Although he’s now 42, Mike Rockenfeller is practically ageless. He still looks as young and drives as fast as his younger teammates within the Ford Multimatic Motorsports stable of Mustang GT3 drivers. He can easily be viewed one of sports car racing’s greatest drivers, ambassadors and gentlemen of the millennium with his affable attitude and incredible insights.
The German driver best known as “Rocky” made his early mark coming up the sports car ladder with two distinct German brands: Porsche and Audi. In 2010, he won both the Rolex 24 At Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans overall in the same year; the Rolex aboard an Action Express Racing Riley-Porsche closed cockpit Daytona Prototype and Le Mans in a factory Audi R15 TDI Plus diesel LMP1 open prototype. He’s the second most recent driver to do that, as Fernando Alonso did so in 2019 with a Cadillac DPi-V.R at the Rolex 24 and a Toyota TS050 Hybrid in LMP1 at Le Mans.
But in recent years, “Rocky’s” manufacturer presence has been distinctly American. He raced both GT and Daytona Prototype Corvettes off-and-on through the mid-2010s, and then was the sports car expert who guided Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button and the Hendrick Motorsports collaborative Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZR1 to take NASCAR back to Le Mans in 2023. He also ran select NASCAR Cup Series races for Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club team when it still ran Chevrolets.
Since 2024, “Rocky” has been a “blue oval” man through and through. He’s been back in a full-time seat in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as part of Ford’s Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) effort, and through the end of 2025, was the only driver Ford kept in that full-time role for both seasons.
For 2026, things change a bit. After Rockenfeller and Harry Tincknell shared the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 in 2024 and Rockenfeller and Seb Priaulx then partnered to be the proverbial veteran and young charger pairing in 2025, both “Rocky” and “Sebby” shift to Michelin Endurance Cup roles in 2026 split between the Nos. 64 and 65 cars.
Rockenfeller seems to feel something different with Ford than he did with the German brands he raced with earlier in his career. As he reflected during the IMSA-sanctioned November test, being part of Ford means going back more than a century and building on it as Ford continues its global motorsports ramp-up to be one of the world’s most pre-eminent motorsport manufacturers.
“Where I’ve come from, I was not surprised… but at Charlotte when they did the season launch two years ago, I’d just joined the program so I only understood it somewhat,” Rockenfeller explained. “But they do NASCAR. Off-road. Baja. Obviously sports car racing. They will do F1. Then Hypercar/GTP… yes, it’s Europe for now, but hopefully they come to the U.S. It’s unreal how big their program is. The Red Bull F1 thing I hope will be very successful, super cool and exciting. The range they go is unreal.”
Ford’s perception is changing globally, too, he noted.
“For me coming from different brands and joining a new one, in Europe, Ford is a different brand than what it is in the U.S.,” Rockenfeller said. “Here, it’s massive. There, the Germans are quite big. That’s normal.
“But I always had friends driving Ford. A friend of mine in go-karts has three Ford dealerships. I always looked at it, but I never imagined I’d race for Ford. To get to know the family and Jim Farley and all of them, (Mark) Rushbrook, it’s such a family. And they’re emotional with racing. They really love it, and you can see it in the programs they do.”
Rockenfeller then proceeded to tell just how much of the Ford family presence the manufacturer wanted to share with its drivers.
“The first year in Detroit, we went to the Henry Ford House, where he basically lived. It’s kind of a museum almost,” he said. “It’s unreal to hear the stories; Edsel and that. It’s unreal. To hopefully write some history together is great. I feel such a part of it. To identify, it takes a bit of time. You need to know the cars, the people, and success and not success together. Year three … this year changed a lot for me. I feel like I’m there now.”
Indeed, the leap Ford made in IMSA from year one in 2024 to year two in 2025 with the Mustang GT3 was paramount. Rockenfeller won the Motul Pole Award for the Rolex 24 and the duo finished third with third driver Austin Cindric, who was deputizing for the injured Ben Barker. The sister No. 65 car won the Rolex with Frederic Vervisch, Christopher Mies and Dennis Olsen.
Ford’s No. 64 car enjoyed major success as the year progressed with two wins on the streets of Detroit – notably cast against the corporate headquarters and backdrop of crosstown rivals General Motors – and then the six-hour TireRack.com Battle On The Bricks in Indianapolis. With one other podium (second at Road America), Rockenfeller and Priaulx finished third in GTD PRO points.
“Every victory is special in its own,” Rockenfeller admitted. “Detroit is the only street circuit (for GTD PRO). It’s cool scenery and it’s different. I love to race in cities anyway but that’s the only chance on the calendar to do so. We don’t do Long Beach. Then obviously that’s the home race for Ford Motor Company and GM is there. It’s a big battle between us. To come out on top was the highlight.
“Indy was so cool; we were second the year before. We knew it was a strong place for us. To win with ‘Sebby’ was good as we just started working together this year and it turned out to be a pretty good combo.
“Then at Indy, it was special to have the whole family (as part of new IMSA Resilient Racers program) there enjoying it, taking the pictures, being on the podium. Especially as a father of three, you understand what matters in life. You think racing is the most important or when you’re doing it. But there’s a lot more in life, to share emotions and give something back. That’s very special.”
For 2026, Rockenfeller will share the No. 64 car with Olsen and Barker, who are set to embark on the full-season effort. That means Rockenfeller’s IMSA goal for 2026 is trophy hunting at the three longest Michelin Endurance Cup rounds, and notably, adding another Rolex watch to his 2010 one. Missing out in 2025 stung, he admitted.
“In the end, to win you need to be perfect,” he said. “The other car had a better setup and we didn’t. The last two tenths, probably. They deserved it! I’m happy they did. Obviously, I’m a Ford driver, so it’s good for all of us if the car wins.
“In the end we had a strong season. I’m sure the big goal is to win the championship. If you ask me what do you prefer, I don’t know if I would pick between 24 and the championship. Probably the championship. It gives a better picture of the whole year.
“But at Daytona, I’d like to get a free watch and not have to buy one!”
IMSA Wire Service PR