The Porsche 963, manned by factory drivers Dane Cameron from Huntersville, North Carolina, and Felipe Nasr from Brazil, secured a podium finish at the 100-minute race at the Long Beach Grand Prix, California. This team, which also triumphed at the Daytona season opener, achieved third place in the third round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. With podium placements in every round of the championship thus far, Cameron and Nasr have emerged as the exclusive leaders in the drivers’ standings. Meanwhile, their teammates, Nick Tandy of the United Kingdom and Mathieu Jaminet of France, piloted the sister car to a fourth-place finish. Additionally, the hybrid race cars operated by customer teams Proton Competition and JDC-Miller MotorSports completed the enduring street circuit race in fifth and seventh places, respectively.
“Little Monaco”
In bright sunshine and temperatures in the low 70 degrees, the IMSA championship once again offered fans in the packed grandstands action-packed racing on the streets of Long Beach CA. After just 11 minutes of the 100-minute event, the safety car was deployed for the first time following an incident. Shortly after, both of the Porsche factory team’s Porsche 963 racers made their first and only pit stop. This clever strategy bore fruit for Porsche Penske Motorsport. The two 670 HP hybrid racing cars moved up to positions three and four as a result.
Lady Luck shines
Initially, Jaminet remained on course for a podium result at the wheel of the No. 6 car, but the defending race winners were hampered by an incident with approximately 20 minutes of racing to go. While lapping a GT vehicle, the Frenchman’s Porsche spun, opening the way for Nasr to slip past in the sister car. The two works race cars crossed the finish line in that order. After its victory at Daytona and third place in Sebring, Porsche Penske Motorsport continues its podium streak.
Race result
GTP class:
- Bourdais/Van der Zande (France/Netherlands), Cadillac No. 01, 68 laps
- Derani/Aitken (Brazil/UK), Cadillac No. 31, + 0.546 seconds
- Nasr/Cameron (Brazil/USA), Porsche 963 No. 7, + 1.675 seconds
- Jaminet/Tandy (France/UK), Porsche 963 No. 6, + 2.913 seconds
- Bruni/Rockenfeller (Italy/Germany), Porsche 963 No. 5, + 4.297 seconds
- Van der Helm/Westbrook (Netherlands/UK), Porsche 963 No. 85, + 6.892 seconds
GTD class:
- Barnicoat/Thompson (UK/Canada), Lexus No. 89, 65 laps
- Foley/Gallagher (USA/USA), BMW No. 96, + 1.449 seconds
- Skeen/Grenier (USA/Canada), Mercedes-AMG No. 32, + 2.194 seconds
- Andretti/Chaves (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R No. 43, + 7.227 seconds
- Li/Fjordbach (China/Denmark), Porsche 911 GT3 R No. 86, + 1 lap
DNF. Adelson/Skeer (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R No. 120, + 57 laps
Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport
“Congratulations to our IMSA team and to everyone who has contributed to our podium success with the Porsche 963,” offered Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “The sprint through the streets of Long Beach was once again a spectacular event this year – a celebration for fans and participants alike. Our Porsche Penske Motorsport works team again delivered a flawless performance and reaped the well-deserved rewards. Thanks to today’s success, we have further strengthened our position in the drivers’ and teams’ championships. May it continue like this in tomorrow’s FIA WEC race in Imola!”
Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport
“What a banner day for our team in Long Beach,” commented Jonathan Diuguid. The Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport adds: “Compared to qualifying, we’ve worked our way up the order with both cars, and our No. 7 has continued its series of podium finishes. Our team did a first-class job with the pit stops. We’d hoped to make further progress through our strategy, but unfortunately, that didn’t work out. Still, we can live with the overall result.”
Points leaders
Cameron and Nasr are now the sole leaders in the drivers’ championship with 1,032 points. In the team classification, the No. 7 crew is leading. In the manufacturers’ championship, Porsche ranks second after the third race of the season. The customer squads Proton Competition and JDC-Miller MotorSports underlined the huge potential of the Porsche 963 with positions five and seven. In the GTD class, however, Porsche Motorsport’s partners struggled. The two Porsche 911 GT3 R campaigned by Andretti Motorsports and High-Class Racing/MDK Motorsports finished the race in ninth and 13th place, while the identical model fielded by Wright Motorsport was eliminated after being struck by another competitor just nine laps into the race.
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