It’s Petit Le Mans week, which means the end of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season is nigh. And for Porsche, Saturday’s race is poised to be a memorable one, as it looks to clinch a sweep of GTP titles with its pair of Penske-run factory 963s.
The turnaround, as DSC has pointed out multiple times throughout the year, has been massive for Porsche in the top classes of both IMSA and the FIA WEC. Since the Rolex 24 Hours back in January, the entire Porsche Penske Motorsport operation has looked transformed.
It has claimed six race wins across both major championships and consistent points hauls throughout its parallel campaigns. The result? It heads into the final two races of the year at Road Atlanta and Bahrain with a complete set of GTP and Hypercar titles within its grasp.
The first of the two end-of-season title deciders for the brand’s flagship 963 programme gets underway this weekend in Georgia, where the IMSA GTP Drivers’, Manufacturers’ and Endurance Cup championships are on offer.
As it stands in the IMSA Drivers’ points tally, it’s an all-Porsche affair.
Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr in the #7 Porsche 963 hold a 124-point lead over their teammates Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy in the #6. It’s a gap which widened after the Endurance Cup meeting Indianapolis when the #6 was penalised post-race for racing with non-homologated parts. A fourth-place finish, or better, is therefore all that’s needed for Cameron and Nasr to take the big prize.
How will Porsche manage this situation? Jonathan Diuguid, the managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, says the team will not be changing its approach to the race weekend.
“The #7 car was going to be leading the standings regardless of the outcome at Indy, they were the clear favourite. Capturing the championship is ultimately the goal of the programme, we’re going to do what we’ve been doing all year and come out victorious in the end, which if we do our jobs shouldn’t be an issue.”
Cameron though, admits he feels “really bad” for the sister crew, after the post-Indy penalty, which ultimately “tipped the scales” in his and Nasr’s favour.
“On the teammate side, it’s a little uncomfortable in a way, you want to be fair because you spend hundreds of days a year together,” he says. “Either you or them are going to be disappointed at the end of the day and that does hurt a little bit. But you’re obligated to win for yourself and your guys.
“When it comes to Road Atlanta, it’s 10 hours and the car count is huge so you have to just survive until the end of the race. Getting to the end is never a guarantee.”
The Manufacturers’ championship is all but sewn up for Porsche too. It now holds a 124-point advantage in the manufacturers’ championship over Cadillac. This means that as soon as a Porsche 963 earns points at the Road Atlanta finale, the title race is over.
Where things get more interesting is in the Endurance Cup standings.
With wins at Daytona and Watkins Glen, Porsche currently sits atop the pile. But its lead is slim, just four points over Cadillac. Points will be awarded on a 5, 4, 3, 2 scale at 4, 8 and 10 hours of the race; so it’s far from over. Thus, the team will be fully focused on running at the sharp end throughout the 10 hours.
“We’ll utilise our two-car team, make some changes, take some strategy options that would put ourselves in good positions at the hour intervals when those points are scored,” Diuguid explains, “even if it’s to the overall negative finishing position of that car.
“The #6 car we will use as an opportunity to capture those endurance points, even if it means staying out and then pitting three to four laps later. We’ll try to capture every championship point that’s possible.”
It’s a similar situation in the Endurance Cup Drivers’ and Teams’ standings, where Cameron and Nasr in the #7 lead Cadillac’s Ganassi #01 crew of Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, also by four points.
The Whelen Action Express Cadillac crew of Jack Aitken, Pipo Derani and Tom Blomqvist meanwhile, are just a further point adrift and still very much in the hunt too.
Cadillac, despite its rollercoaster season in GTP this year, shouldn’t be underestimated. Its factory-backed cars have recorded a first or second in every 10-hour race at Road Atlanta since joining IMSA prototype competition in 2017. And the GM brand is as eager as ever to extend that streak on Saturday.
Nevertheless, Diuguid and everyone at PPM can afford to be bullish ahead of the weekend. It’s been a remarkable season, which looks destined to be bookended with historic results.
“So far, ‘Victory Lane’ at Road Atlanta has eluded our organisation – but we plan to change that with a solid end to the 2024 season,” states Diuguid. “The whole PPM organisation has done a great job globally, and we’re in championship-leading positions in both championships (IMSA and WEC), which is where we want to be.
“Specifically, Dane and Felipe have had a great run this year, starting off the year with winning the Daytona 24 Hours which was a huge triumph for PPM and Porsche and added to the storied history of both programmes. Since then it’s been unparalleled consistency that has put us in this position, with strings of podium finishes.
“It means we go into Atlanta with a very strong, sort of insurmountable position in the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ championship. So you’ve got to say hats off.”
Image credits: Jack Webster & IMSA
