Three German manufacturers have lauded IMSA GTD teams and drivers in recent days.
At the top of the list is Russell Ward and Winward Racing. Claiming the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD driver and team titles in both the overall stand ings and in the Michelin Endurance Cup in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 (pictured)
, 2024 was an outstanding season for Ward, full-season co-driver Philip Ellis and endurance addition Indy Dontje. The team won three endurance races — the Rolex 24 At Daytona (with Daniel Morad), the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen — and added a sprint victory as well on its way to the championships.
As a result, Ward was honored last weekend by his Mercedes-AMG — which also took the manufacturers’ titles in GTD — being named the Overall Pro Driver and Pro Driver GT3 awards winner at the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Championship ceremony in Stuttgart, Germany. Ward topped Mercedes-AMG customer drivers from around the world to earn the honors. Drivers earn points competing in their respective races, based on the finishing position in each race as well as the type and distance of the race.
After clinching the titles at Motul Petit Le Mans, Ward cited the hard work of the Winward crew, as well as praised the Mercedes AMG GT3 platform, which he said has a wide setup window and is easy on the tires.
For the second year in a row, Turner Motorsport secured the BMW M Sports Trophy for teams. In the No.. 96 BMW M4 GT3, Turner’s Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher finished second behind Ward and Ellis in the GTD driver standings, and Will Turner’s team completed its 557th race with BMW in May. But the award, given at the BMW M Night of Trophies two weeks ago, encompasses the team’s results in every championship, including IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge and VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, as well as Fanatec GT World Challenge America. Turner bested European teams FK Performance Motorsport and Schubert Motorsport to claim the award.
At Porsche’s Night of Champions in Atlanta on Dec. 7, Wright Motorsports GTD drivers Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer claimed third in the coveted Porsche Cup. In addition to an outstanding rookie season in IMSA competition, including victory in the Battle on the Bricks with Jan Heylen, the pair won the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Pro championship.
All three teams will be on the grid for the Rolex 24 At Daytona next month as the 2025 season begins.
