SHERIDAN, WYOMING – July 17, 2025 – The Winward Racing team has reclaimed its championship momentum with a hard-fought second-place finish in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Despite a dramatic late-race caution that ended the contest under yellow, co-drivers Russell Ward and Philip Ellis powered the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 back to the podium — and further strengthened their lead in the 2025 championship standings.
A Strong Weekend Performance Despite Late-Race Drama
From the start of the weekend, Winward Racing demonstrated top-tier performance. Ward secured second place in GTD qualifying on Saturday and maintained that spot throughout his opening race stint.
After Ward completed his required driving time, Ellis took over and continued to push the pace. He led the race for 14 laps midway through the event, showcasing both his skill and the team's strong strategy. Even after a competitive pit stop shuffled the field, Ellis worked his way back up to second place.
With just 17 minutes remaining, Ellis prepared for a decisive move on the race leader. But a full-course caution two minutes later froze the field and sealed the race result. Still, the team's strong performance paid off in the points battle.
Championship Lead Expands After Consistent Podium Form
The Canadian outing marked an important recovery for the reigning GTD champions after a tough race at Watkins Glen. Winward Racing entered the weekend with a 60-point championship lead and left Canada with that margin expanded to 93 points — 1,902 to 1,809 — over their nearest rivals.
Mercedes-AMG also maintained its dominance in the GTD manufacturer standings, holding a commanding 174-point advantage over the next competitor, thanks to the team’s consistent success.
Driver Reflections on a Positive Weekend
Ward praised his team's form and spirit, saying, "I really can't give the guys enough accolades. We just seem to be in incredible form, the motivation is high, and everybody is just excited to be there, and the results are coming as a consequence. We have always been really, really good at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and back in 2018 we had one of our first podiums with our Mercedes-AMG GT4 there. It's a good track for us and I am proud of everybody's performance on the team, my qualifying and my run in the race, and Philip at the end. He had four overtakes to get us back in second place, and without a couple of late-race cautions, we would have been a contender for the top step of the podium. It's good to gain back some points in the championship and we just need to keep our focus and execute in the final races."
Ellis echoed the positive sentiment, sharing, "All in all we had a really strong weekend, starting off with great qualifying by Russell, one of his best, and that really set us up for a great race as well. We were a little bit unlucky on the strategy side, the way the cautions fell, but we had great pit stops again with the crew. We gained a couple of seconds on everybody else during our stops, as we always do. They make my life much easier and gave me a great car where we could then also attack and make up some positions on track. Ultimately, those were the keys to success for this weekend. Just a great weekend. Russell has done a mega job, the team has done a mega job, and we are happy to be able to stretch our lead again a bit on the guys behind."
Road to the Championship Continues
The No. 57 Winward Racing team now looks ahead to the next round at Road America, set for August 1–3. With momentum on their side and the championship lead in hand, Ward, Ellis, and the Winward crew are aiming to continue their podium streak.
Learn more about Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing at www.mercedes-amg.com/en/vehicles/customer-racing.html.