Mustang-Corvette duel ahead of GTD PRO at ROLEX 24

IMSA

Jan 27

📷© Luc Warnotte at Daytona. Sims (Corvette #3) trying to pass Olsen (Mustang #65) with 30’ to go.

Mustang GT3 triumphed in one of the most rigorous 24-hour endurance racing events in motorsports, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, to score its first global GT3 victory. The #65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 of Dennis Olsen, Christopher Mies and Frédéric Vervisch earned the landmark victory after holding off a late race challenge in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro class.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Daytona. Winning #65 For Mustang GT3

Christopher Mies, No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 – “It’s unbelievable. One year ago we came here with a brand new car, finished the race with no real issues but obviously we were lacking pace. So some small things on the bodywork which sent us back and now coming back exactly one year later and winning the race. I can’t thank Ford and Multimatic enough. To my teammates, it’s just been incredible. I didn’t expect that. What a difference a year makes. It was definitely our strategy in the end. We gambled. My motto is life is a gamble. We have Bruno Couprie with us, the best strategist in the whole paddock and it paid off. It’s unreal and paid off!” Source: FORD

#3 Corvette Runner-up in class

The wild late-race chaos also saw Alexander Sims go from seventh to second inside the final hour with #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R he co-drove with Antonio Garcia and Dani Juncadella.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Daytona. #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Podium for both Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3

Adding to the Dearborn, Michigan company’s accolades, the #64 Ford Mustang GT3 also secured third place for the official factory team with drivers Seb Priaulx, Mike Rockenfeller and Austin Cindric at the road course of Daytona International Speedway.

Mike Rockenfeller, No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 – “Amazing result for Ford, Multimatic and the team. What a day. To win one of the biggest races in the world, in the second season of Mustang GT3, was one of our targets. Congratulations to the No. 65 team and their drivers. Of course, we would have loved to win the race, but we did our part to help them out. Now, we’ll try to compete for the series championship. It was a great team effort that we can all be proud of. It was a roller coaster of a race – super tight and anyone could have won. To finish first and third is pretty amazing.” Source: FORD

BMW M4 GT3 EVO fourth

Paul Miller Racing #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO car stepped up, moved up from its 13th starting position, and fought for the win until just before the end. Kelvin van der Linde had the podium in sight at his race debut for BMW M Motorsport until he was forced into a spin by an opponent and fell back to fourth place.

Kelvin van der Linde (#1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Paul Miller Racing, 4th place GTD PRO):“It is a proud moment for me, fighting the whole race for the win. It was a good mileage for me, learning the car for the first time. To narrowly have missed out on the win is more than I could have ever expected. It was unfortunate as we led the race for the last two hours. The last pit stop was where we unfortunately lost track position and we weren’t really able to overtake looking forward. The rest is history. We will come back and try again next time.” Source: BMW Group

Mercedes #69

#69 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Anthony Bartone, Maxime Martin, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz ends fifth

The fate of the #4 Corvette

The fate of the #4 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports was just as heartbreaking. After cycling up and down in the GTD PRO order, Tommy Milner moved into the lead inside the final two hours but his attempt to extend his lead over the second-place #1 car was repeatedly blocked by sister #48 BMW. That allowed the #1 to get to the back of Milner’s Corvette, which suffered rear damage that required multiple stops to repair.

Despite that, the #4 squad remained in contention with Varrone racing his way up to second before the trio eventually finished seventh.