Supercross Preview: Marvin Musquin carries momentum to Houston

By Mar 28, 2019, 6:00 PM EDT
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After being penalized seven points for a rules infraction last week, Marvin Musquin did not gain as much on points leader Cooper Webb as he might, but he still carries momentum into Round 13 of the Supercross season at Houston’s NRG Stadium.

On the other hand, Houston will mark the third and final Triple Crown race of the season and those long formats have benefitted Webb all year. He scored his first career victory in Round 3 at Anaheim after winning two of the three Mains. He finished second in Round 8 at Ford Field in Detroit after taking the checkers first in the final Main. Musquin finished second and sixth in those events respectively without winning any of the Mains.

Last week was the first sign of weakness for Webb since his eighth-place result in San Diego. He finished fourth in Seattle, but moved up a couple of spots at the end because of other riders’ mistakes. This also marked the third consecutive week that Webb finished worse than the one before. His fifth victory of the season at Atlanta has been followed by a second at Daytona, a third at Indy and last week’s fourth.

The 450 class is not yet a two-man race after the first solid performance for Ken Roczen (2nd) in three weeks and a third-place finish for Tomac, but it’s still Webb’s to lose.

In the 250 class, Dylan Ferrandis finally came out of top with a victory over Adam Cianciarulo last week. He cut the points’ lead to 12, but will definitely need a big mistake from Cianciarulo to catch the leader.

Shane McElrath is likely out for the remainder of the season with a back injury. He did not start his Seattle heat and scored no points for the weekend, but with a last-place finish for Colt Nichols, McElrath remained third in the standings.

MORE: Seattle Supercross costly for several riders 

Schedule:

Qualifying: 1 p.m. on NBC Sports, Gold
Race: Live, 9 p.m. on NBC Sports, Gold and NBCSN

Last Week:

Marvin Musquin won his second race of the season, but was penalized seven points. Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac rounded out the top-three in the 450 class.
Dylan Ferrandis earned his first win of the season over Adam Cianciarulo and James Decotis.

Last Year:

Jason Anderson won over Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia in the 450 class.
In 250s, Aaron Plessinger won over Joey Savatgy and Chase Sexton in the 250 class.

Winners

450s:
[5] Cooper Webb (Anaheim II, Oakland, Minneapolis, Arlington, and Atlanta)
[3] Eli Tomac (San Diego, Detroit and Daytona)
[2] Marvin Musquin (Indianapolis and Seattle)
[1] Justin Barcia (Anaheim I)
[1] Blake Baggett (Glendale)

250 West:
[4] Adam Cianciarulo (Glendale, Oakland, San Diego and Atlanta)
[1] Colt Nichols (Anaheim I)
[1] Shane McElrath (Anaheim II)
[1] Dylan Ferrandis (Seattle)

250 East:
[5] Austin Forkner (Minneapolis, Arlington, Detroit, Daytona and Indianapolis)

Top-5s

450s:
Ken Roczen (10)
Marvin Musquin (10)
Cooper Webb (10)
Eli Tomac (9)
Blake Baggett (7)
Joey Savatgy (4)
Dean Wilson (2)
Chad Reed (2)
Justin Barcia (2)
Jason Anderson (1)
Justin Bogle (1)
Justin Brayton (1)
Aaron Plessinger (1)

250 West:
Adam Cianciarulo (7)
Shane McElrath (5)
Dylan Ferrandis (5)
Colt Nichols (4)
RJ Hampshire (3)
James Decotis (3)
Jacob Hayes (1)
Garrett Marchbanks (1)
Jess Pettis (1)
Michael Mosiman (1)
Chris Blose (1)

250 East:
Austin Forkner (6)
Justin Cooper (6)
Chase Sexton (6)
Jordon Smith (3)
Martin Davalos (3)
Alex Martin (2)
Mitchell Oldenburg (2)

Points Leaders

450s:
Cooper Webb (262)
Marvin Musquin (248)
Eli Tomac (243)
Ken Roczen (239)
Blake Baggett (200)

250 West:
Adam Cianciarulo (163)
Dylan Ferrandis (151)
Shane McElrath (123)
Colt Nichols (121)
RJ Hampshire (103)

250 East:
Austin Forkner (151)
Chase Sexton (125)
Justin Cooper (123)
Alex Martin (92)
Martin Davalos (89)

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).