In the Haupt Racing Team's first outing with the Ford Mustang GT3 at the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring, Dennis Fetzer, Jusuf Owega, Salman Owega, and David Schumacher (all GER) raced the Ford Mustang GT3 #65 to fourth place overall, securing a commanding victory in the SP9 PRO-AM class.
- Fourth overall position for the Ford Mustang GT3 #65
- Class victory in SP9 PRO-AM
- Race ended prematurely for #63 and #64
Around 280,000 enthusiastic spectators experienced the return of the Ford brand to the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring in midsummer temperatures. The Haupt Racing Team, which competed under the name HRT Ford Performance, sent three Ford Mustang GT3s into the race. The Ford Mustang GT3 #65, driven by the quartet of Dennis Fetzer, Salman Owega, Jusuf Owega, and David Schumacher, started from 25th place in the highly competitive race with around 140 participants on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Right at the beginning, starting driver David Schumacher had to make an unscheduled but fortunately short pit stop. This caused the yellow and blue Ford Mustang GT3 to fall slightly behind. After a two-hour interruption due to a power outage in the pit lane, the No. 65 car worked its way forward lap after lap after the restart and was already in the top ten of the overall standings before midnight. With almost flawless, fast stints and trouble-free pit stops, the Ford Mustang moved up into the leading group and was already in fourth place overall by Sunday morning. In an extremely eventful race with many Code 60 phases and very warm temperatures, the team fought long and hard for the top positions. At the end of the race, after an unforced incident in the last corner, final driver Dennis Fetzer initially crossed the finish line in fifth place, but moved up to fourth after a competitor was penalized. This also meant victory in the PRO-AM category of the SP9 class. The Ford brand thus celebrated a successful comeback in this historic endurance classic and its first endurance victory with the Ford Mustang GT3 in Europe.
The sister cars #63 and #64 were less fortunate in the race. The Ford Mustang GT3 #64 with Arjun Maini (IND), Dennis Olsen (NOR), Jusuf Owega and Frank Stippler (both GER) at the wheel was looking promising in the race but had to retire late on Saturday evening after an incident in the Flugplatz section. Their teammates Patrick Assenheimer, Hubert Haupt, Vincent Kolb (all GER) and Dirk Müller (SUI) in the Ford Mustang GT3 #63 also had to retire early after a strong first half of the race due to a technical issue in the early hours of the morning.
HRT Ford Performance's next 24-hour race is already coming up next week. The team from Drees will be competing in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with two Ford Mustang GT3s on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
David Schumacher, Ford Mustang GT3 #65: “It was a very good race for us. After some initial problems, things went all the better in the race. I'm very happy that we got through it – especially through the night. We had very good pace and were able to extend our lead behind us. With the class victory, we have achieved the first major success for Ford in Europe, which makes us very proud.”
Dennis Fetzer, Ford Mustang GT3 #65: “We were able to sort out a few issues before the race and are very happy that we were able to finish. The last hour was particularly tough for me in the car. But we made it and I think it was a good start for this project.”
Jusuf Owega, Ford Mustang GT3 #65: “It's a great achievement to finish this tough race. The fact that we were able to take the class win makes it even better. I think we can be very proud of not only winning our class but also achieving a top result in the overall standings.”
Salman Owega, Ford Mustang GT3 #65: “We had a few problems at the start of the week and, to be honest, I didn't expect us to be so successful. Our program with Ford is a long-term one and we can be very happy to have taken the first successful step.”
Ulrich Fritz, Chief Executive Officer Haupt Racing Team: "It was a rather bittersweet weekend for the team. We lost two cars during the night, but the class victory in PROAM is more than we expected. It's the first major success for the Ford Mustang GT3 in Europe. This is a great team achievement and a great success for the drivers. They got the car through the 24 hours without any incidents or penalties. I'm very happy and would like to thank everyone involved who contributed to this success."
About HRT
The Haupt Racing Team (HRT) was founded in 2020 by racing driver and entrepreneur Hubert Haupt and has firmly established itself in international GT3 sport. Its greatest successes to date include the 2021 DTM Drivers' Championship, the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Drivers' and Teams' Titles (Sprint and Silver Cup) and the 2023 and 2024 ADAC GT Masters Teams' Titles, as well as class wins and podium finishes in the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps. From the 2025 season, HRT will run the Ford Mustang GT3 with factory support from Ford Performance in several high-profile racing series and championships. HRT is also actively involved in the promotion of young talent, covering the entire pyramid of driver development from entry into motorsport in the HRT Kart Team to the highest level of GT racing in the DTM. The joint operations center is the state-of-the-art HRT RACE BASE in Drees at the Nürburgring, where technical development projects and motorsport events of all kinds are also carried out.
