Porsche Penske Motorsport secured one of the most dramatic 1-2 finishes at the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America. With only 0.390 seconds separating the two cars, the French driver Mathieu Jaminet in the No. 6 Porsche 963 successfully held off his teammate Felipe Nasr in the identical No. 7 car to win the race in the most frantic of circumstances. Such was the competition between the top four that only 1.449 separated them at the checkered flag, despite racing for two hours and 40 minutes. Quite an intense race, right?

The result may have meant very little for the table standings, but it gave Roger Penske some bragging rights, as Porsche Penske Motorsport had yet another dominant performance. As things stand, Nasr and Cameron continue to lead the GTP points with 2386, a staggering 100 points ahead of teammates Jaminet and Tandy.

Slow and steady wins the race!

Mathieu Jaminet’s victory at Road America came all the way down to a bad strategy call by the strongest team on the track. Driving the No. 10 Andretti Acura ARX-06, Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor certainly had the speed to take home a victory in the IMSA SportsCar weekend. However, the team was forced to stop for fuel and tires during the final yellow of the race, which forced them to settle for third. Instead, it was Roger Penske-owned Porsche Penske Motorsport that secured a dramatic 1-2, a testament that playing conservative can also be beneficial in winning a race.

Speaking after the race, Nick Tandy from the winning No. 6 Porsche 963 said, “Yesterday, it was clear we were the slowest of the four manufacturers and we were starting at the back of the grid. Now we sit here, first and second. It’s just a massive testament to not giving up. It’s a massive testament to everything that Porsche Penske has put in, from the car development side and also especially through trackside on the team aspects.”

During qualifying on Saturday, Albuquerque, as expected secured the pole position in his No. 10 Acura. However, despite WTRAndretti dominating the front row, circumstances didn’t play in their favor at Road America. Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz’s No. 40 Acura suffered a drive-through penalty for making contact with Richard Westbrook’s No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963, which forced them to retire early.

Meanwhile, race favorites Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor were dominant all race, setting a lap 1.5 seconds faster than anybody else. However, a series of yellows during the second half of the race changed the circumstances drastically. While eventual race winner Mathieu Jaminet was conserving fuel, the No. 10 Acura was forced into the pits with 28 minutes to go, as their aggressive approach while maintaining the lead eventually backfired. This meant that Ricky Taylor was forced into ninth place during the final restart, and while he had fresh tires to make a late comeback, he could only climb to third.

Roger Penske looks to fulfill lifelong ambition

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Having secured a dominant 1-2 finish at Road America, Roger Penske is now shifting his attention to fulfilling one of his lifelong ambitions, representing Porsche at Le Mans. The 87-year-old raced in the prestigious event once, when he drove the Ferrari 330 TRI/LM for the North American Racing Team (NART) in 1963. However, Team Penske has never won at Le Mans, having first raced in the event in 1971, when David Hobbs and Mark Donohue drove a Ferrari 512M, but were forced to retire after just 58 laps.

Speaking to Motorsports Week, Roger Penske said, “I started my racing career with a Porsche Spider back in the 60s. So to see the growth of the brand, from a dealership and a customer perspective, and then to see the commitment in motorsports, as we’ve gone through the years — the 917/10, the 917/30, which you saw on the screen today and then be able to be here. To be representing Porsche, as a factory team, is a dream come true.”

After their appearance in 1971, the team didn’t reappear at Le Mans until 2022, competing in the LMP2 class with an Oreca 07-Gibson. The team finished fifth in class and ninth overall, which set them up for a strong 2023, where they competed in the Hypercar category. Racing under the banner of the newly formed Porsche Penske Motorsport, the team struggled in their first year with the Porsche 963. However, with Kevin Estre at the wheel, expectations are high this time around.

What are your thoughts about Porsche Penske Motorsport’s 1-2 finish at Road America? Let us know in the comments!