Porsche Penske Locks Up One-Two Finish at Road America
The No. 6 Porsche Penske took its second overall and class victory of the season on Sunday night in IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America. Mathieu Jaminet asked on the final lap if he should let his teammate in the No. 7 pass as they entered the weekend in the championship lead.
Jamient would stay in front to bring home victory, increase Penske's lead in the manufacturers' championship, and chip away at the second spot in the drivers' championship, with the No. 01 of Cadillac Racing finishing in fourth behind the No. 10 of Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti.
"Obviously, you need to push, but in these situations, it's best to have your teammate behind you," Jaminet told the NBC Broadcast.
"At the same time, it's the worst," Jaminet continued. "We both want to win, and you don't want to crash with your teammate. That's why on the last lap, I was like, 'Look, it might make sense not to compromise our championship; they are leading the drivers.'"
With Ricky Taylor and No. 10 Acura ARX-06 creating a buffer between the Porsche Penskes and the top Cadillac, Jaminet was told he was allowed to hold position; if Felipe Nasr had the pass at any point, he also had the green light to take it.
Jamient finished 0.390 second in front of his teammate and 0.760 second ahead of third. Both Porsche Penskes suffered in qualifying, with the No. 6 setting the seventh-best time and the No. 7 the ninth. While the No. 7 improved during Saturday's practice periods, the No. 6 struggled through both.
An early drive-through penalty for contact with the No. 31 added to the misery for the No. 6 team, forcing them to run back through the field.
They rebounded during the race when it mattered most; Jamient was in second position when a full-course yellow came out with 1:15 remaining, and when the race restarted, Jamient only had to focus on getting past the No. 10 piloted by Taylor.
A full-course yellow set up the final 15-minute shootout; Taylor pitted the No. 10 from the lead and no GTP cars followed under the final caution, and Jamient moved to the lead.
This was the second win for the No. 6, with their first coming at Laguna Seca back in May.
When Jaminet exited the car, he was treated by his driving partner Nick Tandy and a plush zebra, which was to represent crew member Zach, who is currently battling sickness at home.
The No. 07, piloted by Nasr and Dane Cameron, entered the weekend 93 points in front of the Cadillac and 132 points ahead of their teammates in the N0. 6.
The No. 2 Autosports USA Oreca won the LMP2 class after having to be completely rebuilt before qualifying. Ben Keating would put in on the outside pole and control the majority of the race earlier before pitting from the lead and having the Autosport teammates take the class lead before Ben Hanley ultimately brought it home.
The No. 35 Conquest Racing Ferrari took the GTD Pro victory, and the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW MF took the GTD win.
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