Hunting for points under a yellow flag
October 14th was the day: Competitors in the final race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race took to the Road Atlanta track in northeastern Georgia. For the drivers and teams of the Porsche 963 and 911 GT3 R cars, top positions in the drivers' and team championships were at stake. Meanwhile, Porsche was in the lead of the manufacturer title ahead of the race.
A torrent of rain had fallen during the GTP class qualifying session, causing some shifts in the teams' point standings. Nevertheless, the Porsche Penske Motorsport Teams – especially the number six car – had good chances to win the drivers' and team championships. Even though the teams had aimed for better starting positions, all of the Porsche Teams had all proven throughout the 2023 season that they are capable of winning from positions in the middle and back of the field.
Beneath cloudy skies and high humidity, the cars slid into place behind the Safety Cars for a flying start. Nick Tandy started from fifth in the GTP class in the #6 Porsche 963, while the #7 sister car was driven by Felipe Nasr from seventh. Mike Rockenfeller started in the yellow JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 #5 from ninth position. Finally, the Proton Competition #59 with Neel Jani in the cockpit started from tenth.
In the GTD Pro class, Patrick Pilet drove the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R #9 from ninth on the grid. Due to the mixing of the GTD classes, Zacharie Robinchon started from 13th position in the Wright Motorsports GT3 R #16. Two positions behind him was his colleague Alan Brynjolfsson in the Wright Motorsports #77 in 15th place. David Brule started from 18th in the #92 for Kelly-Moss with Riley from 18th and PJ Hyett was right behind him in the AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R #80.
Tough start
Immediately after the start, Felipe Nasr improved his postion by one place and came in behind the sister car with the #6. The race was barely five minutes old when the first Full Course Yellow set in. About 15 minutes after the start, the track went green again. At the same time, race control announced a drive-through penalty for Nick Tandy in the Porsche 963 #6 due to him breaking out of the starting formation too early. As a result, his team-mate Felipe Nasr in car number seven moved up to fourth position, while Nick Tandy dropped back to tenth.
There was not much time for Nick Tandy to catch-up: The next Full Course Yellow phase was announced. However, he was able to regroup with the other cars of his class as the vehicles were sorted back into their respective classes before the race was restarted. The GTP teams also used the FCY to refuel. The combination of pit stops and restart brought all Porsche GTP vehicles back on the track in positions six through nine. However, Felipe Nasr in the #7 Porsche 963 quickly passed the Cadillac in front of him and continued the race from fifth position.
The Brazilian Porsche factory driver then made a move on the BMW in front of him.When the BMW tried to overtake the Acura in third positon, it went off the track and Nasr took advantage of the situation. Fourth position for the #7 Porsche 963 within the first hour of the race.
Dramatic setback
Despite the early setback, Nick Tandy in the #6 Porsche was not discouraged. Before the end of the first hour, he had passed the #25 BMW to take sixth place. But his attempt to catchup would not last for long.
Shortly after the start of the second hour of the race, the number six Porsche 963 suffered a stroke of bad luck: The factory car was involved in an accident between the LMP2 fielded by High Class Racing and Triarsi Competizione Ferrari. Nick Tandy had just passed two GTD cars, a standard maneuver that he had no problems with. But an LMP2 vehicle collided with one of the two GTD cars directly behind him. A chain reaction ensued. The #6 Porsche spun with a GTD vehicle, went off the track into the gravel and crashed into the track barrier. The Brit could barely comprehend what had happened while the team was in the pits getting parts ready. Another Full Course Yellow.
The cars that were still running were allowed to pit once again during the FCY. This allowed Felipe Nasr to move up to third position in the #7 Porsche 963 before the race was restarted.
In the #7 Porsche 963, Felipe Nasr came up behind the Acura #60 with renewed zeal and put the pressure on. After a few laps, luck seemed to have returned to the Porsche Penske Motorsport Team: Another collision, this time between the #60 Acura and the Paul Miller Racing BMW, helped Felipe Nasr move into second place ahead of the next FCY. But after the next GTP class pit stop there was another incident, then between Acura and BMW: Although the #7 Porsche 963 with Matt Campbell behind the wheel returned to the track in sixth position, the incident moved him up to fourth. Mike Rockenfeller in the #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 moved up to third position.
Just a few laps into the third hour of the race, Matt Campbell passed the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 sister car. Another few laps later, he was within striking distance of the #01 Cadillac and made an elegant pass on the inside of a turn. With that, the #7 Porsche 963 took the lead.
Meanwhile, in the GTD Pro class, Kévin Estre had taken over the cockpit of the Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R #9 to replace Patrick Pilet. The number nine car had been running fifth for a long time, but Estre had fought his way up to second position to close in on the leading AMG car.
A give and take
The fifth FCY resulted in a race between the pit teams. The #7 Porsche 963 team battled the #01 Cadillac team for the fastest time. Both teams came out of the pits at the same time, but the Porsche Penske Motorsport Team was faster to the exit of pit lane.
As the grid settled behind the Safety Cars, hope began to blossom in the pit of the Porsche 963 #6. Mathieu Jaminet had taken a seat in the cockpit of the repaired #6 and returned to the track 68 laps behind the lead to start the chase and finish the race. But just a few laps later, the #6 was back in the pits for an inspection. Nevertheless, the team did everything they could to help the #6 finish the race. Mathieu Jaminet returned 70 laps behind the lead.
After the restart of the race, Klaus Bachler took over for Kévin Estre in the cockpit of the #9 Pfaff Motorsport 911 GT3 R. But Bachler fell back, lost a fender and had to return to the pit. Despite the setback, the Porsche driver battled his way through the GTD Pro class field to return to third position.
Shortly after the start of the fifth hour, Josef Newgarden took a seat in the #7 Porsche 963, and returned to the track just behind the #01 Cadillac and ahead of the #59 Porsche 963 sister car entered by Proton Competition. He did not get many chances to regain the lead as the race was once again run under FCY conditions.
After the restart of the race, Harry Tincknell made a small mistake in the Proton Competition #59 Porsche 963, and dropped back by one position. This opened the way for a BMW to attack the number seven car. Just before the start of the fourth hour of the race, Harry Tincknell passed Newgarden in the #7 sister car.
At the halfway point of the race, the Porsche Teams and vehicles were in the following positions:
GTP class:
3. Proton Competition #59 (H. Tincknell / G. Bruni / N. Jani)
4. Porsche Penske Motorsport #7 (M. Campbell / F. Nasr / J. Newgarden)
8. JDC-Miller MotorSports #5 (T. van der Helm / M. Rockenfeller / J. Button)
10. 68 laps, Porsche Penske Motorsport #6 (N. Tandy / M. Jaminet / L. Vanthoor)
GTD Pro class:
7. Pfaff Motorsports #9 (K. Bachler / P. Pilet / K. Estre) GTD class:
4. Wright Motorsports #16 (R. Hardwick / Z. Robinchon / J. Heylen)
5. AO Racing #80 (P. Hyett / S. Priaulx / G. Jeannette)
9. Wright Motorsports #77 (A. Brynjolfsson / T. Hindman / M. Root)
14. Kelly-Moss with Riley #92 (D. Brule / A. Udell / J. Andlauer)
Facing the race by dusk
In the light of the dawning twilight, 'Full Course Green' was announced once again. During the Full Course Yellow (FCY) phases and the associated pit stops, the grid once more had been resorted, but a far calmer pace prevailed. Many teams had decided to take it easy on their vehicles in order to give it their all towards the end of the race.
The next hours of the race passed quietly and at a steady pace. With just over three hours to go Laurens Vanthoor overtook a GTD vehicle in the #6 Porsche 963. During this maneuver, the nose of the GTD car collided with the rear of the Porsche 963. Vanthoor was forced to swerve to the side to return to the pits via a service lane. The vehicle was forced to retire.
While the Porsche Teams were conserving their GTP class vehicles, Patrick Pilet battled his way through the GTD Pro class grid in the Pfaff Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R #9 to reach second position. Another Porsche 911 GT3 R also gained ground in the GTD class: The Wright Motorsports #16 reached third class position.
The sun had already vanished behind the trees and the lights around the track were turned on as Matt Campbell passed the Acura on fourth position with the Porsche 963 #7. Shortly after, three GTP vehicles switched into pit lane and Campbell regained the lead. A Full Course Yellow followed and the #7 was the only vehicle left to complete a pit stop. Due to that, Campbell fell back behind onto sixth position.
In the meantime, darkness had fallen on the race track. Bright lights accompanied by the roar of engines passed by the spectators. Two hours before the end of the race, the pace was picked up again. The gaps between fourth to sixth in the GTP class were infinitesmal and the Porsche Penske Motorsport #7 was only 0.4 seconds behind the BMW ahead. Campbell first overtook the BMW and shortly after, the Acura – fourth position for Porsche Penske Motorsport.
In the darkness, Matt Campbell seemed to flourish: Despite the greater distance to the third-placed car, the Australian managed to improve by about a second with each lap. Another Full Course Yellow came at the right time to help catch up with the leading trio. One hour before the end of the race, the track went green again, and both, Matt Campbell in the #7 Porsche 963 and Kévin Estre in the #9 911 GT3 R were just within reaching distance of the car ahead.
More Porsche 911 GT3 cars came within striking distance in the GTD class: Both, Jan Heylen in the #16 Wright Motorsports car in second and Sebastian Priaulx in the #80 AO Racing car in third were within seconds of the leading Lamborghini.
Just before the final hour began, the second and third GTP cars got into a duel that caused the Acura to shoot off the track. Matt Campbell's position improved by one place as a result. Another Full Course Yellow was announced.
It ends as it begun
During Full Course Yellow, several vehicles took the advantage of the last pit stop opportunity. This upped the tension of the last 30 minutes of the race: Both, the Proton Competition and JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963s and two other vehicles stayed on track. This brought Matt Campbell back onto the track in fifth place, with Harry Tincknell taking third for Proton Competition.
At the same time, Matt Campbell pursued Mike Rockenfeller in the #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports car and eventually caught up to him. Now, only the Proton Competition sister car stood between Matt Campbell and a podium finish. It was also around this time that he also set his fastest lap. Estre was also close to the top-most spot, while positions two through four were in posession of Porsche 911 GT3 customer vehicles in the GTD class.
All pursuit came to an unexpected end when another Full Course Yellow was announced. With just five minutes left on the clock, all drivers wanted to give it their all one last time, but just seconds after the track went green again, the #16 Wright Motorsports car became the focus of all attention: The rear of the 911 GT3 R was engulfed in flames. The incident, which had damaged the previously runner-up car, had also taken the AO Racing Porsche #80 off the track. The race ended under a yellow flag and no further attempts at overtaking maneuvers could be made.
The Porsche Teams completed the Petit Le Mans endurance race on the following positions:
GTP class:
3. Proton Competition #59 (H. Tincknell / G. Bruni / N. Jani)
4. Porsche Penske Motorsport #7 (M. Campbell / F. Nasr / J. Newgarden)
5. JDC-Miller MotorSports #5 (T. van der Helm / M. Rockenfeller / J. Button)
DNF Porsche Penske Motorsport #6 (N. Tandy / M. Jaminet / L. Vanthoor)
GTD Pro class:
2. Pfaff Motorsports #9 (K. Bachler / P. Pilet / K. Estre)
GTD class:
3. Wright Motorsports #77 (A. Brynjolfsson / T. Hindman / M. Root)
4. Kelly-Moss with Riley #92 (D. Brule / A. Udell / J. Andlauer)
8. AO Racing #80 (P. Hyett / S. Priaulx / G. Jeannette)
DNF Wright Motorsports #16 (R. Hardwick / Z. Robinchon / J. Heylen)"
Despite the rather unlucky final race, the end of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 2023 promised much for the upcoming year. After five podiums and three victories this year, the Porsche teams will return next year to battle for the wins and titles. We are wishing all teams and drivers a relaxing race break.
