Inside Imola: WEC Mustang GT3 Paddock Experience
Inside Imola: WEC Imola Mustang GT3 Paddock Experience
A unique WEC Imola Mustang GT3 paddock experience, going behind the scenes with Proton Competition inside the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The journey to Imola didn’t start as planned. What should have been a two-hour drive turned into almost five after a major accident near Bologna. By the time I arrived, it was already dark. No pass. No official access. Just a phone call — and sometimes, that’s enough.
This WEC Imola Mustang GT3 experience started in the most unexpected way.
👉 Read also the official Ford Racing version of this experience:
Inside Imola – Ford Racing
Discover more about the Mustang world on MustangMania.
Thursday – WEC Imola Mustang GT3 Behind the Scenes
That’s how I enter the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on a Thursday evening, when there are no crowds, no noise, and motorsport is still hidden.
The race is only part of it.
The cars are sitting inside the garages, within the team paddocks. Open. Disassembled. Alive. No show. No filters.
Guided by Stefano Gattuso, Bronze driver of the Mustang #88, I step into the operational world of Proton Competition, the team running the Ford Performance program in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Alongside him, the driver lineup includes Gianmarco Levorato and Logan Sargeant.
This isn’t a visit. It’s access.
There’s a Ford-blue corridor, with the three Tribar stripes above and Mustang horses on the walls. It’s just
a passage. But when you walk through it, you feel like you’re entering something that doesn’t normally belong to you.
Friday – WEC Imola Mustang GT3 Paddock Activity
Friday changes the pace inside the WEC Imola paddock.
The garages fill up, the work intensifies. Mechanics rehearse pit stops, drivers repeat cockpit entry and exit drills, engineers work through data and setup adjustments.
The Mustang GT3 isn’t perfect yet. And you can feel it.
Test. Adjust. Repeat.
Then something unexpected happens.
Family.
Wives, kids, parents, friends step into a space filled with pressure and procedure. The atmosphere shifts. It softens. It becomes human.
And without even realizing it, you’re no longer just watching. You’re inside the WEC Imola experience.
The Moment Inside the Ford Mustang GT3
The Mustang #88 sits still in the garage.
Stefano walks over, opens the door, and without saying a word, gestures for me to get in.
I sit down. The door closes.
And in that moment, everything disappears.
No mechanics. No noise. Just that tight, essential cockpit, built for one purpose: racing.
Instinctively, I grip the steering wheel.
And then something happens that has nothing to do with technique.
A memory. Not just one — many.
The beginning.
The first time a Mustang became more than just a car. The hours spent learning, documenting, building something around a passion without knowing where it would lead.
Looking back, it wasn’t just a coincidence. It was the result of years spent building something around a passion.
And then it becomes even more personal.
The effort it took to buy my first Mustang. My father — who is no longer here — driving it from the port of Genoa to Piacenza, my hometown. The birth of my daughter. Selling the first car. Buying my convertible.
All at once.
Two tears fall.
No one outside notices.
Inside, it’s impossible to ignore.
Because in that moment, you’re not just living something special. You’re realizing that every choice, every sacrifice, every step taken in pursuit of a passion… led you exactly there.
Saturday – WEC Imola Mustang GT3 Team Experience
Saturday is when everything intensifies during the WEC Imola weekend.
Practice, qualifying, problems to solve. The car is still not exactly where it needs to be.
The drivers’ tension becomes shared.
During the autograph session, the paddock opens up — but the perspective changes. I find myself behind the car, managing people, organizing photos, moving as if I’ve always been part of the team.
No one asks why I’m there.
For a few minutes, I’m not a spectator anymore.
I feel like part of the team.
Qualifying puts the Mustang #88 into the top 10 and into Hyperpole.
It’s not a final result. But it’s a signal.
Sunday – WEC Imola Mustang GT3 Race D
ay
Sunday begins in silence.
I arrive before anyone else. Closed garages, empty paddock. Then everything slowly comes back to life.
The grid walk is when you truly understand where you are. You walk among the cars, the drivers, the mechanics. Above the grid, the Goodyear blimp moves slowly.
The race hasn’t started yet. But it already has.
From above the start-finish line, the start feels different. The helicopter carrying th
e flag. The anthem sung by the entire circuit.
The race is started by Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Then, racing begins.
The Mustang #88 starts strong. In the opening stin
ts, it climbs up to second place. For a moment, everything feels possible.
Then the race changes. Rain. Strategy. Retirements.
Endurance racing is like that.
The final result doesn’t tell the whole story.
In the garage, there’s no anger. There’s awareness.
What Remains from the WEC Imola Mustang GT3 Experience
When I leave Imola, it’s pouring rain.
The paddock empties, structures come down, the weekend ends.
But what remains isn’t the final position.
It’s that moment. T
hat cockpit. Those two tears no one saw.
Because in the end, motorsport is not just about speed, strategy, or results.
It’s about what it moves inside you.
And when that happens, you realize you’re not there by chance.
Not everything you see in motorsport is public. Most of it happens behind closed doors.
Want to Experience This From the Inside?
This wasn’t just a one-time experience.
Over the years, I’ve been building access, relationships, and a network inside the European Mustang and motorsport scene.
If you’re part of a Mustang club, a brand, or simply someone who wants to get closer to this world — there’s more happening behind the scenes.
👉 Discover more on MustangMania
👉 Join the European network via European Mustang Clubs Association (EMCA)
