Ford Multimatic’s Dennis Olsen won against Corvette in GTD Pro after a race-long fight during the 63rd running of the 24 Hours of Daytona.
A combined grid of 37 GT cars fought intensely for victory at the 63rd running of the IMSA SportsCar Championship season opener, specifically defining a fierce rivalry which spanned the entire 24-hours between Corvette and Ford.
Ford made headlines during qualifying when they secured a 1-2 for the first time in the Mustang GT3 programme, one year after its debut.
It was, however, an assertion of one-lap pace compared to a twice round-the-clock endurance race.
At the race start, #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO driver and IMSA debutant Dan Harper showcased immediate enthusiasm for the lead after he started in P3.
Speaking of which Andrea Caldarelli of the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 jumped from fifth to third, before taking the lead from Harper.
Meanwhile GTD class pole-sitter Eilliott Skeer kept his lead owing a strong getaway from pole, marking the first race when each class started separately.
Fighting behind saw the rise and climb of two key GTD rivals: The #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of Franck Perera and the reigning GTD champions and Daytona winners #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, Philip Ellis.
The former driver climbed from fifth to second place, whilst Ellis went otherwise from second to fifth.
At the first pit stop cycle for the GTD class, the #57 took the lead whilst in GTD Pro, the Fords held third and fifth places.
For the GTD Pro lead battle, Alex Sims of the #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R fought side-by-side with Dan Harper‘s #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, with the IMSA debutant making a promising first impression behind the wheel.
Corvette vs Ford in the GTD Pro class
A fight ensued between two iconic manufacturers in the GTD Pro competition.
The Fords held the ground at the front but the Corvettes kept within sight, fuelled by a desire to beat them.
PMR’s #48 BMW driver Augusto Farfus chased down Sebastien Priaulx’s #64 Ford Mustang to split the 1-2 formation held by the Detroit make.
The #57 Winward GTD Mercedes encountered a ‘sticky throttle pedal’ which was the causation of a broken pedal spring. The team went behind the wall and fell down seven laps whilst the mechanics attended the issue, thus gifting the lead to the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini driver Misha Goihkberg who kept it safe and confident – unchallenged by the GTDs behind.
Most impressively, the #57’s chances at a back-to-back win were not completely outed owing to a sublime comeback through the gruelling night-time phase to have made up the lost ground.
A major multi-car incident took place in the eighth hour which was triggered by Louis Deletraz, driver of the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, and a mistake.
Concerning the GT classes, the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini driven by Jordan Pepper was taken out of the running as AO Racing’s ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R of Laurin Heinrich was involved but emerged without race-ending damage.
AO Racing showcase form against Corvette and Ford
The reigning GTD Pro champions, AO Racing, recovered in their own respect from the major incident to keep on the lead lap.
Klaus Bachler was the key pilot to put ‘Rexy’ back at the front as they fought for the GTD Pro victory during much of the night phase.
The #57 which got back into the class lead lost it due to a drive-through penalty – handing the lead to the pole-sitting #120 Porsche of Skeer.
The gaps were settled and apart during the night, but this did not negate the challenge with surviving through the darkness.
With five hours remaining, Neil Verhagen of the #1 BMW fantastically defended his lead on the #65 Ford of Dennis Olsen.
Despite their penalty, the #57 – once again – fought their way back to the lead with patience and determination.
Blocking and drama in GTD Pro
The #48 BMW ended up 57 laps down, owing to previous misfortune in the race, when the sibling #1 BMW and the #4 Corvette’s fought for the GTD Pro race lead.
The #1 was driven by Connor de Phillippi and was chased by Tommy Milner’s #4, with the pair at the centre of attention.
Milner increased pressure on the #1 driver but with the #48 of Augusto Farfus in the way, his positioning impeded the battle as race control awarded him a drive-through penalty for blocking.
Furthermore, Milner ended up with rear-left bodywork hanging after contact with #1 at T3, which was taped up twice at pit stops – the latter of which was instigated by a mechanical black flag.
After the 13th caution period, into the penultimate hour, the top-seven of the GTD Pro class were not only on the same lap but together in close proximity at the restart.
Kelvin van der Linde’s #1 led the way ahead of #65’s Chris Mies, the #4 of Nico Varrone, the #77 of Laurin Heinrich, and the #91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette of Connor Zilisch – who quickly wrestled his way past Fabian Schiller’s #69 Getspeed Mercedes-AMG.
Zilisch waisted little time his opponent ahead, Heinrich, who held off P4 as the reigning drivers’ champion in the GTD Pro class
Down to the end between both Detroit makes
As the race distance ticked down in minutes, rather than hours, the Ford vs. Corvette fight only ensued.
Dennis Olsen narrowly led #77 Heinrich on the restart of the 14th caution period, though it was misfortune for ‘Rexy’ when making light contact within the fights around him.
As Alex Sims (#3 Corvette) put Olsen up towards the Speedway 1 wall, Heinrich eventually lost his front bumper.
After keeping in the fight for so long, this was a heartbreaking moment as the #77 Porsche’s bodywork continued rubbing against its tyres.
Olsen, Sims, and K van der Linde fought door-to-door out of T6 onto Speedway 1 as #1 gave up their position by braking early into the Le Mans Chicane.
Nico Varrone (#4 Corvette) ended up hitting van der Linde into T1 but the #1 BMW driver continued, all with 10 mins remaining.
A drive-through for responsibility ended the possibility of both factory Corvettes running a strong, collective end result.
723 laps in 24 hours
After 723 gripping laps of the 2025 running, Ford claimed their first GTD Pro victory with their #65 Mustang GT3 crew Dennis Olsen, Frederic Vervisch and Chris Mies; it was also the 20th for the Ford Mustang.
In second place was the #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R drivers Alexander Sims and his co-drivers Daniel Juncadella and Antonio Garcia.
Not only did Ford win, they secured a double-podium finish after a battle which came down to the end with the #64 crew Sebastien Priaulx, Austin Cindric and Mike Rockenfeller.
In GTD, Matt Bell held a masterful defence on Mattia Drudi (#27 Aston Martin) in the final minutes to a winning drive in the #13 AWA Corvette alongside co-drivers Marvin Kirkchhofer, Lars Kern and Orey Fidani.
Wright Motorsports’ #120 Porsche co-drivers took third: Ayhancan Guven, Tom Sargent, Elliott Skeer and Adam Adelson.
Heart of Racing claimed third place with their #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO owing to the efforts of Mattia Drudi, Zach Rubichon, Casper Stevenson and Tom Gamble.
See here for the unofficial classification of the 24 Hours of Daytona, 25-26 January 2025.
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