The Proton Competition Porsche 963 will start from the second row into round eight of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Italian Porsche works driver Gianmaria Bruni achieved the fourth fastest lap in qualifying at Road America. The two identical hybrid prototypes from the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team secured seventh and ninth positions. Customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports will start the 160-minute race from eighth place with another Porsche 963.

In summer conditions and air temperatures of 29 degrees Celsius, a heated 15-minute qualifying session unfolded for the best starting positions. The two Porsche 963 from the works team immediately hit the 6.515 kilometer Road America track after the green light for the session start. While Briton Nick Tandy in car number 6 patiently built up speed with each lap, his teammate Dane Cameron attacked early. This had consequences: the American slipped off the track in the spectacular "Carousel" right-hander during his fourth lap, damaging the rear of his Porsche 963. Cameron was unable to significantly move up the ranks, while Tandy improved to seventh place.

Even faster in the end was the 514 kW (699 PS) LMDh car from Proton Competition. Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni made maximum use of the remaining grip of his Michelin tyres on his final flying lap to jump to fourth position.

"Congratulations to our customer team Proton Competition. JDC-Miller MotorSports was also strong," summarises Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. "Regarding our two works cars, we are not satisfied. We still have some work to do before we head into the competition. The race at Road America is relatively short at 2:40 hours, and there are few overtaking opportunities on the track in dense traffic. I hope we can still move forward significantly on Sunday."

"We are not where we want to be," concludes Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. "Our two Porsche 963 clearly lacked speed in qualifying. The gap to fourth place is small, but the gap to the absolute top is far too large. I hope for a good race. It will be very warm on race day, so tire durability will play a crucial role. We are usually good in this discipline. We want to make up positions."

GT Classes: Three Porsche 911 GT3 R will start from the far back
In the GTD Pro category, the championship-leading AO Racing team experienced a difficult qualifying. Julien Andlauer drove the "Roxy" Porsche 911 GT3 R to tenth position. The Frenchman, competing at Road America for the first time in his career, shares the pink-liveried race car with German Laurin Heinrich. Both AO Racing drivers are former Porsche Juniors. In the GTD class, the up to 416 kW (565 PS) Porsche 911 GT3 R from Wright Motorsports and MDK Motorsports secured twelfth and fourteenth starting positions.

The eighth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (USA) starts on Sunday, August 4, at 14:10 local time (21:10 CEST). Outside North America, IMSA.TV will broadcast the race live and free of charge for the entire 2:40-hour duration.

Drivers’ comments after qualifying
Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #6): “We are unhappy with our starting positions. There were numerous cars within a narrow time corridor. This highlights how fiercely contested the GTP class is. That's great because we all want a close competition. We are only in seventh place. Nevertheless, the 963 drives really well. We made noticeable progress since practice. Our Porsche should be more competitive in the race than over a single fast lap in qualifying. This gives us a positive and hopeful outlook for Sunday.”

Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 963 #5): “We started our adventure with the Porsche 963 exactly one year ago at Road America. This is the first time we are returning to a track with our car and can build on our experiences. This is clearly evident. I very much hope that we will see this not just today but consistently until the end of the season.”

Richard Westbrook (Porsche 963 #85): “I haven't competed in a qualifying for a very long time – if I recall correctly, it was with JDC-Miller MotorSports in 2022. Unfortunately, I got caught in the slipstream of Gimmi Bruni's 963. No blame on him. It cost some time, but that's how it is. The disappointing result shows that the Porsche may not be the fastest car this weekend. We have to deal with that and make the best of it.”

Julien Andlauer (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): “Regarding the car's behaviour, our 911 GT3 R was much better in qualifying than in the practice sessions. The performance over a single fast lap was not impressive, but it really counts on race day. With good strategy and consistent driving, we can certainly move up significantly.”

Qualifying results:
GTP class:
1. R. Taylor/Albuquerque (USA/P), Acura #10, 1:48.610 minutes
2. J. Taylor/Deletraz (USA/CH), Acura #40, + 0.262 seconds
3. Van der Zande/Bourdais (NL/F), Cadillac #01, + 0.319 seconds
4. Bruni/Viscaal (I/NL), Porsche 963 #5, + 0.791 seconds
7. Tandy/Jaminet (UK/F), Porsche 963 #6, + 0.864 seconds
8. Van der Helm/Westbrook (NL/UK), Porsche 963 #85, + 1.144 seconds
9. Cameron/Nasr (USA/BR), Porsche 963 #7, + 1.375 seconds

GTD Pro class:
1. Milner/Catsburg (USA/NL), Corvette #4, 2:02.198 minutes
2. Garcia/Sims (E/UK), Corvette #3, + 0.194 seconds
3. Serra/Altoe (BR/I), Ferrari #35, + 0.531 seconds
10. Andlauer/Heinrich (F/D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, + 1.390 seconds

GTD class:
1. Grenier/Koch (CDN/USA), Mercedes-AMG #32, 2:03.634 seconds
2. De Angelis/Robichon (CDN/CDN), Aston Martin #27, + 0.130 seconds
3. Triarsi/Rovera (USA/I), Ferrari #023, + 0.207 seconds
12. Adelson/Skeer (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #120, + 1.560 seconds
14. Fjordbach/Li (DK/CHN), Porsche 911 GT3 R #86, + 2.875 seconds

Full results and championship standings https://imsa.alkamelsystems.com.