Chris Mies and Fred Vervisch brought a battle-scarred No. 65 Mustang GT3 home third in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar race in Detroit, securing a hard-fought podium in Ford’s hometown.
The No. 64 Mustang GT3 of Ben Barker and Dennis Olsen was on course for more until an over-ambitious move from a competitor in the closing laps forced them into recovery mode. Olsen fought back hard to take fifth at the flag.
Detroit always delivers drama, and a late-race yellow bunched the GTD PRO field for a final sprint to the finish. Running second with 45 minutes to go and chasing the leader, Mies was forced into an extra stop after contact, dropping the No. 65 to seventh. From there, he charged back through the chaos, climbed to fourth, then pulled off a decisive last-lap pass on the No. 1 BMW to claim the final podium spot.
The result moves Mies and Vervisch up to third in the closely contested drivers’ championship.
Fred Vervisch 65: “What a mix of emotions. We were battling for the podium early, and we continued to have good pace and fuel save into a great pitstop. We were hit by a competitor, had a puncture and needed to attack again to have a chance at the podium. It was an amazing drive by Chris at the end, and teamwork by the whole team. We are in a really good flow as a team and with the Mustang GT3 at the moment, and I’m proud to deliver a podium to Ford at home.”
Dennis Olsen 64: “The yellow flag helped us get back in the pack, and we were able to climb through the field to second before a competitor took us out in the final laps. Thank you for all the support from Ford Racing and Multimatic. It’s disappointing, but motivating. I really want to come back here now, after that last stint, to fight.”
