Ford's first battle at the mountain ended early Sunday morning when Christopher Mies encountered a kangaroo just 20 minutes into the Bathurst 12 Hour, totaling the No. 64 Mustang GT3.
Coming off a class victory last month in the 63rd Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, Mies and his co-driver Dennis Olson were looking to make it two in a row in global competition with the help of Supercars champion Broc Feeney. Olson and Feeney did not have the chance to battle at Bathurst following Mies's surreal accident in the opening hour.
The No. 64 HRT Ford Racing Mustang GT3 entry hit a kangaroo that wandered on track in the twilight hours, killing the animal on sight and destroying the front of the Mustang. The car was put on a flatbed to bring it back to the pits.
Mies exited his car under his own power but was visibly shaken and covered in dark fluid.
Confirmation that the Mustang hit a kangaroo on Conrod Straight. Mies appears shaken - as you would be - but ok.
— Intercontinental GT Challenge (@IntercontGTC) February 14, 2026
LIVE 📺 https://t.co/CCFKvGZiq6#IGTC | #B12Hr 🦘 pic.twitter.com/Ewgk3gzOjc
"Unfortunately, we had an animal on track and hit it at 250 kmh," Olson said on the broadcast. "Luckily, Mies is okay. We can see that he was for sure impacted by that. I’m glad he’s okay, that’s the main thing. Very unfortunate that we cannot show the performance of our car here."
With this being Ford's first foray into racing at Mount Panorama, there were high expectations and fanfare. Following the crash, the broadcast played a 5-minute prerecorded interview with the three drivers.
At the same time as the kangaroo crash, David Campton suffered a mechanical issue and drove the No.50 Vantage Racing KTM X-Bow into the gravel pit, where it needed to be pulled out. The KTM was racing in the invitational class.
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