News

• Tandy and Jaminet defend championship lead with second place
• JDC-Miller MotorSports customer team finish debut in seventh
• Victory and third for the Porsche 911 GT3 in the GTD category
• Pfaff Motorsports’ impressive battle rewarded with GTD-Pro podium
• Next round: 24 Hours of Le Mans on 10/11 June

Porsche Penske Motorsport has achieved another podium result in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. At the wheel of the No. 6 Porsche 963, Nick Tandy from the UK and Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet secured second place at round four in Laguna Seca.

Stuttgart. Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet were successful in defending their lead in the drivers’ championship. In the two consecutive IMSA races in California, the British-French works driver duo earned more points than any other driver pairing: They followed up their victory in Long Beach with second place in Laguna Seca. In the manufacturers’ classification, Porsche has advanced to second place. Porsche Penske Motorsport also ranks second in the team championship. On the way to scoring a podium result on the track close to the harbour of Monterey at the Pacific, the works squad had to overcome numerous hurdles. 

In sunshine and cool temperatures, the two hybrid prototypes fielded by Porsche Penske Motorsport tackled the race over 2:40 hours from the first grid row. The first setback came right after the start: Matt Campbell missed the braking point at the wheel of the No. 7 pole-setting car and fell back to sixth place. His teammate Jaminet dropped to third place in the early stages of the race. After 20 minutes, misfortune returned for Campbell. After making contact with a GT car, the Australian was handed a drive-through penalty, which relegated him to the back of the GTP field. During a full course yellow, he handed the No. 7 car to his teammate Felipe Nasr. Bad luck also plagued the Brazilian. After a restart, he slid off the track and crashed into the barriers with the 500+ kW (680 PS) prototype. The repairs cost him eight laps to the top. As a result, Campbell/Nasr were out of contention. 

Meanwhile, from the halfway point in the race, the sister car of the Long Beach winners ploughed its way up the order. Nick Tandy gave an impressive performance putting in a spirited drive, particularly during the last stint. In the final phase, the UK driver and 2015 outright Le Mans winner with Porsche attempted some bold overtaking moves, which catapulted him from fourth to second place with 20 minutes remaining. At the flag, the No. 6 car was just 3.882 seconds shy of clinching its second victory of the season. 

“We had both cars on the front grid row. So, second place in the race is not what we had hoped for,” says Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh, summing up the situation. “We fought our way back well with car number 6. We need to learn from the things that happened to us today with the sister car. The team did a great job. Our strategy was promising. We did well at Laguna Seca this weekend. Our success is thanks to consistent progress. The Porsche Penske Motorsport crews on both sides of the Atlantic and all the employees at the Development Centre in Weissach played a part in this. It was also great to see how JDC-Miller MotorSports performed at its first outing with the Porsche 963. The team is learning rapidly and making good progress. Congratulations as well to Porsche’s successful GT customer teams.”

Porsche Penske Motorsport gains ground in the overall classification of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In the manufacturer and team championship, Porsche ranks second. In the drivers’ classification, Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy have now built a 25-point advantage over their closest rivals. Round five of the North American IMSA series will be contested on 25 June at Watkins Glen in the US state of New York. Two weeks before that, the Porsche Penske Motorsport works squad will field three Porsche 963 at Le Mans sporting an anniversary livery on the occasion of the 75th celebration of the Stuttgart sports car brand. On 10/11 June, the 24-hour classic celebrates its 100th anniversary. 

Drivers’ comments after the race
Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #6): “It was an exciting race; I thoroughly enjoyed it and we scored a lot of points. It was interesting that the different GTP cars had very different paces after the restarts. That made for some spectacular action. I would’ve preferred a more uneventful race, but it was still a lot of fun. We got the most out of it. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about, because we certainly won’t be able to win every race. Now we’ve been on the podium three times in four races – that’s something to be proud of!”

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “Obviously, that wasn’t what we had hoped for. Our number 7 crew deserved better. We had the pace to fight for victory. That was obvious in the qualifying and race. I’m sorry that I crashed. After the restart, I saw the chance to grab two positions at once. I gave it everything, the rear of my car got away from me - that was it. I had no chance of catching the car. Now I’m looking ahead to Le Mans and the next IMSA race at Watkins Glen.”