Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Team Winward Racing Rebounds for Second-Place IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Podium Finish Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing team Winward Racing, and co-drivers Bryce Ward and Daniel Morad, recovered from an opening-hour miscue for a comeback second-place IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class finish in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday. Ward, Morad and the entire No. 57 Winward Racing team fought back from a momentary off-course excursion when Ward ran into trouble with lapped traffic just under 40 minutes into the race to secure the team’s best finish of the season with the runner-up showing.

Taking evasive action to avoid contact with the back marker, starting driver Ward made light contact with a tire barrier while running seventh and in the lead pack of contenders. The No. 57 was two laps down and last in the GS field when it returned to the race with over three hours remaining, but the team and drivers quickly went to work on climbing back into contention.

Pit strategy and top pace on the track put the No. 57 back on the lead lap before the halfway mark, and from there, Morad went to work on racing back into the top-10.

Benefitting from a timely caution with 50 minutes remaining, Morad took the restart ninth in a tight train of race leaders and immediately went on a charge. He was up to sixth just three minutes later and cracked the top five for the first time in the race with 35 minutes to go.

Morad continued the run after the seventh and final in-race caution of the day with 17 minutes remaining, and victory was starting to look like a possibility for the Winward team and drivers. Morad quickly moved to third, advanced to second with six-minutes and 30-seconds to go and kept the pressure on the leader to the finish.

Ultimately, Morad ran out of time before he had a chance to make a move for the win, but he fought to the finish and crossed the finish line a scant .751 of a second shy of the victory.

The P2 podium result made up in part for a string of three frustrating races Winward endured to start the season. With six of the season’s 10 scheduled races yet to be run, the No. 57 team and drivers have moved into the GS season-championship top-10. Ward, Morad and the No. 57 team are ninth in points with 850 but only 130 points shy of the third-place team and drivers. 

Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams in IMSA competition is the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International, June 19 – 22.

Bryce Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “Honestly, the car and the team were actually fantastic. I had a really good run going at the beginning up until I didn't, but I just need to work on having a little more finesse when trying to pass back markers. Fortunately, the team truly pulled us out of the jam we were in, and Daniel had an incredible run. We had said that we really need to go on a run to actually try and catch up in the championship, and this is a great start. We have six races left and look forward to finishing right up at the top in those races. Just really, really happy with the result today.”

Daniel Morad, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “I really wanted to win that thing. That was the one goal in mind, first and foremost. We fought back after Bryce did everything that he could to avoid the unpredictable traffic in front of him. Luckily, we were even in a spot to fight for a podium at the end. A good job by Bryce and by the team for getting the car back together and giving us a shot. Fighting through all those passes was a lot of fun. It is stuff like that we practice constantly on the simulator, messing around with your buddies to see what works and what doesn't. I mean, it's hard to pass around here. We finally managed to get on the podium, so the season really starts now. We had such a good Mercedes-AMG GT4 today, so all we had to do was minimize the mistakes after we got back in the race. Our crew guys absolutely nailed it all day. Every single stop was flawless and just gave us a shot to jump guys in the pits. It made my job a little bit easier, as I had to overtake a few less cars, but definitely some highlight-reel passes out there. That was fun.”

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