Ford Multimatic Motorsports won the in class 24 hours of Daytona in the GTD Pro class this weekend after a battle of titans at the front which saw multiple cars in the running for the finish down to the last 15 minutes of the race. The battle came down to the No. 65 and No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 and the No. 3 Corvette of Prat Miller Motorsports. The all American manufacturer finish came at the expense of the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW and the No. 4 Corvette from Pratt Miller Racing. A questionable incident occurred between the lapped No. 48 BMW and the No. 4 Corvette that results in damage that provided to be an ongoing nuisance to the No. 4 car’s lap times. Eventually race control required them to make 2 unplanned pit stops which effectively removed them from contention.
The No. 01 Paul Miller racing BMW held the lead in GTD Pro for the majority of the final 6 hours but came up short after the No. 3 Corvette punted the BMW into turn 1 with 11 minutes ot go in the race. The BMW was not able to recover form the incident. However, the drama behind was good news for the NO. 65 Ford as with the fighting behind the No. 65 Mustang was able to pull away and secure the first Daytona win for the team.
Words from the Ford Multimatic Team
Pascal Zurlinden, Executive Vice President, Multimatic Engineering & MSVO
“This is an incredible result for everyone at Multimatic Motorsports and Ford Performance. Two years ago, when Ford announced the Mustang GT3 programme, the car didn’t exist. 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 honour 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.”
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!”
GTD
The No. 13 AWA racing Corvette won the GTD class in a much less dramatic but still close fighting fashion. After what seemed like an early end for the No. 13 Corvette the team bounced back and was able to make up time overnight to find themselves in contention at the end stages of the race. The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) and the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo tried to hold on for the fight for the top spot in class but ultimately fell short. AWA Racing won the class race by a half second.
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – JANUARY 23: The #13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Orey Fidani, Matthew Bell, Lars Kern, and Marvin Kirchhöfer drives during qualifying for the Rolex 24 during the Daytona 24 Hours at Daytona International Speedway on January 23, 2025 in Daytona International Speedway, United States of America. (Photo by James Gilbert / Getty Images)Rolex 24 Results