Porsche Penske Motorsport secured another podium in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, finishing third on the streets of Detroit to extend its championship lead.
The #6 Porsche 963 driven by Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet, which won last time out at Laguna Seca, finished third in the Detroit Grand Prix, just ahead of the sister car shared by Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy.
The 100 minutes was interrupted twice, a factor that didn’t play in favour of the #7 Porsche. The car led for 35 laps, the highest number of the race, and Nick Tandy also clocked the fastest lap.
It was an excellent performance given that both factory-entered Porsche 963 had started from the third row of the grid.
In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Porsche holds a 147-point lead over its closest rival. The #7 car leads a 1-2 in the Drivers’ championship, while Porsche Penske Motorsport leads the IMSA team standings.
Porsche Penske Motorsport continues its near-perfect start to the season in the United States, and heads to Circuit de la Sarthe with strong momentum for the 93rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14-15.
Story of the Race
Starting fifth and sixth on the grid respectively, the #6 and #7 Porsche 963 had mixed fortunes when the green flag dropped.
Starting sixth, Tandy immediately gained two places to move up to fourth, while behind Matt Campbell lost two positions.
After 32 minutes of racing, Tandy in the #7 car took the lead for the first time, slightly offsetting his pit stop strategy from the competition, just as the #6 car did.
This strategy paid off, with Nasr rejoining in second place, just ahead of the #93 Acura and Jaminet, who had taken over from Campbell in the #6 Porsche.
Nasr would reclaim the lead on lap 40, 45 minutes into the race, once the #10 Cadillac finally made its pit stop. At that point, the Brazilian had a lead of over four seconds.
The gap remained stable, and the defending champion seemed poised to offer a fifth consecutive win to Porsche Penske Motorsport.
But with 36 minutes remaining, a final Full Course Yellow was called to clear debris from the track.
At the restart, with 27 minutes to go, the #7 Porsche was leading, and the #6 was in fourth.
However, just 13 minutes later, after being hit from behind, Felipe Nasr lost three places in quick succession and dropped to fourth, right behind the sister car.
The #6 Porsche crossed the finish line in third, just ahead of the #7. The Campbell/Jaminet duo continued its impressive streak with a fifth podium in as many races this season.
The great result meant Porsche and Porsche Penske Motorsport extended their leads in the GTP Manufacturers' and Teams' standings.
Customer Racing
On a street circuit where overtaking is difficult, the #85 Porsche 963 from JDC-Miller MotorSports faced an uphill battle after starting in tenth.
Things didn’t improve during the race for Gianmaria Bruni and Tijmen van der Helm, who ultimately finished eleventh after receiving a 25-second drive-through penalty for a pit lane speed violation.
GTD Pro
Due to an ill-timed red flag during qualifying, "Roxy" started only eighth. But thanks to a strong race by Klaus Bachler and reigning champion Laurin Heinrich, the #77 Porsche 911 GT3 climbed up to fourth place by the checkered flag.
However, the AO Racing Porsche received a post-race drive-through penalty for contact with another car on the final lap, dropping the #77 911 GT3 R to fifth in GTD Pro.
The pair and AO Racing nevertheless retain their leading positions in the GTD Pro Drivers' and Teams' Championships.
Round six of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season will take place on 21 June at Watkins Glen in the US state of New York.
