Preparations are taking shape ahead of the all-new one-make Ford Mustang Cup Australia series as part of the SRO Shannons SpeedSeries 2026 calendar, with the first batch of Ford Mustang Dark Horse Rs officially on their way from the United States.

Twelve 5.0L Coyote V8-powered Dark Horse Rs will soon dock in Sydney, with the remainder arriving before the end of this year.

Mustang Cup Australia Series Manager Liam Curkpatrick said it is really exciting to see the first 12 Dark Horse Rs complete and ready for delivery.

“We’ve been kept informed through the construction and build process and it’s been amazing to see the attention to detail that goes into each and everyone of these cars,” Curkpatrick mentioned.

“Since officially launching the class for Australia, we have received incredible enquiry from a wide range of teams, competitors and industry stakeholders.

There will be 25-plus Dark Horse Rs available and ready for competition in 2026 after being constructed at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan.

Ford’s technical partner for race car development, Multimatic Motorsport, completed the cars’ final transformations, turning the vehicles into race-ready cars.

The all-Mustang racing series was conceived in the United States back in 2024.

Australia will become just the second market to embrace the new one-make category in 2026, offering aspiring and experienced drivers the opportunity to compete in identical rear-wheel-drive V8-powered cars on Australia’s best circuits.

The inaugural Mustang Cup Australia series will serve as a key support category to the SRO Motorsports Australia-promoted Shannons SpeedSeries in 2026, starting at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on 27-29 March.

Curkpatrick expressed his excitement surrounding the contribution the Mustang Cup Australia class will make to the Shannons SpeedSeries next year.

“With the backing of Ford Performance both locally and for the USA, combined with a quality calendar and broadcast package, we feel this class offers everything and more for all levels of drivers and teams,” Curkpatrick added.

With official support from Ford Performance, leading Australian motorsport event management company Driving Solutions will spearhead the new series.

Miedecke Motorsport, run by Andrew and George Miedecke, are Multimatic’s Australian and New Zealand agents and are responsible for distributing the Dark Horse Rs. It will also offer trackside parts supply and technical assistance to car recipients moving forward.