Porsche teams ready for season finale at Road Atlanta

Battle for the crowns at Road Atlanta: Porsche aims to defend its titles at the grand season finale of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. At the 10-hour ‘Petit Le Mans,’ the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team will compete with two Porsche 963 in the top GTP class. Six additional customer racing programs – one Porsche 963 in the GTP class and five Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD Pro and GTD classes – are also on the entry list.

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BRASELTON, Ga. The Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is extremely popular with drivers and fans alike. The track, located near the town of Braselton, provides plenty of excitement every year. It is one of the few IMSA venues where Porsche Penske Motorsport has yet to win with its Weissach-built hybrid prototype. That is set to change this coming Saturday (October 3).

Following his podium finish most recently in Indianapolis, Heinrich is returning to the No. 7 Porsche 963. In this car, the former Porsche Junior driver, along with Felipe Nasr (Brazil) and Julien Andlauer (France), won the two endurance classics at Daytona and Sebring earlier this year.

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At the wheel of the No. 6 sister car are regular drivers Kévin Estre (France) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), along with Matt Campbell (Australia). This will be the final race behind the wheel of the 963 for for Campbell, who also came up through the Porsche Junior Program.

The JDC-Miller MotorSports customer team is fielding another Porsche 963 in the top GTP category. The No. 5 car will be driven by Porsche factory driver Nico Müller from Switzerland, alongside Tijmen van der Helm from the Netherlands and Kaylen Frederick from the United States. The American privateer team won the IMSA race at Laguna Seca in May with Heinrich behind the wheel.

In the GTD Pro class, two Porsche 911 GT3 R cars are facing off in a fierce competition. In the fan favorite AO Racing car nicknamed ‘Rexy’ the two Brits Nick Tandy and Harry King are teaming up with Alessio Picariello (Belgium). ‘Rexy’ will sport his now-traditional skeleton Halloween costume in the race. The famous ‘Grello’ from customer team Manthey will not be competing at Petit Le Mans in its usual colors, but in a special livery featuring the orange of Viessmann. The two Austrians Thomas Preining and Klaus Bachler – both former Porsche Juniors – share the No. 911 car with Mathieu Jaminet (France). In the GTD class, three additional Porsche 911 GT3 R cars from the customer teams RS1, Wright Motorsports, and Manthey 1st Phorm will be on the starting grid.

GT4 and Carrera Cup titles on the line

In IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Dan Ammann and Owen Trinkler have quietly put together a strong season in the Bronze Cup category. Designed for gentlemen drivers, the duo enter the final race weekend just 20 points behind in the championship. Ammann and Trinkler need their No. 91 VRC Motorsports Group Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport to finish ahead of championship rival Ted Giovannis in a Ford Mustang to secure the title with no regard to overall position. Overall, Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor were in the top three late at Indianapolis before a necessary pit stop to refuel and hope to repeat the performance with better luck at the finish in Road Atlanta.

While the season ends this weekend for most, it is only Round Seven of Eight for Porsche Carrera Cup North America. One year after battling for Rookie of the Year honors, Tyler Maxson of TOPP Racing and Aaron Jeansonne of Kellymoss are battling for the overall title in their identical Porsche 911 Cup cars. The season concludes at Circuit of the Americas during the United States Grand Prix in October.

All Porsche teams at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
GTP (Porsche 963):
JDC-Miller MotorSports #5: Tijmen van der Helm (NDL) / Nico Müller (SUI) / Kaylen Frederick (USA)
Porsche Penske Motorsport #6: Laurens Vanthoor (BEL) / Kévin Estre (FRA) / Matt Campbell (AUS)
Porsche Penske Motorsport #7: Julien Andlauer (FRA) / Felipe Nasr (BRA) / Lauren Heinrich (DEU)

GTD Pro (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
AO Racing #77: Harry King (GBR) / Nick Tandy (GBR)
Manthey #911: Mathieu Jaminet (FRA) / Klaus Bachler (AUT) / Thomas Preining (AUT)

GTD (Porsche 911 GT3 R):
RS1 #28: Jan Heylen (BEL) / TBD / TBD
Wright Motorsports #120: Adam Adelson (USA) / Callum Ilott (GBR) / Tom Sargent (AUS)
Manthey 1st Phorm #912: Ryan Hardwick (USA) / Riccardo Pera (ITA) / Morris Schuring (NLD)

Driver quotes ahead of the race weekend
Laurin Heinrich (Porsche 963 #7): ‘At the Petit Le Mans, I’ll be back in the No. 7 car alongside Felipe and Julien. Together, we won the two endurance classics at Daytona and Sebring at the start of the season. We want to build on that, once again play to our strengths, and win at Road Atlanta as well. I still have an outside chance in the fight for the championship. Giving up isn’t an option for me. I’ll give it my all right up to the last lap.’

Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): ‘The Petit Le Mans is one of my absolute favorite races. It’s always a spectacular way to wrap up the season. This year will be especially meaningful for me personally. It will be my final race for Porsche. For me, this marks the end of 10 wonderful years together – a time for which I am very grateful. It would perfect if I could achieve another top result on this special occasion.’

Nico Müller (Porsche 963 #5): ‘The race is a major highlight every year. I’m really excited to be competing there for the first time. So far, I’ve only experience the track in the simulator, and what I’ve seen is very promising. Finally, I get to race at Road Atlanta in real life! I’m confident that we can build on the experience we gained from our last race in Indianapolis. We want to be in the mix at the front.’
Photo credit: Porsche
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