Fifth place for Porsche Penske Motorsport at Road America

Ekhart Lake, Wis. The two-hour, 40-minute race on the 4.048-mile Road America circuit began in hectic fashion. The safety car was deployed on the opening lap after an LMP2 car skidded off the track. When the green flags were waved after 15 minutes, the full course caution again came immediately as yet another competitor had slid off the circuit.

The two 689 PS (507 kW) hybrid prototypes fielded by the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team took advantage of the second yellow phase to make an early pit stop just 23 minutes into the race. Following the refueling, starting drivers Matt Campbell from Australia and Felipe Nasr from Brazil rejoined the race in 10th and 11th positions, stuck behind a slower GTP-class car that held them up. Nevertheless, the bold strategic decision paid off. When the safety car returned to the track just over an hour into the race, the leading GTP cars headed into the pit lane for scheduled service stops. Thanks to a shorter refueling time and the excellent work of the pit crew, both factory Porsche 963 capitalized on the situation: Mathieu Jaminet from France – who had taken over from Campbell in the Number 6 car – emerged in the lead, while British native Nick Tandy, replacing Nasr, moved up into fourth place.

Just over an hour before the end of the eighth IMSA race of the season, Tandy launched an attack on the third-placed driver and completed the overtake. However, when the overtaken driver attempted to counter just a few yards later, the two cars made contact on the straight, causing the Cadillac to spin. The race stewards deemed Tandy at fault and imposed a 60-second pit stop penalty, which ultimately dropped the Number 7 Porsche to eleventh place in the GTP class.

The incident triggered another yellow flag phase, which caught the sister car off guard and allowed both BMW prototypes, who had just refueled, to move to the front of the field. After his pit stop, Jaminet rejoined the race in fourth place. Following further difficulties in overtaking situations, which were often fiercely contested, and a fair duel with Earl Bamber in a Cadillac, the No. 6 ultimately had to settle for fifth place in the closing minutes.

‟We’re looking back on the race here in Elkhart Lake with mixed emotions – it didn’t go our way,” Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh, explained. ‟But we’re still leading the championship with the number 6 Porsche 963, which is the most important thing. The drivers and pit crews did a great job. We’ve got two races to go and it’s in our own hands. We’ll fight hard!”

‟We made the right decisions during the race and brought both Porsche to the front,” Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport, said. ‟Congratulations to BMW, they chose a bold strategy during the final yellow phase and were duly rewarded. Our race cars were hit several times on track, some of our competitors drove quite aggressively. Overall, it was an acceptable result; we remain first and second with both Porsches. Hopefully, we can demonstrate stronger performance in Indianapolis and be more competitive again, particularly in terms of top speed on the straights – something we sorely lacked here.”

The Porsche customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports climbed from 11th to fifth place in the early stages of the race. However, as the event progressed, Italian driver Gianmaria Bruni and Tijmen van der Helm from the Netherlands were unable to maintain the pace of the competition and gradually lost ground. The pair ultimately crossed the finish line in 10th place.

GT classes: Strong showing from customer team Wright Motorsport
Enacting a bold strategy, Austrian Klaus Bachler and reigning IMSA GTD-Pro champion Laurin Heinrich steadily climbed through the field from seventh on the grid at Road America. Roughly one hour before the race finish, the AO Racing team’s Porsche 911 GT3 R – affectionately nicknamed ”Rexy”– took the lead and held it until approximately 15 minutes before the finish. However, the absence of an extended yellow flag period, which would have made another refueling stop unnecessary, meant another trip to the pits was unavoidable. The two former Porsche Juniors made their final stop and ultimately crossed the finish line in eighth place in their class.

Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer had better fortune. Helming their up to 565 PS (416 kW) Wright Motorsports 911, they largely avoided incidents and climbed from 12th on the grid to sixth in the GTD classification. Their biggest challenge was contesting the entire race without radio contact, relying instead on strategic instructions conveyed via pit boards in the traditional way.

Customer Racing programs continue success in support races
Porsche Motorsport North America customer programs continue to find success away from the headlining IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races. At Road America, Thomas Merrill and David Hampton finished sixth in the two-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge race on Saturday. Merrill and Hampton’s No. 14 AR Motorsports Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport was just ahead of the JDC-Miller MotorSports machine in the Grand Sport (GS) class to be the highest-finishing Porsche in the field. Despite a mechanical issue that doomed the RS1-prepared Cayman to a 17th-place finish, drivers Luca Mars and Jan Heylan continue to hold the championship lead with three races remaining.

Jimmy Llibre and Tyler Maxson each scored their first wins in the single-make Porsche Carrera Cup North America doubleheader at Road America. ACI Racing’s Llibre was first across the finish line on Saturday, while Topp Racing’s Maxson beat each driver in the 29-car Porsche 911 GT3 Cup field to victory on Sunday. Riley Dickinson of Kellymoss continues to lead the championship overall, but by just two points over Topp Racing’s Ryan Yardley.

Drivers’ impressions after the race
Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #6): ‟The positive news for us is that we were able to further extend our lead in the championship. With two races remaining before the season’s end, our future is in our own hands. It was a bit of a rollercoaster here at Elkhart Lake – at times we were almost last, then we took the lead and felt in control. But a yellow flag phase cost us positions once again, and a collision damaged the front left steering. Shortly before the finish, there was also an incident with a GTD Pro car, followed by a fun duel with my friend Earl Bamber. A lot happened. Ultimately, fifth place means it was a good day for us.”

Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #7): ‟It was a tough race. I saw the incident that led to the penalty differently. As a result, we weren’t able to achieve the result that had been within our reach. Still, the strategy, the team, and the pit stops were all spot on in getting our Porsche to the front. That shows me we’re capable of fighting for victories again – and I’m looking forward to that.”

Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 963 #85): ‟Thanks to a strong start and solid strategy, we managed to break into the top five at times today. Later on, I got held up in lapped traffic. Compared to yesterday, we made a step in the right direction with our Porsche’s set-up. However, we’re still lacking top speed on the straights. Hopefully that will improve in the final two races, so that duels with other competitors become more enjoyable again – that would be nice.”

Laurin Heinrich (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): ‟We knew that our pace alone wouldn’t get us very far, which naturally put us in a vulnerable position. So, we took a bit of a gamble with our strategy – sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on our side today, and we have to accept that. Still, I’m very proud of my team, because at least we gave it a go.”

Elliott Skeer (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): ‟After qualifying in 12th, finishing sixth is a big step forward and a great reward for all the hard work we’ve put in since the race at Mosport. We’re doing our best to squeeze every last drop of performance out of the Porsche. But racing without radio contact to the team? It reminded me of the old days, but it’s by no means my favorite way to operate. It made things even more exhausting, especially from a strategic point of view, in a race that was already chaotic.‟

Race results
GTP class:
1. Eng/D. Vanthoor (AUT/BEL), BMW #24, 66 laps
2. S. van der Linde/Wittmann (ZAF/DEU), BMW #25, +2.524 seconds
3. Van der Zande/Yelloly (NLD/GBR), Acura #93, +3.628 seconds
5. Campbell/Jaminet (AUS/FRA), Porsche 963 #6, +15.848 seconds
10. Bruni/Van der Helm (ITA/NLD), Porsche 963 #85, +37.098 seconds
11. Nasr/Tandy (BRA/GBR), Porsche 963 #7, 1:43.648 minutes

GTD-Pro class:
1. Snow/Verhagen (USA/USA), BMW #1, 62 laps
2. Rockenfeller/Priaulx (DEU/GBR), Ford #64, +2.915 seconds
3. Costa/Altoe (ESP/ITA), Ferrari #81, +13.316 seconds
8. Heinrich/Bachler (DEU/AUT), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, +1:05.657 seconds

GTD class:
1. Triarsi/Koch (USA/USA), Ferrari #21, 62 laps
2. Goikhberg/Farnbacher (CDN/DEU), Lamborghini #78, +1.618 seconds
3. Franco/Serra (USA/BRA), Ferrari #34, +3.066 seconds
6. Adelson/Skeer (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #120, +7.018 seconds

Results and championship standings available at imsa.alkamelsystems.com.
All results and championship standings are available at results.imsa.com.