After Le Mans Mustang Challenge, Evans looks to continue winning ways in Euro GT4

After participating in the Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational last weekend, American racer Erik Evans will return to the European GT4 Series powered by RAFA Racing Club next week for the series' third round at Spa-Francorchamps. Driving the No. 61 Academy Motorsports Ford Mustang S650 GT4, Evans and co-driver Marco Signoretti have already broken through in 2025, winning the opening round at Paul Ricard in April. It was the first victory for the new Ford Mustang GT4, and the two Ford Performance Junior Team drivers are looking ahead to Spa and the Misano, Nurburgring and Barcelona-Catalunya rounds to follow

“I’ve been up to a lot with the European GT4 Series and then this past weekend I was racing the Mustang Challenge at Le Mans," related the 22-year-old from Georgia. "It’s all been great experiences and in the European Series we have won two out of the four races so far this year, so I can’t complain too much with that. The team has been great and the car has been amazing.”

Evans was thrilled by his experience at Le Mans, where 37 invited drivers climbed into identically prepared Ford Mustang Dark Horse R race cars to contest a pair of races in support of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“It was a really cool thing to do,” said Evans, who finished ninth in the final 45-minute race. “I mean, there were nearly 40 cars on the grid. It’s a one-make series. They’re all Mustangs and the exact same car, so it really comes down to driver and team setup. I had some mechanical gremlins hindering me all weekend. It finally got sorted out for race two, but I had to start from 36th and I drove all the way up to ninth.

“Yeah, it’s definitely fierce racing,” said Evans. “Especially at the front, which unfortunately for me, just due to some mechanical problems, I didn’t get to go race up at the front. To have all six Ford Performance Junior Drivers in the race and racing against each other was really cool because we all race at different spots and in different championships around the world, so to put all of us on the track at the same time. It was an absolute experience. And also to be out there racing against guys like Tanner Foust, Chelsea DeNofa, and of course the CEO of Ford, Mr. Jim Farley himself, who I had to get past during the race. That was a little bit nerve racking!

Evans was impressed with the Ford boss's down-to-Earth demeanor at Le Mans.

“Yeah, he’s a great guy,” said Evans. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet him a couple times at some launch events. At Le Mans, he walked up and down the grid and talked to everyone and stuff. What a nice and personable guy. He’s really enthusiastic about his racing, which is why Ford is going all in with not only the sports car programs, but also in Formula 1 and all the off-road stuff, as well.”

And the track was an experience in itself, Evans said.

“It was my first time going. I mean what a circuit!" he enthused. "Absolutely a dream to drive there for anyone who calls themselves a racing driver. It was such an honor to be able to drive the track and it was especially cool to do it in a championship as cool as the Mustang Challenge and having 40 naturally aspirated V8s lasting down the Mulsanne Straight together. Just the sound alone. Everyone that I talked to and every fan that came up all they did was talk about the sound.”

By contesting the Mustang Challenge, as well as the European GT4 Series powered by RAFA Racing Club, Evans is working his way toward him ultimately lining up in the world’s biggest and most prestigious sports car races.

“Exactly, that's the goal,” agreed Evans of his masterplan. “When I signed up for this sports car racing stuff, it’s to eventually go on and compete in the biggest races like the 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Spa. And with Ford’s entering the Hypercar class in 2027, if I work hard, do my job right and keep putting in results, I think that’s the goal. I first want to step up to GT3 and compete in all of those races, and then hopefully get a shot to go up to the Hypercar and compete for an overall win."

In fact, the Ford Performance Development Program that Evans is a part of was created specifically to promote opportunities for racers such as himself and escalate their motor racing careers.

“The Ford Junior Program is meant to build and nurture us into GT3 drivers, but we still have to get results and we still have to put in the work and we still have a lot of things that we have to do to maintain a level that Ford wants to see,” Evans explained. “And they help us out as much as they can. They teach us about PR and social media. They also teach us how vehicle dynamics work and they take us through engineering of things. They’re such a great help.

"And not only do they help us on teaching side, but also on the metal side ad also on the physical fitness side. They’re a great help in providing stuff like that. They also give us access to their simulators and that has such a good impact on preparing for these weekends [like the Le Mans Mustang Challenge]. It is so much faster and so much more commitment than you think it is. Especially as you’re going down the back half of the track, which is literally just country roads with the guardrails really close. It definitely makes you feel the aura of the place, just also how historic it is. Dreams have been broken and made at that place. You can feel it. And the sheer volume of fans was unreal. It just made everything so special. It’s such a cool place.”

So is the sweeping Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, where Evans will be racing next.

“It’s the 24 Hours of Spa weekend," he notes. "Going back to Spa is awesome. Eau Rouge is such an iconic corner. I’m really looking forward to going back there. And it’s not just the aura of the track. It’s also the fun stuff like doing the Spa 24 Hour parade and interacting with the fans and driving up and down the country roads in the village. It’s such a great time. It’s honestly one of my favorite weekends to do.

"I get to get back into the GT4 car and I’m really looking forward to it, especially because me and my teammate Marco and Multimatic Motorsports, we’re right in the championship hunt so we have to make sure that we are maximizing everything and make sure we execute to the best of our ability, even if we’re not the quickest ones out there.

"I feel incredibly honored with the pace that me and my teammate have shown. And also the pace that Ford Performance and Academy Motorsports have shown. I mean, to win two out of four races so far in the world’s most competitive GT4 championship makes me so proud of everyone that works on this program. All the work that we all put in is just showing how bad we want it. But then we can’t relax now. We still need to keep pushing forward and keep pushing hard and just keep going for it. I’m super-excited about coming into Spa.”