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No. 17 JDC-Miller Audi Finished the Job This Year in TCR Title Drive

After Falling Just Shy in ’23, Drivers Miller and Taylor Led Determined Effort in ‘24

October 23, 2024

By David Phillips from IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – By almost any measure, the Unitronic/JDC-Miller Motorsports IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign last year was a success. Which means this season’s championship-winning effort in the Touring Car (TCR) class must be ranked as the ultimate triumph. After a slow start to the 2023 season, drivers Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor steered the No. 17 Audi RS3 LMS TCR to a trio of victories and a pair of runner-up finishes. The only thing missing was the TCR championship itself. A mechanical issue coming to the green flag at the season finale ended the title bid and left the team with unfinished business to attend in 2024. 

Suffice to say, Miller, Taylor and the JDC-Miller crew took care of that business this season, and then some. They captured four wins and two more podiums in the 10 races and, thanks to a dash of ironic mechanical mayhem, clinched the driver and team titles by simply taking the green flag at the Fox Factory 120 on Oct. 11, almost a year to the day after the ’23 championship hardware slipped through their fingers.

“Given what happened last year, going to the last race with a chance of winning and being able to control our own destiny, that was disappointing,” said JDC-Miller founder John Church. “But everybody rallied. We worked hard in the off-season to clean up some things like pit stops so they wouldn’t be part of the equation, and that worked out well for us.” 

But it wasn’t quite as simple or easy as the statistics might suggest. For openers, JDC-Miller again campaigned a lone Audi against a veritable armada of Hyundai Elantra N TCRs, no fewer than four fielded by Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian in a bid to claim its sixth consecutive driver and team crowns. There was also another perennial contender, the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR, as well as emerging potential winners like the No. 93 Montreal Motorsport Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR and No. 99 Victor Gonzales Racing Team Hyundai.

Relishing the status as giant killer, the No. 17 Audi opened the season with four wins and a third place to open a massive 220-point championship lead halfway through the season. The competition never quit, however. Defending TCR champions Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker won in the No. 33 Herta Hyundai at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Tim Lewis and William Tally guided the No. 5 KMW Alfa Romeo to victory at Road America. Dai Yoshihara and Karl Wittmer did the same in the No. 93 MMG Honda at VIRginia International Raceway, even as Miller and Taylor rebounded from an early “off” to finish seventh in the No. 17 Audi.

Still, when Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi coaxed their fuel-efficient No. 98 BHA Hyundai to the win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway just clear of teammates Wickens and Gottsacker, JDC-Miller headed to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the finale with a 150-point lead looking to close the deal. 

Miller, though, crashed the No. 17 in qualifying, and when the BHA Hyundais qualified 1-2-3, JDC-Miller still had work to do, beginning with repairing the car. Needing only to finish 11th or better in class in the race, that was all but assured when the No. 73 Racers Edge Motorsports Honda Civic FK7 TCR withdrew after a mechanical issue in qualifying. It meant the No. 17 Audi needed only to be on the starting grid for Miller and Taylor to earn the drivers’ title and Unitronic/JDC-Miller to claim the team championship. This time, there would be no issues on the pace lap and Miller and Taylor duly came home a conservative but jubilant sixth in the race.

“Our guys started the season well and capitalized when they could,” Church said. “We had a couple of tough races through the year, but in the end, they did what they needed to do to finish out the year and championship. It was a whole team effort where everybody contributed, and I’m super proud of the effort everybody put in.”

All of which is not to say there was no drama in the season finale. After leading most of the last half of the two-hour race, Tyler Gonzalez was forced to bring the No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Hyundai to the pits for a splash of fuel as he was about to take the white flag. Thus, Wilkins, Filippi and the No. 98 BHA Hyundai took their second straight win to clinch the runner-up spots in the driver and team championships by just 10 points over Wickens, Gottsacker and the No. 33 Hyundai. It also put an exclamation point on Hyundai’s unprecedented fifth straight TCR manufacturer championship.

“A fifth manufacturers championship in a row here in IMSA,” Filippi said. “It just shows how hard Bryan Herta Autosport works and our Hyundai is really good at this championship, a really good car and reliability. We have a lot challengers here and it’s fun to compete in TCR, so it’s a big accomplishment.”  

After a strong weekend, JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 GTP drops out of the season finale at Motul Petit Le Mans

October 14, 2024

Savage, MN

The No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 GTP dropped out 160 laps into the finale of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship season with a power steering issue. Driver Richard Westbrook safely brought the car back to the garage with limited steering capability, ending the team’s very strong weekend in front of a record crowd that packed Road Atlanta for the 10-hour-long Petit Le Mans.

The JDC-Miller MotorSports team was pleased with its performance up to that point. Phil Hanson led the qualifying leaderboard for more than half of qualifying and started the car in the third row of the grid. Throughout the first 159 laps of the race, the team executed its strategy, running between 3rd and 6th much of the time while conserving tires and working toward the sprint to the finish when darkness fell. The car was quite competitive with the rest of the GTP field until the failure and a bittersweet ending for the team’s 2024 season.

It was also a melancholy weekend for the team as it was the final race for driver Richard Westbrook, who is retiring after a racing career that spans some 30 years, including two stints with JDC-Miller MotorSports. The Brit started in open-wheel racing but found his stride in sportscars. He has been a part of factory teams with Porsche, Chevrolet, Ford, BMW, and Aston Martin. JDC-Miller MotorSports is proud to have played a small part in his incredible career and to be there to allow him to retire from the top class in sportscar racing. Richard will always be a beloved part of the JDC-Miller MotorSports family, and we wish him all the best as he focuses on his other passion, Westbrooks Brewery.

John Church with Brad Knight and Charles Henderson from BDO

On Friday, the JDC-Miller MotorSports team was presented with not one, but two, BDO Knows Strategy Awards.  The award recognizes the race team exhibiting excellence in strategy and execution during each WeatherTech Series weekend and is chosen by the IMSA radio broadcast team at the conclusion of each race. JDC-Miller MotorSports won the award for its runner-up finish in the LMP2 category at Road America and again in GTP with its 3rd place finish at Indianapolis. BDO tells us that this is the first time in the history of the award that a team has won twice in a single season, let alone consecutive races.

Quotes:

John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“A disappointing end to what had been a very good weekend. We were competitive on pace and were successfully working our race strategy when the steering let go.  I feel bad for the drivers and the crew as we were doing really well until it was over.

This has been a difficult season as we have performed well and just couldn’t get the results we should have gotten. Dropping out with mechanical issues at Sebring and now Petit when running strong are just two examples of how things went this year. With that said, I am extremely proud of what we accomplished in 2024. We continue to become more and more competitive against all the factory teams in the GTP class with a sliver of the resources. I am very optimistic regarding our prospects for the 2025 season and anxious to put our heads down and get going on next year.”

Richard Westbrook, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“Unfortunately, we are out of Petit Le Mans. It’s a shame. In some ways, it summed up our season.  We often showed so much promise, but couldn’t finish the job off.  This is one of those failures that’s out of our hands. I was going through turn one and the power steering just went. The car was difficult to control, so I’m happy the car’s back in one piece. It’s a three-hour change, so we are out of the race. I would have loved to have finished on a high in the last race of my career. As importantly, getting a good result for everyone at JDC-Miller would have meant a lot to me. I am just gutted for everyone on the team. Everyone on this team should be proud of themselves. We’re up against the big dogs and there’s been several races where we have really punched above our weight and that is very satisfying.”


Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“Last race of the year. The season seemed to go by so fast. There were a lot of good moments and some not so good, but we got stronger as the year went on. We had a really good weekend. In qualifying we put the car in mid-field with good pace, so we were expecting a lot in the race. Then suddenly we lost the steering, which is a shame. Now we can only look forward to next year. My thanks to everyone on the team for their hard work all season long.”

Phil Hanson, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 “It is never nice to go out the race and end the year on this sort of note. Unfortunately, a power steering issue made us retire the car quite early on. Difficult to know how we would have gotten on later in the race. The car was set up with the night in mind, and we showed strong pace in NP3. That made us quietly confident that we were going to be stronger at the end of the race, which is when it matters in IMSA. It’s a shame we never got there to find out where we truly stood. I think its been a year of really good potential. We’ve shown on many occasions how we can be very strong and very quick. Unfortunately, we never got to convert those strong moments into a victory or a podium.  When you look back at it, we have been quite consistently at the front, which is impressive against some of the big guys out there. I just want to thank the team for their hard work this year.  My teammates also obviously did a really solid job all year, as well, so my thanks to Tijmen and Richard.”

The high note for the JDC-Miller MotorSports team this weekend was the No. 17 Audi RS3 LMS wrapping up the season drivers and team championships in the Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR-class. The Unitronic/JDC-Miller team, with drivers Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor, had an exceptional season. It began with consecutive wins to start the season at Daytona, Sebring, and Laguna Seca. They also won at Watkins Glen. These results do not represent all the challenges the No. 17 team faced throughout the season, making the championship that much sweeter. There was a lot of well-deserved tired jubilation at Friday evening’s awards banquet after a long, hard-fought, season.

JDC-Miller MotorSports has strong weekend at Road America on and off the track

August 5, 2024

Savage, Minnesota

The JDC-Miller MotorSports team had a very rewarding weekend at Road America. Surrounded by friends, family, and fans, we achieved strong on-track results and also had a great deal of off-track activity with our wide range of supporters.

The weekend got off to a good start on Saturday when Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor’s No. 17 Audi RS3 LMS clawed their way through the Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class field to a fourth-place finish. Importantly, this increased their championship points lead by 70 points to a 220-point advantage.

In the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, the No. 85 Porsche GTP team improved steadily over the course of the hot and humid weekend. Starting from the 8th position, drivers Richard Westbrook and Tijmen van der Helm had good pace and stayed in contention throughout the 2 hour and 40 minute race. The crew provided fast and error-free pit-stops.  The race featured five full course yellows which challenged the drivers with cold-tire restarts. Van der Helm was quick in the final stint to take the checker for a 6th place finish.

For the Road America round, the team entered the No. 79 Oreca 07 LMP2 for Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews for what will be their only appearance in 2024. Kraut ran a quick and error-free first stint before turning the car over to Andrews to take it home. Andrews worked his way through the field, culminating in a finish on the second step of the podium.

The highlight of the weekend, however, was the visit by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® patient Colton, his sister Malea, and mom Colleen. They came to the track to help JDC-Miller MotorSports kick off a two-month-long fundraising effort for our partner, St. Jude.  Colton’s big day kicked off with a visit from IMSA President John Doonan, welcoming him to Road America and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. Then, driver, Richard Westbrook, took Colton for a tour of the No. 85 Porsche. Thanks to IMSA and Porsche, Colleen, took a “Hot Lap” in a Porsche 911 GTS around the 4 miles of Road America. Colton was introduced to the massive crowd during the Fan Walk pit-stop demonstration and then stood with the team on the pit lane for the National Anthem and fly-over. Additionally, we took our guests around to the best vantage points to watch the race. To culminate this incredible experience, Colton and his family were able to visit Victory Circle when the No. 79 came home in 2nd place. Watch for more information shortly on this effort or you can donate here.

Quotes:

John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“It’s gratifying that we are competitive and very close to the kind of finishes we strive for. The competitive bar in GTP goes up every weekend. We have worked hard on our overall pace and are right there with our GTP competitors. From the front to the back of the GTP field, it is very tight, so now we need to focus on the many little things that gain you positions in the race results. We finished in P6 today but are only a couple of tenths here and there from the podium.

Overall, it was a great weekend for all three of JDC-Miller MotorSports teams. Good results but also it is so gratifying to see the level of fan support we have. A very fun weekend.”

Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“I am happy with the P6 finish. Made a couple of minor mistakes, but we were competitive. There are some things to work on for the next couple of races.  We know what we need to improve to fight for the podium every time.”

Richard Westbrook, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“6th is a decent result. We have struggled to get results this year. Not for lack of pace, we just haven’t been able to capture the result we are looking for. We had a good car. It was a bit tricky on restarts to get the tires up to temperature, which is something we can work on. 

We had so much support this weekend from all the guests, supporters, and sponsors. You do feel that in the car. It’s our home race, and it’s great to see this kind of support. I’m looking forward to the next two races. We have a good car and are confident in how we engineer it. I’m really proud of everyone at JDC-Miller MotorSports.”