As global director of Ford Performance Motorsport Mark Rushbrook oversees everything the blue oval brand does on the racetrack (and rally stage).
At present that means being across every major form of motor racing around the planet, from Formula 1 to NASCAR to the World Rally Championship as well as Supercars, GT3, GT4 and NHRA, just to name a few.
For Rushbrook, this isn’t just a job, he lives the Ford Performance experience right down to the cars in his garage, which, as you’d expected, is full of Fords.
Daily driver: Ford Mustang Dark Horse
An obvious choice? Yes. But an understandable one, as it’s the latest and greatest version of the iconic pony car. The Dark Horse is the limited run hero model for the new seventh-generation, which is due in Australia by the end of 2024.
Rushbrook stands by his company’s products rain or shine… if not snow, which makes sense is a 5.0-litre V8-powered, rear-wheel drive car.
“I love what that vehicle is,” Rushbrook tells Torquecafe. “I actually have one on order, with the Performance Package. I’m looking forward to driving it every day, except the really bad snow days in Michigan.”
He adds: “It is just a comfortable car, in terms of getting in it and driving around as a road car. But also in spirited way, when the time is appropriate.”
VIDEO: We hit Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Something special: ‘Shelby’ Cobra replica
“For me, something special is already in there,” Rushbrook explains. “It’s a Factory Five Cobra kit car that my son and I built together with a Gen2 Coyote V8 and a Tremec T56 Magnum transmission in it. It’s very special, not just because of what the car is, but because my son and I built it every step of the way and it’s something that we’ll own forever.”
It took the pair five years to build the popular Shelby Cobra-based kit car, which was longer than they planned, but it was for a very good reason. The pair had busy schedules, with dad running Ford’s global racing programs and son finishing school and playing sports.
“It was our commitment to each other that we’d do everything together, not one at a time, but the two of us together so we’d learn and experience it together,” Rushbrook says.
Track toy: Ford Mustang GT4
Despite the plethora of choices even with the Ford Performance family, Rushbrook doesn’t hesitate with his answer. And the reason is simple – this isn’t a hypothetical. He will be racing a GT4-spec ‘Stang in the World Racing League (WRL), a grassroots American championship that promises ‘professional racing on an amateur budget.’
“I love the full line-up of track and race vehicles that we have with the new seventh-generation Mustang, from Dark Horse R, GT4, GT3 and everywhere else it’s racing,” he says. “But for me, practically, for the racing I do myself I will actually be racing the Mustang GT4 in the WRL series in the US. I just love what that car is.”
The Mustang GT4 has already proven itself a winner in Australia, so Rushbrook has the right tools for the job. And he’s not the only Ford executive that enjoys racing, with global CEO Jim Farley another on-track regular.
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