The Porsche Penske Motorsport works squad clinched its second win of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and extended its lead in the team championship. In a nail-biting finale at Watkins Glen, UK driver Nick Tandy and Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet pocketed their second victory of the season at the wheel of their No. 6 Porsche 963. The sister car shared by Felipe Nasr from Brazil and Australian Matt Campbell took the flag in eighth after technical problems and lengthy repairs. In the GTD class, the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Wright Motorsports claimed the third podium step.

In dry conditions and watched by large crowds in the US state of New York, Porsche Penske Motorsport’s two Porsche 963 dominated the race from the outset. Heading into the race from pole position, Nick Tandy defended his position at the front of the field, with Matt Campbell taking second place after 30 minutes to snatch the lead shortly after that. While the No. 6 car maintained its lead position, the sister car suffered a major setback after approximately two hours. The repairs to a defect in the hybrid system took two hours and threw the crew back significantly.

Due to different pit stop and tyre strategies, the LMDh vehicles from the manufacturers Porsche, Cadillac, BMW and Acura took turns at the front of the field in the second half of the race. In the last hour, the suspense continued to mount: After the final pit stop, the leading cars bunched closer together. Jaminet was in second after the last stop, eight seconds behind the leading car and just four seconds ahead of the third-placed rival. In heavy slower traffic, the Frenchman put in a flawless drive under immense pressure. With about ten minutes left on the clock, he catapulted his Porsche 963 past the BMW helmed by the American Connor de Phillippi but was unable to shake off his opponent. A late caution phase brought some relief: Since overtaking is not permitted behind the safety car during the last two laps, the second win of the season for the Tandy/Jaminet duo was in the bag.

The No. 7 sister car also spent time at the head of the field during the first two hours of racing. Thanks to a strong drive and clever team strategy, Matt Campbell from Australia swept into the lead for the first time after 30 minutes. Shortly after swapping with teammate Felipe Nasr from Brazil, a fault in a hybrid system hampered the car’s charge. Extensive repairs and the replacement of numerous high-voltage components took almost two hours. Ultimately, Campbell/Nasr crossed the finish line eighth in the GTP class. The ca. 530 kW (720 PS) Porsche 963 campaigned by the customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports with drivers Mike Rockenfeller (Germany) and Tijmen van der Helm (Netherlands) finished fifth after a flawless drive.

“I wasn’t there for our first victory in the IMSA series because of my commitments in Portugal with the FIA WEC at the same time. Now I’ve experienced the triumph firsthand – it’s a huge relief after the disappointing events at Le Mans,” says Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. “Our No. 6 car experienced a great race. Unfortunately, there was a defect in the hybrid system on our No. 7 entry. We repaired the car and eventually got it back in the race. This actually helped the sister car a bit because we tested a few things. That was great. My heartfelt thanks to the crew for a job well done. It was a thrilling and fantastic race – with an outstanding outcome for Porsche.”

“Bad luck for the No. 7 car, good luck for the No. 6 – it was a weekend of mixed fortunes,” concludes Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “The winning team did everything right: the drivers were great, the pit crew absolutely flawless, and the strategy was very good. The final sprint was even more gripping than it looked from the outside because we had a slow puncture on the rear left tyre. We were very lucky that we made it to the finish line in one piece. Today is a milestone birthday for my wife – and we have the best present!”

The customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports gave a stellar performance in only its second outing with the distinctive yellow Porsche 963. Thanks to an excellent strategy and the flawless effort from the drivers Mike Rockenfeller and Tijmen van der Helm, the Porsche customer team achieved a commendable fifth place.

GTD classes: Wright Motorsports puts in a strong drive to score third place
In the GTD class, the Wright Motorsports squad put in an admirable performance on race day. Over the entire six-hour distance, the No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R stayed clear of slower traffic and systematically worked its way up the order. American Ryan Hardwick gained several positions during his first two stints, with Canadian Zacharie Robichon then putting the car on course for a podium finish. Jan Heylen from Belgium ultimately brought the light blue 911 across the line in third place.

The No. 77 sister car fielded by Wright Motorsports achieved P11. The two 911 GT3 R run by Kellymoss with Riley wrapped up round five of the season in positions ten and 17. AO Racing’s “Rexy” 911 took the flag in 14th place. Misfortune struck the Pfaff Motorsports customer team in the GTD-Pro class. The Canadian squad’s No. 9 car was running in third place only to lose ground due to a puncture. The vehicle shared by drivers Patrick Pilet from France and Klaus Bachler from Austria finished in fifth place.

Round six the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be held in Canada on 9 July, with the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near the metropolis of Toronto hosting the 2:40-hour race. In Europe, the racetrack is known as Mosport.

Porsche GT4 e-Performance thrills fans in Watkins Glen
As part of the IMSA race weekend in the state of New York, the GT4 e-Performance World Tour by Porsche also made a stop at Watkins Glen. On Friday, Austrian driver Klaus Bachler turned several demo laps behind the wheel of the fully electric prototype, which achieves impressive performance figures as a vision of a customer sports racer of the future. On Sunday, Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister completed additional flying laps to showcase the performance capabilities of the race car, which can produce up to 800 kW (1,088 PS). Witnessed by large crowds, the German driver pushed the Porsche GT4 e-Performance to its limits.

Drivers’ comments on the race
Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #6): “What a crazy finish! You only get something like that in the IMSA series. It’s hugely entertaining for the fans and great fun for us drivers as well. Nick and I pulled out all stops over the entire race. In the last stint, surrounded by slower traffic, I took big risks to catch the BMW. Just before the end, it happened: a small gap opened up and I seized it. I’m absolutely delighted that we secured the second victory in the Porsche 963. We’ve now extended our lead in the championship. I really wanted to win this race at Watkins Glen. We succeeded in doing that.”

Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #6): “What an exciting and action-packed race. We did a perfect job as a team. Every single person on the squad gave their absolute maximum. That’s how you win races! When the sister car experienced technical problems, we were supported by their crew. For example, they tried something on their car that helped us immensely in the fight for victory. It was simply perfect teamwork.”

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “That was a challenging day for us – downright frustrating. My teammate Matt put in a blistering pace and got the car to the front. Then when I got in, I noticed immediately that something wasn’t right. First, the hybrid alarm came on, and then the system failed. I initially drove solely with the combustion engine, and the team tried everything to get the hybrid system back up and running again. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. At least, in the end, we were able to assist our colleagues a bit on their way to victory.”

Mike Rockenfeller (Porsche 963 #5): “We have very little experience with the car and we’re facing intense competition in the GTP class. With this in mind, fifth place is a pretty decent result for us. However, today we didn’t quite have the pace to match our rivals. Especially when accelerating out of corners, our car felt a bit strange. We need to analyse that now. We also need to work on the vehicle’s balance. We’ve learned a lot again. This will allow us to make critical progress in the coming weeks.”

Jan Heylen (Porsche 911 GT3 R #16): “A fantastic and well-deserved result for our team. We’ve had a difficult season so far, but finally, our hard work has borne fruit. The top team is back! It’s just great to finally stand on the winner’s podium again and celebrate.”

Race result
GTP class:
1. Tandy/Jaminet (UK/F), Porsche 963 #6, 201 laps
2. Yelloly/de Phillippi (UK/USA), BMW #25, 201 laps
3. Derani/Sims/Aitken (BR/UK/UK), Cadillac #31, 201 laps
5. Rockenfeller/van der Helm (D/NL), Porsche 963 #5, 199 laps
8. Campbell/Nasr (AUS/BR), Porsche 963 #7, 100 laps

GTD-Pro class:
1. Hawksworth/Barnicoat (UK/UK), Lexus #14, 183 laps
2. Serra/Rigon (BR/I), Ferrari #62, 183 laps
3. Garcia/Taylor (E/USA), Corvette #3, 183 laps
5. Bachler/Pilet (A/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #9, 183 laps

GTD class:
1. Montecalvo/Telitz/Thompson (USA/USA/CDN), Lexus #12, 183 laps
2. Sellers/Snow (USA/USA), BMW #1, 183 laps
3. Hardwick/Robichon/Heylen (USA/CDN/B), Porsche 911 GT3 R #16, 183 laps
10. Brule/Udell/Andlauer (USA/USA/F), Porsche 911 GT3 R #92, 183 laps
11. Brynjolfsson/Hindman/Root (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, 182 laps
14. Hyett/Priaulx/Jeannette (USA/UK/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #80, 182 laps
17. Metni/van Berlo/Evans (USA/NL/NZ), Porsche 911 GT3 R #91, 181 laps

Full results: imsa.alkamelsystems.com