On Wednesday, Ford Performance announced that the new Shelby GT350R-C, a racing version of the high performance Ford Shelby GT350, will make its on-track debut this weekend at Watkins Glen International in the IMSA Continential Tire SportsCar Challenge’s Continental Tire 150 on Saturday. In the CTSC, the Shelby GT350R-C will serve as the long term replacement for the Ford Mustang Boss 302R, which has been used in the class since the beginning of 2012.
Canadian-based Multimatic Motorsports will put two Shelby GT350R-Cs on-track this week. The team’s No. 15 will be driven by Scott Maxwell and Billy Johnson, while the No. 158 will be driven by Jade Buford and Austin Cindric.
Officials from Ford are very happy with the new car.
“Like so many Mustangs before it, the Shelby GT350R is a car born to race,” Global Ford Performance Director Dave Pericak said in a press release. “We’re taking it to the track as the GT350R-C and we’re ready to see what it can do against the best competition in the world.”
The new Shelby Mustang GT350R-C will be powered by a production-based 5.2-liter V8 engine with rarely-seen flat-plane crankshafts, a feature that is normally a feature of far more expensive exotic cars. In addition, the car has a fully independent rear suspension. All in all, it is designed to be a competitor to the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 on and off the track.
The Continental Tire 150 at the Glen is scheduled to start at 12:25 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The race can be live-streamed at IMSA.com. A condensed two-hour TV broadcast will air on July 5 at 10 a.m. on FOX Sports 1.
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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Does anyone know if from a dead stop the stock Shelby Mustang will out accelerate the current Cup tapered (it’s not a plate) spacer car?