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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.”
SAVAGE, Minn. (January 23, 2025). JDC-Miller MotorSports driver Gianmaria Bruni
qualified the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 GTP from the 5th position for the 63rd
running of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
It was a very challenging qualifying session for the Italian driver due to very brisk and
blustery 49° F (9°C) weather conditions and the short 15 minute qualifying session. The
session was further shortened by a red flag just as the tires on Bruni’s No. 85 Porsche
were coming up to temperature. When the session resumed, Bruni skillfully used just
two laps to bring his tires up to tempersture and used his remaining single lap to set the
5th place time, which was just .479 seconds off the pole position.
With qualifying behind them, the confident team shifts its focus to final preparations for
the 24 hour race. Bruni will be joined by Dutch driver Tijmen van der Helm, German
Pascal Wehrlein, and American Bryce Aron.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“We would have loved to have a little more time in the session as things were really
coming together to put up a really good laptime when the red flag came out. It is a bit
frustrating to spend a lot of the session trying to get temperature into the tires. We are
really happy with P5 but had a few more spots in our sights the whole session. Gimmi
was outstanding at getting the most possible from his cold tires. We think this starting
position reflects how competitive we are currently and will be in the race.”
Gianmaria, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
It was very cold! I think we had a good qualifying. We had to do the best we could in
short time we had after the red flag. The team did a really, really, good job to prepare
the car. I think it was a good lap, very close to the top four cars. We are ready now for
the important part – the race on Saturday and especially Sunday.
I’m really happy to to be racing in America with JDC-Miller MotorSports and can’t wait to
start this race and to race all season with this team.”
January 23, 2025
From www.monacoincrease.com
Monaco Increase Management’s Formula E World Champion Pascal Wehrlein is embarking upon a fascinating new stage of his successful racing career this weekend in the 63rd edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona, the iconic endurance race taking place at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
Porsche factory driver Wehrlein, who is currently in the middle of defending his Formula E title after two rounds of the all-electric series, has teamed up with the Minnesota-based US racing squad JDC-Miller Motorsports for his endurance racing debut in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, one of the toughest and most prestigious sportscar races in the world.
After F3, DTM touring cars (a title he won in 2015), two years in Formula 1 with Manor and Sauber, five seasons as factory Porsche driver in Formula E, the 30-year-old German is now dovetailing the electric championship with the occasional sportscar race.
This weekend he will be at the wheel of the #85 Porsche 963 LMDh in the IMSA GTP category, a car he has piloted once before as official Porsche driver, during a collective development test at Sebring in 2022. His teammates in this new adventure will be the experienced Italian GT and endurance racing ‘veteran’ Gianmaria Bruni, Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm and American Bryce Aron.
Wehrlein, who drove the car, affectionately nicknamed ‘Yellow Submarine’, for the first time in December and also put in more useful mileage in last weekend’s pre-race ‘ROAR before the 24’ test session, will start from fifth place on the grid for Saturday’s race after designated driver Bruni lapped in today’s 15-minute Qualifying with a time of 1m34.374s.
With the starting-grid now locked in, Pascal will have three more Free Practice sessions to familiarize himself with the #85 Porsche 963 before the race gets underway at 1.40 pm (Eastern Time) / 19.40 (CET) on Saturday 25 January.
Photos: Courtesy of Porsche
January 22, 2025
From www.monacoincrease.com
With one day to go before qualifying gets underway at Daytona for the opening round of the WeatherTech IMSA SportsCar Championship, the Florida circuit is a hive of activity as the drivers prepare for the iconic 24-Hour endurance race.
As well as exchanging information about the race, in which they will make their debut in the #85 Porsche 963 LMDh GTP machine, Pascal Wehrlein and Gianmaria Bruni – two of the drivers in the four-strong JDC-Miller MotorSports team – have a particular connection that ties them to the Monaco-based MIM driver management company.
The manager of the 30-year-old German, 2024 Formula E World Champion and factory Porsche driver, is of course the CEO of MIM, Salvatore Gandolfo, while the 43-year-old Gianmaria ‘Gimmi’ Bruni is an ‘old’ acquaintance and friend of Gandolfo.
The two Italians have in fact known each other since 1997, when Bruni was starting his racing career in Italian Formula Renault Campus, a title he won the following year, and when ‘Gandi’ was the CEO of Spain’s famous Campos Racing Team.
Over the years, Bruni has constructed a stellar career in all categories of motorsport ranging from Formula 3 and Formula 3000, a year in Formula 1 with Minardi in 2004, to international GT and Endurance racing – which includes three class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
For his IMSA SportsCar rookie debut therefore, Pascal – who like Bruni can also boast a short spell in F1 on his racing CV – now teams up with Bruni, factory Porsche driver for the last eight years, who joined the private JDC-Miller Motorsports team for a full season of IMSA racing in 2025 after the German manufacturer dropped several drivers from its line-up in December.
Bruni’s most recent experience with the Porsche 963 was last year when he campaigned the customer team Proton Competition entry in IMSA, finishing ninth overall, while this year Wehrlein is aiming to dovetail the defence of his Formula E title with the occasional select endurance race, starting with the Daytona 24 Hours.
This weekend, the reigning Formula E World Champion and the experienced Bruni will be flanked in the JDC squad by the other full-season drivers, Tijmen van der Helm from the Netherlands and American Bryce Aron.
Photos: Courtesy of Porsche
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.
From MN for St. Jude Website
In the high-octane world of motorsports, where speed and precision dominate, JDC-Miller MotorSports is accelerating toward a cause that matters more than any checkered flag. This year, the racing team has ignited a powerful partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, driven by a commitment to ending childhood cancer.
Since the inception of JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 GTP program in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship series, the team has had a close relationship with its local Porsche dealers. Porsche Minneapolis – St. Paul have also been major supporters of St. Jude. This symbiotic relationship came together when the dealership introduced the team to one of their customers who wanted to support the team but decided not to promote his business on the car to the millions of fans that globally follow the series. “He was also a St. Jude supporter, so his two passions were married together, and the St. Jude logo prominently went on the Porsche’s flanks,” explained Katie Church, JDC-Miller MotorSports operations manager.
By aligning with St. Jude, the sponsor not only supported the team but also contributed to a cause close to his heart. That was the starting indicator for the JDC-Miller MotorSports team to go from 0 to 206 mph with their commitment to St. Jude and its lifesaving mission: Finding cures. Saving children.®
“St. Jude is a powerful brand with a mission that resonates deeply with us,” Roger Johnson, partner relationships manager at JDC-Miller MotorSports explained. “Everyone we talk to knows St. Jude and appreciates the incredible work they do. A day doesn’t go by when someone in the paddock doesn’t comment ‘that’s cool’ when they see St. Jude on the side of the car. The JDC-Miller MotorSports team is very much a family, and we appreciate how St. Jude supports the whole family.”
When an opportunity came up to host a patient family at the Road America race, the JDC-Miller MotorSports team extended its family to St. Jude patient Colton, his mom and his sister.The entire IMSA community, as well as Porsche, embraced this effort, from Colton being greeted by IMSA President John Doonan to his mom, Colleen, going for a ride around the track in a Porsche 911 GTS.
Colton, a St. Jude patient and racing fan, became a part of the racing team. He stood with the crew for the national anthem and flyover, handed out St. Jude autograph cards and joined the team behind the scenes. Now a healthy 10-year-old, Colton’s presence on race day was a heartwarming reminder of why the team’s efforts matter.
“Colton’s mom, Colleen, shared his story with us, and I can’t imagine having a 17-month-old with a brain tumor,” said Roger. “With the support of St. Jude, she didn’t have to worry about paying for treatment, travel, housing or food. She was able to focus on the one thing that mattered – getting her son healthy.”
“We ran three different cars that weekend and one finished on the podium,” said Roger. “Colton joined our team in Victory Circle to experience the celebration and was gifted the champagne-soaked Michelin hat as a memento of his visit to Victory Circle.” JDC driver Tijmen van der Helm signed the driving gloves he wore in the race and sent them home with Colton as well.
The team’s commitment extended beyond the track. A remarkable fundraising effort at the shop included a silent auction, a pit stop demonstration, technical presentations of the unique hybrid-powered Porsche 963 GTP and opportunities for fans to join the JDC-Miller team for the St. Jude Walk/Run. The initiative has evolved rapidly, gaining significant traction and showcasing how passion for racing can drive substantial support for St. Jude.
Although the JDC-Miller team may be small, it has a global reach. “Our drivers are from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands,” said Katie. With St. Jude’s efforts toward ending childhood cancer globally, the connection to supporting all kids and families around the world is one that JDC-Miller MotorSports is passionate about. “We are known as the ‘little engine that could’ in the racing community,” laughed Katie. “We are small but mighty, and we’re excited to continue to support St. Jude and kids like Colton.”
As the partnership continues to grow, it’s clear that the synergy between JDC-Miller MotorSports and St. Jude is about more than just racing. It’s about harnessing the energy and visibility of motorsports to fuel the fight against childhood cancer.
“Now, we are inviting others to showcase their support for St. Jude on our car through sticker donations,” said Katie.
With donations to St. Jude, donors receive a customized LOVE RACING. STOP CANCER. sticker with an opportunity to add their message and be showcased at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race on September 22, 2024. “Indy is a six-hour endurance race where speeds approach 200 mph,” said Roger. We’re excited to bring St. Jude donors to Indy and take their message for a ride. A fun way for everyone to contribute and raise awareness for the St. Jude mission.”
The race will be carried on Peacock from 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. CT with the final three hours on NBC.
As JDC-Miller MotorSports races towards a future where childhood cancer is a thing of the past, their dedication to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital remains unwavering. This collaboration is a reminder that in the pursuit of greatness, the greatest victories are those that make a difference in the lives of children and their families.
Join the JDC-Miller MotorSports team in supporting the kids and St. Jude, as they aim to raise $85,000 in honor of their car number 85 by visiting stjude.org/jdc.
