JDC-Miller MotorSports is very pleased to announce that American driver Bryce Aron will be joining the team for the 2025 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. He fills out the driver line-up in the team’s Porsche 963 GTP of full-season drivers Tijmen van der Helm, and Gianmaria Bruni, as well as Formula E World Champion Pascal Wehrlein.
Aron is joining JDC-Miller MotorSports after a successful rookie season with the Andretti team in the Indy NXT series. In 14 starts, he achieved 2 podiums and 8 top-10 finishes in the highly competitive NXT series. The 21-year-old suburban Chicago native has enjoyed success in BRDC British F3, Euroformula Open F3, Formula Regional Oceania, and Formula Ford. He raced in British Formula Ford as part of the Team USA Scholarship program, the highlight of which being a podium in the prestigious Walter Hayes Trophy race. He brings a strong record of winning races to the team.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“We are very excited to welcome Bryce to the JDC-Miller MotorSports team. He is a highly talented young driver with a bright future, and we believe he will be an excellent addition to our team. His diverse experience makes him a perfect fit for us. I am very excited about the caliber of drivers we have for our 2025 Rolex effort.”
“I am thrilled to join JDC-Miller MotorSports and have the opportunity to race the Porsche 963 at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Competing at this level is truly a dream come true, and I am grateful for the chance to work with such a professional and successful team. I am eager to get started and contribute to the team’s success.”
JDC-Miller MotorSports is very pleased to announce the signing of Tijmen van der Helm to their driver lineup for the full IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
Van der Helm has become an integral part of the team. The young Dutch driver has competed in the team’s Porsche 963 in every IMSA WeatherTech Championship race since the car made its debut at Laguna Seca in May 2023. His impressive performance and dedication have solidified his position within the organization. He has shown consistent speed and race craft, proving to be a valuable asset to the JDC-Miller MotorSports GTP program. He will be joined by Gianmaria Bruni as they aspire to win the GTP class Championship.
Despite his youth, van der Helm possesses significant experience, having begun his career in karting before progressing through the open-wheel categories in Europe and eventually transitioning to Prototypes. He has two starts at Le Mans. The JDC-Miller MotorSports team is pleased to welcome Tijmen back for another season in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship, reflecting their confidence in his abilities and contributions to the team.
Tijmen hopes to celebrate his 21st birthday by receiving a Rolex wristwatch on the podium at Daytona.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“I’m very pleased we are able to bring Tijmen back to our GTP program. He has been with us throughout this journey, so no one is more qualified to get behind the wheel. Now in his third year with us, he knows the series, the team, and the car, which are all invaluable to achieving success. We see Tijmen as very important to our program’s development. Not just in 2025 but in future years as well, so we have entered into a multi-year agreement with him. The entire JDC-Miller MotorSports team looks forward to another year with Tijmen leading us to a championship.”
Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“I’m very happy to continue with JDC-Miller MotorSports. I have really enjoyed my time with the team so far, and I’m excited to keep working with everyone as we strive to achieve our goals with the Porsche 963. With two years of GTP experience under my belt, I’ve learned a lot from my past teammates—first with Mike Rockenfeller during our debut season, and then with Richard Westbrook in 2024. The team has made significant changes for 2025, and with the driver lineup recently announced, we have all the tools and potential needed to compete for race wins. I would like to thank John Church and the Miller family for their faith and support in bringing me back.”
JDC-Miller MotorSports is thrilled to announce the signing of accomplished Italian sports car driver Gianmaria Bruni to their driver lineup for the full 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Bruni will pilot the team’s No. 85 Porsche 963 in the highly competitive GTP class. He joins Tijmen van der Helm, who returns for his third season with the team.
Bruni brings a wealth of experience and success to JDC-Miller MotorSports. The Italian driver has 4 class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2 FIA World Endurance Championships, and a class win at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, to just highlight some of his many accomplishments. He comes to JDC-Miller MotorSports after long stints as a Ferrari factory driver and most recently as a Porsche factory driver. The past two seasons behind the wheel of a Porsche 963. All this experience makes him an extremely valuable asset to the team as they continue to develop and compete with their Porsche 963 in the top class in North American sportscar racing.
The addition of Bruni strengthens JDC-Miller MotorSports’ commitment to competing at the highest level of sports car racing in North America. The team is eager to begin the 2025 season later this month at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Further driver announcements will be made in the coming days.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Gimmi to the JDC-Miller family.” His impressive track record and deep understanding of sports car racing speak for themselves. We believe his experience and skill will be instrumental in our pursuit of success in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He and Tijmen are the pair of world-class drivers we need to compete for the championship.”
“I am very happy to be joining JDC-Miller MotorSports for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech Championship season. I spent a few days with the team at the Daytona tests in November, and I can’t wait to work with them throughout the entire IMSA championship. I am very motivated and expect to see great results. I am looking forward to working with my new teammates at Daytona and through the entire WeatherTech season.”
Pascal Wehrlein will make his Rolex 24 at Daytona debut in JDC-Miller Motorsports’ customer Porsche 963.
The reigning ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will team up with the previously confirmed Tijmen van der Helm and Bryce Aron aboard the No. 85 car for the Florida endurance classic.
Wehrlein previously tested with JDC-Miller at the IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona in November, after which he expressed a willingness to also join the team at the Rolex 24.
“I’ve always wanted to drive sports cars – that’s one of my goals as a racing driver,” said Wehrlein.
“Now I have the opportunity to prove myself there too. I’m very happy about that!
“The test drives with JDC-Miller Motorsports in mid-November went well.
“The Porsche 963 reminded me of the DTM cars of my time – I felt comfortable.
“I’m currently recovering from my accident in São Paulo. But I want to get back to full speed in January.”
The 30-year-old, who won his first Formula E title as a Porsche factory driver last season, also boasts previous experience in both Formula 1 and DTM, notably winning the championship in the latter in 2015.
Wehrlein also took part in a 36-hour endurance test with Porsche Penske Motorsport in 2022, although that at the time did not lead to any further opportunities with the factory squad.
Notably, Wehrlein’s Porsche Formula E teammate Antonio Felix da Costa will also be on the grid at Daytona, having joined Inter Europol Competition’s LMP2 lineup.
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.
Update: Due to a post-race technical infraction penalty to the No. 6, the No 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 was promoted to a 3rd place finish.
September 23, 2024
It was a rollercoaster race, culminating in their best season finish for the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 GTP at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Battle On The Bricks.
The JDC-Miller MotorSports team battled through a number of issues, which made the strong finish especially sweet. Early in the hot and humid weekend, the team struggled to find the pace needed to compete in the extremely competitive IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship GTP field. They worked late into Saturday night and gave their drivers a much-improved car for the Sunday race. Tijmen van der Helm started the race in 11th and moved up to 5th on lap 18 in very difficult mixed weather conditions. Our rain expert, Richard Westbrook, took over as the rain increased and continued the strong push. His comment was, “I’m British. I was born in the rain.” Some great strategy calls were made in the dry second half of the race, and Phil Hanson did an outstanding job of fuel-saving for an extended last stint to bring the car home 4th.
September is Child Cancer Awareness Month. The team’s Porsche 963 carried close to 50 LOVE RACING. STOP CANCER. stickers around the 2.439 mile speedway. Supporters made donations and then wrote a message on the decal which was affixed to the car for a 6 hour 200 mph ride. This effort has raised close to $35,000 with donations still coming in. Donate here.
JDC-Miller MotorSports hosted St. Jude patient Grayson, his brother Hudson, and mom Anne, on Saturday and they had a especially great time when the team’s Audi RS3 LMS had a TCR class podium finish in the Michelin Pilot Challenge race. They took the opportunity to give the bricks a kiss and went home with a Michelin hat from the podium celebration.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“Hats off the driver’s and the crew. This was a tough race. We were chasing things all weekend and everyone really stepped it up and were rewarded with our best finish of the year. We tested here last year and had a pretty good idea of what the car liked on this track. The hot and humid weather early in the weekend changed things but it came back to us on Sunday with the cooler weather. There was a tremendous amount of hard work put in this weekend so its gratifying to see a good result. Very much looking forward to a strong run at Motul Petit Le Mans.”
Richard Westbrook, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“A fantastic result, which I think everyone on the team can be proud of and thoroughly deserved. We came back from lots of issues in the race. It was really, really tough. I was out when it was really wet and, you know, it was enjoyable. Visibility was terrible. We were in the mix and then out of the mix and back in the mix, but had some really good strategy at the end get Phil back on the lead lap, which we did, and then we were in a really strong position on fuel. Really clever strategy by the team. The team really deserved a good result this weekend. It was a tough car in practice and qualifying, but everyone worked really hard so in the race we had a good car in the wet and the dry.”
Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“We had a quite difficult race weekend but very pleased with the result. We came from the back so we had some work to do. It worked out quite well. We had some small problems later on in the race, but we quickly got them sorted and could maximize the results. It is our best result of the year so there is a lot to be proud of. Really looking forward to Petit Le Mans and hopefully getting on the podium.
Phil Hanson, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“A good weekend for us. We started a bit on the back foot. Struggled early on in the weekend to get a grip on the car. The crew made a lot of changes to the set up trying to find the balance and made good steps forward for the race, which is good to see. A little bit of damage and other small issues meant that throughout the race we lost some set up. This made braking very difficult late in the race. I think that aside, we had a quite competitive car today which put us in position to capitalize on other teams’s issues and mistakes throughout the race. It was a good result for the package that we had this weekend.”
The JDC-Miller MotorSports will be racing the No. 85 Porsche 963 GTP to stop cancer at this weekend’s Battle On The Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. September is Child Cancer Awareness Month, which has an official color of yellow.
The IMSA community provided a tremendous outpouring of support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® patient Colton at Road America, so the JDC-Miller MotorSports team decided to invite St. Jude patient Grayson and his family to join their effort for the six hours of the Battle On The Bricks.
St.Jude patient Colton enjoying the fan walk at Road America.
Not only will Grayson be joining the team, but so will a couple of hundred other JDC-Miller MotorSports and St. Jude supporters who joined the LOVE RACING. STOP CANCER. campaign. The team kicked this effort off with a “team meeting” at the JDC-Miller MotorSports shop, with over 200 joining in. The meeting consisted of a Porsche 963 technical presentation, a display of the team’s freshly restored 2016 Rolex winning Prototype Challenge Oreca, and various other activities. The highlight was a couple of live pit-stop demonstrations with fan Q&A. Photos are here: St. Jude Benefit – Dropbox.
For the race, we will be placing special LOVE RACING. STOP CANCER. stickers on the Porsche 963 with a message written by the supporter. A $250 donation puts your yellow sticker on the car and a $500 donation receives a larger black and yellow sticker. Supporters are encouraged to write whatever they like for the six-hour trip around IMS. Supporters have already donated over $25,000 to St. Jude.
Want to put your name on the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963? There is still time, and we would love to have your help by inviting your friends and family to join in this important race…the race to end childhood cancer! All donations are tax-deductible and donors who make a gift of $250, $500, or more receive a customized LOVE RACING. STOP CANCER. sticker with an opportunity to add their message and be showcased at the Battle On The Bricks. (Email here if you wish to do this.) Click here to read more about the JDC-Miller MotorSports partnership and to donate today, or just go to www.stjude.org/jdc.
The race will be carried on Peacock from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT, with the final three hours on NBC.
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.
