Porsche podiums in Detroit

Detroit, MI, 2024: Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Porsche 963 continues its impressive streak of podium finishes. In the intense 100-minute sprint through the streets of downtown Detroit, the team’s drivers, Nick Tandy from England and Mathieu Jaminet from France, secured a commendable second place. Their teammates, Felipe Nasr from Brazil and Dane Cameron from the USA, wrapped up round five of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in a solid fourth place, further extending their lead in the drivers’ championship. In the GTD-Pro class, the ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3 R showcased its prowess by bringing home its second consecutive win.

First, Qualifying

Nick Tandy from the UK set the fastest lap time in qualifying on the Detroit city course. His teammate Dane Cameron from the USA rounded off the impressive result for the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team with second place. The two identical hybrid prototypes fielded by Proton Competition and JDC-Miller MotorSports customer squads secured positions seven and nine, respectively. The fourth grid spot in the GTD-Pro class went to AO Racing’s so-called ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3 R.

In bright sunshine and 25-degree Celsius temperatures, a nail-biting hunt for top times unfolded on the narrow and extremely bumpy street course in Detroit. The first 13 minutes of the 15-minute session saw lap times tumble – before the qualifying came to an abrupt halt, when the race director red-flagged the session after a Cadillac spun on the track. Luckily, Le Mans winner Nick Tandy had just turned the fastest lap, with his teammate Dane Cameron posting the second quickest time. This is the first pole position for the Porsche 963 in this year’s IMSA series in North America.

“We’re thrilled with such a great result. Starting from the front grid row is particularly important on such a narrow street course,” states Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. “Our drivers and the whole team did an absolutely flawless job. That said, we should acknowledge that we were a little lucky with the red flag. Both of our cars had just appeared at the top of the timesheets. Things might have looked a little different had the red flag come out at a different time. Still, we’re heading into the race feeling optimistic.” A decent grid position on such a tight and bumpy circuit is the key to success. With very little chance to overtake and a race duration of just 100 minutes, strategic options are limited.

“We wrapped up the qualifying with the first two grid positions – it doesn’t get better than that. It’s been a great day for our team,” said Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “We’ve made huge strides in improving our setup for such city circuits – we witnessed this today. Nick and Dane were very strong in qualifying and pushed each other to the limit. We’re excited for tomorrow’s race!”

The two Porsche 963 fielded by the JDC-Miller MotorSports and Proton Competition customer teams also set fast times but were unable to match the pace of the factory squads. Bent Viscaal from the Netherlands planted Proton Competition’s No. 5 Porsche on P7, while his fellow countryman Tijmen van der Helm set the ninth quickest time in JDC-Miller MotorSports’s No. 85 entry.

AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R secures P4 in the GTD Pro class

The Porsche 911 GT3 R campaigned by AO Racing qualified on the second grid row in the GTD Pro class. Britain’s Sebastian Priaulx, who shares the so-called “Rexy” 911 with the former Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich from Germany, clocked the fourth fastest time in the 15-minute session. The GTD category, in which the Porsche customer teams Wright Motorsports, Andretti Motorsports and MDK Motorsports normally compete, will not be contested as part of the IMSA series in Detroit this weekend.

Round five of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season on the 2.66-kilometer city circuit in Detroit is a sprint over 100 minutes. The race gets underway on Saturday, 1 June at 3:10 pm local time (21:10 CEST). Outside of North America, the entire race can be watched via a free live stream on IMSA.tv.

Qualifying results

GTP class:

Jaminet/Tandy (F/UK), Porsche 963 #6, 1:05.390 minutes
Nasr/Cameron (BR/USA), Porsche 963 #7, 1:05.514 minutes
Bourdais/Van der Zande (F/NL), Cadillac #01, 1:05.762 minutes
Bruni/Viscaal (I/NL), Porsche 963 #5, 1:06.326 minutes
Van der Helm/Westbrook (NL/UK), Porsche 963 #85, 1:06.657 minutes

GTD Pro class:

Garcia/Sims (E/UK), Corvette #3, 1:09.092 minutes
Milner/Catsburg (USA/NL), Corvette #4, 1:09.428 minutes
Hawksworth/Barnicoat (UK/UK), Lexus #14, 1:09.626 minutes
Heinrich/Priaulx (D/UK), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, 1:09.705 minutes

Full results and championship standings are here

Saturday’s Race

The 100-minute ‘Detroit Sports Car Classic’ had it all: In bright sunshine and summery temperatures of around 25 degrees Celsius, fans were treated to an action-packed race that was filled with fierce duels, multiple incidents, five cautions and a complete traffic jam on track. In the final 20 minutes alone, the race was neutralised twice. While Mathieu Jaminet, who at times led the field, pulled out all stops after the last two restarts, ultimately the Frenchman was unable to get past the leading Acura – the eventual winner after 75 laps. At the flag, the No. 6 car was just 1.132 seconds shy of victory. Felipe Nasr had also led the race for several laps at the wheel of the No. 7 sister car only to have a puncture relegate the crew to fourth place.

Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy

“We just need to catch our breath after so much turmoil and incidents,” says Urs Kuratle. The Director Factory Motorsport LMDh adds: “We did everything right strategically but were unlucky with contacts and penalties. Still, we’re happy and we’ve continued our series of podium finishes. But even more importantly, Porsche leads all championship classifications. We head to Le Mans in high spirits. Congratulations to the AO Racing outfit for its second victory in a row with the Porsche 911 GT3 R.”

“We tackled the race from positions one and two only to be hampered by shunts and penalties,” states Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “Nevertheless, we fought back impressively and never let up. At one point our number 6 car even reclaimed the lead but was then overtaken. That can happen. We must do better next time. All in all, this is a solid result. Our situation in the championship looks promising. We’re now looking ahead to Le Mans and then Watkins Glen.”

In the overall rankings, Porsche has now advanced to the top of the leaderboard in the manufacturers’ classification after two wins and podium finishes at all the other three races of the season so far. Daytona winners Nasr and Cameron have further extended their lead in the drivers’ championship, with Tandy and Jaminet advancing to third place. The Porsche Penske Motorsport works team ranks first in the team championship.

The two Porsche 963 fielded by the customer teams were caught out in several incidents in the Detroit sprint event. In the top GTP class, both 511 kW (695 PS) hybrid prototypes fielded by JDC-Miller MotorSports and Proton Competition were ultimately classified in eighth and ninth respectively.

GTD-Pro class win for AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R

The Porsche 911 GT3 R from AO Racing has secured its second GTD-Pro class victory in a row. After winning the Laguna Seca race in mid-May, Sebastian Priaulx from the UK and the former Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich from Germany followed up with another triumph in the streets of Detroit. The crew driving AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R dubbed “Rexy” leads all GTD-Pro classifications.

1952 Porsche Type 540 America Roadster

Watkins Glen in the US state of New York hosts round six of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season on 23 June. But first, Porsche Penske Motorsport and numerous customer teams will tackle the highlight of the year: On 15/16 June, the works team will field three Porsche 963 racers in the world’s greatest endurance race. With 19 outright victories to its credit, the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer is the record holder. The official tests on the 13.626-kilometre Circuit des 24 Heures in Le Mans will be held next weekend.

Drivers’ comments

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #6): “Everything went well, but during the safety car phases, I found it really difficult keeping the front tires up to temperature. That’s why the Acura could get past us. The competition is doing better, particularly when it comes to braking for tight turns. We can live with second place. But to be honest, I must admit that I didn’t perform at my best today. I’ll do better next time.”

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “Fourth is pretty good. This race offered everything a motor racing fan could wish for. It was a huge challenge for us drivers. At times we were looking good in the race and we definitely had a shot at another podium finish – but then a rival hit me during a yellow phase, which damaged my right rear wheel. I had to come into the pits and that cost me a lot of time. Still, after that, I went full attack, managed to overtake a couple of cars and finished in fourth.”