Atlanta. Porsche Penske Motorsport heads into unfamiliar territory at round five of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season. The Porsche 963 will race on the revived street course in Detroit, Michigan for the first time. The circuit measures 1.658 miles (2.66 kilometers) in length and features nine turns. Porsche tackles the fifth IMSA round of the year ranked second in the manufacturers’ point standings, with Porsche Penske Motorsport at the top of the team standings. 24 Hours At Daytona winners Felipe Nasr (Brazil) and Dane Cameron (Huntersville, North Carolina) currently rank first in the drivers’ championship. In the top GTP class, the Porsche 963 goes up against hybrid prototypes from three rival manufacturers.
“Detroit might be a new circuit for the Porsche 963, but it’s not for many of the team personnel,” explains Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. Penske’s IndyCar program can draw on extensive experience with the circuit in America’s automotive capital. “The downtown location offers a tricky, tight street course layout, with a bumpy and challenging surface. Thanks to the latest top results, Porsche Penske Motorsport continues to lead the drivers’ and teams’ championships. This combined with the fact that Detroit is also the home of Roger Penske, our team aims to bring home another victory.”
“Detroit might be a new circuit for the Porsche 963, but it’s not for many of the team personnel,” explains Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. Penske’s IndyCar program can draw on extensive experience with the circuit in America’s automotive capital. “The downtown location offers a tricky, tight street course layout, with a bumpy and challenging surface. Thanks to the latest top results, Porsche Penske Motorsport continues to lead the drivers’ and teams’ championships. This combined with the fact that Detroit is also the home of Roger Penske, our team aims to bring home another victory.”
The race
Round five of the IMSA season is held as part of the Detroit Grand Prix of the North American IndyCar series. The Penske team is fresh off its 20th Indianapolis 500 victory with Josef Newgarden (Nashville, Tennessee). The win was the second consecutive Indy 500 victory for Newgarden who also won at Daytona driving the Porsche 963 with Cameron, Nasr and Matt Campbell (Australia) earlier this season. The Detroit street event was held on Belle Isle until 2020 but returned to its original downtown location last year. The GTP cars did not contend the race in 2023.
2024 marks the debut of the LMDh hybrid prototypes on the narrow streets of the “Motor City”. At a race length of only 100 minutes, the “Detroit Sports Car Classic” sprint is one of the shortest IMSA races on the calendar.
Drivers’ comments before the race
Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963:
“A new circuit in IMSA doesn’t come every week, so I’m really looking forward to what Detroit will deliver. The track layout is fast in places but also super slow and confined in others. It’ll be interesting to see how our big prototypes handle these conditions. All teams go there on a level footing of course, with no one having raced or tested there before, so it’s very important to have a good base car at the first practice and to work systematically during the sessions.”
Dane Cameron, Driver, No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963:
“There are a lot of unknowns heading to our first race on this street course because we’ve never driven on the Detroit track. It’s always nice to get to know a new venue. We made significant progress on a similar circuit in Long Beach, which we’re now keen to implement in Detroit. Our team is in great shape. We want to carry this positive momentum with us and extend our championship lead with another top result.”
Gianmaria Bruni, Driver, No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche 963:
“I’m super excited. I’ve driven in Detroit before, but it was on the Belle Isle course and not in the city center. It’s great to have Bent Viscaal as my teammate again. We recently competed in the Laguna Seca race and worked really well together, so we’re not starting from scratch.”
Richard Westbrook, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963:
“On the one hand, I’m a little sad that we’re not racing on the old Belle Isle racetrack, but on the other hand, I’m looking forward to the new street circuit in Detroit. It’ll be an adventure into the unknown for us all – that’s what makes it so exciting. Our team must have a good setup for the first free practice session. We then need to use the other sessions for further tweaks. I’m curious to see how the race will go with two vehicle classes – not just on the track, but also in the pit lane, which is sure to be narrow.”
An overview of vehicles and drivers
GTP class (Porsche 963):
Proton Competition No. 5: Gianmaria Bruni (I) / Bent Viscaal (NL)
Porsche Penske Motorsport No. 6: Mathieu Jaminet (F) / Nick Tandy (UK)
Porsche Penske Motorsport No. 7: Dane Cameron (USA) / Felipe Nasr (BR)
JDC-Miller MotorSports No. 85: Tijmen van der Helm (NL) / Richard Westbrook (UK)
GTD Pro class (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
AO Racing No. 77: Laurin Heinrich (D) / Sebastian Priaulx (UK)
The schedule (local time)
Friday, May 31:
08:00 – 09:30 a.m. – Free practice 1
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Free practice 2
4:40 – 4:55 p.m. – Qualifying – GTD Pro class
5:05 – 5:20 p.m. – Qualifying – GTP class
Saturday, June 1:
10:35 – 10:55 a.m. – Free practice 3
3:10 – 4:50 p.m. – Race (100-minutes)
