Porsche defends championship lead with podium finish in Sebring (2024)

Atlanta.The first nine hours of round two of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season were contested under blue skies and high temperatures of near 90 degrees Fahrenheit. All teams in the top GTP class opted for the same strategy: to conserve tires for the crucial stints at the end of the race. After the first quarter of the 12-hour endurance classic, Dane Cameron moved into the lead for the first time at the wheel of the No. 7 race car. However, during an additional pit stop to fix a faulty seat insert, the team lost ground again. At that moment, the sister car was on the spot and swept into the lead.

The excitement, however, was short-lived. While lapping a slower car, Frédéric Makowiecki (France) nudged a GT vehicle. Shortly afterwards, a tire puncture forced him to drive slowly back to the pits for almost an entire lap of the 3.74-mile (6.02 kilometer) circuit – costing him a total of two laps. Despite a strong effort, the team was not able to close the gap and crossed the finish line in ninth place.

The excitement, however, was short-lived. While lapping a slower car, Frédéric Makowiecki (France) nudged a GT vehicle. Shortly afterwards, a tire puncture forced him to drive slowly back to the pits for almost an entire lap of the 3.74-mile (6.02 kilometer) circuit – costing him a total of two laps. Despite a strong effort, the team was not able to close the gap and crossed the finish line in ninth place.

In the meantime, the 24 Hours At Daytona winners in the No. 7 car reclaimed the lead. However, as temperatures dropped after dark, performance waned slightly compared to the competition. When the race went green for a final 24-minute sprint after the eleventh safety car phase, Felipe Nasr (Brazil) lost all chances to claim his second win of the season. The Brazilian secured third place and added to the team’s point tally from the season-opening victory.

“That was a hard-fought podium finish for our Porsche Penske Motorsport works team,” summed up Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “Congratulations to Acura. They had the fastest car in the decisive final phase. We couldn’t quite match the pace of the leaders in the cooler temperatures during the closing stages of the race. Now it’s time to analyze those results and draw relevant conclusions for future races. My congratulations also go to our Wright Motorsports customer team. They achieved a podium finish in the GTD class with the Porsche 911 GT3 R after an immaculate performance.”

“It was definitely a difficult race for us. Initially, we were hampered by minor setbacks, but we systematically fought our way back,” summarizes Urs Kuratle. The Director Factory Motorsport LMDh adds: “Then tire damage threw our number 6 a long way back. Number 7 at least finished on the podium – that was good. Others, however, did better still. Our customer teams put in strong drives but unfortunately were not rewarded correspondingly.”

“We’re on the podium with our car again, which is something our entire team can be proud of,” explains Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “Our cars were simply not fast enough today compared to some of our rivals. We’ll have to take another close look to find the reasons for that. It’s a shame that our number 6 lost two laps quite early on due to the tire damage. Unfortunately, things like this sometimes happen in motorsport through no fault of our own.”

The customer teams in the GTP class set a fast pace at times with their Porsche 963 but were ultimately unable to harvest for their effort. Proton Competition’s No. 5 entry fell from fourth to eighth place in the last 10 minutes. The identical car fielded by JDC-Miller MotorSports retired with a technical defect after an impressive performance in the early stages.

GT classes: Wright Motorsport’s Porsche 911 GT3 R on the GTD podium:
The Porsche customer teams contesting the two GT categories experienced varying degrees of success. In the GTD-Pro class, AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R affectionately named “Rexy” was on course for victory for long stretches, only to have a penalty relegate it back to ninth place on the penultimate lap. In the GTD category, the Wright Motorsports squad celebrated a podium finish after a flawless performance. Third place went to the two Americans Adam Adelson (Las Vegas, Nevada) and Elliott Skeer (San Diego, California), as well as Belgian Jan Heylen. The cars campaigned by Andretti Motorsports and High Class/MDK Motorsports finished eighth and twelfth respectively.

Race results