JDC-Miller MotorSports made history at Laguna Seca, taking the first win for a privateer team since the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship introduced its new regulations in 2023.
The #5 crew of Tijmen van Der Helm and Porsche factory driver Laurin Heinrich took a stunning victory in their customer 963, helping Porsche retain the lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
It was a tougher day for Porsche Penske Motorsport after a difficult qualifying at the Californian circuit.
The #6 car, shared by Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor, managed to salvage sixth-place points. The pair finished just ahead of the sister car, the #7 of Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr.
Disappointingly, this result drops the #7 and #6 to third and fourth respectively in the Drivers’ standings.
The championship is now led by Heinrich, who won the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring in the #7 Porsche 963.
“Congratulations to JDC-Miller MotorSports on their first victory with the Porsche 963,” said Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh.
“Laurin Heinrich did a great job; the entire team worked flawlessly and executed a perfect strategy. In the factory team, luck wasn’t on our side. Strategically, we didn’t find the perfect solution.”
Story of the race
At the start of the race, it quickly became clear that the situation would be difficult. Estre had qualified sixth, just ahead of Andlauer, with both drivers more than a second off pole position.
With a historic Apple Computer-inspired livery paying tribute to the Porsche 935 K3 seen in 1980, the team gave everything.
It even managed – thanks to a bold strategic gamble – to bring both factory 963s into the leading group, with the #7 even leading the race for 31 laps.
However, with only one interruption during the race, the strategy did not pay off, and Vanthoor ultimately crossed the line in sixth place, just ahead of Nasr.
GTP Customer Racing
Despite Porsche Penske Motorsport’s difficult race, it was still a Porsche that won the event, namely the JDC-Miller MotorSports entry, running a 963 still in 2025 specification.
It was a remarkable achievement for the Minnesota-based team, which becomes the first privateer to win in the GTP era.
Porsche factory driver Laurin Heinrich played a crucial part and, despite being only 24 years old, once again showcased his talent.
The German took over from van der Helm after 40 minutes in third position.
With 14 minutes to go, he passed the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Marco Wittmann at Turn 10.
Then, on the final lap, Heinrich snatched the lead from the #31 Cadillac V-Series.R with a decisive move. He ultimately crossed the finish line with a margin of 0.758 seconds.
With this victory, Laurin Heinrich takes the lead in the Drivers’ standings.
Even more impressively, he maintains his unbeaten record at Laguna Seca, where he also won in 2024 and 2025 in the Porsche 911 GT3 R of AO Racing in GTD Pro.
“This place seems to work for me and I love it, to be honest,” Laurin Heinrich said. “Every time I come here in the morning and see this track, I feel something special.
“The team has given Tijmen and me an extremely strong car, extremely well balanced. I think our strength was tyres, which we could really make use of in the last four or five laps. The strategy also worked great.
“To have all this work pay off is incredible. We were pushing flat out and that was all we had. To have something like that happen on the last lap makes it a magic day.”
It was the fifth WeatherTech Championship race win for JDC-Miller MotorSports, and the first for a privateer team in the modern GTP prototype era.
The team’s last victory came in the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class, overall at Sebring in 2021.
GTD Pro and GTD
AO Racing’s race closely mirrored that of Porsche Penske Motorsport, although the final result was more rewarding. The #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R, nicknamed “Sketchy,” led for 51 laps, more than any of its rivals.
However, a late pit stop prevented it from retaining the lead, and the duo of Nick Tandy and Harry King ultimately finished third.
Thanks to their second podium of the season, the two Britons now sit third in the championship and remain in title contention.
A similar race unfolded for Wright Motorsports, which opted for the same strategy as the sister AO Racing car. Adam Adelson and Callum Ilott eventually finished fourth in the #120 Porsche 911 GT3 R, moving up to 10th in the championship.
Coming next
The fifth round of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Detroit SportsCar Classic - a 100-minute race held on the streets of Michigan’s largest city, on the 1.646-mile Detroit Street Circuit.
Last year, Porsche Penske Motorsport secured valuable third and fourth places there in its title bid.
Full Porsche results at the 2026 Monterey SportsCar Championship
GTP class (Porsche 963): P1 #5 JDC-Miller MotorSport: Laurin Heinrich, Tijmen van der Helm P6 #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor P7 #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Julien Andlauer, Felipe Nasr
GTD Pro class (Porsche 911 GT3 R): P3 #77 AO Racing: Harry King, Nick Tandy
GTD Pro class (Porsche 911 GT3 R): P4 #120 Wright Motorsports: Adam Adelson, Callum Ilott
