Ford beats Corvette in last-lap IMSA GTD Pro fight at Indianapolis

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In a fierce, wheel-banging finish between two legendary American marques, Dennis Olsen and Ben Barker claimed Ford Racing’s first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro victory of the season at the Battle on the Bricks.

The outcome came down to the final lap of the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, where Olsen, driving the #64 Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3, successfully fended off a late charge by Nicky Catsburg in the #4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

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The stage was set after newly crowned Indy NXT champion Nikita Johnson pitted the #59 RLL Team McLaren 720S GT3 EVO following an extended fuel-and-energy run. That handed the top spot back to Olsen, who had already been dealing with faster traffic, after getting sandwiched between two Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) leaders.

On the final lap, Catsburg attempted an outside pass into Turn 7. Simultaneously, another GTP car dive-bombed down the inside of both GTD Pro contenders. Trapped in the middle, Olsen went wide, making contact with Catsburg’s Corvette and sending it onto the grass. Both drivers gathered their cars back up, with Olsen taking the checkered flag 0.993 seconds ahead of Catsburg and co-driver Tommy Milner.

“Luckily, we had a strong Ford Mustang GT3 that held up together,” Olsen said. “I had a lot of big battles in that last stint. Nicky is a good attacker and I knew what he was trying to do, but at the same time, I had a GTP coming up the inside and that made it really tight at the apex of that corner. We had some contact and we came out on the good side of it, which was great.

“It feels amazing that we can pull off this win. We've been chasing it for a long time with Ben this season and for the team and Ford Racing. Yeah, super proud.”

Despite the off-track moment on the final lap, Catsburg offered no complaints about the hard-fought battle.

“Last lap, the team told me to be smart about this,” Catsburg said. “And I was like I'm only going to go for it when there's a clear opportunity. I think there was, and we had a good, fair battle. That was pretty cool, we let each other live. He pushed me wide in (Turn) 7, but he had to because there was a car on his inside.”

Barker’s pit strategy also proved crucial to the victory. The team pitted the #64 Mustang just ahead of a full-course caution with 65 minutes remaining in the two-hour, 40-minute event.

“It was pretty much everything,” the Brit said. “It's part of the game of when you box and you're always taking a bit of a punt. From myself boxing early, that kind of set the trend for the rest of the race and then, yeah, (the last pit stop) was obviously good timing. It shuffled us to the front. I don't think we had the quickest car today, but we maximized what we had and came away with the win in the end.”

The victory marks Olsen’s third career IMSA win, the first for co-driver Barker, and the second consecutive year Ford Racing has won the GTD Pro class at Indianapolis.

With their runner-up finish, Catsburg, Milner, and the #4 Corvette team took over the unofficial GTD Pro championship lead. They carry a 47-point advantage over Neil Verhagen, Connor De Phillippi, and the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO (which finished sixth) heading into the October 3 season finale, the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

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