Porsche Penske Motorsport continues its winning streak at Laguna Seca

Monterey, California. Porsche Penske Motorsport have achieved yet another one-two result, this time at the Laguna Seca Raceway. Factory drivers Matt Campbell from Australia and Mathieu Jaminet from France celebrated their first win of the season at round four of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Championship leaders Felipe Nasr from Brazil and Nick Tandy from Great Britain crossed the finish line in second place, less than two seconds behind the winners. The pair have won the first three races at Daytona, Sebring, and Long Beach. In the GTD-Pro class, former Porsche Juniors Klaus Bachler and Laurin Heinrich notched up their second victory of the year with the 911 GT3 R.

The race

After a nail-biting qualifying session on Saturday, Sunday brought another thriller under blue California skies. The two Porsche 963 racers clinched victory in a fierce three-way battle; but only on the final lap of the two hour, 40-minute race. For the first time since 2022, the IMSA championship ran the full race distance without a full course caution period during the race.

When the green flag waved at the storied California racetrack, the two Porsche 963 slotted into positions two and three – but in reverse order from their qualifying positions that saw the No. 6 of Campbell starting second. Reigning champion Nasr promptly overtook Campbell and set his sights on the leading BMW. As Nasr hunted down the leading BMW, the No. 6 car collided with a GT car and was forced to pit for an early service. Meanwhile, Nasr put in a daring overtaking maneuver and swept into P1.

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Roughly 45 minutes into the race, Brazilian driver Felipe Nasr steered the leading No. 7 Porsche into the pits, handing the wheel to Nick Tandy. Tandy rejoined the race and found himself behind the sister car, now driven by Mathieu Jaminet, who had swapped with Matt Campbell. The two Porsche 963s held firm at the front, running comfortably in first and second positions until the closing minutes – when the No. 24 BMW launched a last-ditch charge. Separated by mere feet, the top three cars treated fans to a gripping showdown in the final lap with multiple overtaking attempts, slight clashes, and ultimately, a trip into the gravel for the third-placed BMW in an incident that also involved a GT racing car.

‟That was tough work,” stated Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. ‟Looking at the results, it was a perfect day – but it wasn’t as straightforward as it seems. There were challenging moments, and both Porsche 963 cars made contact with other cars. Still, our team and drivers delivered an outstanding performance. This marks our third consecutive one-two finish, and we now lead all championship categories. We couldn’t ask for more.”

In the overall standings, Porsche has extended its lead over the competition in the manufacturers’ championship. Porsche Penske Motorsport holds a comfortable lead in the team standings. In the drivers’ championship, Campbell and Jaminet have slightly closed the gap to their teammates Nasr and Tandy. The two driver pairings continue to rank first and second in the standings.

The Porsche 963 fielded by the JDC-Miller MotorSports customer team concluded the race on California’s Pacific coast in ninth place. Italian Gianmaria Bruni and Tijmen van der Helm from the Netherlands shared the wheel of the No. 85 car.

‟Roxy” repeats ‟Rexy’s” 2024 feat: Class win for the Porsche 911 GT3 R

In the GTD Pro class, former Porsche Juniors Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler clinched their second win of the season after a flawless drive in the Porsche 911 GT3 R – matching the strong performance of their AO Racing team. Their pink, dinosaur-liveried car dubbed ‟Roxy” crossed the finish line at Laguna Seca with an 8.660-second lead. At the same track last year, the team celebrated its first win with the fan-favorite ‟Rexy”.

The win propelled Heinrich and Bachler to the top of the GTD Pro category, where Heinrich remains the defending series champion. Porsche now leads the GTD Pro Manufacturer’s standings in the class as well.

Wright Motorsports’ Porsche 911 GT3 R finished sixth in the GTD class, slowed by a mid-race drive through penalty assessed for contact with a competitor.

After two races in Florida followed by two events in California, the IMSA teams are now travelling inland. Round five of the season will be contested on the streets of Detroit on May 31. The Detroit Grand Prix runs for just 100 minutes.

RS1 wins Saturday’s Michelin Pilot Challenge race in 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport at Laguna Seca to open the weekend

Jan Heylen and Luca Mars took advantage of a perfect strategy call by RS1 to claim the Grand Sport (GS) class and overall victory in the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 in the No. 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport on Saturday. For the team, the result in the third round of the 2025 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge was vindication, as the RS1 Porsche had been knocking at the door at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with second place finishes the last three years.

Heylen and Mars arrived in Monterey as the GS class point leaders after two runner-up finishes in the opening two rounds at Daytona International Speedway and Sebring International Raceway. In Monterey, Mars qualified the No. 28 Porsche fourth fastest, then held the position during his opening stint. Heylen was then able to manage the race from the front, holding off his competitors through an additional three restarts.

Drivers’ comments after the race

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #6): ‟Our first win of the season at last! We were involved in an incident early on, so I didn’t expect such a fantastic result. But a perfect team strategy got us to the front. It was a close battle to the end, even with our sister car. We managed to bring it home. Now I’m really looking forward to the race in Detroit.”

Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #7): ‟That was another fantastic day of racing for our team. That’s the fourth consecutive podium finish for us in the number 7 car; we’ve finished second or higher in every race so far this year, which is an incredible way to start the season. We just want to keep the momentum going. We’ve only contested four of our nine races. Next up is the street race in Detroit and there’ll be plenty of points up for grabs there again. That’s what we’re fully focusing on now.”

Tijmen van der Helm (Porsche 963 #85): ‟We didn’t have the chance to test before the race, so we never quite managed to match the pace of the competition throughout the weekend. We had to think on our feet and opted for a bold pit-stop strategy. In the end, that didn’t pay off. We really needed a safety car period to help us out. Normally, there are always full course yellows at Laguna Seca – just not this year. Now we need to figure out how we can pick up the pace for the next race.”

Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): ‟Last year, we achieved our first victory with ‘Rexy’ here at Laguna Seca, and now we’ve done it again with ‘Roxy.’ It’s just unbelievable. The Porsche 911 GT3 R was outstanding during the race. After a strong start, we made an early pit stop to avoid losing too much time behind the other cars. It was the right call. Winning today means we’re leading the championship, which feels great — but there are still seven races left on the calendar.”

Elliott Skeer (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): ‟Sixth place is pretty much what we expected going into the weekend, but the race went much better than we thought. That raised our expectations, and the podium was definitely within reach. The Porsche 911 GT3 R was fantastic. Unfortunately, a drive-through penalty really set us back. It’s a shame.”

All results and championship standings are available at https://results.imsa.com.