Photo credit: Porsche
AO Racing used strategy to finish fifth on Sunday in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship action, leading the Porsche contingent. The two-hour, 40-minute race opened with multiple drive-through penalties for contact. After staying clear early, the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R was assessed a drive-through with two hours remaining, prompting a switch in approach. The team extended its first stint and became the last car to make a full-service stop. Klaus Bachler cycled to the lead while others pitted, then handed to Laurin Heinrich with one hour, 36 minutes to go. A shorter second stop under caution with slightly less than an hour remaining moved Heinrich to fifth in GTD Pro and overall, where he held to the flag.
Wright Motorsports charged late for seventh in GTD. Adam Adelson ran a clean opening stint before Elliott Skeer took over the green No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Restarting 12th with less than 30 minutes left, Skeer gained five spots to secure seventh. He described it as “a tale of two stints,” noting the team missed a yellow while stretching its first run, then recovered to the top seven.
Photo credit: Porsche
Porsche customer programs also delivered results on Saturday. RS1 earned its third Michelin Pilot Challenge GS win of the season with the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport as Jan Heylen and Luca Mars extended their points lead. Early contact dropped Mars down the order, but strategy brought the car back into contention. Heylen restarted second with slightly less than 15 minutes to go, took the lead in Turn 1, and held to the finish. With two races left in 2025, the pair leads by 240 points. Adelson, pulling double duty, finished second in the GTDX class across three VP Racing SportsCar Championship sprints and stretched his championship lead to 210 points with two rounds remaining.
Post-race, Bachler said fifth was the maximum on the day and praised the team’s pit work, while acknowledging lost points in the title fight. Skeer highlighted the late run from 12th to seventh. Jan Heylen said the team “needed a good result and we got it,” crediting pace and execution.
Official results listed Garcia and Sims in the No. 3 Chevrolet as GTD Pro winners after 81 laps, with Costa and Altoe’s No. 81 Ferrari second by 1.070 seconds and Milner and Catsburg third in the No. 4 Chevrolet at 5.036 seconds. Heinrich and Bachler finished fifth in the No. 77 Porsche, 10.123 seconds back. In GTD, Ward and Ellis won in the No. 57 Mercedes after 81 laps, Triarsi and Koch’s No. 21 Ferrari finished 1.078 seconds behind, and Gamble and Stevenson took third in the No. 27 Aston Martin at 2.611 seconds. Adelson and Skeer finished seventh, 7.640 seconds adrift. The GTD Pro and GTD fields will rejoin GTP for the six-hour Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta to close the season.