Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA
***JDC-Miller Motorsports claimed its first overall WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory since the 2021 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and became the first privateer to win in the series’ GTP era. It came thanks to a storming closing stint by newly minted Porsche factory driver Laurin Heinrich, in only his second start with the John Church-led squad.
***The win came on the four-year anniversary of the Minnesota-based team’s first race with the Porsche 963. Tijmen van der Helm, who scored his first career WeatherTech Championship win, has been part of every race with the program.
***With the last-lap win, Heinrich remains undefeated at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, following the German’s GTD Pro class wins with AO Racing in both 2024 and 2025. He said: “We had a good start in Long Beach [with JDC-Miller], which was not easy because in the end, Long Beach is such a short weekend; it’s just two days. I didn’t even have time to learn all the names in the team!”
***Heinrich has now taken the sole points lead in GTP, 21 points ahead of Action Express Racing’s Jack Aitken and 73 over Porsche Penske Motorsport drivers Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer, whom he shared the victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with and is scheduled to return to the factory No. 7 car for Motul Petit Le Mans.
***However, Heinrich is currently scheduled to miss next month’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen due to a previously committed drive in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, which would theoretically put him out of a chance of claiming the GTP title.
***When asked by Sportscar365 if Porsche could re-consider his assignment for that weekend, Heinrich said: “I think that’s not [in] my pay [grade]. Leading IMSA is something very special. It’s an amazing position, obviously it’s still very early in the season — we’ve just done four out of nine races — to think about a championship, even if you’re leading at the moment. Being due to miss a race puts us a little into a weird spot, and also leading the championship solo as well. But there’s some smart people over there that will figure it out I’m sure.”
***Runner-up finisher Earl Bamber admitted that he didn’t have anything for Heinrich in the end, with the Porsche factory driver having “much more grip” and “a lot more power” in his 2025-spec Porsche 963, although the Kiwi gave high praise to the 24-year-old German for what came as a special moment in series history.
***Bamber said: “It’s really exciting. It’s great to race against him. I’ve see him come up the ranks with Porsche and now to get his GTP win with the 5 [car] is something special for that team and overall great for the series. We keep boxing on, six podiums in a row and we’ll roll onto Detroit.”
***BMW Team WRT scored its second podium finish in its WeatherTech Championship program’s young history, with Marco Wittmann and Philipp Eng taking the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 to a third place result. The car was on the same strategy as Heinrich’s Porsche, and emerged ahead of the JDC-Miller driver on the final round of pit stops.
***Wittmann said: “We had many problems with the car’s balance this weekend. Considering that, third place is much more than we expected. It’s great that the hard work of the whole team was rewarded with a podium. At the end of the race, I could only defend, but the Porsche was simply too strong. I couldn’t hold it off, but at least it was still enough for third place.”
***Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre were the highest-placed Porsche Penske Motorsport entry in sixth, with both 2026-spec factory 963s, which were carrying 32 kg more than the privateer JDC-Miller Porsche, seen visibly struggling with the extra weight. “It was clear to us before the race started that we probably wouldn’t be able to compete for the win,” said Vanthoor. “We tried everything, but it wasn’t enough to pull off a surprise. Under the circumstances, sixth place was the best we could manage.”
***The No. 7 Penske Porsche short-filled on energy and took the lead through the pit sequence in the second hour but Nasr struggled clearly on tire degradation prior to his final stop, for energy and right-side Michelins.
***It ended up being another race to forget for Wayne Taylor Racing in GTP, with its two Cadillac V-Series.R entries finishing tenth and 11th. The No. 10 car of Filipe Albuquerque suffered damage after contact with the No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3 EVO of Jake Walker early on, resulting in left-rear suspension damage and a puncture in the opening laps. Albuquerque explained: “The contact, wheel to wheel, was just enough to bend my rear triangle, bent the car and caused a rear puncture. So, nothing goes right this weekend.”
***The No. 40 car, which started on pole thanks to an impressive lap by Louis Deletraz, ultimately faded to tenth after Jordan Taylor completed the final two stints and lost ground amid the race’s one-and-only full-course caution. “We have been struggling with pace all year and we have now found it,” said team boss Wayne Taylor. “Going into the race, we felt we could finally go for the win. Unfortunately, the 10 car had their issues on track and then the 40 car got caught out on strategy and went backwards from there. It is unacceptable. I am disappointed for Cadillac and for our partners.”
***Ford claimed the fourth victory for the Mustang GT3 in the WeatherTech Championship and first for the car in its EVO package, which both Christopher Mies and Fred Vervisch noted a marked improvement around Laguna Seca, which had traditionally been the car’s worst-performing track. “This is a special moment because we have historically struggled at this track; seeing the EVO package succeed here validates the immense development and testing time we invested in these upgrades,” added Ford Racing’s global sports car manager Alex Allmandinger.
***The No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of Harry King and Nick Tandy, which led a race-high 51 laps, was forced to settle for third in class, after having been one of the four leading cars that needed to come in for an energy top-up in the closing minutes.
***Tandy said: “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.”
***Ben Barnicoat, in the class pole-sitting No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, added: “There were two strategies going into the race and we were on the one that lost with the highest tire degradation and just fell back. I did everything I could. It’s difficult circumstances for everyone on the pit stand and we didn’t end up with a good result, which is a shame after a great Saturday.”
***Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner, who started eighth in the race but finished second, have taken over the GTD Pro points lead, 51 points ahead of the Paul Miller Racing duo of Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen, with Tandy and King now in third, 63 points behind the Corvette pair.
***In GTD, Eduardo Barrichello has maintained his lead in the title race, thanks to a second-place class finish for he and Tom Gamble on Sunday, after being one of several GT3 cars to double stint their Michelin tires to the finish of the race.
***Barrichello is now 140 points ahead of the Turner Motorsport duo of Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher, who finished seventh in class on Sunday, with the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus pairing of Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen third in the standings.
***Several GTD cars, including the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche of Callum Ilott and the Scott Andrews-driven No. 19 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, were also forced to make late-race stops for energy after gambling on strategy.
***Ilott, who with co-driver Adam Adelson, finished fourth in class, said: “I think we did a really good job with the strategy to go long and undercut in order to save on the pit stop time with the fuel. Unfortunately, both times in my pit stops I just didn’t quite nail it, and that was an execution thing on my side, not the team. They did a great job, but those little errors cost us in terms of track position.”
***The No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, which led the opening 33 laps in the hands of class pole-sitter Lorenzo Patrese, was the race’s only other retirement due to a suspected engine-related issue moments after co-driver Albert Costa climbed aboard the car and was forced back to the pits with flames coming from the right bank of the car’s exhaust.
***There were additional tributes for Alex Zanardi on Sunday, with the phrase ‘Grazie Alex’ prominently displayed on the asphalt at the Corkscrew, the corner the Italian made famous for his legendary pass on Bryan Herta for the win in the 1996 CART race. Additionally, the shark fins on both of the WRT BMWs had signatures and personal messages from team and BMW staff for Zanardi, who was a longtime BMW factory driver and brand ambassador.
***Next up for the WeatherTech Championship is a GTP and GTD Pro-only street race in Detroit. The 100-minute sprint is scheduled for May 29-30, in support of the NTT IndyCar Series. Both the LMP2 and GTD classes will rejoin the series in the following race, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on June 26-28, which will serve as the third leg of the Michelin Endurance Cup.
John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John
