SAVAGE, Minn. (April 19, 2026). The JDC-Miller MotorSports No. 5 Porsche GTP team took the checkered flag in 6th place at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, culminating a very strong weekend.
It was the first race with JDC-Miller MotorSports for Laurin Heinrich, who is on loan to the team from Porsche Motorsport. Heinrich is undefeated this year in IMSA, with victories in his two previous starts, including the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. He will be with the team for all the sprint races on the schedule.
The team unloaded a very strong Porsche 963 and put the IMSA WeatherTech Championship paddock on notice that they would be contenders this weekend when Laurin Heinrich set the fastest time in Practice 1. They were also strong in Practice 2, however, Tijmen van der Helm experienced tire pressure issues in qualifying, which led to a 10th-place starting position.
At the start of the race, an early caution prompted a quick strategy call, pitting the car on lap 5 to complete its mandatory driver change and get an energy fill. The team’s confidence in the car’s pace paid off as Heinrich quickly worked through traffic on the notoriously difficult-to-pass Long Beach circuit. By lap 13, he had worked his way through the field and was back in 10th. By lap 29, he moved into 6th and held it for the remainder of the race. In his charge forward, Heinrich set the fastest lap of the race on lap 7, a 1:12.918, the only driver with a lap in the 1:12s.
The team leaves Long Beach full of confidence for the second stop on the West Coast swing, Laguna Seca, in two weeks.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“We had a really good weekend here in Long Beach. When you unload a really fast race car, everything builds on that. We were fastest in Practice 1, which gave the entire team confidence for the rest of the weekend. We missed the tire pressure in qualifying by a few tenths, and in the ultra-competitive IMSA GTP class, that put us back to 10th to start the race. A strategy call on lap 5 to get ahead of the driver change and fuel window set us up for a strong finish. Laurin ran many very fast laps, and we were in the hunt for a podium for the entire second half of the race.
I really want to thank everyone at Porsche Motorsports for all their support. Lending us a driver like Laurin is very beneficial for our program. He is a great fit, and I think this will move us to another level.”
Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“Long Beach was a quick weekend for us, just two days. We were strong all weekend and finished P6, which we are quite happy with. We had a bit more pace, but we were a bit unlucky in qualifying and started P10, which is a disadvantage on a street circuit. We managed to gain four positions, so we are quite happy with the result.
Good start with Laurin in this first race with JDC-Miller MotorSports, and we are eager to build on these results at Laguna Seca.”
Laurin Heinrich, Driver, No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
The Grand Prix of Long Beach is complete, and what a race it was. The team gave me a great car, and I set the fastest race lap, so I’m quite happy with how things went.
The JDC-Miller MotorSports team executed a great strategy, trying to make something work from the back after a disappointing qualifying. This worked quite well, and we crossed the line in a solid P6, which is a result we are quite happy with.
I think it was a good first start to my new program with JDC-Miller MotorSports, so I am really looking forward to our next race at Laguna Seca.”
