With any of these endurance races, there are many ways to win or to lose,” Bourdais said. “To be honest, we just didn’t put a foot or a wheel wrong.”

Both Hand and Bourdais thanked Müller for fighting off rival manufacturers for a riveting finish that landed them on the top step of the podium.

“Dirk just did it in the end,” Bourdais said. “It’s always that way in Daytona. It almost doesn’t matter what happens in the 23 ½ hours, everything matters from the last yellow flag.”

“I have to thank my teammates here,” Müller said. “To follow up to things Chip is always saying in our meetings, hand the car over as you would have it. We’re lucky I don’t have to hand the car over, because there’s a little scratch on the right-side mirror now from my move with the Ferrari (laugher), but what a race. Joey said it. I think to sit here is a big honor because we managed to win a very challenging race. I think the whole team a fantastic job.”

“It’s a proud day for everyone at Ford,” said Dave Pericak, global director, Ford Performance. “We came into this race with a lot to prove after last year and it was great to see all four of our GTs run so well. The competition was amazing, and the 66 car guys ran a perfect race. It’s a great way to start 2017, and we couldn’t be more proud of everyone who worked so hard to prepare for this race.”