- Porsche clinches the manufacturers’ title for the second consecutive year
- Porsche Penske Motorsport takes home the 2025 team crown
- Former Porsche Juniors Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet crowned champs
- Porsche also wins the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup
- Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy top the special long-distance classification
- PMNA Customer programs added titles in Michelin Pilot Challenge, VP Racing SportsCar Challenge at Road Atlanta
Braselton, Ga. Race day at Road Atlanta began on a challenging note for Porsche when factory driver Julien Andlauer was forced to withdraw from the race for medical reasons. The Frenchman had been scheduled to join Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet in the No. 6 car. Laurens Vanthoor stepped in to take on a double role, driving stints in both of the factory team’s Porsche 963 cars as the third driver.
Under partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the high 70s, the Porsche Penske Motorsport teams and the factory drivers in the two Weissach-built hybrid prototypes were unfazed by the last-minute change to the driver line-up. Shortly after the start, Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 car advanced into the leading three, while the No. 6 sister car later spent a long stint at the front. After 10 hours of racing, victory eluded them: the two 680 PS (500 kW) Porsche 963 took the flag in third and 10th place – still enough to secure all championship crowns.
‟I struggle to find the words – sweeping the title pool two years running is simply incredible,” Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, said. ‟I want to pay a huge compliment to everyone involved. I’m immensely proud. Achievements like this don’t come around often, and I’ll need some time to fully appreciate the scale of these successes.”
‟This championship is a testament to the entire Porsche Penske Motorsport team and the hard work and dedication they invest into this program every day,” Roger Penske, Founder and Chairman of the Penske Corporation, said. ‟The season started with four consecutive victories, including back-to-back 24 Hours of Daytona wins, and has continued into 10 total podiums. That type of success isn’t accomplished without great drivers, leaders and a resilient crew. The commitment to winning together has been unwavering and defending the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title is reflection of those efforts from all the men and women across both Mooresville and Germany.”
‟Our car continues to be the most successful LMDh vehicle since the regulations were introduced,” said Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. ‟Today’s race was extremely challenging, but once again we made the most of it.”
The JDC-Miller MotorSports customer outfit set a strong pace in the first half of the race, with the No. 85 Porsche 963 running as high as fourth at times, before a series of setbacks dropped them down the order. In the end, the team crossed the finish line in 12th place under drivers Max Esterson, Neel Jani and Tijmen van der Helm.
GT Classes:
‟Skeleton Rexy” experiences Halloween horror at Road Atlanta
AO Racing fought hard but ultimately came up short with their Porsche 911 GT3 R. Decked out in a Halloween-themed livery at Road Atlanta, the customer team’s fan-favorite ‟Rexy” at times led the GTD Pro class. However, a collision with an LMP2 prototype seven hours into the race dashed all hopes of victory. Repairs to the rear of the car relegated Klaus Bachler (Austria), Laurin Heinrich (Germany), and Danish driver Michael Christensen to eighth place. In the GTD class, the Porsche 911 campaigned by Wright Motorsports finished the season finale in sixth place. Full time AO Racing drivers Bachler and Heinrich finished fifth in the GTD Pro driver standings, while American drivers Elliott Skeer and Adam Adelson were sixth in GTD during their first full season of IMSA racing.
More championship performances from Porsche
In addition to the top-class honors for Porsche and Porsche Penske Motorsports, Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) customer programs made their marks on the IMSA season.
The titles for Porsche drivers began on Friday morning, when Adam Adelson and Wright Motorsports achieved the Driver and Team championships in the GTDX class of the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. Adelson began the season with three wins in his No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, then ended the season with six consecutive runner-up finishes to accumulate enough points for the title.
RS1 drivers Jan Heylen and Luca Mars added the Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class Driver, Team and Manufacturer championship on Friday afternoon. The duo locked the championship with a sixth-place finish in the two-hour race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Strong results across the season from multiple Porsche customer teams led to a tie between Porsche and BMW atop the Manufacturer standings in points, and also in the first tiebreaker, with three wins each. Two additional runner-up finishes across the season gave Porsche the trophy as a second-level tiebreaker over BMW with only one runner-up outcome.
Driver comments after the race
Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): ‟What a relief! We can now call ourselves champions of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – simply amazing! We’ve had a fantastic year. Many thanks to the team, to my friend and teammate Mathieu Jaminet, and to everyone working behind the scenes. It’s a perfect day for our entire crew.”
Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #6): ‟I’ve been chasing a success like this for over two years. In 2023 and 2024, I gave everything I had, but it just wasn’t enough for a championship title, which was frustrating. That makes winning it now feel even more special. Doing it alongside my mate Matt Campbell makes it even more memorable. Huge thanks to everyone who played a part in this achievement.”
Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 963 #7): ‟It was exciting and stressful having to drive both cars in the race. I’d never driven the No. 6 before – and then I had to take over the Porsche while it was leading. My two teammates in the car were fighting for the crown, so I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. Everything worked out perfectly: we secured all the titles, so it doesn’t get any better than this.”
Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): ‟That was brutal for us. Just as we were entering the final third, an LMP2 car hit the side of our Porsche 911 GT3 R. Running across the grass caused significant damage to the rear of our car. The team managed to repair it, but our fight for the class win was over. We could have claimed a podium at least. We wanted to defend the title, but unfortunately it wasn’t possible, even though we gave it everything.”
Race results
GTP class:
1. Aitken/Bamber/Vesti (GBR/NZL/DNK), Cadillac #31, 436 laps
2. Gunn/de Angelis/Riberas (GBR/CDN/ESP), Aston Martin #23, + 5.182 seconds
3. Campbell/Jaminet/L. Vanthoor (AUS/FRA/BEL), Porsche 963 #6, + 12.745 seconds
10. Nasr/Tandy/L. Vanthoor (BRA/GBR/BEL), Porsche 963 #7, - 1 lap
12. Van der Helm/Jani/Esterson (NLD/CHE/USA), Porsche 963 #85, - 3 laps
GTD Pro class:
1. Hesse/Harper/de Phillippi (DEU/GBR/USA), BMW #48, 406 laps
2. Milner/Catsburg/Varrone (USA/NLD/ARG), Corvette #4, - 1 lap
3. Garcia/Sims/Juncadella (ESP/GBR/ESP), Corvette #3, - 1 lap
8. Bachler/Heinrich/Christensen (AUT/DEU/DNK), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, - 2 laps
GTD class:
1. Mann/Wadoux/Pier Guidi (USA/FRA/ITA), Ferrari #21, 405 laps
2. Triarsi/Koch/Calado (USA/USA/GBR), Ferrari #021, + 4.158 seconds
3. Hawksworth/Thompson/Montecalvo (GBR/CDN/USA), Lexus #12, + 31.682 seconds
6. Adelson/Skeer/Sargent (USA/USA/AUS), Porsche 911 GT3 R #120, - 1 lap
All results and championship standings are available at https://results.imsa.com.
Motorsport
