Porsche factory driver Nico Müller will be back in JDC-Miller MotorSports’ #85 “Banana Boat” Porsche 963 for the final two rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Müller will rejoin JDC regular Tijmen van der Helm at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. An announcement of a third driver for Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will be made in the coming weeks.
The Swiss driver made his first start for JDC-Miller back at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, where the #85 Porsche finished eighth in GTP. Müller has since added more seat time in the 963, competing with Porsche Penske Motorsport in the WEC 6 Hours of Spa, and serving as Porsche’s Le Mans 24 Hours reserve driver.
Müller said: “I am very excited to be back with JDC-Miller MotorSports after our race together earlier this season at Sebring. We demonstrated good pace and great potential during the 12-Hour event. I’m looking forward to building on that performance straight away.”
Managing Partner John Church said: “I’m really pleased to have Nico back with us to wrap up the season. He was a great fit with the team when he was with us at Sebring. Got up to speed with the 963 very quickly, which is not an easy thing to do. We think he will give us that little bit of extra pace we are looking for. We finished this race third last year, so our goal is to move up a step or two.”
JDC-Miller MotorSports is coming off the team’s de facto home race at Road America in August, where the #85 Porsche was joined by the #79 ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2 driven by Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews.
The Minnesota-based team also has a second Porsche 963, and has been exploring the possibilities of expanding to two GTP entries for some time.
At Road America, Church gave a status update on the second Porsche, saying that he hopes for the car to be racing in 2026 if the right package can be found, likely to include a paying driver as part of the line-up, and hopefully a second driver with top-level prototype experience.
“The number one thing is the business side of it and getting that sorted out first,” Church told DSC. “Beyond that, we’ll be looking for some drivers with, hopefully, previous 963 experience and whatnot, it just helps with the transition and learning.”
“This is a little different car to drive than others, so that would be a big consideration right there.”
Images © Jack Webster / dailysportscar.com, Porsche
