SUZUKA, JAPAN — Ford Racing will continue its full-season SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) campaign at the Suzuka 1000km with a new partnership for Ford Mustang® GT3. A collaboration between Miedecke Motorsport and Melbourne Performance Centre (MPC), under the unified banner of Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC, will take America’s Race Team to Japan, September 11 - 13. The program will feature a complete Ford factory driver line-up for the 50th edition of the Japanese endurance racing classic.
Ford Racing factory drivers Dennis Olsen, Christopher Mies, and Frédéric Vervisch will reunite at the 3.6-mile (5.807 km) circuit. The lineup is a reprisal of the driving team that delivered Mustang GT3 its first global victory at the IMSA-sanctioned Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2025.
Miedecke Motorsport, which primarily campaigns the Mustang GT4 in Australia, acts as the official Australian parts supplier for the GT3 and GT4-spec Mustangs, as well as the Dark Horse R featured in Mustang Cup Australia. MPC leads the GT World Challenge Australia Pro-Am Championship, separately recruiting Repco Supercars Championship driver Broc Feeney in its title pursuit. Feeney recently helped Ford secure its second Supercars Manufacturers' Championship since 2020 with Mustang.
Since launching in 2024, the GT3 platform now competes in 17 countries and on five continents with major class victories in the Nürburgring 24h and Rolex 24 At Daytona. Suzuka marks the Mustang GT3’s second track appearance in Japan, following its annual FIA World Endurance Championship outings at Fuji Speedway.
Alex Allmandinger: Ford Racing Sports Car Motorsports Program Manager – “The continued development of the Ford Mustang GT3 has been proven in endurance classics like Le Mans, Daytona, Nürburgring, and Bathurst. Competing full-time in this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge—including its debut at the Suzuka 1000km—allows us to continue to prove the Mustang on the global stage and against elite competition.”
Andrew Miedecke: CEO, Miedecke Motorsport – “This is a fantastic opportunity for an all-Australian effort to compete in one of the world's great sports car races. It’s been great to grow our partnership with Team MPC this year. We share space at their Melbourne workshop and with our links to Ford Racing, this partnership was the perfect fit. We all feel very grateful to be entrusted by Ford to field their official factory entry at Suzuka. The line-up of drivers is terrific too. Ford goes racing to win, and that’s our intention.”
Troy Russell: Director, Melbourne Performance Centre – “This is an exciting project for our team and we are really looking forward to heading to Japan to represent Ford at the Suzuka 1000. We’ve worked closely with Miedecke Motorsport this year, and this deal is an extension of the partnership that has worked really well. This is one of the world’s most revered sports car races, and we feel that we have all the right ingredients to give it a real shake. Chris (Mies) and Frédéric (Vervisch) have raced with our team in the past, so we know we have a great roster of drivers and we really can’t wait to get over there.”
