Mustang GT3 Drivers Reflect on Historic Ford Win in Rolex 24 Victory Lap

Ford’s latest victory in endurance racing was also a big win for Ford team members who attended a Q&A with the three drivers of the No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3. The team secured its historic first global victory in the recent Rolex 24 at Daytona, one of the most grueling endurance races in motorsports.

The drivers held off a late-race challenge in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro class in the January race to earn the landmark victory. The win, which kicked off the second season of global competition for Mustang GT3, was Ford’s 20th in the endurance race staple, with 10 of those having come with Mustang, and the company’s first at the event since 2018, when the Ford GT won the GTLM class.

The race-winning ride was on display in the World Headquarters lobby for employees to see. Attendees also had the opportunity to meet drivers Dennis Olsen, Christopher Mies, and Frédéric Vervisch, and get their autographs.

Homecoming visit

The drivers started the day with a visit to Flat Rock Assembly Plant, where the Ford Mustang and the chassis of the Mustang GT3 are produced. They toured the plant with facility leaders, signed autographs for employees, and took selfies. The team also took a group photo with employees following a Q&A before gifting a pair of signed and framed racing overalls to the plant in exchange for a Mustang hood autographed by plant employees.

“It’s very impressive to see the whole structure there and how everything works,” Olsen said, expressing gratitude for the reception. “It was also nice to meet some of the people on all of the lines. They were pretty busy out there, but it was really cool to see them in action and the process from where the shell becomes the car that rolls off the line.”

Olsen, Mies, and Vervisch sat with motorsports television and radio broadcaster Ryan Myrehn for a Q&A, including questions from employees. The trio recounted their victory last month, discussed Mustang heritage and compared the classic 1985 Daytona-winning Pony car to the current race car, and described the characteristics they like most about the Mustang GT3.

What employees said

Puneet Bagga, who works in Vehicle Controls, is passionate about all forms of racing. He inquired about the drivers’ rotating schedule during endurance races – some sleep during their time out of the cockpit, while others do not. He said Ford’s success in motorsports bodes well for the company’s future.

Fernando Vega, a brake controls calibrator, has been a big fan of many racing series since he was 15. He was also part of a racing team after college. He takes great pride in watching Ford succeed on the world stage and taking statement victories in endurance races like Daytona and Le Mans.

“I like Ford being able to branch out and compete against BMW, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, and the big-name automakers out there,” he said. “It is really a good way for Ford to prove itself among the best.”

Jacinda Green, a software engineer in Industrial Systems on new model programs, described herself as a casual motorsports fan. She was impressed by Mustang’s victory in one of motorsports’ biggest races.

Meet the fleet

After the Q&A session, the drivers traveled down the hallway to the WHQ garage to check out the debut of the new Ford Heritage Fleet, a curated collection of hundreds of Ford and Lincoln vehicles that represent significant moments in company history. The assortment includes icons such as a Model T replica, a 1938 V8 Ambulance, the Mustang that graced the top of the Empire State Building in 2014, and dozens of others.

As for the Mustang GT3, the Ford Multimatic team will try to repeat its Daytona victory this weekend at Florida’s Sebring International Raceway in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.