A herd of three Ford Mustang GT3 race cars banded together to take on the 2025 24h Nürburgring as part of The Blue Oval’s lineup for the 2025 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) season. And one of those Mustang GT3 ponies took home the victory in its class after a dustup with a Lamborghini on the last lap.
The No. 65 Ford Mustang GT3, fielded by HRT Ford Performance, scored the SP 9 Pro-Am class victory after a tough 24-hour haul on the ‘Ring. The Mustang – driven by German drivers David Schumacher, Dennis Fetzer, and Salman Owega – traded fourth position overall back and forth with the No. 28 Lambo, which suffered a driveshaft issue late in the race. After repairs were made, the Lambo returned to the track, then driven by Marco Mapelli, and made contact with the No. 65 Mustang on the last lap. The team was penalized 32 seconds, surrendering fourth place to The Blue Oval for good.
That fourth-place result was enough to secure the Pro-Am division win for the No. 65 Mustang GT3. They certainly had the speed to back it up, never straying far from the top five throughout the grueling race. The victory marks the first major win in Europe for the Dark Horse-based pony racer.
“This is a testament to having great people and partners who share the same determination to win,” said Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook. “Nürburgring is a battle and to come out on top in our class is a significant accomplishment for everyone involved in this Mustang program. We’re proud of the team’s relentlessness and look forward to going to Spa next week for our third 24-hour race in three weeks.”
The other two Ford Mustang GT3 entries experienced heartbreak at the ‘Ring. The No. 63 Mustang of Dirk Müller, Patrick Assenheimer, Vincent Kolb and Hubert Haupt, and the No. 64 Mustang of Arjun Maini, Dennis Olsen, Jusuf Owega and Frank Stippler both retired due to mechanical failures and were unable to finish.
“This weekend was bittersweet because we lost two overnight, but winning the Pro-Am class and placing fourth overall is really more than we expected,” said Ulrich Fritz, Haupt Racing Team GmbH managing director. “It’s the first major Mustang GT3 win in Europe. It was a great team effort, and the drivers did not receive any penalties. We’re very happy. Thank you to everyone involved.”
Comments
Watched the last 1,5 hours of the race and was happy to see Ford Mustang up there!
Mechanical failures are part of the endurance racing scene. The plus is that those failures are a learning experience, and can only make the cars more bullet proof in future events.