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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rocky\u2019s 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 \u2013 especially to the US for his IMSA programme \u2013 and the recent completion of a new family home. \u201cThe sim was kind of the last project, or not the last, but probably one of the later ones. And yeah, super happy that it\u2019s 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\u2019t have the time to fix it yet,\u201d Rockenfeller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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. \u201cThe 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,\u201d 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. \u201cThe 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\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead, Mike expressed excitement about Ford\u2019s growing motorsport involvement, including Dakar, NASCAR, and the upcoming LMDh programme for Le Mans. He also shared his thoughts on the DTM\u2019s current state and the challenges of finding funding as a driver. \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate. Let\u2019s say the proper programme of the GT3 Ford Mustang, in terms of factory support, is clearly in the US. It\u2019s 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\u2019s not fully supported by Ford. So you need drivers with money.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bizz Talk wrapped up with a sense of anticipation for the upcoming World eX season. \u201cI\u2019m 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DTM champion and Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller promises to return to World eX later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-ex"],"acf":[],"_wp_attached_file":null,"_wp_attachment_metadata":null,"_elementor_source_image_hash":null,"_wp_attachment_image_alt":null,"_elementor_is_screenshot":null,"elementor_font_files":null,"elementor_font_face":null,"_yoast_wpseo_title":null,"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":null,"__elementor_forms_snapshot":null,"_wp_trash_meta_status":null,"_wp_trash_meta_time":null,"_wp_desired_post_slug":null,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"12","_wp_old_date":"2025-06-01","_oembed_47151242e000855220e5d4f5cf766260":null,"_oembed_time_47151242e000855220e5d4f5cf766260":null,"_":null,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":null,"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":null,"_edit_last":"1","_edit_lock":"1748779437:1","_elementor_edit_mode":null,"_elementor_template_type":null,"_wp_page_template":"default","_elementor_page_settings":null,"_elementor_data":null,"_elementor_version":null,"_elementor_pro_version":null,"_elementor_css":null,"_elementor_conditions":null,"_elementor_page_assets":[],"_elementor_controls_usage":null,"_elementor_screenshot":null,"_wp_old_slug":null,"_elementor_template_sub_type":null,"_elementor_screenshot_failed":null,"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"3","_thumbnail_id":"2997","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"30","_yoast_wpseo_wordproof_timestamp":null,"car":null,"_car":null,"ready_player_me":null,"_ready_player_me":null,"since":null,"_since":null,"startnumber":null,"_startnumber":null,"linkedin":null,"_linkedin":null,"instagram":null,"_instagram":null,"full_name":null,"_full_name":null,"profession":null,"_profession":null,"hobbies":null,"_hobbies":null,"victories":null,"_victories":null,"trees":null,"_trees":null,"team":null,"_team":null,"youtube":"","_youtube":"field_65b1674782d3a","footnotes":null,"origin":null,"yoast_head":"\n