All articles tagged with #porsche penske motorsport
Two Porsche 963 prototypes from Porsche Penske Motorsport race Long Beach in a striking Apple Music livery, continuing their IMSA title bid after wins at Daytona and Sebring. The 100-minute street race features No. 6 (Estre/Vanthoor) and No. 7 (Andlauer/Nasr) with Porsche leading the standings, on the tight, coastal circuit that attracts major attention alongside IndyCar.
Team Penske President Jonathan Diuguid says Sebring’s late team-order wave produced a 1-2 finish for Porsche Penske Motorsport but left Estre and Nasr at odds. The organization will review the communication and plan a debrief with all drivers in the coming days to restore harmony before the next round at Long Beach.
Porsche Penske Motorsport dominated the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, taking the overall win with the No. 7 Porsche 963 driven by Felipe Nasr, Julian Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich to deliver a historic back-to-back Sebring victory for a team, leading 273 of 343 laps (about 75% of the race). Manthey Racing locked out GTD Pro with a Porsche 1-2, while Nasr/Andlauer moved 80 points clear in the early championship standings. In LMP2, Mikkel Jensen and Hunter McElrea won for United Autosports in a first-ever IMSA 1-2 for the team. Lilou Wadoux became the first female Sebring winner since 2016 in AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo in GTD, and the event posted a record attendance; penalties affected other contenders, and the series heads to Long Beach next.
Kevin Estre claims Felipe Nasr violated team orders by passing him late in the Sebring 12 Hours to win for the No. 7 crew, with Nasr, Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich taking the victory while Estre and co-drivers finished second amid fuel-saving strategy concerns.
Felipe Nasr led Porsche Penske Motorsport to its second consecutive Rolex 12 Hours of Sebring victory, becoming the first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar driver to win Daytona and Sebring in consecutive years. Nasr, Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich clinched the No. 7 Porsche 963 after a late pass on Kevin Estre, with the No. 6 Porsche finishing second and the No. 10 Cadillac third. In other classes, United Autosports USA won LMP2, Matheny Porsche won GTD Pro, and AF Corse Ferrari won GTD.
Porsche Penske Motorsport won the 2026 Daytona 24 Hours for a third consecutive year after a late, fog-delayed fight with the Cadillac Whelan entry; the #7 car driven by Nasr, Andlauer and Heinrich held off the #31 Cadillac (Aitken, Bamber, Vesti, Zilisch) as a record-long night-time full-course-yellow stalled the race for about seven hours, with the #24 BMW M Team WRT taking third. In LMP2, CrowdStrike Racing by APR topped the class, followed by Inter Europol Competition in second and third. GTD Pro was won by Paul Miller Racing, while Winward Racing claimed the GTD class with the #57 car, followed by Magnus Racing and Heart of Racing Team.
Dense fog forced a six-hour safety-car period at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the longest in the race’s 64-year history, before racing resumed with Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Laurin Heinrich leading overall in the GTP class. Sebastien Bourdais led LMP2, Tommy Milner led GTD Pro, and Robby Foley led GTD with six hours to go; 55 of 60 starters remained active as NBC/Peacock and IMSA.TV prepared to air the finale.
The 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona kicked off with a tense battle between top prototypes. The pole originally held by Acura’s ARX-06 was nullified, handing the early lead to Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 963, and by Hour 5 the order featured the No. 7 Porsche 963 ahead of the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 and the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, amid ongoing cautions and a notable GT-related incident as night falls on the 24-hour race, with NBC/Peacock providing the live coverage.
At Daytona, the 13 Autosport crew rebuilt its Corvette Z06 GT3.R overnight after a Thursday night refueling fire, with GM confirming no engine damage and Matt Bell topping GTD in final practice; IMSA set Balance of Performance for GTP and GTD Pro/GTD based on homologation data amid new Evo tires, and teams prepared for a race with Soft tire usage window limits and unrestricted Mediums. The weekend also brings updates on factory programs (Porsche through 2027), driver moves (Jaminet to WEC; JamJam noted absent), WRT’s BMW M Hybrid V8 debut, Ferrari Evo 296 GT3 feedback, Mercedes readiness, Heart of Racing’s Barrichello replacement, and United Autosports’ LMP2 lineup clarifications.
Porsche has created a rare, road-legal version of its Le Mans-winning 963 hypercar, called the 963 RSP, designed as a tribute to the company's racing heritage. Built with extensive modifications for street use, including a custom chassis, refined interior, and legal license plates, the car combines race car performance with road usability. It features a twin-turbo V-8 engine, hybrid system, and is set to be showcased at events like Le Mans and the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with a limited production likely to appeal to collectors and enthusiasts.
Josef Newgarden expressed feeling "a little awkward" celebrating his Rolex 24 victory, emphasizing the collective effort of Porsche Penske Motorsport and deflecting credit to the team. This win comes after his 2023 Indianapolis 500 victory, making him one of the few drivers to achieve both within a year. Newgarden, primarily an open-wheel driver, described the experience as emotional and unfamiliar, highlighting the strong bond within the team and expressing pride in being part of it.