Ford Performance is credited for the announcement made by Proton Competition regarding their participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team revealed the look of their third Ford Mustang LMGT3, which will have the number 44. This opportunity arose after the team secured an invitation by winning the GT class title in the Asian Le Mans series 2023-24. The team opted for a black and yellow design for their car. Additionally, the team owner, Christian Ried, will not compete and instead, John Hartshorne will take on the role of a Bronze-rated driver in the team. Ried retired from the FIA World Endurance Championship last year, after competing in all races since the creation of the WEC in 2012. Hartshorne, on the other hand, will start his fourth race at Le Mans, having previously driven for TF Sport in 2021. In that race, he finished eighth in the GTE Am class, driving an Aston Martin Vantage AMR. Along with Ford Multimatic factory driver Christopher Mies, Hartshorne will be joined by Ben Tuck, who will make his Le Mans debut. The trio also competes together in the European Le Mans series and the GT World Challenge Europe series, albeit with Ferrari 296 cars. The inclusion of Proton with their Mustang #44, along with the regular #77 and #88 from the WEC, allows for additional entries in the LMGT3 category, deviating from the usual rule of two cars. The #77 will be driven by Ryan Hardwick, Zacharie Robichon, and Benjamin Barker, while Giorgio Roda, Mikkel Pedersen, and Dennis Olsen will pilot the #88. It is worth noting that each car will have a factory driver for the Mustang’s debut at Le Mans.
