Porsche Penske Motorsport fights to secure fourth at Watkins Glen
- Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell now lead the championship
- No. 6 Porsche 963 finishes fourth, sister car retires
- "Rexy" 911 GT3 R wraps up six-hour race sixth in GTD Pro class
- Next outing for the hybrid prototypes: Road America in early August
The No. 6 Porsche 963 wrapped up round six of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season in fourth place. Despite a difficult six-hour race at Watkins Glen, this result propelled Matt Campbell of Australia and Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet to the top of the drivers' championship leaderboard, overtaking their fellow Porsche Penske Motorsport teammates. Brazilian Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy of Great Britain retired early after an accident in their Porsche Penske Motorsport 963. In the GTD Pro class, customer team AO Racing faced a chaotic race filled with incidents and focused on damage control with their Porsche 911 GT3 R.
Stuttgart. Watkins Glen once again stayed true to its reputation for unpredictable weather: Light rain began to fall as the six-hour race got underway, escalating into a downpour around 30 minutes into the race. The tricky conditions early on led to multiple incidents and a series of safety car periods - conditions that played perfectly into the hands of reigning IMSA champion Felipe Nasr. Starting from tenth on the grid, the Brazilian made swift progress at the wheel of his No. 7 Porsche 963. Within four laps, he had navigated the hybrid prototype from Weissach into third place, and one lap later, Nasr snatched the lead. However, the 32-year-old couldn't hold that position for long.
About 90 minutes in, the skies cleared over New York State. The air temperature quickly soared to 32 degrees Celsius, and the track dried within minutes. From that point on, the race took on a familiar picture from Saturday's qualifying: all Porsche 963 cars could no longer keep up with the frontrunners. Despite ten caution periods that repeatedly closed the field, Porsche Penske Motorsport could no longer rejoin the battle for victory.
While Campbell/Jaminet finished fourth thanks to impeccable driving and a strong strategy, Nasr/Tandy, who had previously led the championship, suffered a severe setback: With 80 minutes to go, Nick Tandy in the No. 7 car, crashed heavily into the barriers in the first corner. The Englishman was able to leave the Porsche 963 unharmed. However, the race ended prematurely for the winners of the first three races of the season in Daytona, Sebring, and Long Beach.
"That was a tough race," summarised Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. "We were strong in the early stages when conditions were tricky and even managed to take the lead. But once the weather became more like summer, our chances diminished, as we'd already anticipated from the performance data. The drivers were pushing the limits all day. Nick's crash was the result of that intensity. That's what happens at the limit. The sister car ran cleanly and delivered a pretty good result. Hopefully, we'll bounce back stronger soon."
"Our top priority today is that Nick is okay," said Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. "The crash registered 25 g, which is a significant impact. But thanks to advances in race car safety, he came out of it unharmed. While he'll likely feel the effects for a few days, he's doing well. This underscores how much progress has been made in modern race car safety, an achievement that's vital for the sport."
Despite the mediocre result at Watkins Glen, both factory driver pairings are leading the driver's championship - albeit in reverse order: Campbell/Jaminet have moved up to first place, with Nasr/Tandy in second. Porsche Penske Motorsport continues to lead the team standings, while Porsche also retains first place in the manufacturers' championship.
Among customer teams, JDC-Miller MotorSports delivered a clean performance until late in the race. The No. 85 Porsche 963 was running a solid eighth when a pit stop violation led to a penalty, dropping the car to tenth. Meanwhile, Proton Competition's identical car retired just before the halfway point after being entangled in an unavoidable accident.
GT classes: "Rexy" Porsche 911 GT3 R finishes sixth
In the GTD Pro class, the customer team AO Racing fought for victory until the final half hour. However, contact in a tight three-way battle resulted in some damage to the rear of the 911, affectionately nicknamed "Rexy." The two former Porsche Juniors, Laurin Heinrich from Germany and Klaus Bachler from Austria, finished round six of the season in sixth place, surrendering the championship lead in the process. In the GTD category, Wright Motorsports' 911 GT3 R took the flag in P13.
The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be contested on 13 July in Mosport, Canada. However, only the LMP2, GTD Pro, and GTD classes will compete at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. The top GTP category, which includes the Porsche 963, will return to action on 3 August at Road America in the US state of Wisconsin.
Driver comments after the race
Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): "Fourth place is much more than we were expecting before the race. Our performance in the practice sessions and qualifying had us fearing the worst. Naturally, we're pleased with the result in terms of the championship standings - though we needed a fair bit of luck to get there. That said, the result does not reflect our pace. I'm hopeful we'll be back at the front in the next race."
Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): "It was an unfortunate end to a tough day for us. The most important thing is that Nick is okay. That was a really nasty accident. Up until that point, things weren't looking too bad. We were on course to score enough points to maintain our lead in the drivers' championship, and a top-5 finish was well within reach. With three races remaining, we're keeping the pressure on and are fully focused on winning the title."
Race result
GTP class:
1. Blomqvist/Braun (GBR/USA), Acura #60, 169 laps
2. J. Taylor/Deletraz (USA/SUI), Cadillac #40, + 1.880 seconds behind
3. R. Taylor/Albuquerque (USA/POR), Cadillac #10, + 5.265 seconds
4. Campbell/Jaminet (AUS/FRA), Porsche 963 #6, + 6.981 seconds
10. Bruni/Van der Helm (ITA/NLD), Porsche 963 #85, - 1 lap
11. Nasr/Tandy (BRA/GBR), Porsche 963 #7, - 43 laps
13. Jani/Pino/Varrone (SUI/CHL/ARG), Porsche 963 #5, - 102 laps
GTD-Pro class:
1. Hesse/Harper (DEU/GBR), BMW #48, 160 laps
2. Garcia/Sims (ESP/GBR), Corvette #3, + 1.199 seconds behind
3. Mies/Vervisch (DEU/BEL), Ford #65, + 2.035 seconds
6. Bachler/Heinrich (AUT/DEU), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, + 4.555 seconds
GTD class:
1. Gamble/Stevenson/Robichon (GBR/GBR/CDN), Aston Martin #27, 160 laps
2. Iribe/Schandorff/Millroy (USA/DNK/GBR), Ferrari #70, + 2.541 seconds behind
3. Lucas/Koch/Morad (USA/USA/CDN), Mercedes-AMG #32, + 2.858 seconds
13. Adelson/Skeer/Sargent (USA/USA/AUS), Porsche 911 GT3 R #120, - 1 lap
Full results and championship standings: https://results.imsa.com.