Part of the Ford Racing factory lineup — Germans Christopher Mies, David Schumacher and Frank Stippler — shared their outlook on the 54th edition of the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring. Multi-year event winners Mies and Stippler highlighted the evo performance package of the Mustang GT3. Schumacher, who helped HRT Ford Racing and the Mustang GT3 to a maiden class victory last season, touched on his motivation toward competing for overall glory in the endurance classic.
CHRISTOPHER MIES, No. 67 HRT Ford Racing Mustang GT3
YOU HAVE COMPETED ON THREE CONTINENTS THIS SEASON IN THE MUSTANG GT3 AND HAVE TACKLED SOME OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS ENDURANCE RACES IN MOTORSPORTS SINCE 2024. WHERE DOES THE NORDSCHLEIFE STACK UP?
“It's good to be back on the Nordschleife. I missed it a lot last year. We also went to Bathurst this year for the first time with the pre-evo car by the rules, but it was great to be back there as well. I wish the race would have been a bit longer for us, but it gives us a reason to come back next year again with the evo package. Racing full-time in IMSA is a great thing. It's a great championship and if I can add some of those races like Bathurst and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring — my home race — then I'm super happy.”
HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO BE BACK IN THE RACE AFTER MISSING NÜRBURGRING LAST YEAR?
“Luckily, I was busy in Watkins Glen though I tried to watch as much as possible. The factory racing program has kept me busy over there in the States. I was a bit distracted, getting some rest time before the six-hour race at The Glen. But, it was not an easy decision at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, we had a clash with these two events. It was also the first one I missed since my first in 2009, and especially from the win in 2024. It would have been nice to be back there again for the following year, but I'm even more happy now that I'm finally able to race there with the Mustang.”
THIS WEEKEND ALSO MEANS YOU WILL HAVE COMPETED IN THE MAJOR 24-HOUR GT ENDURANCE RACES — NÜRBURGRING, SPA, LE MANS AND DAYTONA.
“It’s also all with different tires, which is always a challenge. It's cool to have all those races on the calendar.”
WHAT HAS IMPRESSED YOU THE MOST ABOUT THIS EVO PACKAGE?
“It's a lot better in very different areas. We tried to change based on what we have learned in the first two years. As you see, we just won Laguna Seca and in the past this has been probably the most challenging track of the calendar for our car. We came back with the evo and won. It's not a day and night difference. It's still the same car, but we just improved on things which were not 100 percent perfect. We’ll try to be perfect now with the evo.”
AFTER HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY LAST YEAR TO MEET THE FORD EMPLOYEES BUILDING THE MUSTANG AT FLAT ROCK ASSEMBLY PLANT, IS THERE ANY ADDITIONAL MOTIVATION TO WIN THIS RACE?
“Of course. When we met them the first time, you could see how passionate they are about us racing and we share a connection with the chassis coming from the same assembly line. In every Mustang GT3, there's also the DNA of the employees. It was cool to see them and that they're all there supporting us all over the world. I think everyone in America and across the world knows the Nordschleife. I think it's the most famous track in the world. Hopefully we can have a good result this weekend. That will be great for the company and for the employees.”
FRANK STIPPLER, No. 64 / 67 HRT Ford Racing Mustang GT3
YOU’VE HAD SUCH A LONG, PROLIFIC CAREER ON THE NORDSCHLEIFE. AS A THREE-TIME WINNER OF THE 24-HOUR, HOW CONFIDENT DO YOU FEEL THIS YEAR WITH HRT FORD RACING?
“It's very strong competition this season, again, and we need a good portion of good luck as well. It will be a race which might be dry, against expectations. It's flat out from the very beginning. It’s a big challenge. The secret is to keep (the car) going while you push as hard as you can. That’s not only driving wise, but also regarding the technical side and that you keep it as clean as possible.
My first start with Ford was actually in 1998 — so more or less 30 years ago already. We were very strong with the private Ford Escort Cosworth against the factory BMWs at the time. It was a rainy race, and we were more or less on our way to win it. It's still some kind of an open invoice, and it would be nice to finish this section of my career with a nice and successful ending.”
DID YOU MENTION THAT THIS IS THE END OF YOUR CAREER? CAN YOU CLARIFY?
No, it's not meant to be my last race but certainly at my age, it’s the autumn of my career. My goal is to finish it with a victory, together with Ford. This is the target. I started my career with Ford 30 years ago. When I was racing historic cars with my own build, an Alfa Romeo, I went into modern racing by one test and this happened to be with Ford. It’s full-circle which is going to be finished now. I would like to finish it successfully. The target has been a three-year plan. We've had an early-stage project in our first, second and third year now, and we need to develop it as quickly as possible to be competitive. My target is to win the 24 hours for a fourth time in either this season or next season.”
CAN THE MUSTANG GT3 FIGHT FOR AN OVERALL PODIUM?
“It very much depends on the surroundings. It's a young project and one of the challenges we have is that our performance window is still smaller than the experienced cars. When we've got the right surroundings, we can be competitive and are ready to go for the victory. If there are some weather conditions which are not working in our direction, we might struggle a bit. But this is what we need to sort out within the three years from when we started. We are working in the right direction and we might be very strong if the surroundings are good for us.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE QUALIFYING FORMAT?
“The intention is clear of the organization: They want to prevent sandbagging as much as possible before the 24-hour race, including the qualifiers of the 24-hour race. It was already for the NLS races, a good strategy to qualify the cars as early as possible, because I think if it is a dry race it is a good advantage to be in the front rows. Even in qualifying and if you start this race in 20th or 25th, it's kind of a loss already because we don't have any safety car here. It’s a flat out race from the first second onwards. Qualifying is very important, as there are 20 cars that want to compete for seven places. This will be kind of a war from the beginning onwards, and this may be the intention which the organization had. The fans will have a pretty exciting qualifying already because there's no space left now for any sandbagging.”
HOW SIGNIFICANT WAS LAST YEAR’S NLS VICTORY IN TERMS OF PROGRESSING TOWARD WINNING THE 24-HOUR RACE?
“It was a step in the right direction and certainly an honor to be the first overall winner with the Ford Mustang GT3. That was the first goal we achieved, and I hope that this second step can follow. I don't know if it works out this season, but we are working hard. Ford Racing, Multimatic, as well as HRT have given it their all. I know that the mechanics had a few sleepless nights already to be as prepared as possible. We couldn’t have done better as a team. It's up to the drivers, technicians and mechanics during the weekend to bring it to a successful result.”
WHAT DOES COMPETING AT THE NORDSCHLEIFE MEAN TO FORD?
“The Nordschleife is especially for the cars, as well as for the drivers, the most exhausting track worldwide. Once a car manufacturer is successful around the Nordschleife, that's the best marketing you can produce. Then it's a fast and bulletproof car and there is no harder track for the technical aspect than the Nordschleife. This is the ultimate confirmation of the car and the brand, and it’s highly significant.”
DAVID SCHUMACHER, No. 64 / No. 65 HRT Ford Racing Mustang GT3
LAST YEAR’S SP9 PRO-AM WIN MUST’VE BEEN A HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER. HOW MOTIVATED ARE YOU CONTENDING FOR AN OVERALL VICTORY THIS SEASON?
“The entire HRT Ford Racing team is really motivated. We started off last year pretty strong. There was a bit of luck involved, but in the end, we had a strong pace in the Ford Mustang GT3. We kept the car in one piece until the last lap and had great success. We finished fourth overall, winning the category — and had a potential third-place podium in us despite some issues in the last couple of hours. But I believe for this year, we have a good package. We have a good lineup in our car and we are definitely planning on fighting for some good positions. We plan on fighting for positions and enjoying the race.”
DOES FIGHTING FOR AN OVERALL VICTORY IN THIS YEAR’S 24-HOUR CHANGE YOUR MINDSET AT ALL?
“A little bit. Last year the plan was clear: Keep the car safe, do not cause any damage and just finish the race. This was the No. 1 goal we had, and we achieved it without any scratches until the last corner sadly. This year is going to be a bit different. We want to fight for overall positions in hopes of getting a podium out of it — maybe even fight for victory depending on how strong we're going to be with our package. We will see how strong we are Saturday afternoon. When you fight for an overall win nowadays, you have to go all-in every single lap and across 24 hours brings a lot of risk. We’ll see what's going to happen. The approach to the race weekend is definitely quite a bit different.”
HOW BENEFICIAL IS IT FOR YOU TO HAVE SUCH EXPERIENCE AROUND YOU?
“It's great to learn from these guys, especially having Frank who probably raced there since before I was born. So, I have the best to learn from, and it's just a great beneficial part for a young guy like me and also my other fellow drivers who are in the car.
We are a pretty young car except for having Frank with us who brings all the experience with him. We all can learn a lot from him especially when it comes to car development. When you listen to him, how he explains every little bit of what the car is doing, it's quite impressive to hear. Having that much experience on every single bump on this track, what the car does and how it behaves is great motivation for us young guys to also get to this point at a certain point in time. We're going to learn everything we can from him and take it on the track.”
WAS THERE A DEFINING MOMENT IN YOUR TIME ON THE NORDSCHLEIFE WHEN YOU FELT HOW SPECIAL THE OPPORTUNITY IS TO RACE IT?
“My first race here was in a GT4 car. I had the privilege to do the start and to just drive around the track, having all the fans standing right there on the formation lap — seeing them cheer for you, having a great party with some drinks and just being happy. This environment is really special to be around, and you don’t see it at any other track. It was a lap that I will never forget in my life. It’s the same with the Mustang.
Last year, I also had the privilege to start again and see all the Ford fans build up in Europe, in just such a small amount of time, for this car which had just basically arrived three months prior. Seeing so many people having the Ford Racing merchandise on and just cheering for the car, loving the American Freedom Power and just having a great time is just something so special and irreplaceable.”
