📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr with #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 are 97 points ahead Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais in #01 Cadillac V-Series.R.

We are heading for the seventh (of the nine) race of the GTP Weathertech Sportcar Championship at Road America with Porsche leading 41 points ahead of Cadillac on a total of 2175 points for the leader in the manufacturers standing. After their second win this year (24 Hours of Daytona and 6 Hours of The Glen) Nasr-Cameron are leading the driver championship with 97 points (2044 in total) with #7 Porsche Penske Porsche 969 the team’s championship.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Daytona 2024. Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr winners of the 24 Hours of Daytona with #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.

Porsche leads the manufacturers’ championship

Porsche Penske Motorsport has put at least one Porsche 963 on the podium at every round of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The works team is now determined to continue this success streak at the upcoming 2:40-hour race at Road America by repeating their 2023 win at Elkhart Lake.

The margin with Cadillac (second) is very tiny (Porsche 2175 pts and Cadillac 2134 pts). Both Cadillac Racing and Whelen Cadillac Racing aim to score a second win for Cadillac this season which would bring Cadillac back in the lead should Porsche not score a P2 as for each race, 380 points are at play for pole and victory. Acura with both Wayne Taylor Racing by Andretti are still within reach with 2061 pts. The championship is still very open. BMW is mathematically within reach with 1880 pts; a double at Road America would bring them back in the run for the title.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship standing Driver & Team

Table 1: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship standing Driver & Team pre Road America

1 Nasr-Cameron with #7 Porsche 963 lead driver and team’s championships

In the team standings, Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #7 crew occupies the top spot with 2044 pts. Factory drivers Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr rank first in the drivers’ championship, with their Porsche colleagues Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet in third place with 1912 pts after one win at Laguna Seca.

Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr winners of the 6 Hours of The Glen with #7 Porsche 963. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at The Glen 2024. Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr winners of the 6 Hours of The Glen with #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “After the long summer break in the IMSA series, I’m thrilled to be finally racing again at Road America. The venue is one of my absolute favourites. The circuit features wonderfully fast and flowing corners. In 2023, we clinched our first victory there with our number 7 car. Dane Cameron and I are always focussed on maximising our chances. We’ll stick to this approach. Consistency is the most important factor in the fight for the championship.”

Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet with #6 Porsche 963 — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at The Glen 2024. Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet won the Weathertech Raceway round (4th) and clinched a P2 at Detroit.

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #6): “We’ve had more than a month off since the last race in Watkins Glen so it’s high time we got back into the car. We want to continue our success streak in the IMSA championship. I particularly enjoy coming to Road America, the track’s great fun. There’s a lot of slower traffic to overtake so tactics play a key role. If we get through unscathed, we can achieve a good result. We want to keep the team on track for the title.” Source: Porsche

2 Bourdais-van der Zande with #01 Cadillac second

Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais go to Road America having earned podium finishes in four of the past five races, including runner-up at the most recent race at Watkins Glen International. They aim to score their second victory (they won the Long Beach round) of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season in the #01 Cadillac V-Series.R. They are second in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) standings with 1951 pts.

Two runner up so far for Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais with #01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at The Glen 2024. One victory at Long Beach and two runner up so far for Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais with #01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R at Sebring and The Glen.

Sebastien Bourdais: “One of the crown jewels of road racing in America. A place that everybody loves to go to. Super challenging, quick and a little bit of everything – slow-speed, high-speed corners and long straights where the cars can really stretch their legs. The resurfacing last year made it a little tricky off-line. One year later it seems to have evened out some and all of the racing that we’ve seen so far has become less scary to go off-line, so it should definitely open some opportunities. We’ve had some strong runs recently but missing that last little thing to win races. Top speed has been the main factor. We’ve done a decent job at being consistent and scoring points and will have to stay consistent and focused. Overall, we’re in a good place and we understand more of what we need from the car and how to perform. Both Renger and I have really settled into our roles in the organization and it’s helping results. Now it’s three races to go and the big push for the championship, so hopefully Road America is one more step toward that goal.”

Renger van der Zande: “Road America is one of the classics, one of the special ones in America. An old-school racetrack with high-speed corners, low-speed corners, and it’s one of those tracks where you need a lot of power to conquer the long straights. We’ll see what we come up with. Podiums are nice. Wins are what we need, so that is what we come to Road America for.” Source: Cadillac Racing

4 Deletraz - Taylor fourth with #40

Louis Delétraz and Jordan Taylor head to Road America for the first time as co-drivers of the #40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06. Delétraz has previous experience at Road America after racing in LMP2 class in 2023 while Taylor won at the 4.048-mile road course in 2020 in the GTLM (now GTD PRO) class. For the #40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06 team (1845 pts), every championship point counts as they try to close the gap to the leaders in the standings for the final races of the year.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. Louis Delétraz and Jordan Taylor won the 12 Hours of Sebring with the #40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06.

Louis Delétraz, Co-Driver, No 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06: “I love Road America and can’t wait to be at the race. We tested a few weeks ago, the car felt great and it’s so fast with the GTP cars. The track is challenging, hopefully it will fit the Acura ARX-06 well. I think the whole WTRAndretti team is ready. We need good results to keep the championship fight on. I’m ready and excited!”

Jordan Taylor, Co-Driver, No 40 DEX Imaging Acura ARX-06: “Road America is always a highlight on the schedule. It’s such a great event as a whole. It brings out true sportscar fans, the whole town embraces the event, and the track is amazing. We only have three races left this year which is hard to believe. With where we stand in the points, we basically need to win all three races to have a chance in the championship. It’s not impossible. Back in 2013 that is exactly what we did, we ended the year with three wins and won the championship. I think we have been knocking on the door for another win, just little things have been holding us back. We had a strong test at Road America a few weeks ago where the car felt very good, so I’m excited to get back and see where we stack up.” Source: Wayne Taylor Racing

5 Aitken - Derani in #31 Whelen Cadillac Racing

Reigning Champion Pipo Derani (with Alexander Sims) in #31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R won from the pole in 2021 at the track with Cadillac Racing. The race will mark Derani’s 75th in IMSA competition. Together with Jack Aitken, they count 1838 pts, only 7 pts from the pair Deletraz-Taylor.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at The Glen 2024. Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken in #31 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R.

Pipo Derani: “I'm looking forward to Road America as it's one of the nicest tracks in America. Super fast and enjoyable to drive. Last year we had a strong car and unfortunately an accident on warm-up took us away from pole and changed the course of our weekend. We are looking forward to trying to get another pole and hopefully a race win.”

Jack Aitken: “Road America is a place where I’ve been for just a rollout test, so I’ve not done many laps. It’s a place that is extremely popular and one of the legendary circuits on the calendar, so I’m looking forward to competing there. The circuit looks more spacious than some of the other tracks we’ve been to this year and I’m thinking it might not be quite as hectic but quite easy to make a mistake. The resurfacing definitely looks like it changed the character of the track a little bit. It’s faster, but if it rains it’s pretty slick. We saw last year and in other series that if you lose concentration the circuit can be quite punishing. It should be a nice challenge. We need a win and I hold the same optimism that I’ve had the past few races and don’t see a reason why we can’t get it. Pipo was competitive here last year and I’m a quick learner, so I don’t foresee any issues.” Source: Cadillac Racing

6 Albuquerque - Taylor sixth in #10 Acura

Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 will return to Road America hoping to capitalize on their past success at the track. Road America is a place familiar to both Taylor and Albuquerque, both earning pole positions and podiums along with that impressive victory in 2022. With only three events remaining, Taylor and Albuquerque (1664 pts) are focused to end the season on a high note and earn as many championship points as possible.

Ricky Taylor, Co-Driver, No 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06: “On the 10 car side, we can only worry about race wins. The championship will sort itself out. With the deficit we have we must just try to win as many races as we can. We had a very strong car last year as well as a good test earlier this month. We are very well prepared. Road America will be about using our past knowledge and building on it with what we learned at the test. Then it’s all about execution as usual.”

Filipe Albuquerque, Co-Driver, No 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06: “Road America is such a nice track. We were lucky to be testing there and everything went smooth. The asphalt continues to have nice grip and hopefully now it’s more constant, inside and out. Last year it was pretty tricky whenever you made a mistake offline. Let’s hope that it’s more linear this year. It’s another round and last time we were at Watkins Glen, we were unlucky, but we were fighting for the win in the last half hour. We’ll keep pushing and the WTRAndretti team is good. A flat track with downforce and grip should suit us so let’s see how we do!” Source: Wayne Taylor Racing

7-8 BMW M Hybrid V8 seventh and eighth

Not a single podium so far for BMW M Team RLL with Philipp Eng and Jesse Krohn in #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 seventh with 1601 pts, 30 pts ahead of their teammates Connor De Philippi and Nick Yelloly in #25 BMW M Hybrid V8.

9 Gianmaria Bruni with #5 Proton Competition Porsche 969

A year ago, a new chapter opened for Proton Competition in the USA with the race on the legendary Road America: the team from Ummendorf, Germany, fielded its new Porsche 963 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the first time. Gianmaria Bruni will share the #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling Porsche 969 with Bent Viscaal for the fourth tim in a row. Alessio Picariello was share the car in Daytona and Sebring, Mike Rockenfeller in Long Beach (round 3).

Gianmaria Bruni and Bent Viscaal in the #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling Porsche 969. — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at The Glen 2024. Gianmaria Bruni will share the #5 Proton Competition Mustang Sampling Porsche 969 with Bent Viscaal.

Gianmaria Bruni (Mustang Sampling Porsche 963 #5): “I still remember our first race with the Porsche 963 on this legendary track. Since, unlike our competitors, we can’t test, it’s difficult to estimate what we’ll be able to achieve this time. I’m certainly looking forward to the challenge. What makes it particularly difficult for us is that we have to find the right pace and set up in just two practice sessions to hold up against the strong works competition in qualifying and then in the race. That’s a tall order. However, together with the team, we’ll do everything we can to make it happen.”

Bent Viscaal (Mustang Sampling Porsche 963 #5): “Road America is a very significant race track with a special history for us. I’m really looking forward to my first race there and will prepare as well as I can in the simulator. The track is hugely challenging, especially due to its high-speed corners. The margin for error is minuscule. We’ll do our best to build on the positive trajectory we’ve taken over the last few races with our Porsche 963 and fight for a good result against our tenacious competition.” Source: Proton Competition