From the moment Ford Motor Company introduced the seventh-generation Mustang, the company committed to putting the pony car into competition across the world, including fielding its Mustang GT3 road racer, built in cooperation with Multimatic Motorsports, in the United States and abroad. During the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener at Daytona International Speedway the Ford Performance Mustang GT3 earned its first global victory in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro class.
To be standing in Victory Lane today is proof that there is no substitute for hard work… — Pascal Zurlinden, Multimatic Motorsports
“This is a team win for everyone at Ford Motor Company, for our partners, and for fans of Mustang,” Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance, said. “Moments like this make the long hours, hard work, and earlier disappointments worthwhile. Our first global win with the Mustang GT3 and our 20th for Ford in the 24 Hours of Daytona is a milestone. I am proud of this whole effort. Everyone gave their all.”
Drivers Frederic Vervisch, Dennis Olsen, and Christopher Mies achieved that team victory by persevering for 24 hours on Daytona International Speedway’s 3.56-mile road course to defeat 14 other cars, including Chevrolet Corvettes, in car No. 65.
“I don’t think I can tell you guys. It’s going to be a long night. The people who know me, know I like to celebrate if we win something big and today’s a huge day. We didn’t really think we would have it at the end, but we really gave it our all and it paid off at the end,” Olsen said. “Honestly, I was just listening to the spotter and making sure I didn’t make any big mistakes. I knew it would be hard for him to drive around me. We were quick on the straights and Ford gave us great power. That helped us a lot. And the rear bumper held up so I’m really happy for that as well. Now it’s time to celebrate!”
It was a hard-fought race with the lead changing 10 times before Olsen held onto the top spot for the final 42 minutes of the race.
“This is an incredible result for everyone at Multimatic Motorsports and Ford Performance. Two years ago, when Ford announced the Mustang GT3 program, the car didn’t exist,” Pascal Zurlinden, Executive Vice President, Multimatic Engineering & MSVO, said. “To be standing in Victory Lane today is proof that there is no substitute for hard work, whether that is at the race track, the race shop, or during long days and nights in the simulator. It is an honor for us to take a car as iconic as Mustang and turn it into a Daytona winner. May we, and Ford’s customers, have many more victories ahead of us.”
The Mustang GT3 teams will look to continue that momentum as they return to the Sunshine State for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring which runs from Wednesday, March 12-15, 2025 at Sebring International Speedway in Sebring, Florida.
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