Ford and RTR Place First at 2023 Formula Drift

October 17th, 2023 by

The RTR Mustang team with their winning vehicles

It’s a big moment for Ford, RTR Vehicles, and for driver Chelsea DeNofa as they all celebrate a first-place finish at the 2023 Formula Drift. Finishing the season at the top of the podium, RTR and DeNofa raced with a Spec 5-FD competition Mustang vehicle that shares substantial DNA with the all-new, seventh-generation 2024 Ford Mustang.

“Mustang was bred for racing, from drifting to road courses, and we’re excited to build on this first championship for the all-new Mustang,” said Joe Bellino, Mustang marketing manager. “We’re confident this is the first of many trophies, and it came from a dominant season.”

RTR was able to work directly in parallel with Ford on this season’s vehicles, creating and developing three Mustang RTR Spec 5-FDs with entirely new exteriors, all based off of the Mustang production car. The competition vehicles received significant enhancements to get them ready for the track, including ramping up the intensity to over 1,300 horsepower and adding enhanced suspension development.

These three groundbreaking Mustang vehicles have been one of the biggest changes that the Formula Drift Mustang has seen in years. The RTR team drivers behind the wheels of the Mustangs this season included some of the world’s most prolific and prestigious drift drivers, including Vaughn Gittin Jr., Chelsea DeNofa, Adam LZ, and their newest team member, three-time champion James Deane.

“What an amazing accomplishment for our team along with Ford Performance support to earn the first championship with the all-new Mustang,” said Vaughn Gittin Jr. “I remember 20 years ago when I was first driving the Mustang people looked at me sideways, now the Mustang platform is an icon in the sport with more and more showing up at events and in the collective culture.”

The impressive developments that the track Mustangs have undergone this year have also had an impact on their street-driving cousins, such as the Ford Mustang’s first-ever and segment-first available electronic drift brake. Its creation was a collaboration between Ford and RTR, bringing together the rear-wheel-drive drifting capability of a Mustang with the visual appeal and functionality of a traditional mechanical hand brake. It uses advanced electronics to mimic the response of a hydraulic drift brake, like the one found in RTR’s Formula Drift Mustang. The electronic brake is able to provide more than three times the braking force of a conventional mechanical parking brake system. It’s now a part of the Mustang Performance Electronic Parking Brake, which can be found in 2.3-liter EcoBoost and 5.0-liter V8 Mustangs with automatic or manual transmissions and the available Performance Pack.

Want to learn more about the 2024 Mustang and all of its features, including track-inspired systems? Check out our available inventory online for more information!

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