Porsche Penske Motorsport’s two Porsche 963 racers will tackle the six-hour race at Watkins Glen in positions eight and ten. In a difficult qualifying session in the US state of New York, Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet and Felipe Nasr from Brazil struggled to match the lap times of the front-running cars. The identical, 480 kW (653 PS) hybrid prototypes campaigned by the customer teams Proton Competition and JDC-Miller MotorSports will line up at the rear of the GTP field. In the two GT categories, the two Porsche 911 GT3 R also struggled.

Under slightly cloudy skies and a sweltering 29 degrees Celsius, Mathieu Jaminet and Felipe Nasr tackled the qualifying session in their No. 6 and No. 7 cars. Despite their best efforts, neither had a chance in the hunt for the fastest time. It became apparent following the practice sessions that the Porsche 963 would not be able to compete among the top field in the GTP class. Porsche Penske Motorsport won the six-hour race at Watkins Glen last year. In 2024, the works team was allowed to run the two Porsche 963 with a power output of 512 kW (696 hp); this year, the IMSA management is only allowing them 480 kW (653 hp). “Good grief” was Jaminet’s initial reaction to the 1.7-second gap.

“It’s a result that we’re obviously not happy with at all, but it was to be expected,” explains Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. “We’ll continue to fight. It’s a long race – six hours, and race day looks like it’ll be very hot. That’s unlikely to play in our favour. Still, with a strong strategy and perfect execution in the pits, something might still be possible.”

“Eighth and tenth place are clearly not what we were aiming for. But unfortunately, it’s out of our hands,” says Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “We’re leading the championship because we consistently deliver clean, fast work and implement a top strategy. That’s precisely our goal on race day: to make the very best of our limited opportunities.”

The two Porsche 963 fielded by customer teams Proton Competition and JDC-Miller MotorSports also struggled on the storied 5.47-kilometre circuit in the US state of New York and will line up twelfth and thirteenth in the top-tier GTP class.

GT classes: “Rexy” starts six-hour race from midfield
In the GTD Pro class, Klaus Bachler set the ninth fastest time in AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R. The former Porsche Junior from Austria will share the cockpit of dinosaur-liveried “Rexy” with Laurin Heinrich. The German is the reigning GTD Pro champion. The identical up to 416 kW (565 PS) strong 911 entered by Wright Motorsports will start the race from P16 in the GTD category. This weekend, the customer team from the US state of Ohio is running a car in the colours of the fictional racing outfit “Chip Hart Racing”. Decked out in this distinctive livery, the 911 GT3 R features in the upcoming Formula 1 film “F1” starring Brad Pitt, which is set to hit cinemas on 25 June.

The “Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen” in a free live stream
The race at Watkins Glen begins on Sunday, 22 June, at 12:10 hrs local time (18:10 hrs CEST). The six-hour race, along with the endurance races at Daytona, Sebring, Indianapolis, and the “Petit Le Mans” at Road Atlanta, is part of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. The website imsa.tv will broadcast the sixth round of the IMSA series outside of the USA and Canada via a free live stream. The website scoring.imsa.com offers live timing.

Driver comments after the qualifying
Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #6): “The car felt good, but more wasn’t possible for us. It’s been a very tough weekend so far. The gap to the leader in qualifying was over one and a half seconds. That’s frustrating because everyone in the team is doing an excellent job and deserves better. We can’t change it now. Of course, we’ll give it our all again tomorrow!”

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “Our overall package didn’t cut it today. That’s simply the limitation of our car under these circumstances. We made good progress with the setup of our Porsche 963 during the two practice sessions. There’s still a lot of work ahead, but from tenth place, something is certainly still possible over the six-hour race.”

Nico Varrone (Porsche 963 #5): “We’re not surprised, because all the 963 cars here were unable to compete at the front in the practice sessions. Nevertheless, we were relatively close to the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory cars in qualifying. The two-tenths gap is very good when you consider that we’ve never tested here. That’s something to be proud of.”

Tijmen van der Helm (Porsche 963 #85): “It’s going to be hot and tough. One thing is clear: we’re not going to achieve anything spectacular this weekend. Our only chance is to take strategic risks during the race – hopefully, they pay off. Let’s see where we stand after six hours of racing.”

Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): “That was a tough qualifying session for us, but my lap was still very good. I’m pleased about that. We knew before the weekend that we’d be up against it; Watkins Glen isn’t our favourite track. Now we’ve got a six-hour race ahead of us, and it’s meant to be extremely hot, which could work in our favour. I hope that we can make our way up the field over the race distance due to lower tyre wear. Strong strategy and quick pit stops always create opportunities. Our team is strong.”

Adam Adelson (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): “It’s a shame that we finished qualifying in such a mediocre position, especially given that the car felt great. Doesn’t matter, we’re always stronger in the race than in qualifying. We’ll work our way to the front tomorrow. There are some drivers ahead of me at the start that I can definitely overtake. We want to be smart, patient and drive a clean race. If we do that, a good result will come our way in the end.”

Qualifying result
GTP class:
1. Van der Zande/Yelloly/Ohta (NLD/GBR/JAP), Acura #93, 1:31.558 minutes
2. Aitken/Bamber/Vesti (GBR/NZL/DNK), Cadillac #31, 1:31.845 minutes
3. Blomqvist/Braun (GBR/USA), Acura #60, 1:32.167 minutes
8. Campbell/Jaminet (AUS/FRA), Porsche 963 #6, 1:33.323 minutes
10. Nasr/Tandy (BRA/GBR), Porsche 963 #7, 1:33.382 minutes
12. Jani/Pino/Varrone (SUI/CHL/ARG), Porsche 963 #5, 1:33.533 minutes
13. Bruni/Van der Helm (ITA/NLD), Porsche 963 #85, 1:34.294 minutes

GTD-Pro class:
1. Caldarelli/Mitchell (ITA/GBR), Lamborghini #9, 1:44.595 minutes
2. Hesse/Harper (DEU/GBR), BMW #48, 1:44.737 minutes
3. Milner/Catsburg (USA/NLD), Corvette #4, 1:45.296 minutes
9. Bachler/Heinrich (AUT/DEU), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, 1:45.572 minutes

GTD class:
1. Gamble/Stevenson/Robichon (GBR/GBR/CDN), Aston Martin #27, 1:44.788 minutes
2. Yoluc/Udell/Eastwood (TUR/USA/IRL), Corvette #36, 1:44.999 minutes
3. Lucas/Koch/Morad (USA/USA/CDN), Mercedes-AMG #32, 1:45.212 minutes
16. Adelson/Skeer/Sargent (USA/USA/AUS), Porsche 911 GT3 R #120, 1:47.465 minutes

Full results and championship standings: https://results.imsa.com.