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JDC-Miller Looking to Cap Successful Seasons across Three Series

Katie Church on October 10, 2023

Jenson Button’s IMSA Debut and Two Challenge Series Championship Runs Highlight the Team’s Michelin Raceway Weekend

October 10, 2023

By Tony DiZinno for IMSA.com

Photo Credit: LAT Images

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Few teams run as varied a program within IMSA as Minnesota-based JDC-Miller MotorSports. Heading to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the team’s three-series, three-class, four-car effort looks to steal headlines, thunder and championships from their rivals.

In Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans, the capper to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button will make his IMSA and track debut aboard the team’s No. 5 Porsche 963 entry in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class. It provides Button a chance to reunite with his NASCAR Garage 56 and 24 Hours of Le Mans teammate, Mike Rockenfeller, and emerging talent Tijmen van der Helm.

The team will also run a Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) chassis with drivers Rasmus Lindh, Dan Goldburg and Till Bechtolsheimer for the last race of that class within WeatherTech Championship competition. Its No. 85 Duqueine D08 has run with multiple drivers in four LMP3 races this year and has a best finish of third at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with a driver lineup that included Goldburg and Bechtolsheimer.

Motul Petit Le Mans will follow three additional races earlier in the weekend where the team seeks championships in a pair of IMSA challenge series.

Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSports with Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor in the No. 17 Audi RS3 LMS TCR will attempt to wrest the Michelin Pilot Challenge Touring Car (TCR) class championship away from Harry Gottsacker and Robert Wickens, who have a 20-point lead in the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR.

Similarly, Goldburg looks to secure the inaugural VP Racing SportsCar Challenge LMP3 title in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08.

Pulling double duty this weekend for JDC-Miller by driving an LMP3 in both the WeatherTech Championship and the VP Racing Challenge, Goldburg has a pair of 45-minute races in the latter to erase a 90-point gap to Bijoy Garg and the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320.

Button Eagerly Anticipating GTP Debut

The JDC-Miller Porsche 963 tested at Michelin Raceway on Sept. 19, which allowed Button to learn both the car and the 2.54-mile, 12-turn track. After a 31-hour travel day from Singapore to Braselton, Georgia, Button was awed by the facility.

“How cool is this place?!?” Button remarked in a video before he started his track walk.

The smile continued once he’d completed the test day.

“Today went really well,” he said. “I got some good laps in the car. This track is nuts! It’s so fast, so fast flowing, with loads of blind crests. And I’m learning the track with a new car.

“It took a little while, but I felt really good at the end and good in the car. Yeah, I’m confident, so bring on Petit Le Mans!”

The JDC-Miller Porsche finished eighth at the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ending a run of three straight top-five finishes.

Team principal John Church isn’t ready to announce 2024 program plans but hinted “things are coming together well” and announcements should follow the season finale.

Taylor, Miller Headline JDC’s Challenge Series Title Attack

JDC has three IMSA titles on its resume, with three consecutive championships in Prototype Lites – the VP Racing Challenge’s previous series iteration – from 2014 to 2016 (Misha Goikhberg, Kenton Koch and Clark Toppe won those titles, respectively). Winning both the Michelin Pilot Challenge and VP Racing Challenge titles in the same year would mark quite a feat; winning either would add to the team’s extensive resume.

Taylor and Miller’s new second-generation Audi features a sequential gearbox among other technical enhancements. After working through some teething issues the first third of the season, Taylor and Miller hit their stride. They’ve won the last two races –VIRginia International Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway – and finished first or second in five of the last six races.

“The setup on this car is quite a bit different,” Taylor explained. “It’s a bit like a GT3 car with shims and how we adjust things. Now, I feel like we have a decent grip on it.”

As a single-car team, Taylor doesn’t underestimate what it would mean to win the title.

“I started in this class in 2018, and it was a lot more grassroots-type teams,” Taylor said. “Unless you put in huge money to compete, it’s quite hard, so I commend the smaller teams.

“You need a good driver lineup too, because it’s stout to go against (Herta drivers) Wickens, Gottsacker, (Mark) Wilkins and (Mason) Filippi.”

JDC-entered cars will run in Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans, which begins at 11:40 a.m. ET on Peacock in the U.S. (USA Network joins with live coverage at 6:30 p.m.), with the Michelin Pilot Challenge Fox Factory 120 at 12:25 p.m. Friday and the VP Racing Challenge races at 4:40 p.m. Thursday and 9:25 a.m. Friday. All three of those races will air live on Peacock.

Rasmus Lindh Joins JDC-Miller MotorSports LMP3 Program at Watkins Glen

Sophie Church on June 20, 2023

Rasmus Lindh joins Dan Goldburg and Till Bechtolsheimer in JDC-Miller MotorSports LMP3 No. 85 entry at Watkins Glen.

Savage, Minnesota (June 20, 2023). JDC-Miller MotorSports confirmed today that 21 year-old Rasmus Lindh from Gothenburg, Sweden will join season regulars Dan Goldburg and Till Bechtolsheimer in their JDC-Miller MotorSports Duqueine D08 LMP3 class No. 85 entry for this weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Lindh has considerable open-wheel experience in the Road to Indy program. He was series runner up in USF2000 in 2018 and Indy Pro 2000 the following year. In 2020 he made his IMSA debut in a Prototype Challenge car and has competed in LMP3 since 2021, while also competing in the Road to Indy program. Currently, he competes in the Indy NXT championship with a full season campaign. Indy NXT is the final step to the NTT Indycar series. 

The JDC-Miller MotorSports No. 85 currently sits 3rd in the LMP3 class of the IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship.

Quotes:

Rasmus Lindh, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Duqueine D08 LMP3

“I am really looking forward to being with JDC-Miller and back in LMP3 again. I have a really good feeling after the test we had a few weeks ago, and look to keep working on the good result that the team had in Sebring.”

Dan Goldburg, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Duqueine D08 LMP3

“I am pumped for this weekend at Watkins!  Till and I worked together quite well at Sebring, and I have many years working with Rasmus.  He’s a rocket in these LMP3 machines and based on our speed in testing, we should be in the fight for the win!”

Till Bechtolsheimer, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Duqueine D08 LMP3

“I’m looking forward to improving on our strong 3rd place performance at Sebring. Rasmus is a great addition to the driver line-up.” 

John Church, Managing Partner, JDC-Miller MotorSports

“We are very happy that Rasmus can join us this weekend at Watkins Glen and team up with Dan and Till in our LMP3 class entry. We have tested with him at the Glen and were impressed with his speed and consistency.  He will be a great addition to our line-up and will allow us to compete for the win this weekend.”

About JDC-Miller MotorSports

Minnesota-based JDC-Miller MotorSports began making its mark on the IMSA record books with a PC class win at the 2016 Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. The John Miller and John Church led operation quickly transitioned to the top ranks of sports car racing in 2017, scoring two second place finishes and fourth in the final class championship. 

The team’s success and growth continued in 2018, when they introduced a two-car effort and scored a victory at Watkins Glen and a pole position at Road America. Once again, JDC-Miller MotorSports finished fourth in the series championship despite racing an even larger and more competitive IMSA WeatherTech Championship field.

For the 2019 season, the team entered into a partnership with Cadillac to field a two car Cadillac DPi-V.R effort. The program had a number of podium finishes and added the prestigious 12 Hours of Sebring crown to its growing list of accolades.

JDC-Miller MotorSports entered into an agreement with Porsche for the 2023 season, making it the first customer team selected to campaign the German sports car manufacturer’s Porsche 963 customer program. The Porsche 963 will compete in the new GTP category, which competes as the top class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The GTP Class introduces technically sophisticated hybrid power to IMSA matching it for the first time to efficient and bespoke internal combustion engines. For more information, please visit: www.jdcmotorsports.com.

About CSCI

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For more information, please visit:  www.csci.build

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The non-profit Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) is the state’s leading certifier of green homes, buildings, communities, and local governments. In 2000 FGBC brought together industry professionals from the construction, government, academic and research communities to create green standards tailored specifically to Florida. To date it has certified over 29,000 residential, commercial, high-rise, land developments and local governments participating in its certification programs. FGBC certification programs are the only standards developed with state specific criteria to address Florida’s hot-humid environment, climate, distinctive topography, unique geology, resiliency, and natural disasters.

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12 Hours of Sebring Podium Finish

Roger Johnson on March 23, 2023

As always, the 12 Hours of Sebring was a rough and tumble affair with an exciting finish for the overall leaders. With 20 minutes remaining, the leading Porsche 963 was taken out by the 2nd place Acura which, in turn, collected the 3rd place Porsche 963. This was unfortunate for Porsche as they were poised to take two podium spots. The GTP class was incredibly competitive across all marques at Sebring in only its second outing, which speaks well for the class and its new cars going forward. We look forward to contesting in the GTP class with our own Porsche 963 in the coming months.

The JDC-Miller MotorSports #85 Duqueine D08 had a strong run in the LMP3 class.  Drivers Till Bechtolsheimer, Dan Goldburg, and Tijmen van der Helm put down 308 quick, steady laps on the 3.74 mile circuit, keeping the team in contention all day.

A late caution set up van der Helm to race the 2nd place #13 Duqueine D08 to the finish. Unfortunately, the GTP incident with 20 minutes remaining led to a long caution. This left only two laps of green flag racing remaining and time ran out to mount a charge.

Overall, a 3rd place finish was a good run for the JDC-Miller MotorSports team.

John Walko, Till Bechtolsheimer, Dan Goldburg, John Church, and Tijmen van der Helm celebrating at the podium.
Champagne residue on your trophy is always a good thing.

The next race for the team will be the MOTUL Course de Monterey Powered By Hyundai at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca May 12-14. This will be the first outing for the team’s new Porsche 963 entry in the GTP class.

12 Hours of Sebring Preview

Roger Johnson on March 15, 2023

It’s going to be another very busy weekend for the JDC-Miller MotorSports team at this weekend’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. The team won the race in 2021. 

In the WeatherTech race, the team’s LMP3 class Duqueine D08 will be driven by Till Bechtolsheimer, Tijmen van der Helm, and Dan Goldburg. Bechtolsheimer and van der Helm return after driving the car at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Goldburg currently holds the points lead in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge series after two wins at Daytona and two podiums last weekend here at Sebring. 

The team’s Audi RS3 LMS effort in the Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class will again be driven by Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor with a Liqui Moly livery. 

This year marks the 71st running of the endurance classic. The 12 hour race was first run in 1952. Sebring’s 3.74 mile 17 turn circuit is the oldest and one of the busiest racetracks in North America, hosting activities more than 300 days per year. 

Two Podiums for Dan Goldburg at Sebring

Roger Johnson on March 13, 2023

Two podium finishes for Dan Goldburg in his #73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08 keep him in the championship points lead.

In Race 1, Goldburg started on the outside pole and retained that position through to the finish.  Race 2 was more exciting for the Florida driver. Again starting P2, Goldburg took the lead on the first lap and held it under pressure from Bijoy Garg and Antonio Serravalle for the first 30 minutes of the race. Garg got by in Turn 7 and Goldburg pressured him until a quick spin allowed Serratore by. Goldburg fought back to retain the 3rd position and his second podium of the weekend.  Goldburg was the top Bronze driver in both races.  

After 4 of 14 races of the series, Dan Goldburg leads a very tight championship by 60 points over Bijoy Garg and 160 over Brian Thienes.  He has been the top Bronze driver in all four races this season and thus leads that championship, as well.

The next race for the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge is July 7-9 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.