Porsche has wrapped up the six-hour race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in Indianapolis with great success: In the top GTP category, Porsche Penske Motorsport again climbed the podium in third place with the No. 6 Porsche 963. In the two GT classes, Porsche 911 GT3 Rs won. Laurin Heinrich and Michael Christensen won the GTD Pro category in AO Racing’s No. 77 car, with Wright Motorsports’ No. 120 entry clinching victory in the amateur class.
Porsche Results
GTP class:
1. Krohn/Eng (FIN/A), BMW #24, 219 laps
2. De Phillippi/Yelloly (USA/UK), BMW #25, + 1,647 seconds
3. Tandy/Jaminet (UK/F), Porsche 963 #6, + 2,947 seconds
4. Van der Helm/Westbrook/Hanson (NL/UK/UK), Porsche 963 #85, + 19.176 seconds
7. Bruni/Viscaal/Picariello (I/NL/B), Porsche 963 #5, – 1 lap
9. Cameron/Nasr (USA/BR), Porsche 963 #7, – 7 laps
GTD-Pro class:
1. Heinrich/Christensen (D/DK), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, 208 laps
2. Tincknell/Rockenfeller (UK/D), Ford #64, + 12.527 seconds
3. Garcia/Sims (E/UK), Corvette #3, + 15.355 seconds
GTD class:
1. Adelson/Skeer/Heylen (USA/USA/B), Porsche 911 GT3 R #120, 207 laps
2. Foley/Gallagher/Walker (USA/USA/USA), BMW #96, + 2.465 seconds
3. Grenier/Koch/Skeen (CDN/USA/USA), Mercedes-AMG #32, + 10.940 seconds
8. Pedersen/van Berlo/Dickinson (USA/NL/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #90, + 29.473 seconds
12. Li/Fjordbach/Leitch (CHN/DK/NZ), Porsche 911 GT3 R #86, – 1 lap
14. Andretti/Chaves/Hargrove (USA/USA/CDN), Porsche 911 GT3 R #43, – 2 laps
The Race
After high temperatures and bright sunshine on the two practice days, the weather on race day changed. Rain set in about 90 minutes before the “Battle On The Bricks” started and continued for about three hours. During the race’s first half, the safety car was on track for almost 90 minutes. As a result, the race action was somewhat dampened during that phase. However, the situation in the second half of the six-hour race took a thrilling turn. After the track dried, fans were treated to typical IMSA thrills and spills. The four Porsche 963 in the top GTP class and five customer 911 racers in the two GT categories are taking center stage.
With about 90 minutes left on the clock, Englishman Nick Tandy turned heads with an inspired overtaking move that catapulted the No. 6 car to the front. While his teammate Mathieu Jaminet maintained this position for a short time after the final driver change, a different strategy saw him overtaken by two rival BMWs, which relegated last year’s winners to third place. The No. 7 sister car put in a brilliant early performance: Felipe Nasr from Brazil promptly charged from seventh to the front of the field in the championship-leading hybrid prototype, only to be handed a drive-through penalty. More misfortune followed: a fault with the power steering saw Nasr, who shared the car with the American Dane Cameron, finish ninth in the GTP class.
The JDC-Miller MotorSports customer team celebrated a top result thanks to its Porsche 963 finishing fourth overall. Proton Competition impressively demonstrated the huge potential of the hybrid car. The Italian works driver Gianmaria Bruni turned the fastest lap of the entire race at the wheel of the No. 5 car in 1:16.229 minutes. The squad finished the 6-hour race in Indianapolis in seventh place.
GT Domination
In the GTD Pro category, AO Racing’s so-called ‘Rexy’ 911 GT3 R once again shone. Although the 911 in dinosaur design started the race from the very back of the grid due to a post-qualifying penalty, it took former Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich only a few minutes to charge through the GTD field to sixth place. With a perfect strategy, pitwork, and works driver Michael Christensen’s formidable lap times, AO Racing continued the chase. Ultimately, Heinrich notched up victory number three of the season for himself and his team. As a result, the German heads into the final as the leader in the GTD Pro class drivers’ championship, with Porsche also leading the manufacturers’ championship in that class.
Wright Motorsports also enjoyed success in Indianapolis, with the green and yellow 911 of the seasoned customer team winning the GTD class. Amateur driver Adam Adelson from the USA, his compatriot Elliott Skeer, and Jan Heylen from Belgium put in a flawless drive under difficult conditions. The identical cars fielded by Kellymoss with Riley, MDK Motorsport, and Andretti crossed the finish line at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in eighth, twelfth, and 14th, respectively.
Next Stop: Petite Le Mans
The eleventh and final round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be contested at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on 12 October. The ten-hour ‘Petit Le Mans’ race has been held since 1988 and is part of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup alongside the endurance events in Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Indianapolis. Porsche now holds a 124-point advantage in the manufacturers’ championship. This means that as soon as a Porsche 963 earns points at the Road Atlanta finale, the title is safe. And this is already assured once the line is crossed at the start of the 10-hour race there. Porsche’s two duos Nasr/Cameron and Jaminet/Tandy are separated by a mere 14 points in the drivers’ championship. At the finale, the two crews will go head-to-head for the drivers’ crown. Considering Porsche sits 164 points ahead of Cadillac, the chances of winning the team trophy are also very high.
Above content © 2024 Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee
