News

SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix
Elkhart Lake, WI - August 2, 2026

Porsche Clinches the Team and Driver Titles Early in the
IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup
 

The six-hour race at Road America was marked by numerous incidents, with a total of nine safety car periods repeatedly shuffling the running order. At the halfway point of the eighth round of the IMSA Championship, the No. 7 Porsche 963 was leading the race. However, about an hour later, contact from a competitor sent the car, which was sporting the iconic 2007 RS Spyder livery, into the gravel trap. After a lengthy recovery effort, subsequent repairs and a total of three penalties, the hopes of victory for Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr were dashed. The No. 7 car ultimately crossed the finish line in sixth place.

Following the misfortune of the No. 7 entry, the No. 6 Porsche 963 initially put itself in a strong position to challenge for the race win. During the eighth caution period, Kévin Estre was running second. However, after the restart, the Frenchman collided with a competitor and crashed into the Turn 1 barriers. The No. 6 Porsche 963, carrying the livery inspired by the legendary 1973 Porsche 917/30, sustained damage in the incident. Estre and teammate Laurens Vanthoor ultimately finished eighth.

Road America was the fourth and penultimate round of the Michelin Endurance Cup, which comprises the endurance races at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America and Road Atlanta.

The next round of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 20.

No. 6 Car

START: 5TH  
FINISH: 8TH
 

LAURENS VANTHOOR'S THOUGHTS: "We had a disappointing finish. We pushed to the limit throughout the entire race to keep our chances of winning alive. Things went wrong once just before the end. That's a real shame. As a team, we made significant progress over the weekend, and the strategy was also very good. But it just wasn't meant to be. Fortunately, no one was injured in the accidents."

URS KURATLE'S THOUGHTS: "First, the good news: We've clinched the team and driver titles in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. This shows just how strong our team is in endurance racing. Unfortunately, there were also some downsides today. Many cars were involved in incidents during a hectic race. Our two Porsche 963 from Porsche Penske Motorsport were among them. As a result, we didn't achieve top results here."

No. 7 Car

START: 9TH   
FINISH: 6TH
 

JULIEN ANDLAUER'S THOUGHTS: "It was a tough weekend. We were clearly lacking pace in qualifying. In the race, we had to push to the absolute limit at all times just to keep up. It wasn't until it got a bit warmer toward the end that our car became easier to drive. Unfortunately, we couldn't capitalize on that anymore because we were already too far behind. When you're two laps down, there's nothing left to achieve."