SAVAGE, Minn. (October 13, 2025) — JDC-Miller MotorSports concluded the 2025 season with a 12th-place finish at Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans. Newcomer to sports car racing and IMSA, driver Max Esterson, made an impressive debut in this form of racing. The New Jersey native started in the No. 85 from 12th and handed the car off to Neel Jani in 4th. Jani then completed the next 34 laps in 5th, and the JDC-Miller MotorSports team was very optimistic about the upcoming 5 hours of racing. Some unfortunate contact with other competitors, along with some additional challenges, put the team on the back foot in the closing stages; as a result, they finished in 12th place.
In the 10 hours and 53 seconds the No. 85 Porsche 963 was on track, the JDC-Miller MotorSports drivers completed 1099.8 miles with an average speed of 109.813 mph. This includes 12 pit stops and 5 driver changes.
It was a great experience for all of us at JDC-Miller MotorSports to finish the 2025 season in front of a massive crowd on a beautiful Georgia day. The Petit Le Mans fan experience is second to none and couldn’t have been better for the 2025 edition of Petit Le Mans. We are very appreciative of our tremendously loyal fan base. Thank you for your ongoing support throughout this and previous seasons. We are already hard at work for the 2026 season.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“We were actually much more competitive than our finishing position indicates. When Max brought the car up to 4th during his first stint and Neel ran off a stint in 5th, I thought we were onto something. At that point, our lap times were nearly identical to the leader’s, and we were very optimistic. Some contact with other competitors and a couple of other challenges negatively affected our strategy for the run to the finish. Great job by the drivers and crew. Feeling a bit melancholy as the season wraps up, but really looking forward to the 2026 IMSA season.
Tijmen van der Helm (NL), Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“Petit Le Mans is always a big challenge. We tested well here last month and were quite optimistic. In qualifying and the race, we had a solid setup. The pace was good, but we just needed a little more later on. A couple of times, we faced some bad luck, which happens in racing. Overall, very positive. We kept making improvements and are moving in the right direction. Just looking forward now.
Max Esterson (USA), Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“My first endurance race is complete. Quite an experience. Good job by the team. The pace was very strong at the start of the race in the heat of the day. Really enjoyed it. Stayed out of trouble and learned a lot. It was a shame we didn’t have the pace at the end, but the team did a great job and we ran out front for a long while early in the race. It was a really good first race in IMSA. The team did a great job quickly getting me up to speed in the car with all the systems, switches, and adjustments that can be made. By the race, I was comfortable and knew what to do.”
Neel Jani (CH), Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“It looked very good for us at some stages. For the first 5 hours, we were near the top, between 4th and 7th. Max did an excellent job for his first race in this type of car and series. Tijmen, as well. I don’t know exactly what happened from mid-race on because we were there at the start. We got taken out twice, once by a Cadillac and once by a BMW (both were penalized). That definitely bent our car a bit. That didn’t help, but that’s Petit Le Mans. We know it’s a tough race, but that’s part of the challenge. Thanks to JDC-Miller for the opportunity to race with them.”
