Ford and AWA Corvette Dominate Historic Daytona GTD Victory

Ford and AWA Corvette Dominate Historic Daytona GTD Victory

By Michael Harrison

January 30, 2025 at 09:16 AM

Ford Multimatic Motorsports achieved a historic milestone as the Mustang GT3 secured its first-ever worldwide victory at the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona. The winning trio of Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch, and Dennis Olsen led the charge in GTD PRO class.

Blue race car on track

Blue race car on track

Olsen overtook the No. 4 Corvette of Nico Varrone in the final restart and maintained the lead despite pressure from competitors. The No. 64 Ford of Rockenfeller, Priaulx, and Cindric finished third, with the No. 3 Corvette securing second place.

The race featured intense competition, including a controversial incident between Paul Miller's cars and the No. 4 Corvette. Tommy Milner's chance at victory diminished after a heated exchange involving the No. 48 car and the No. 1 BMW.

In the GTD class, Canadian team AWA claimed victory with their No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, driven by Matt Bell, Marvin Kirchhofer, Orey Fidani, and Lars Kern. Bell executed a crucial pass on Heart of Racing's Mattia Drudi with 16 minutes remaining to secure the win.

The Wright Motorsports Porsche finished second in GTD, while Heart of Racing's Aston Martin Vantage GT3 completed the podium. Winward Racing's Mercedes-AMG GT3 showed remarkable resilience, recovering from a seven-lap deficit to finish fourth.

This victory marks a significant turnaround for both Ford and GM's customer racing programs, silencing doubts about their competitive viability after challenging debuts in the previous year.

Key Results:

  • GTD PRO Winner: Ford Mustang GT3 (Mies/Vervisch/Olsen)
  • GTD Winner: AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R (Bell/Kirchhofer/Fidani/Kern)
  • Notable Performance: Winward Racing's comeback from 7-lap deficit
  • Five different manufacturers in GTD top five positions

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