with a key focus on establishing a long-term relationship.

“I don’t want do a one-year thing,” he said. “I’m not interested in doing that.

“I’ve been around for a while now and the only thing I want to do is because I actually enjoy doing it and I can bring some value.

“Whether that’s the experience of speed, some knowledge, possibly wisdom to a package where I can actually have some value in there myself, build into a team.

“So that’s why I’m here. That’s why I want to race in the current structure with Ford and HRT.”

While the 33-year-old noted his interest was drawn to the Mustang GT3 when he saw the car in action during its debut season last year, he was convinced to go with HRT when the scope of the Blue Oval’s European program became more evident.

“I saw the program at the start of last year and heard of it before, but actually [saw] the car on track [when] I was here for the test for GT Challenge Europe with the team I was racing for last year.

“So we got to see the Mustang there. I thought it was a cool project but actually still talking to the people later on in the year because you know seeing the car but then you don’t know if it’s just going to be an American thing or a European thing.

“What is the amount of personnel that they’re willing to invest into Europe? You only know that when you actually sit down and have a conversation with them.

“It’s great. I love GT and sports car racing. I’m a car fan, I’m a petrolhead, so to see such a variety of cars on the grid, different engine configurations, it’s cool to see as well.

“It’s the coolest sounding car on the grid, for sure. And to drive a car that has a naturally aspirated engine is lovely too.”

While he made two appearances at the wheel of a McLaren 720S GT3 Evo last year, the bulk of Mardenborough’s GT3 experience comes from the Nissan GT-R GT3, having broken through into racing as part of the Japanese manufacturer’s GT Academy program.

“The way that this car is put together is a lot different compared to the cars I’ve raced in GT3 in the past,” Mardenborough spoke about the Mustang GT3.

“It’s easier to service if you have a crash. The crash structures, front and rear, they can be changed quite quick and easily.

“Less likely to require chassis change if you have a big accident.

“The way how quick you can drop the rear floor is very impressive. It’s a few clips and it’s off. So it’s impressive, it’s a really well thought out, put together car.

“The footprint of the car is very similar to, say, the GT-R in terms of width. It’s as wide as that. I think it’s longer than the cars I’ve raced in the past, so it has a large footprint.

“That does take some getting used to as well. Especially here with track limits, because they’re very strict.

“So just small stuff like that which takes some time getting used to the dimensions of the car. As soon as this weekend is over, it will fit more like a glove.”