The latest World eX Bizz Talk featured a special guest appearance by Mike Rockenfeller, DTM champion and co-founder of the RCCO World eX Championship, just before the opening round of World eX Season 8 at Watkins Glen.
Rocky’s return to the World eX community was greeted with enthusiasm, as he shared updates on his personal and professional life. He mentioned being busy with travel – especially to the US for his IMSA programme – and the recent completion of a new family home. “The sim was kind of the last project, or not the last, but probably one of the later ones. And yeah, super happy that it’s up and running again. Kind of, obviously I tried once to drive the new, new car. I managed to drive out of the pit lane, but, yeah, some things are not right, and I didn’t have the time to fix it yet,” Rockenfeller said.
On the real-world motorsport front, Mike discussed his current programme with the Ford Mustang GT3 in IMSA, reflecting on the recent Daytona 24 Hours. “The car is still pretty much the same in GT3. The cars are homologated, so you cannot really change much unless you basically develop an evo package and you have to do kind of a new homologation. So we stick with the same car,” he explained. He touched on the unique challenges of the Mustang, especially its high center of gravity due to the large steel roof required by regulations, which puts it at a slight disadvantage compared to mid-engine competitors. “The rule in the GT3 is the roof, as an example, the roof of the road car, the weight of the material has to be the same in the race car. And we have quite by far the biggest surface of roof, and also it’s made of steel in the road car. So now we have a disadvantage there compared to the light cars, which have a mid-engine, like the Ferrari or the Corvette.”
Looking ahead, Mike expressed excitement about Ford’s growing motorsport involvement, including Dakar, NASCAR, and the upcoming LMDh programme for Le Mans. He also shared his thoughts on the DTM’s current state and the challenges of finding funding as a driver. “It’s unfortunate. Let’s say the proper programme of the GT3 Ford Mustang, in terms of factory support, is clearly in the US. It’s fully funded, quite a big budget and a big team. DTM, as you all know, is not the DTM as it used to be in Class 1. As a team you have to look how you find the budget. It’s not fully supported by Ford. So you need drivers with money.”
The Bizz Talk wrapped up with a sense of anticipation for the upcoming World eX season. “I’m looking forward to battle it out with you guys on track again later this year as soon as I find time to make my simulator work,” he said.
The World eX Bizz Talk takes place before every World eX race via Zoom and features conversations with interesting personalities who have a close connection to our topics of motorsport, sim racing or the energy transition. Join our unique sim racing community to take part in the talks and ask your questions.
