Porsche focuses on defending its IMSA titles in Indianapolis

Indianapolis. Things look promising for the Porsche factory contingent ahead of the six-hour race in Indianapolis: the sports car brand currently leads the manufacturer standings, while Porsche Penske Motorsport and the driver crews of the No. 6 and No. 7 Porsche 963 entries rank first in the team and driver championships. The squad returns to the “Brickyard” with fond memories: in 2023 the team celebrated a one-two victory on the former Formula 1 circuit. Alongside the long-distance races at Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen as well as Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, the penultimate round of the North American IMSA series counts towards the Michelin Endurance Cup. If results go their way in Indianapolis, Porsche could clinch this special title and retain its championship crown.

“Building on our WEC season win in Austin, we’re determined to return to our winning ways in the IMSA championship,” Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, said. “Our team and drivers have consistently made the most of the conditions from each race, but unfortunately a win has eluded us. At our Penske home race in Indianapolis, we hope to see the Porsche 963 back at the front. We know our hybrid prototype and this legendary circuit complement each other perfectly, which is why we aim to take another step towards defending the title this weekend.”

“Our victories in Daytona and Sebring, as well as the strong recovery at Watkins Glen clearly show that the major endurance races suit us particularly well,” said Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. “We’re hoping for a level playing field in Indianapolis. If we can compete with our rivals on equal performance terms, then strategy, pit work and driver skill will be decisive. In all these disciplines, we are well positioned. I’m really looking forward to the home race of our factory team and to seeing our driver Nico Müller back at the wheel of the Porsche 963 for JDC-Miller MotorSports.”

“We have proven that both of our crews are worthy of winning the championship. The task now is to ensure that they’re given the tools to take the crown,” states Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “The team has been outstanding all year, making intelligent strategy calls, executing perfect pitstops and never giving up through tough on-track battles. We now need to once again maximize the performance potential of our Porsche 963 and take full points at Indianapolis before heading to the finale at Petit Le Mans.”

In the No. 6 Porsche 963, former Porsche Juniors Matt Campbell (Australia) and Mathieu Jaminet (France) share driving duties. The duo currently leads the driver championship, holding a 75-point advantage over teammates Felipe Nasr (Brazil) and Nick Tandy (UK) in the No. 7 sister car.

Factory driver Nico Müller builds further experience in the Porsche 963

Factory driver Nico Müller returns to the cockpit of the Porsche 963 in Indianapolis. The Swiss racer shares the ca. 680 PS (500 kW) hybrid prototype of customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports with Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm. Müller, who raced in Formula E for Porsche’s partner team Andretti last season, has already gathered experience in the 963 this year: he contested the WEC round at Spa-Francorchamps with Porsche Penske Motorsport, and made his IMSA GTP debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring with JDC-Miller MotorSports. He also served as reserve driver for the factory team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

GT classes: “Rexy” returns to the scene of a major victory

In the GTD Pro class, AO Racing continues its championship campaign with the Porsche 911 GT3 R. Former Porsche Juniors Laurin Heinrich (Germany) and Klaus Bachler (Austria) share the wheel of the dinosaur-liveried 911, affectionately dubbed “Rexy.” The pair currently sits third in the drivers’ standings. AO Racing triumphed at Indianapolis last year.

In the GTD category, customer outfit Wright Motorsports also fields a ca. 565 PS (416 kW) Porsche 911 GT3. In the No. 120 cockpit, Americans Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer join forces with Australian Tom Sargent.

The race

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the world’s oldest permanent racetracks. The facility – nicknamed the “Brickyard” due to the brick-paved start-finish line – was built in 1909 as a 2.5-mile oval track. The famous Indy 500 is contested every year in the arena, which can seat nearly 260,000 spectators and is the highlight of every IndyCar season.

For the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s six-hour “Battle on the Bricks,” the series uses the 2.439-mile Grand Prix Road Course. This combination of long straights, high-speed oval sections and tight infield features 14 turns. From 2000 to 2007, Formula 1 also raced on a similar layout. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been owned by the Penske Entertainment Group since 2020 and is part of Roger Penske’s corporate empire.

Race broadcast

Sunday’s race will take the green flag at 11:40 a.m. ET and can be seen in its entirety on Peacock for subscribers in the U.S. The final three hours of the six-hour race, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, are broadcast live on NBC. For viewers outside of the USA and Canada, the race will be broadcast live over the full distance in a free stream on imsa.tv. The website scoring.imsa.com offers live timing.

Additional Porsches in the paddock at Indianapolis

A win for Jan Heylen and Luca Mars in the RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport in the last round at VIR gives them a 240-point lead in the Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class with just two races to go and opens the door for the duo to clinch the title in Indianapolis. Heylen and Mars have won three times this season and lead 25 class entries this weekend. Five of those entries are Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsports.

A total of 29 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 992) cars are entered in this weekend’s Porsche Carrera Cup North America doubleheader at Indianapolis. Just two points separate Riley Dickinson from Ryan Yardley in the Pro championship race. Six different drivers have won in the first 10 races this season.

Drivers’ comments ahead of the race

Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): “The IMSA season wraps up with two major endurance races. We have consistently performed well in Indianapolis since 2023, and the track suits us perfectly. I hope we can finish the race without issues. Our focus is on defending the championship lead and ideally extending our advantage before we head to the season finale at Road Atlanta. We’re looking at the bigger picture and will avoid taking any unnecessary risks.”

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “I’m looking forward to being back in the Porsche 963 for the ‘Battle on the Bricks.’ Indianapolis is such a unique track and always guarantees plenty of action throughout the field. The most important thing is to have a solid week with the #7 crew and keep our championship fight alive. We’ve had two tough results, which we’re putting behind us, and we’re eager to get back on top.”

Nico Müller (Porsche 963 #85): “During my stint with JDC-Miller MotorSports at Sebring we delivered strong performances throughout parts of the race. I now aim to build on that momentum. Hopefully together we can make further progress and achieve strong results at Indianapolis this weekend and in October at Road Atlanta. I’m really looking forward to both upcoming endurance races.”

Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): “In 2023 I took pole position in our class at Indianapolis, and last year AO Racing claimed victory there. I’m feeling confident about the upcoming race. In recent rounds with our ‘Rexy’ we’ve done a solid job, but we haven’t been able to challenge for class wins. Our goal is to get back to the top. The track is fantastic – a lot can happen over six hours.”

Elliott Skeer (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): “Every time Adam and I have raced at Indy; it’s been an emotional roller coaster. Going into this one has that feeling of ‘let’s see which way it swings this time!’ It’s been a rough summer with our team extracting the maximum of our car, but we couldn’t match the other teams. Hopefully that can change here at the ‘Battle of the Bricks,’ and we can rewind the tape to 2024.”