Ford Mustang GT3 Hits Poor Kangaroo at 155 MPH, Causing Massive Damage

The yellow flag dropped just a bit too late to prevent this Ford Mustang GT3 from hitting a kangaroo at the Bathurst 12 Hour.

In Australia, the Bathurst 12 Hour is that country’s top endurance racing event, having been established back in 1991 before it was discontinued in 1995 and revived in 2007, when it became production-car focused with GT3 and GT cars. That formula has paid off big time, making Bathurst a widely viewed event across the entire globe. It’s also where the Ford Mustang GT3 racer was keen to secure a victory this year, but unfortunately for the Mies/Dennis Olsen/Broc Feeney #64 HRT pony car, it wound up bowing out of this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour following a rather unusual crash.

The Bathurst 12 Hour takes place at the Mount Panorama Circuit in New South Wales, far enough away from Sydney that it isn’t uncommon to see a kangaroo strolling across the track from time to time. Generally, officials are able to spot Australia’s most famous creature before disaster strikes, waiving the caution flag and slowing things down. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this time around.

Instead, a mere 20 minutes after the green flag dropped at 5:30am, the Ford Mustang GT3 – which was making its debut at Bathurst in this case – was stopped at the side of the circuit, and its driver – Chris Mies – was covered in some sort of dark fluid. Commentators initially believed that the car may have suffered some sort of failure that led to oil being sprayed in the cockpit, but that wasn’t exactly the case.

Confirmation that the Mustang hit a kangaroo on Conrod Straight. Mies appears shaken – as you would be – but ok.

LIVE 📺 https://t.co/CCFKvGZiq6#IGTC | #B12Hr 🦘 pic.twitter.com/Ewgk3gzOjc

— Intercontinental GT Challenge (@IntercontGTC) February 14, 2026

Rather, co-driver Dennis Olsen revealed during a pit interview that the Ford Mustang GT3 hit a kangaroo while traveling 155mph on the Conrod Straight, which caused major damage to the pony car. Unfortunately for the team, a yellow flag had indeed been thrown as officials saw the kangaroo before the incident, but not quickly enough for Mies to slow down and avoid striking it. In fact, the #6 Mercedes-AMG Team Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO also wound up hitting the animal before it was all said and done.

“I’m glad I’m standing here right now talking to you, obviously was a very, very big impact at a very high speed,” Mies said. “I think that was probably the first big hit for Mustang GT3, and I’m really happy that they built such a safe race car, Ford Racing and Multimatic. In the moment I saw the kangaroo, that was the moment I hit it. So there was no pre-warning. I didn’t see any flag, so I think it might just have woken up and started to run. I was just in the wrong time, in the wrong place. I’m just gutted for the team, HRT and Ford Racing, that we couldn’t do the full race.”

Join the Mustang Source Forums now!

Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.