Porsche scores an improbable double at Road America!

It's undeniable, we had to stop at the right times this Sunday at Road America to hope to win! With no less than six neutralizations in 2h40, this eighth race of the season was marked by numerous contacts, and penalties which did not spare the majority of the peloton. After disappointing qualifications, the Porsche 963 officials did not manage to shine with their pace, but they were in front when it counted! During the last restart, sixteen minutes from the goal, the No. 6 of Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy found itself at the front, despite a drive-through in the first minutes of the event, for a collision with the Cadillac n °31 by Jack Aitken and Pipo Derani.

The latter was in second position at the restart, quickly overtaken by the No. 7 of Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron. Aitken in the No. 31 could not long resist the return of Ricky Taylor, in the No. 10 Acura, which he shares with Filipe Albuquerque. The black and blue machine had taken pole position this Saturday, but was overtaken by its sister car, the No. 40 of Jordan Taylor and Louis Delétraz, at the start. After a drive-through penalty inflicted on the latter, the leadership returned to the No. 10. Unfortunately for the Wayne Taylor Andretti team, a pit stop was required with just 27 minutes to go. This meant a restart in ninth position, with Taylor quickly managing to return to the podium, but being unable to do anything against the Porsches, who had to conserve their available energy.

Race to forget for Bourdais

The race also seemed to favor the No. 5 Porsche Proton of Bent Viscaal and Gianmaria Bruni, who was leading the race with an hour to go. But the Dutchman showed all his inexperience on a restart at the same time, losing precious positions. He finally arrived fifth, ahead of the #85 Porsche, hit by the #40 earlier in the event. BMW ranks seventh after another race to forget, the M Hybrid V8 lacking a little pace, and the No. 25 having been forced to retire following a big outing at the Carousel. Louis Delétraz completes the top 8 in the GTP category. For the No. 01 Cadillac, it was truly a race to forget for Sébastien Bourdais, involved in numerous incidents. Le Manceau had moved up to fourth place with 16 minutes to go, but a spin two laps from the goal took away any hope of a top 5 finish.

On the LMP2 side, Ben Keating and Ben Hanley converted their pole position into victory, after a final pit stop whose timing was close to perfection, the No. 2 Oreca entering the pit lane a few moments before a neutralization at 38 minutes to go. There Ferrari #35 of Conquest Racing wins in GTD Pro, after attempting an offbeat strategy at the start of the race, by not stopping during the second intervention of the safety car. The #96 BMW finally wins in GTD, after an absolutely incredible race in the category, marked in particular by a wild battle in the last hour. The No. 12 Lexus seemed to be holding its own, but it had to stop in the pits three minutes from time, even though it was leading the race.

Next meeting forIMSA next August 25 at Virginia International Raceway!

IMSA – Road America