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JDC-Miller MotorSports finishes in the 10th position at Road America

Katie Church on August 11, 2025

SAVAGE, Minn. (August 3rd, 2025) — It was an uneventful home race weekend for the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 in front of a large group of incredibly loyal family, sponsors, and fans.

The JDC-Miller Motorsports No. 85 Porsche 963 qualified in 11th position, but the hardworking JDC-Miller Motorsports crew made some productive changes overnight before race day, successfully making the car more competitive for the race. Driver Gianmaria Bruno gained a spot at the start and worked his way up to 5th position with skillful driving and great team strategy. Unfortunately, he later got caught in traffic and lost the spot to the race-winning BMWs. After the pit stop and driver change, the No. 85 Porsche fell back to 10th and ran the rest of the race there without incident.

Our 2024 St. Jude patient family returned to Road America this year as race fans. Colton, now a cancer-free 11-year-old, hung out with the team and his IMSA friends. This marked the kickoff of JDC-Miller MotorSports’ St. Jude fundraising effort, again carrying the LOVE RACING. STOP CANCER. theme, which will culminate at the 6-hour race next month at Indianapolis. You can support this effort by donating here:

Quotes:

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

“Another tough race for the 85 Porsche 963.  We struggled with pace throughout the weekend.  The guys worked hard, giving the drivers a much better car for the race.  Many thanks to all our sponsors, family, and friends who came to support us at our home race.”  

Gimmi Bruni, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“Thanks to a strong start and solid strategy, we managed to break into the top five at times today. Later on, I got held up in lapped traffic. Compared to yesterday, we took a step in the right direction with our Porsche’s setup. However, we still lack top speed on the straights. Hopefully, that will improve in the final two races, so duels with other competitors become more enjoyable again – that would be nice. “

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

“Frustrating weekend. We didn’t have a lot for our competition. They didn’t need to fight us for position as they knew they could get the position a bit further down the road. The crew made the car better throughout the weekend, so that is good. I am looking forward to what we can do at Indy. 

JDC-Miller MotorSports Returns to Road America

Katie Church on August 6, 2025

SAVAGE, Minn. (July 28, 2025) — It’s mid-summer, and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is two-thirds of the way through its 2025 season as the teams head to one of their absolute favorite tracks, Road America. For JDC-Miller MotorSports, it’s their home race, just a five-hour drive from their Minnesota headquarters. It’s the race where most of the team’s family, friends, partners, and especially fans get to see the team in action. It’s easy to love the beauty of the place, the uniqueness of the 4.048-mile, rolling circuit itself. And there is the speed. The days start with the famous brat and egg sandwich appropriately called an Egger, and end with a Spotted Cow ale.

Most of the JDC-Miller MotorSports team has a long history of racing at Road America. For Managing Partner John Church, his Road America experience started when he was 13, helping his father with his Formula Ford. John has rarely missed a year since then. Many team members share similar extensive experience at this iconic track. While the layout of the track hasn’t changed much since it was built in 1955, the facility has seen major upgrades. Some of us at JDC-Miller MotorSports feel a bit nostalgic for the charm of the old pagoda, the Billy Mitchell bridge, and having to trudge through the bushes to reach the far parts of the track. That feeling quickly fades when you drive through the tunnel into the infield, see all the modern buildings, and use the paved trails that extend to the farthest parts of the track.

Then there is the sheer performance of the team’s GTP-class Porsche 963 at Road America. From System Engineer Ryan Perera:

Max speeds – 310 kph (193 mph) into T1 and into Canada/T12

Apex speeds – 170 kph (103 mph) in T1, 90 kph (56 mph) in T5, 190 kph (118 mph) through the carousel with zero braking (just a lift-off throttle), and a 20% lift-off throttle through the kink at ~280 kph (174 mph)

Lateral g loads – 2.5g through T1/T5, the carousel sustains a neck-stretching  2.5g throughout, peaking at 2.8g. Out of the Carousel, the driver gets to take a quick breath before the 3.3g run through the kink. A space shuttle launch reaches about 3g,  so don’t let anyone tell you GTP drivers aren’t athletes!

Energy mileage is a challenge at Road America – it’s the longest track and has the highest energy usage we’ll see all season. This makes it much harder to save enough energy to run an extra lap in a stint, but it also means there’s a bigger advantage if you can do it.

Every track is a unique engineering challenge.  One fun aspect of Road America is the balance between less downforce/more top speed and more downforce to stabilize the car through the kink.  The JDC-Miller MotorSports engineering team works very hard to give our drivers a car that they have confidence in everywhere around the track, but special emphasis has to be placed on the kink.

Last year, JDC-Miller MotorSports hosted St. Jude patient Colton, along with his mother and sister, at the Road America race. The team, IMSA, and Porsche welcomed them warmly, and the photos went viral. This year, they are returning to the race not just as representatives of St. Jude, but as new fans of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship.

Quotes:

John Miller, Partner, JDC-Miller MotorSports:

“Road America has always been our favorite track.  Incredible racing layout in a beautiful setting.  And my wife, Maggie, is from Manitowoc, Wisconsin – just up the road from Elkhart Lake.  So we always have a lot of family joining us for the weekend.  It is a very special event for us.”

Jessica Johnk, Professional Photographer, JDC-Miller MotorSports and Porsche:

“Going to Road America feels like a family reunion and a second home. The staff is always friendly and goes out of their way to take care of everyone on site. They maintain the facility to look its best, and the upgrades they add each season keep Road America at the top of the list for the best track in America.”

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

Katie Church on August 6, 2024

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.”