The American customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports won the IMSA race at Laguna Seca. At the wheel of the No. 5 Porsche 963, factory driver Laurin Heinrich from Germany and Tijmen van der Helm from the Netherlands celebrated a surprise victory, which former Porsche Junior Heinrich was only able to secure on the final lap of the race. The two Porsche 963 from the Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG factory team finished in sixth and seventh place.

Laurin Heinrich made his mark on the fourth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 24-year-old Porsche works driver took over the JDC-Miller MotorSports 963 from his teammate Tijmen van der Helm in tenth place after about 40 minutes and then thrilled the fans with an impressive comeback. On the very last lap of the 2-hour-and-40-minute race, Heinrich overtook the previously dominant No. 31 Cadillac and secured the first victory for a customer 963 in the North American IMSA series.

“A top-notch performance by the entire team and an outstanding driving performance by Laurin Heinrich,” said JDC-Miller team principal John Church. “We didn’t make any mistakes and stuck to our strategy consistently. That’s how we ended up in first place. I’m overwhelmed.”

Thanks to a bold strategy, the two Porsche 963 fielded by the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team were briefly among the leaders, but fell back into the midfield due to a late pit stop. Frenchman Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium finished sixth at the wheel of car number 6, while the sister car driven by Felipe Nasr from Brazil and Julien Andlauer from France came in seventh. Both of the factory team’s approximately 520 kW (707 hp) hybrid prototypes were racing in Apple Computer colors to mark “75 Years of Porsche Motorsport” and Apple’s 50th anniversary.

“Congratulations to JDC-Miller MotorSports on their first victory with the Porsche 963,” says Urs Kuratle, Head of Works Motorsport LMDh. “Laurin Heinrich did a great job; the entire team worked flawlessly and executed a perfect strategy. In the factory team, luck wasn’t on our side. Strategically, we didn’t find the perfect solution.”

Heinrich, who was part of the factory team’s winning crews in the IMSA races at Daytona and Sebring, has taken sole possession of the lead in the drivers’ championship with his victory at Laguna Seca. The factory duos Nasr/Andlauer and Estre/Vanthoor occupy third and fourth place. Porsche continues to lead the manufacturers’ standings.

Porsche 911 GT3 R customer teams deliver strong results
The AO Racing customer team finished the race in third place in the GTD Pro class. The 911 nicknamed “Sketchy,” driven by works driver Nick Tandy and his British compatriot Harry King, led the class for much of the second half of the race but had to refuel again shortly before the finish. Wright Motorsports suffered the same fate in the GTD class. As a result, the US team’s No. 120 car dropped from first to fourth place.

The fifth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will take place on May 30 on the Detroit street circuit and will last 100 minutes.

Drivers’ quotes after the race
Laurin Heinrich (Porsche 963 #5): „It’s unbelievable! We started way back in the field, but thanks to the flawless work of the entire team, we fought our way to the front. For me personally, this was my third win in four IMSA races this year. The fact that I’ve achieved this with the factory team and now with the customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports makes it even more special. I’ll never forget this victory.“

Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 963 #6): „It was clear to us before the race started that we probably wouldn’t be able to compete for the win. We tried everything, but it wasn’t enough to pull off a surprise. Under the circumstances, sixth place was the best we could manage.“

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): „Our competitors were stronger than us this time. We did what’s required in situations like this: minimize the damage while maximizing our points total. In Detroit, we want to be back in the mix.“

Nick Tandy (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): „It was a very interesting race, driven by strategy. Half the field opted for an early pit stop strategy, while the other half did the opposite. In the end, it came down to who could make it to the finish line on fuel. Unfortunately, we just fell short. We had been hoping for a safety car period, but it never materialized. Overall, though, it’s a great result.“