Ford to Continue With Unchanged Factory Lineup in GTD Pro

Photo: Wes Duenkel/Ford

Ford Racing will return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro ranks with an unchanged full season lineup next year.

Confirmed by the sanctioning body on Friday, the two-car Mustang GT3 EVO program is set to be largely unchanged, with Christopher Mies and Frederic Vervisch back in the No. 65 entry and Dennis Olsen and Ben Barker, who won last weekend’s Battle on the Bricks at Indaianpolis Motor Speedway, again in the No. 64 car.

Both cars have visited victory lane this year, with Mies and Vervisch victorious at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, while the Multimatic-run operation scored a double podium in last month’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway.

“The introduction of our EVO package in 2026 brought race wins, podiums, and a genuine championship fight by Ford Racing and its Mustang GT3 program,” said Ford Racing sports car motorsports program manager Alex Allmandinger.

“Carrying our strong momentum and current driver lineup into 2027 will immediately put America’s Race Team in position to contend for all three titles.

“The Mustang GT3 has evolved constantly since its 2024 debut into one of the grid’s fiercest competitors, and with top-tier drivers behind the wheel, that continuous development will pay off next season.”

This season has marked the first full season campaigns for both Olsen and Barker, who came over from Ford’s FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 program.

“It’s been super fun,” said Barker. “I kind of say sometimes that I almost learned to race again!

“Being in WEC for the best part of ten years can be quite lonely in certain stints.

“In IMSA, the way that it works and with the safety cars, it bunches everything up. There’s a lot of energy saved, there’s a lot of strategy involved, which is to be honest, super fun. That keeps you on your toes.”

Source: Sports Car 365