Porsche’s 'setback' is a triumph for Ford, Acura’s Detroit GP | Winners and Losers

The original headline for Saturday’s IMSA race report read something like “BOP be damned, Porsche Penske proves perfection again in Detroit”…before the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac and #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing cars instantly changed it, not two-minutes later. The lesson here is that endurance racing can be unpredictable, and never write a lede to a story before you see the whole thing. You never know how it’s going to end, as IMSA's Detroit Grand Prix proved. This weekend’s winners and losers certainly support the notion, as well, that the grit of Detroit likes to keep things interesting, always.

Loser: The #81 Dragonspeed Ferrari never really recovered

#81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3: Albert Costa, Giacomo Altoe

Photo by: Brett Farmer / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

A slip of the car on Detroit’s uneven streets led to contact with the wall and a broken toe link that ended the #81 DragonSpeed’s (and almost everyone else in the GTD Pro class’s) qualifying day, Friday. Saturday’s race, the lemonade-colored Anti Social Social Club-wrapped car made its way to pit lane early in the race after running off. It finished eighth in the GTD Pro class.

Winner: Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac may have found its form… at “home”

The #10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing, Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque

Photo by: Lumen Digital Agency

GM and Wayne Taylor reunited to run the Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac program this year, but like any relationship, it takes a little bit to warm up and refamiliarize with one another again. The first half of the season has been a struggle with some setbacks completely out of their control, and a learning curve in adapting from the Acura to the Cadillac GTP car as well. Put the two on home soil for GM, at a place where WTR and Ricky Taylor have experienced considerable success, the pressure might be on. But they met it, with smiles at the end. 

“​​I think what we're most proud of is, Filipe said it right as we left the podium, that we sort of understand our direction, right?,” Ricky Taylor told Motorsport.com. “And the relationship between us and GM is starting to gel. We're understanding why things are happening. It's amazing with these cars, even over the past three years, sometimes you're good and you don't know why you're good, sometimes you're bad, you don't know why you're bad. And I think figuring that out is not as simple as it sounds, and I think knowing what we need to do, how this, you know, see the see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“I think one of the big struggles in the team, I think we've said it many times, is that we look bad the first half of the year with the results. The pace wasn't there. And it's one thing to cut and paste and not understand why you're doing things, because we have a lot of great resources with Cadillac and our teammates, but it's another thing to understand why you're doing things and to work methodically and to get there on your on your own with that support. And I feel like this weekend, it was a combination of everything. It's WTR Cadillac doing things the way that we've done things in the past, with the experience of all of our partners, and that's what feels good.”

Loser: #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus’ incidents, accidents, and penalties

#14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, GTD PRO, Aaron Telitz, Jack Hawksworth

Photo by: Lumen Digital Agency

The #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus was on a mission to take on and get around the #77 AO Racing Porsche. But that mission came with a cost – an incident with the Porsche provided the Lexus car with one of its two drive-through penalties for the race. The second drive through was because a crew person went over the wall before the car stopped for service in pit lane. 

Winner: Ford gets its own “home” win

#64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3, GTD PRO, Mike Rockenfeller, celebrating his win

Photo by: Lumen Digital Agency

It’s year two for the Ford Multimatic Motorsports program running its GT3 car in the IMSA program, and both cars have made their presence known in the field in 2025 with the #65 car earning a class win at Rolex this year, and the #64 earning its own win on home soil.

Loser: The #65 Ford Multimatic Mustang just had a rough day at the office

#65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3, GTD PRO, Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch, with part of the rear end hanging off after contact.

Photo by: Lumen Digital Agency

The DragonSpeed Ferrari may not have been able to catch a break this weekend, but the #65 Ford had a “no good very bad day” on Saturday. Earlier in the race it earned itself a Mechanical Black Flag. 

Matters were made worse when it found itself in a three-way tussle heading into Turn 3 with the Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini and the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW. The BMW pushed through the #65, literally, causing decent damage to its side, spilling debris on track and leaving the #65 parked in the runoff, ending its race. The #48 was issued a drive through penalty for the incident.

Winner: The Detroit street circuit

#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly running down a part of the Detroit street circuit

Photo by: Lumen Digital Agency

Detroit is no Sebring, as Sebastian Priaulx made a point to say Friday that you still have to “respect the bumps” in Sebring, which are a bit more unforgiving than Detroit. But this weekend’s street circuit made sure to continue to present the same bravado it provides its residents, to the race’s speed-hungry challengers. It provided many spins, whoopsies, and accentuated chaos thanks to its narrow openings as well. It made for a fun run for drivers, and an even more entertaining watch for fans.

Loser: Porsche, for once. Sorta

The Porsche team still on the podium...just not the top spot in Detroit. #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly, #10: Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing, Cadillac V-Series.R, GTP: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque,#6: Porsche Penske Motorsports, Porsche 963, GTP: Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell

Photo by: Lumen Digital Agency

It’s not that all good things must come to an end, but for one weekend, there’s not a single Porsche either in the GTP or GTD Pro category that graced the top spot of the podium. Porsche fans may be disappointed, and the teams in both classes may be as well. But they’re still riding high with both the #6 and #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport cars leading the GTP championship in points after landing the third podium spot in Detroit, and AO Racing’s Rexy/Roxy duo leading the way for the GTD Pro field.

The BOP changes heading into the weekend may have helped at least bring the fight to them a little more, and as fans, we’re thankful for that. The Porsche, and Penske magic isn’t over yet. There’s still Le Mans, and half a season more to go.