Successful relaunch in Daytona.

During the long-anticipated restart of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Porsche drivers of both 911 RSR had a strong showing over the course of 2:40 hours.

The impatience was palpable in Daytona. Finally, real races taking place again after what felt like forever – and then a wrench was thrown into the plans! Of all things, strong rains and thunderstorms delayed the sprint race in usually sunny Florida. The wait for the drivers stretched to roughly half an hour until finally, they could access the track. The team around Frédéric Makowiecki and Nick Tandy decided to start the race on the wet track with rain tires – successfully: Starting out on sixth spot, Nick Tandy managed to climb the ranks with his clearly better gripping tires and reached the top spot within the first round. As the track dried and tire wear increased, he entered the pit early, resulting in a loss of places for the 911 RSR with the starting number 911. By maintaining a high pace, a smart strategy and impressively short-lived pit stops, both Porsche drivers fought their way up to third place again. And Frédérich Makowiecki and Nick Tandy scored a spot on the podium directly in the first race after the mandatory break.

Meanwhile, for the second RSR with the starting number 912, the team along with drivers Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor followed a different strategy. Starting from second spot, the vehicle entered the Daytona International Speedway on slicks. Laurens Vanthoor could defend the second spot at first but fell back in fifth place throughout the race. But the well-coordinated team Bamber-Vanthoor refused to stay idle: Earl Bamber drove an extremely quick stint and worked his way back to the front of the field. For a moment, the factory driver led the race in Florida, but finally saw the checkered flag from a strong second spot. Once more, both reigning champions of the Drivers‘ Championships took the lead in the current rankings.

In the 2:40 hours on the Daytona International Speedway, both Porsche factory vehicles scored a double podium. The relaunch of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was good with places 2 and 3. Now, everyone involved is determined to continue their success and to turn the remainder of the season to a Porsche Motorsport celebration. At the end of the current season, Porsche will leave the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Then it’ll be a farewell – for now: who knows, how long the farewell is due to last.