Join JDC-Miller MotorSports in Supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® DONATE NOW!

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 Porsche 963 Finishes 6th in the 2025 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona

Katie Church on January 27, 2025

SAVAGE, Minn. (January 27, 2025) — JDC-Miller MotorSports secured 6th place in
the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona with their Porsche 963 GTP. The
team completed 780 laps of the 3.54-mile Daytona road course, finishing just 109
seconds behind the overall winning No. 7 Porsche. The car averaged 115.439 MPH
over the 2,774 miles it covered during the race.

The chilly Florida temperatures posed a challenge for the team, starting at 59°F and
dropping to 48°F by 3 AM. All four drivers had to skillfully manage tires and brakes that
were difficult to get up to and maintain the desired operating temperature. The No. 85
Porsche began the race in 5th place and spent most of the 24 hours running in either
5th or 6th place among the 12 GTP class entries. A total of 61 cars across all classes
started the race.

The car performed flawlessly throughout this classic event, and the JDC-Miller drivers
brought it home without a scratch—a remarkable feat given the heavy traffic they
navigated each lap. Driver Gianmaria Bruni led the team with 562 overtakes during the
238 laps he drove, while Tijmen van der Helm closely followed with 404 overtakes in the
198 laps he completed.

Quotes:

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

“I am extremely proud of everyone on the team for the incredible effort that went into our
6th place finish at the Rolex 12 Hours of Daytona. It was one of those events where
there was a lot going on and everyone pulled together and got it done. Tijmen worked
closely with Gimmi and got Bryce and Pascal well-versed in how to race this car. They
kept the car damage free which isn’t easy to do at Daytona. All the guys on the pit-box
worked together to deal with the low ambient temperatures to find solutions and
maximize what we could get out of the car. Our pit stops were very good both day and
night. Overall, an excellent start to the 2025 season and I’m really looking forward to
Sebring and the rest of the season.”

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

“First of all, I’m very happy with a P6 finish in the race for JDC-Miller MotorSports. The
boys worked very, very hard. We had an issue with brake temperature from the start of
the race, that was tough to resolve. We were not able to put the proper temperature into
them, and then keep the temperature for the whole stint. This changed our entire race
strategy. As the day got warmer, our car balance was perfect. We were very competitive
late in the race and had a good potential to be in the top three or four. I am looking
forward to Sebring. I’m very happy to be here in IMSA with JDC-Miller MotorSports.”

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

“A long 24 hours. We had some problems in the beginning with the brakes which we
tried to work around, but couldn’t really do much about. I think we did quite a good job.
There were some minor mistakes, what happens normally in a 24 hour race. I think we
deserved a bit better place than 6th based on everyone’s performance. 
Now we work
on what we have learned and make Sebring as good as possible.”

Pascal Wehrlein, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“First of all, thanks to everyone involved for this opportunity. It was a long, 24-hour race,
a lot of fun, and a lot of driving. Each time I was in the car, it improved. Racing at night
is pretty cool and something I had not done before. I had a lot of good fights and at the
end we finished in P6. The car was reliable, which was great. Only a couple of issues
which I think hurt a bit of our performance, but nevertheless, for me, it was a great
experience. I want to thank everyone on the team for this opportunity. It was great.“

Bryce Aron, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“I liked this a lot. This was many new experiences for me. I want to thank everyone at
JDC-Miller. It’s been an awesome time getting up to speed in the GTP car and for the
first time doing an endurance race and racing at night. Really enjoyed the challenge
and the race. A very special experience. Thanks to the team and my teammates for all
their help in making it so special. Hope to do it again in the future.”