Three years ago at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, JDC-Miller MotorSports debuted its then-new Porsche 963, the first customer car to race in IMSA’s new-age GTP category.
How fitting that on the anniversary of JDC-Miller’s arrival into the new age of premier class prototype racing, the only remaining privateer in premier-class prototype racing would take an improbable, memorable victory at that same venue. Tijmen van der Helm and Laurin Heinrich battled from the back of the GTP grid to win Sunday’s IMSA Monterey SportsCar Championship, defeating full-factory efforts from Cadillac, BMW, Acura, and even Porsche Penske Motorsport on the way to the team’s first win in over five years.
“This is an incredible day for the whole team,” said JDC-Miller MotorSports’ co-founder and Managing Partner John Church. “We started here three years ago and didn’t have any idea what we were doing with this car, and slowly been building and picking up the pace.
“And it’s been great to have Laurin come along and help guide us in some direction, and provide some pace as well. What a day – I mean, incredible.
“It hasn’t sunk in 100 percent yet, but it’s certainly one of the bigger ones, We’ve been fighting an uphill battle here for the last few years, and to come away with a win today, it’s really special.”
Until Sunday’s win, JDC-Miller’s best result with its Porsche 963 – be it in the team’s signature yellow ‘Banana Boat’ livery or the recent black and gold colours of sponsor Mustang Sampling – was a third place in a rainy Indianapolis Battle on the Bricks in 2024.
Since then, the customer team from Savage, Minnesota (only a short drive from the heart of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul) has fought a difficult battle to keep pace with its factory peers, particularly struggling through most of 2025. Since 2023, JDC-Miller has seen other privateer Porsche 963s appear and vanish from both IMSA and WEC, and boutique constructors like Glickenhaus and Isotta Fraschini exit the sport.
Church has been up-front about the challenges that his team has faced, running on a budget the fraction of the size of its peers.
But the addition of Heinrich for at least the four IMSA GTP sprint rounds has been a real spark for the team, which is running the Porsche 963 in its 2025 configuration.
At the time it was announced, it invited a lot of unconstructive derision from outside voices, proclamations that the team was doomed to extinction in short order. But this past weekend, Church and his team cut through the noise and showed the potential this car and crew is capable of.
“We’ve been building on this and developing our car, we’ve made some really big gains in the last nine months,” said Church. “We’ve had a good car for most of this year and it’s just getting all the pieces right.
“I think from our standpoint, it’s finally come together.”
Church also sees a benefit of being the only customer Porsche LMDh team these days. “We get a tremendous amount of help from them. They’ve been stepping up each year, and I think this year, being the only privateer running, that’s been a game-changer as well. Definitely more support than there has been in the past.”
His co-driver will get most of the praise, but for the young Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm, his first career IMSA win is a great milestone in his career. He’s been with JDC-Miller driving the Porsche at every round since its debut here three years ago, and has had the full backing of the team and JDC’s Driving Advisor, the legendary Richard Westbrook.
“I think that’s a good anniversary,” said van der Helm, who was upset to have qualified at the back of the GTP grid in 11th.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all, 30 minutes before the finish line. Laurin had some great stuff the last half-hour of the race.
“Today, we just tried to be really good on the strategy, kept it on the track, and I think the team overall and Laurin did the best of it.”
And then of course, there was JDC-Miller’s star man and the imminent future ace of Porsche. Heinrich’s battle with Cadillac Whelen/Action Express driver Earl Bamber in the closing laps was breathtaking, as the two weaved through tight gaps in traffic while in hot pursuit.
“Fighting with Earl, I could see his tremendous amount of experience, and he’s a tough racer, you know? It was hard, but it was fair,” said Heinrich.
“And I really enjoyed this battle. It came down to the last lap: I could see where he had some strengths and where he had some weaknesses.”
With two laps left, Heinrich made contact with the left-rear of Bamber’s red #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R, causing the tyre to rub against the body panel. Seconds later, a risky overtake under the bridge into turn six, where Bamber cleared two lapped GT cars in one move, seemingly put enough separation between him and Heinrich to put the win out of reach.
But traffic swung back in Heinrich’s favour on the final lap, allowing Heinrich to draw along the outside of Bamber into turn three, cut back to the inside at turn four, and then pull ahead as they entered the braking zone at turn five.
“In the end, John let me know that we were going to hit traffic for the last two laps. I know that was my opportunity, and in the end, the stars aligned. We hit the traffic in a right way for us, and exactly in the spots where we had our strength compared to him.”
“There was some contact, I mean, if you look at the car, you can see some Michelin stickers on the left side! But that’s part of the game. That’s why we love IMSA racing.
“And it was an honour for me to go wheel-to-wheel with him. It was one of the best fights in my career.”
Heinrich has now come to Laguna Seca three times in IMSA – twice with AO Racing in GTD Pro, and this year with JDC-Miller – and has won all three times.
“Every time I come here in the morning and see this track, I feel something special,” Heinrich said of the circuit that’s quickly becoming one of his favourites, if not his number one. “And you know, today, it’s incredible.”
Remarkably, he also leads the GTP Drivers’ Championship after four races. If a deal is finalised to put him in a 963 at Road America, the only thing keeping Heinrich from a serious title push would be the clash between the Spa 24 Hours and Watkins Glen in June.
“Being due to miss a race puts us a little bit into a weird spot,” Heinrich admitted, “and then also leading the championship solo as well. But there’s some smart people who will figure it out, I’m sure.”
And with those late race moves, not just in the battle with Bamber but the preceding skirmish with BMW M Team WRT’s Marco Wittmann, one could easily say that Heinrich’s driving reminded everyone watching Sunday’s race of the legendary Alex Zanardi, who was remembered with reverence all weekend following the news of his death on Friday.
It wasn’t a one-for-one copy of ‘The Pass’ that was made so famous almost 30 years ago, but Heinrich’s swift driving and aggressive overtakes – especially the winning pass – felt similar to the qualities that made Zanardi so memorable during his driving career, particulary his ’90s heyday in CART.
“As we said, the stars aligned today. You don’t come from last to first every day, but if the opportunity is there, you have to grab it with both hands.”
Sunday’s race will unquestionably go down as an instant classic in the recent history of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, especially with the final result.
Given the timing of the victory, in the backdrop of Acura and Alpine’s factory LMDh programmes winding down and the race to nail down the 2030 top-class regulations, JDC-Miller MotorSports’ win at Laguna Seca was a welcome reminder of what a hard-working, well-executed privateer effort is capable of when matched up against the biggest and best-resourced factory programmes.
Images © IMSA
