Porsche Penske Motorsport has retained its IMSA championship lead after scoring another podium, this time at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
The #6 car, shared by
The team had secured one-two finishes at both of the first two rounds at the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, and the Long Beach result marks a third podium in as many races.
This strong result means Porsche keeps the lead in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ standings, with the #7 duo of Andlauer and Nasr ahead after victory at Daytona and Sebring.
Just a few miles from Los Angeles, and sporting a one-off Apple Music design livery, the two factory 963 shone on the streets of Long Beach.
The task was nonetheless demanding in a 100-minute sprint race, the shortest of the season.
Story of the race
Track position at Long Beach is crucial, and the two Porsche 963, #6 and #7, started 5th and 8th respectively on the grid.
But thanks to a blistering start from Kévin Estre, the #6 Porsche managed to gain three places as soon as the green flag waved, climbing to fifth place, just ahead of his team-mate Julien Andlauer.
Unlike many of their rivals, the Porsche factory drivers avoided any major damage in a hectic and tightly-packed street race.
Only the #6 car required minor front-end repairs during a pit stop, completed without losing any time. The damage occurred in a contact with one of the Cadillacs during the opening phase, but had no impact on performance.
The race was then disrupted and punctuated by five caution periods. These were perfectly managed by the team, with both factory Porsche 963 among the first GTP cars to pit.
This allowed Laurens Vanthoor’s #6 car and Felipe Nasr’s #7 to run in third and fourth positions at the end of the pit stop sequence.
While incidents continued to occur, the order remained unchanged thereafter.
GTP Customer Racing
Porsche’s strong overall result was completed by sixth place for the #5 Porsche 963 of JDC-Miller Motorsports, marking the team’s best result since its podium at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September 2024.
The car is now shared by Tijmen van der Helm and Porsche factory driver Laurin Heinrich, winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring with Porsche Penske Motorsport.
Heinrich will run in the #5 car for the remainder of 2026, with the exception of the season finale at Petit Le Mans.
The team’s brilliant performance came courtesy of an alternative race strategy, pitting under the first full-course caution after just five minutes.
Heinrich took over from van der Helm, completed the remaining 92 minutes and posted the fastest lap time of the race.
The German charged through the field to finish sixth, at times even running within reach of the podium positions.
GTD
Entered in GTD in the absence of the GTD Pro category in California, the #177 “Roxy” car was unfortunately unable to fight for the win after a tough outing.
The 911 GT3 R, driven by Mikkel Pedersen and Harry King, eventually finished 13th.
The other 911 GT3 R entered by Wright Motorsports, finished 15th with Adam Adelson and Callum Ilott.
Coming next
The fourth round of the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Monterey SportsCar Championship on May 1-3.
This 160-minute race takes place on the 3.602 km (2.238-mile) WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway, 119 miles south of San Francisco (California).
The #6 will be targeting an astonishing milestone: securing three consecutive wins at the same circuit.
Full Porsche results at the 2026 Grand Prix of Long Beach
GTP class (Porsche 963):
P3 #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor P4 #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Julien Andlauer, Felipe Nasr P6 #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports: Tijmen van der Helm, Laurin Heinrich
GTD class (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
P13 #177 AO Racing: Harry King, Mikkel Pedersen P15 #120 Wright Motorsports: Adam Adelson, Callum Ilott
