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June 25, 2024
Savage, Minnesota
After an outstanding qualifying session, JDC-Miller MotorSports driver Phil Hanson started the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen on the second row in P4. It was very hot and humid at the fabled central New York race track with a very high certainty of rain coming during the event.
Hanson took advantage of a dry track and made some amazing passes sweeping into the the lead on lap 7. He led until lap 20 when the team, anticipating weather and the need for options regarding drive time, took advantage of a yellow to bring him in and change to driver Tijmen van der Helm. Van der Helm kept the car in contention in very mixed weather conditions for the next two hours and handed it off to Richard Westbrook.
Things then unraveled for the JDC-Miller MotorSports team. Westbrook left his pit on fresh rain tires and was making the needed adjustments for the rain tires on his steering wheel, as well as jockeying for position with the 10 and 40 Acuras. With all that going on, he clipped one of the Michelin RFID stanchions at the single-lane pit exit. For this, the 85 was accessed a very harsh stop + 5 minute penalty. Three laps were lost, and any podium aspirations vanished. The team soldiered on to finish the race 9th in GTP and 17th overall.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“We unloaded with the most competitive car since Sebring of this year. The team took everything we learned at a test a few weeks ago and gave the drivers a very strong car. Phil was awesome in qualifying and then made some great passes to lead the race. It was great to see the car at the front of the field.
It is unfortunate that there was an issue with the RFID gate. Things get crazy going into that gate as there isn’t much distance from the last pit boxes to the gate for everyone to get sorted single-file. The penalty was quite harsh.”
Richard Westbrook, Driver, No.85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“I’m incredibly disappointed. After we switched to wet tires, I had to adjust the steering wheel on the way out. That’s when I made the mistake and nudged Michelin’s tire RFID system. I had expected to get a drive-through penalty, but the five-minute penalty was a killer for us. There was nothing we could do. I feel so sorry for the team, especially since our car was so strong this weekend. It’s a super bitter pill to swallow.”
Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh, Porsche Ag
“Our customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports put in an extremely strong drive today. Unfortunately, they received a major penalty. Still, congratulations to the team on its first-class work.”
June 22, 2024
By John Oreovicz and David Phillips IMSA Wire Service
Mikey Taylor enjoyed a bird’s eye view of the tussle for the lead of the Touring Car (TCR) class between Robert Wickens’ No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR and Jon Morley’s No. 61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR in the closing stages of Saturday’s race. But Taylor was positively delighted by the view in the rearview mirror of the No. 17 Unitronic/JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi the following lap, having taken the lead with a clean pass into the Inner Loop at Watkins Glen after Wickens firmly rebuffed Morley’s bold overtaking effort at the same point the previous lap.
“That was a tough move,” Taylor said of Morley’s unsuccessful passing attempt. “But as competitive as TCR is these days, when you have a sniff at an overtake you’ve got to go for it. I thought they were both going to go around and retire, but the Hyundai is pretty robust. That’s TCR for you: it’s tight, close and fun racing.”
Once out front, Taylor gradually edged away from Wickens to take the TCR win by 2.054 seconds, even as the race ended in disappointment for Morley when the Road Shagger Audi ran short of fuel two corners from the finish line. Morley’s misfortune enabled Denis Dupont to grab the final spot in the No. 76 BHA Hyundai he shared with Preston Brown.
“We used what we had,” said Taylor. “We didn’t have much front end (tires) left and we didn’t have much fuel left. But (co-driver) Chris (Miller) did a great first stint to bring it to me, and the guys on the (pit) box – I can’t say enough – they did a great job on the strategy. At the end, it wasn’t about raw pace, it was about consistency and that’s what the Unitronic/JDC-Miller Audi is: It’s consistent.”
Taylor and Miller are becoming quite accustomed to seeing the TCR field in their mirrors. This was their fourth win in five Michelin Pilot Challenge races so far this year and represents a rebound from the race at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago that saw the No. 17 Audi finish third.
“They’re all difficult,” Miller said, “and this is just one step closer to our goal. I’m just super proud of the team. The guys have been doing an amazing job and, honestly, it’s due to them that we’re on this run. Mikey and I are just trying to bring the car home in one piece. They’re calling great strategy, doing great pit stops and we’re picking ‘em up and putting them down.”
The result boosted the No. 17 Unitronic/JDC-Motorsports Audi to a commanding 220-point lead over the No. 76 BHA Hyundai as the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competitors head north to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in three weeks.
Jun 13th, 2024 from www.getunitronic.com
As the summer temperatures heat up, so too does the IMSA racing schedule and kicking off the busy summer season was the Unitronic JDC-Miller Motorsports team’s second 4-hour race of the season at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Four Hours of Mid-Ohio.
Coming into the race on a three race winning streak, the team knew it would be tough to keep the chasing pack behind as every competitor gunned to take down the #17 that had been on top for most of the start of the season. The Lexington, Ohio based track is also one of the toughest on the calendar for the Audi RS3 LMS TCR platform as it suited the hatchback car configuration of the Honda Civic FL5 TCR and Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR more than the sedan platform of the road car based Audi platform.
HEATED COMPETITION
Starting off the weekend strong, drivers Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor topped the charts in practice 1 and a solid 5th place in practice 2 in the tight TCR field. Qualifying brought more of a challenge, as the Honda Civic FL5 TCR team of MMG stretched their legs and showed what their well-favored balance of performance could do with a chart topping time of 1.27.103, leading to driver Chris Miller in 4th place with a 1.27.804.
TEAM FIGHTS THROUGH EARLY CONTACT
As the green flag flew the battle started for the #17 team as the rowdy TCR class battled back and forth making contact with the Audi several times and forcing Chris Miller as low as 8th at one point. Nevertheless, the team charged on throughout numerous issues with the handling and gearbox shifting of the now damaged race car. Around the halfway mark of the 4-hour challenge, the team made their mandatory driver change and put Mikey Taylor into the seat to give him a shot at battling until the end. Through a sequence of fast laps, pit stops and clever strategy by John Church, the #17 was to cycle through to 4th place near the final hour of the race, just behind the two factory backed Hyundai Elantra N TCR of Bryan Herta Autosport and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR of KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering.
UNITRONIC JDC-AUDI HANGS ON FOR P3 FINISH
As the field took the green flag from one of the final few full course caution periods with just over an hour to go, Taylor made a decisive move inside the #33 Hyundai to take a podium position and start the charge towards the front. Unfortunately for him, the damage from earlier in the race to the aerodynamics and gearbox of the car held him back and did not allow the South African born driver to unleash the pace of the Unitronic Audi. Ending the three-race winning streak the team had to settle for a admirable 3rd place finish, only 6 seconds off the winning Hyundai #76 and second place #5 Alfa Romeo. A solid result and points haul for the team means they retain their championship lead by 170 points over the chasing #76 Hyundai.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER FROM ECS TUNING
Throughout the week, the Unitronic JDC-Miller Motorsports team partnered up with ECS TUNING for several activities at their facility and on the track. We’d like to thank them again for their time and enthusiasm around our brand and race program. As a reminder, FREE limited edition posters are still available on ECSTUNING.COM while supplies last. These unique posters not only commemorate our special partnership at Mid-Ohio but they have also been autographed by our pro drivers; Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor.
NEXT RACE
The next round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Championship takes place next week at the world famous Watkins Glen International Raceway on June 20th – 23rd. Stay up to date on all our activities, learn more about the team, our pro drivers, the #17 RS 3 LMS TCR race car, our tremendous sponsors and shop for team merch HERE. Make sure to tune into UNITRONIC social media channels for behind the scenes race coverage of all ten championship events!
June 3, 2024
Savage, Minnesota
The JDC-Miller MotorSports team arrived at the Detroit Grand Prix feeling confident after a very productive test at Watkins Glen. While the two circuits could not be more different, the team was confident that what was learned at the test would make the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 competitive. Unfortunately, what was learned at the test didn’t work on the narrow, bumpy, Detroit 1.654-mile street circuit. With only two practice sessions before qualifying, it proved difficult to make up time on the very competitive GTP field.
The late Friday afternoon qualifying session put the 85 Porsche 9th on the grid for Saturday’s 100 minute race.
Tijmen van der Helm drove the first stint moving the car into 8th. He worked his way up as high as 5th before coming in for fuel and the required driver change. The crew had an outstanding pit stop and driver change to Richard Westbrook who settled in running in 8th. A competitor’s unfortunate move in turn 1 spun the 85, blocking the track. Westbrook was able to continue but had considerable damage to the rear of the car and pitted for repairs. This resulted in the 85 falling a lap down and ultimately having to settle for an 8th place finish.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“The Detroit street circuit proved to be another challenging race for us. We left a bit banged and bruised, but with our heads held high as we headed to Watkins Glen for the 6-hour race.”
Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“I am pleased with my driving this weekend. This was a very difficult track to get up to speed on and only my second street race. Richard and the team have been excellent in helping me get up to speed. I was able to take my experience from Long Beach and build on it here. I can’t say at this point I am a fan of this kind of racing, but it has been rewarding to learn what it takes. Not sure this track lends itself well to GTP cars. Probably every car had some damage.”
Richard Westbrook, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“It’s hard for me to come up with anything positive. To be honest, the track is not suitable for racing with prototypes in the top GTP class. It was like being in a bumper car. The damage to the vehicles worsened lap by lap. It was unacceptable – simply unacceptable. I found it frustrating. I have such fond memories of the times we competed on the beautiful Belle Isle in Detroit. I’m looking forward to Watkins Glen – now that’s a great circuit.”
May 13, 2024
Savage, Minnesota
JDC-Miller MotorSports qualified in the 9th position and finished the race in 8th this weekend at the 2024 Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
JDC-Miller MotorSports driver Tijmen van der Helm had a good qualifying run, turning a 1:13.184, which placed him 9th fastest in the highly competitive GTP field – .869 seconds covered the entire 10-car GTP field. This was the first time IMSA has run at Laguna Seca since the track was repaved last year, and the whole GTP field broke the previous lap record of 1:13.924 set in 2022.
It was a strategy race for the JDC-Miller MotorSports team, which allowed the car to move up to 6th position after the first round of pitstops. Using a different tire strategy than their competitors, they dropped back to 10th at one point but then worked their way up to 6th. Late in the race, the team’s Porsche was pushed off the track entering the corkscrew which dropped them back to 8th for the finish.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“Unfortunately, we unloaded on the back foot pace-wise, and it took us until qualifying to catch up. The guys did a great job on track and in the pits allowing us to grab a few spots on each pit stop. We were up and down the charts a bit and were pushed around a bit losing some of the ground we gained. We struggled with our tire strategy more than anticipated and then were ultimately pushed off in the Corkscrew which put us back a couple spots when we were running 6th. All in all a solid effort by the team and we will look forward to Detroit.”
Richard Westbrook, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“We couldn’t quite make the double-stint on the tires work. It was a tough ask. The longest run we had done in practice was 20 laps or so. We had not tested a long run on our Michelin tires. The team needed to try something and it nearly came off. We were looking at a top five when the right front dramatically went away.
I felt confident about being able to defend our 6th position but then got dive-bombed going into the corkscrew and lost two positions from that move which was really disappointing. Then, it was just a case of bringing it home.
Really proud of the team. They are willing to try things to be more competitive and that is the way we like to work.”
