LE MANS WINNING CAR & TEAM MULTI-CAR ENTRY FOR MUSTANG CUP AUSTRALIA

MEDIA RELEASE/Mustang Cup Australia – Photos: supplied

RM Race Cars has confirmed it will enter a multi-car team in the 2026 Motorcraft Mustang Cup Australia.

Led by experienced motorsport professional Ryan McLeod, the south Brisbane-based team is poised to field up to five Dark Horse Rs in Motorcraft Mustang Cup Australia, and will enter the season as a recognised and endorsed team by Ford Racing.

Young gun Josh Trappett and veteran racer Keith Kassulke are the first two drivers confirmed in McLeod’s stable.

Trappett graduates from Queensland’s PMP Excel Series into Mustang Cup having been a consistent top 10 finisher.

Other drivers will be announced by the squad in due course.

Trappett is the third junior driver announcement to be confirmed for the Dark Horse Junior Class (which will run parallel with Dark Horse Class which includes all drivers) alongside Matt Kiss and Imogen Radburn as anticipation builds ahead of further reveals after the February 23 Motorcraft Mustang Cup Australia launch.

Two brand new Dark Horse Rs will make up part of the fleet, while two from Le Mans will be available through lease deals.

RM Race Cars is no stranger to the one-make Mustang class having entered three cars in the Mustang Challenge Invitational at Le Mans last year, including a car for McLeod’s son Cameron, who went on to win the event.

The car that McLeod won at Le Mans is one of two cars that RM Race Cars has secured for the new Australian series that were raced in that one-off French race.

This marks another step for RM Race Cars and its history with Mustangs.

McLeod and his team have extensive experience with the heroic muscle car through his former venture MARC Cars, plus the build of local production racing cars.

Motorcraft Mustang Cup Australia will open its season as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries event at Phillip Island on March 27-29.

Josh Trappett-Driver, RM Race Cars

“Competing in Mustang Cup was a no-brainer for me. From Red Bull Racing in Formula 1 to Triple Eight Race Engineering in Supercars, Ford is the place to be right now,” said Trappett.

“I’ve raced in the Excel Series and Production Cars, but I’ve made the decision to get into something more powerful and Motorcraft Mustang Cup Australia was the best option for that.

“The main thing I’m excited about is everyone is on the same page. No one has run the Dark Horse R in a competitive environment here in Australia yet, so to be racing with a front-running team is great and we’re here to win.

“From our side, Ryan has run a Dark Horse R at Le Mans last year, so when the phone rang and he was chatting to me about this opportunity, we knew he was the guy we wanted to run with.”

Ryan McLeod-Owner, RM Race Cars

“It’ll be at least a four-car team and a factory partner of Ford Racing, which is really exciting” said McLeod.

“When the opportunity came to drive the Mustang Dark Horse R at Le Mans, we decided to find out about it and we did, and I knew from the moment we saw the cars and the way Ford run and back the category that this was going to be a great addition to the Australian motorsport landscape.

“We’ve been super impressed with all of our dealings with the category and the people running it. It’s awesome how highly Ford Racing regards Mustang Cup and how it’s a genuine part of its driver pathway.

“With the announcement of the Mustang Cup coming to Australia, we put our hand up straight away to get involved in it because I honestly believe there’s big opportunities for young drivers to use it as a launch pad, or for gentlemen drivers to enjoy their racing in great machinery.

“A rear-wheel-drive, V8 one-make category will work here in Australia. Ford Racing’s support is another reason this will be exciting and I know this category is going to turn heads.”

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