A year of progress pays off for Ford's GT3 program at Daytona
The No. 65 was steered masterfully by factory ace Dennis Olsen at the end of the race when an all-out brawl broke out between the front running pack in GTD PRO.
Seven cars finished on the lead lap in class, with heavy-hitters from Corvette, BMW, Mercedes and Ferrari also in the mix. But it was Ford that prevailed after the frantic run to the flag, with Olsen installed in the lead car and Seb Priaulx entrusted to drive the sister No. 64, which made it a double podium with a third-place finish.
'I was watching the mirror every single corner, watching for the Chevy coming up the inside,' Olsen said. 'I made sure to cover the gaps and hoped that the diffuser and the bumper wouldn't go off and get a technical flag, but luckily didn't.
'I think it was a faultless race by all the team, by all the drivers really.'
The turnaround for Ford's flagship GT racer has been remarkable. A year on from the car's rough debut in the 2024 edition of the Rolex 24, it looks like an entirely different prospect following Ford and Multimatic's move to fix the car's weaknesses and focus on extracting performance from its 5.4 liter V8.
'It's simply amazing,' Mies said when asked to describe the car's development over the past 12 months. 'We came here exactly a year ago, leading the race back then, which was fantastic for a new car. But like everyone, we had some issues.
'The most obvious change is that the rear deck lid isn't coming off anymore. We figured out quite quickly where the problem came from — obviously from side drafting. But to be honest, in development or testing, when do you ever side draft, right? It never happens.
'We had to learn the hard way in the first race, which is one of the toughest races in the world. So yeah, we had no preparation really to test that.
'But there have been things in the background and also on the team side, too. I must say this is probably the biggest improvement compared to last year. It just feels like we made another good step in terms of preparation.
'There's still things we need to improve for the future and people are working on that, but time will tell.'
As the time ticked away, the GTD PRO fight heated up beyond boiling, allowing the sister No. 64 up into third. Ford's hard work paying off with a double-podium was surely cause for celebration. Brandon Badraoui/Lumen
Battles in GTD PRO raged in the second half of the race. Corvette Racing vs. Paul Miller Racing stood out and will live long in memory after Augusto Farfus, Connor Di Phillippi and Tommy Milner came together while battling for the lead.
It was a fight in which Paul Miller utilized its delayed No. 48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO to block the No. 4 Corvette and allow the No. 1 to fight for the top spot. There was contact; there was damage and a post-stint war of words.
Milner described it as 'dirty' and 'disappointing' before Farfus defended his actions, claiming he had 'nothing to do with it' (the contact between the No. 4 and No. 1 at the International Horseshoe) explaining that his intention was simply to 'support' the sister car.
It didn't end there. The fight resumed in the run to the flag, with the No. 4 Corvette of Nicolas Varrone turning the No. 1 into a spin while dicing for podium spots, which he was later penalized for.
Ford got the benefit in two ways. First, the squabbling allowed Olsen to pull a gap with time expiring and second, it helped make sure that Ford beat its rivals from General Motors.
'I think from my side it was my target to make it difficult for them and make them fight,' Olsen added when asked to describe his run at the final restart. 'That was my only chance. They were quicker. Honestly, I had to defend my position and stay inside — that's the only thing. Once they start to fight, I could try to run away, and that's what we did.'
Frederic Vervisch, the third driver in the No. 65, joked that the team was under instruction from Ford's CEO Jim Farley this weekend.
'He said, 'Whatever you do, you have to be in front of Chevrolet,'' Vervisch said. 'Corvette are extremely strong, and I think they hid their A-game because suddenly they were going a lot faster than yesterday.
'I am super proud that we could stay ahead and maybe out-strategy them.'
Story originally appeared on Racer
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Although the handling limits are high, Walton discovered that the best way to get the SRT-4 around the track was 'in slow, measured, fluid inputs.' With the high rear roll center of the Dodge 'it felt much like a wagon with a tall, heavy caboose that was threatening to come around,' he says. 'Only the engine saved it from coming in third place on the Willow Springs track.' Squeeze the throttle and all that curmudgeonly quibbling is replaced by a rather broad, fox-in-the-henhouse grin. The streets and most of the other cars on them are at your disposal. To whom shall you dispense turbocharged street justice this time? Other drivers see a Neon and will be totally snookered. Blaaaaaat-ratarata-ratarata there's also this infectious noisemaker insyne with your right foot courtesy of a muffler dual-outlet exhaust terminating in a pair of chrome-tipped 3.5-inch bazookas. Lock. Load. Squirt. Pros Explosive power Son-of-Viper nose Racing-style seats Cons Jouncy ride Rental-car interior High rear roll center Don't Miss Autometer boost gauge, exhaust note Bottom Line Four-door Viper gets 20+ mpg Conclusion It's truly remarkable how much performance and sophistication $20,000 buys these days. Each of these hot sport-compacts offers its buyers mean-streets looks, superlative road-holding, and plenty of power to keep life from getting dull. What we have here is a choice of gnarly, gnarlier, or gnarliest. The new-for-'03 SVT Focus five-door is just as wonderful as was last year's three-door version. But the competition's turned up the wick, especially in the power department. While we still love the SVT's spirited locomotion, hatchback functionality, world-class handling, and overall integration, newer, turbocharged entries from Mazda and Dodge offer better all-around performance for the same or slightly less money. Mazda's first toe dipped into the sport-compact ocean is going to make a big splash and is a great taste of things to come from the talented folks at MazdaSpeed. This Protegé hits a sweet spot in the market, deliver ing fantastic handling, spirited performance, fine balance, great audio, and that signature sport-compact look without compromising the everyday useability of the car. With a few more ponies under its turbocharged hood, the MazdaSpeed Protegé would be the hands-down winner of this contest. One trip around the block will tell you the SRT-4 is immensely more entertaining to drive than the MazdaSpeed Protegé or SVT Focus. As good as the Mazda and Ford are, this unexpected entry from a car-maker with zero sport-compact presence just delivers maximum grins and giggles for minimum coin. With acceleration, braking, and handling numbers akin to a Nissan 350Z and a price close to a four-cylinder Camry, the SRT-4 brings excitement to the just-under-$20,000 hot sedan segment. It boils down to this: The world-class at-the-limit handling of the MazdaSpeed Protegé isn't something you're likely to use often in everyday traffic, while the unexpectedly delicious power of the Dodge SRT-4 is a force you'll have a hard time resisting time and again. Game, point, match; Dodge—at least for now.
