Challenging Qualifying Round for Porsche Penske Motorsport at Watkins Glen

Porsche Penske Motorsport faced significant challenges during the qualifying rounds for the sixth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Watkins Glen International, held on June 21, 2025. The team’s two Porsche 963 racers, piloted by Mathieu Jaminet and Felipe Nasr, secured eighth and tenth positions respectively, falling short of their performance goals. This underwhelming result marks a stark contrast to their previous year’s success at the same venue, where they clinched victory.

The qualifying session unfolded under partly cloudy skies and sweltering temperatures reaching 29 degrees Celsius. Despite efforts from both drivers, the Porsche 963s struggled to keep pace with the front-running competitors in the GTP class. According to Urs Kuratle, Director of Factory Motorsport LMDh at Porsche, “We’ll continue to fight. It’s a long race – six hours, and race day looks like it’ll be very hot. Still, with a strong strategy and perfect execution in the pits, something might still be possible.”

In the GTP class, the top three positions were captured by an Acura and a Cadillac, with the leading time set at 1:31.558 minutes by the driver trio of Van der Zande, Yelloly, and Ohta. Jaminet's qualifying time of 1:33.323 minutes left him 1.7 seconds behind the leader, a sentiment echoed by both drivers who expressed frustration over their performance.

This year, IMSA management has altered the power output regulations for the Porsche 963, limiting it to 480 kW (653 hp), compared to 512 kW (696 hp) in the previous season. This change has hindered the competitive edge that Porsche enjoyed last year. Jaminet remarked, “It’s been a very tough weekend so far. The gap to the leader in qualifying was over one and a half seconds. That’s frustrating because everyone in the team is doing an excellent job and deserves better.”

Porsche’s customer teams, Proton Competition and JDC-Miller MotorSports, similarly struggled, qualifying twelfth and thirteenth in the GTP class. In the GTD-Pro class, Klaus Bachler secured the ninth position in AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R. The race, known as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, is scheduled to begin at 12:10 PM local time on June 22, 2025, and will be available for viewing via a free live stream on imsa.tv.

As the race day approaches, Porsche Penske Motorsport remains determined to maximize their limited opportunities, focusing on strategic execution and potential performance improvements during the race. Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, stated, “We’re leading the championship because we consistently deliver clean, fast work and implement a top strategy. That’s precisely our goal on race day.”

The implications of this qualifying performance extend beyond individual placements; they raise questions about the team's adaptability to regulatory changes and their overall competitive strategy moving forward in the championship. As the teams prepare for the grueling six-hour race, the focus will be on tire management and strategic risks that could turn the tide in their favor, especially in the anticipated heat conditions.

In conclusion, while the qualifying results were not as Porsche Penske Motorsport had hoped, the long race ahead provides ample opportunity for recovery and strategic maneuvering. As the series progresses, the evolving dynamics of the championship and the team’s ability to adapt will be critical factors in their pursuit of victory.