At the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, Ford formally announced plans to launch the new one-make series in Australia.

A six-round calendar has been confirmed with Driving Solutions Australia to operate the category.

Speaking with Speedcafe at the launch, Ford Performance global one-make series manager Chris Ward opened the door for existing teams to enter the category.

“Our hope as we introduce Mustang Cup into the Shannons SpeedSeries platform is not only that we attract customers from an existing GT paddock, but also, of course, the incredibly successful Super2 Series,” said Ward.

“And of course, we’d love to see teams from V8 Supercars come and join us with the Mustang Cup in Australia. That would be super exciting.”

Ward said the series would be open to “enthusiasts, passionate, and aspiring” drivers.

Ford has already flagged opportunities in its other programs for successful Mustang Cup drivers.

Ward flagged a field of 25 car for the 2026 season opener at Phillip Island.

“We have an extraordinary demand for our car after the Le Mans Invitational,” he said.

“We anticipate shipping 25 of these wonderful Mustang Dark Horse R cars to the Australian market for the debut at Phillip Island at round one in 2026.”

Ford commits to Mustang Cup Australia

Mustang Cup Australia will be the first of its kind outside of the United States.

“Off a terrific debut season in 2025 for Mustang Challenge in North America, and then the introduction this year of Mustang Cup, we were pursuing our global aspirations off the back of an incredible Le Mans Invitational – and what better place to debut internationally, the first international series for our Mustang Dark Horse R platform than Australia,” said Ward.

“An incredible visit by myself and the Ford family to Phillip Island for the inaugural round of the SRO GT World Challenge Australia Shannons SpeedSeries at Phillip Island this year, and we immediately knew as a group that Australia was going to be the perfect place to debut the Mustang Cup platform internationally.”

Mustang Cup Australia will feature at six rounds on the Shannons SpeedSeries, beginning at Phillip Island.

2026 Shannons SpeedSeries calendar (provsional)

Round 1: 27-29 March – Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit

Round 2: 8-10 May – The Bend Motorsport Park

Round 3: 12-14 June – Queensland Raceway

Round 4: 24-26 July – Hidden Valley Raceway

Round 5: 18-20 September – Sydney Motorsport Park

Round 6: 30 October -1 November – Sandown Raceway