Third row start for the Porsche 963 in Indianapolis

Third row start for the Porsche 963 in Indianapolis

The best-placed Porsche 963 fielded by Porsche Penske Motorsport will tackle the ‟Battle on the Bricks" at Indianapolis from the third grid row. Matt Campbell qualified the No. 6 car in fifth position. In the race, the Australian will share the cockpit of the hybrid prototype with Frenchman Mathieu Jaminet. The duo currently leads the drivers' standings in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Felipe Nasr (Brazil) and Nick Tandy (United Kingdom) planted the sister car on position ten on the grid. Factory driver Nico Müller from Switzerland posted the twelfth quickest time in the ca. 500 kW (680 PS) Porsche 963 campaigned by the JDC-Miller MotorSports customer squad.

• download
• print
• Send link
• open close
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

In the GTD Pro class, former Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich qualified AO Racing's Porsche 911 GT3 R in overcast conditions with ambient temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius in sixth place. The German shares the ‟Rexy" car with Austria's Klaus Bachler. In the GTD category, the identical ca. 416 kW (565 PS) Porsche entered by Wright Motorsports will head into the penultimate round of the North American IMSA series from 13th on the grid.

‟Fifth and tenth on the grid isn't quite what we'd hoped for, but the circumstances didn't allow for more," said Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. ‟Matt Campbell did a superb job, and fifth place is a result we can be pleased with. Rain is forecast for race day, and that plays to our strengths. Challenging conditions enable us to demonstrate our strengths as a team."

‟It was incredibly close - just a tenth of a second separated four or five positions," explained Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. ‟Matt Campbell did a great job, and Felipe Nasr was very close behind his teammate. We're relying on our pace over the race distance. Our long-run performance in free practice was excellent. The weather will likely have an impact, and we are ready for whatever comes our way."

Watch ‟Battle on the Bricks" live and free online
The Indianapolis race gets underway on Sunday, 21 September, at 11:40 hours local time (17:10 CEST). Outside the USA and Canada, the tenth round of the IMSA series will be available to watch live and free of charge via imsa.tv. Live timing is also provided at scoring.imsa.com.

Driver comments after the qualifying
Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): ‟Fifth place is a great result for us, better than we expected. I take it as a positive sign. We're facing a long race, and some weather changes are expected on Sunday. Rain could work in our favour, as we've seen before on a wet track. We experienced that firsthand with our recent WEC win in Brazil."

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): ‟There was probably a bit more in it for us. On my last lap I was quicker, but I made a mistake in the Esses. Tomorrow is a new day, and that's all I'm thinking about right now. It's a long six-hour race, we have a good car, and with so much happening on track, opportunities will come."

Nico Müller (Porsche 963 #85): ‟It wasn't too bad. We're starting from the back, but that wasn't a surprise. Right now, all the Porsche 963 are slightly behind in the tight GTP class battle. The car can do more, and we already have ideas on how to close the gap to the factory cars. We've made some progress, and hopefully, we can achieve even more together with JDC-Miller MotorSports."

Laurin Heinrich (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): ‟Starting sixth for the upcoming six-hour race is a solid result, considering our previous qualifying performances. That said, we had hoped for a little more. I'm happy with the team's effort and my laps, but our pace has its limits at the moment. I hope we can improve over the race distance and gain a few positions."

Adam Adelson (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): ‟This track is unique, and so is its surface. Our setup was slightly off, and the balance wasn't perfect. Compared with the competition, we also lack top speed. I'm proud of how the team keeps refining the details. Qualifying has been my weak point, but together with the team we've made real progress. Today I gave everything in the car. We start from P13, and last year we started even further back and won, so it'll be interesting to see what we can do in the race."

Qualifying results
GTP class:
1. Blomqvist/Braun (GBR/USA), Acura #60, 1.14.569 minutes
2. Aitken/Bamber/Vesti (GBR/NZL/DNK), Cadillac #31, + 0.041 seconds
3. J. Taylor/Deletraz (USA/CHE), Cadillac #40, + 0.146 seconds
5. Campbell/Jaminet (AUS/FRA), Porsche 963 #6, + 0.341 seconds
10. Nasr/Tandy (BRA/GBR), Porsche 963 #7, + 0.616 seconds
12. Müller/Van der Helm (CHE/NLD), Porsche 963 #85, + 0.997 seconds

GTD-Pro class:
1. Hesse/Harper (DEU/GBR), BMW #48, 1.23.259 minutes
2. Mies/Vervisch (DEU/BEL), Ford #65, + 0.186 seconds
3. Habul/Feeney/Grenier (AUS/AUS/CAN), Mercedes-AMG #75, + 0.228 seconds
6. Bachler/Heinrich (AUT/DEU), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, + 0.300 seconds

GTD class:
1. Gamble/Stevenson/Robichon (GBR/GBR/CDN), Aston Martin #27,1.23.088 minutes
2. Mann/Wadoux/Pier Guidi (USA/FRA/ITA), Ferrari #21, + 0.194 seconds
3. Hodenius/Brichacek/Andrews (NLD/USA/AUS), Mercedes-AMG #80, + 0.482 seconds
13. Adelson/Skeer/Sargent (USA/USA/AUS), Porsche 911 GT3 R #120, + 1.572 seconds

Full results and championship standings https://results.imsa.com.

Further information, film and photo material in the Porsche Newsroom: newsroom.porsche.com

The ‟X‟ channel @PorscheRaces, the WhatsApp Channel Porsche Motorsport and Instagram @porsche.motorsport as well as @porschepenskemotorsport provide live updates from Porsche Motorsport with the latest information from racetracks around the world.