Watkins Glen. The six-hour endurance race at Watkins Glen International once again stayed true to its reputation for unpredictable weather: Light rain began to fall as the 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 653 PS (480 kW) 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.
Clear skies returned about 90 minutes into the race, ambient temperature quickly soared to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and the track dried within minutes. From that point on, the race took on a familiar picture from Saturday’s qualifying: the frontrunners moved past every Porsche 963 on the field. Despite 10 caution periods, Porsche Penske Motorsport could no longer rejoin the battle for victory.
While Campbell and Jaminet finished fourth thanks to impeccable driving and a strong strategy, Nasr and Tandy, who had previously led the championship, suffered a severe setback: With 80 minutes to go and Nick Tandy behind the wheel, 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,” Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh, said. “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,” Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport, said. “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 and Jaminet have moved up to first place, with Nasr and 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 place when a pit stop violation led to a penalty, dropping the car to 10th for drivers Tijmen van der Helm and Gianmaria Bruni. Meanwhile, Proton Competition’s identical Porsche 963 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 driver championship lead in the process. In the GTD category, Wright Motorsports’ 911 GT3 R took the flag in P13, one lap down. Drivers Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer and Porsche Motorsport North America selected driver Tom Sargent fell four laps behind after contact early and rallied back to make up three of those laps before the finish.
The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be contested on July 13 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park outside Toronto. However, only the LMP2, GTD Pro, and GTD classes will compete there. The top GTP category, which includes the Porsche 963, will return to action on August 3 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
RS1 Scores Yet Another Saturday Win For Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport
RS1 teammates Jan Heylen and Luca Mars co-drove to their second Michelin Pilot Challenge GS win in three races on Saturday at Watkins Glen, extending their championship points lead to 340 points exactly midway through the season.
Mars qualified the RS1 Porsche fourth-fastest, then immediately gained a place at the start. He still held third when he handed the car off to Heylen after 50 minutes. Heylen took charge of the race shortly and held off challengers down the stretch before a late caution for a stalled car caused the contest to end behind the safety car.
In addition to the Driver Championship, Porsche leads the Manufacturer Championship in the Pilot Challenge GS class.
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 five finish was well within reach. With three races remaining, we’re keeping the pressure on and are fully focused on winning the title.”
Nico Pino (Porsche 963 #5): “There’s no sugarcoating the incident – it looked the same from outside the cockpit as it did from inside. The other driver simply didn’t check his mirrors, which was incredibly unfortunate for me. That’s the risk when different classes are battling in the same race. There was nothing I could’ve done. It’s a real shame, as we were making good time in the race. It shouldn’t have ended that way.”
Gianmaria Bruni (Porsche 963 #85): “We knew even before the start that it was going to be a tough battle. At times, it almost felt like we were in a completely different category – we simply didn’t stand a chance. It’s a horrible feeling, but it was out of our hands. My first stint was even worse. That set of tires caused heavy vibrations, and my helmet kept banging against the headrest. That’s not a pleasant experience at 185 mph.”
Laurin Heinrich (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): “We had to start the race from second-to-last in our class. Then we got lucky: the rain really played in our favor, highlighting the strengths of the Porsche 911 GT3 R. We pushed our way up the field and even led the class at times, which was a fantastic feeling! As the track dried, reality set in. Pure performance alone didn’t leave us with many options. We tried to make up ground again with a bold strategy, but we had to conserve too much fuel. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough safety car periods for us to reach the finish without an extra stop. That was a real shame.”
Elliott Skeer (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): “My colleague Adam did very well in the first stint in extremely difficult conditions. He brought the car safely through a phase where there was aquaplaning at speeds as low as five miles per hour. After that, Tom and I made the most of the opportunities we had. Things were actually going quite well – but then our Porsche was damaged in a collision that wasn’t our fault. The repairs cost us four laps; that was the end of our chances.”
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.
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