The JDC-Miller MotorSports team gave a stellar performance at IMSA’s Road America round, fighting back from two penalties to finish second.
It was a much-interrupted race, featuring nine safety car periods and with collisions up and down the field.
After lining up last in class and taking two drive-through penalties early on, Porsche factory driver Heinrich led the charge with two hours to go, taking over the #5 Porsche 963 for the final stint.
Exiting the pits in 10th place, the German driver launched the team through the field to cross the line third, before a penalty for a rival boosted the team to second.
Heinrich is now firmly in the fight for the GTP Drivers’ Championship with just two rounds remaining, and heads to the penultimate race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 128-points off the lead.
It was a tougher outing for the two
The #7 car, driven by
The #6 car of
In the GTD Pro class, the #77 AO Racing Rexy car, driven by Harry King and Nick Tandy, finished second.
“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,” says Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh.
“Congratulations to our customer team, JDC-Miller MotorSports, on their second-place finish. 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.”
Story of the race
The #6 car lined up in fifth for Sunday’s race, with Vanthoor first at the wheel, with Nasr starting the #7 car in ninth.
The first Full Course Yellow came after just 12 minutes, with a second coming immediately after, and prompting a run of pitstops in which the #7 gained places as the team split strategies.
The #7 car was bumped up to second place as it opted not to take fresh tyres, while the #6 exited into sixth place.
Despite losing a couple of positions heading into the second hour, the #7 was boosted back to third after the #40 car received a penalty for blocking. This also aided the #6 car, which moved up to fifth close behind.
After another cycle of pitstops, the pair ran fourth and fifth, with the #6 ahead before the two cars swapped positions.
A stoppage with just over 3.5 hours remaining saw the #7 car jump the rest of the field out the pits to run in the lead, having taken slightly less energy, while the #6 in third was around 10% up.
Soon after, the #6 gained a position for the pair to run 1-2 before the halfway point.
Though both cars lost out due to longer stops compared to the rest of the GTP class around the four-hour mark, they were both running in strong points positions heading into the final two hours.
Sadly, with two hours to go, the #7 car had an off at Turn 6 and became beached in the gravel.
The car was recovered and took an emergency service, followed by a normal stop to complete the work next time around, but it was dropped to the back of the field two laps down.
The #6 car continued to run a strong race, and was fourth with 90 minutes remaining before taking third on the restart after yet another Full Course Yellow period.
It took second with 70 minutes remaining, and was right in contention for the win when it had contact with the #31 Cadillac as the green flag waved for the final 10 minutes of the race, ending its day prematurely.
Customer racing: GTP
The JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 lined up at the back of the GTP class for Sunday’s race.
They stuck with the pack, but a drive-through penalty for a pit lane speeding violation at the end of hour one proved a setback.
A spin in the second hour didn’t help matters, but the team pressed on, determined to make up time to the rest of the field.
Another penalty came later on - another drive-through for working on the car from behind the wall.
But a smart call on strategy around the four-hour mark proved valuable, with the team taking a short fill of energy to emerge in front of the rest of the pack.
A well-timed stop an hour later put them back on the lead lap, and they were up to ninth on the restart with 90 minutes remaining.
With Heinrich at the wheel, the team put in a stellar effort to make up more places on the next restart, quickly moving into the top five.
They were just six seconds off the podium heading into the final hour, before they were forced to stop to fix a right-side door which had opened.
They exited the pits in eighth place in the final hour, but consistency and determination proved key as others had issues.
Crossing the line in third place, the team were then promoted to second after the #23 Aston Martin was penalised.
Customer racing: GTD Pro and GTD
It was another strong outing for the #77 car, as King and Tandy started on pole for Sunday’s six-hour race.
Though they briefly lost the lead in hour one while avoiding an incident, the pair battled back to regain the lead of the GTD Pro class soon after with the help of a quick pitstop.
Amid a close fight, including with the #911 Porsche, they fell back again to third, but fought back in the final hour and stayed out of trouble to finish in the runner-up spot.
The #911 had also been a contender for class victory, but a mechanical black flag for incorrect tyre pressures forced them to make an unscheduled stop.
An emergency service around the three-hour mark also damaged their chances, and though they were back in the fight close to the podium for much of the closing stages, another pitstop late on dropped them back to ninth.
The sister #912 car also had a tough day, with two drive-through penalties disrupting its progress.
The trio went on to finish eighth in class to secure valuable points.
The RS1 #28 Porsche 911 GT3 R finished just outside the points in 12th, while a heavy crash for the #120 Wright Motorsports car with just 45 minutes to go ended their race early having been inside the points.
Coming next
Just two rounds remain in this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The next is at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 20, before Petit Le Mans finishes the season at Road Atlanta on October 3. The GT classes will also head to Virginia International Raceway for the Michelin GT Challenge on August 22-23.
Full Porsche results at Road America
GTP (Porsche 963): P2 JDC-Miller MotorSports #5: Laurin Heinrich (DEU) / Tijmen van der Helm (NLD) / Kaylen Frederick (USA) P6 Porsche Penske Motorsport #7: Julien Andlauer (FRA) / Felipe Nasr (BRA) P8 Porsche Penske Motorsport #6: Kévin Estre (FRA) / Laurens Vanthoor (BEL)
GTD Pro (Porsche 911 GT3 R): P2 AO Racing #77: Harry King (GBR) / Nick Tandy (GBR) P9 Manthey #911: Thomas Preining (AUT) / Klaus Bachler (AUT) / Riccardo Feller (CHE)
GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R): P8 Manthey 1st Phorm #912: Ryan Hardwick (USA) / Riccardo Pera (ITA) / Morris Schuring (NLD) P12 RS1 #28: Eric Lux (USA) / Jan Heylen (BEL) / Dillon Machavern (USA) DNF Wright Motorsports #120: Adam Adelson (USA) / Callum Ilott (GBR) / Tom Sargent (AUS)
