Deja vu IMSA race as Porsche Penske claims third general 2025 win

Regardless of BMW touchdown one other pole to guide the IMSA discipline to inexperienced, it is the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport with Felipe Nasr and “Mr. 24” Nick Tandy that’s once more reaping the rewards of a win — for the third straight race in a row. 

The Acura Grand Prix of Lengthy Seaside is the primary weekend on the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship schedule to alter issues up slightly, presenting a 100-minute “dash” race format, after the 36 hours of racing in Florida break up between the season opener in Daytona and the 12 hours in Sebring. With a small allotment of tires — 4 units to make use of via apply, qualifying and the weekend — tire and gasoline technique was key whereas additionally managing minimal drive occasions for the 2 drivers working for every automobile. 

Perhaps it is not a shock that Porsche Penske Motorsport has now gone three for 3 in wins this season, having discovered the “excellent” method for any on-track state of affairs, a method that may now preserve the successful #7 and #6 vehicles on the entrance. (This is also key to Roger Penske getting that long-desired Le Mans win in underneath two months’ time.)

Based on Nasr, who introduced the #7 throughout the road underneath the checkered flag, his race successful strategy got here all the way down to discovering the tempo with the automobile, and holding it. “I had a second I feel in Flip 8 the place I simply sort of misplaced the rear and saved it,” mentioned within the post-race interview. “It was stretchy on the market [and it] makes it tough to maintain the automobile in a single line — and as soon as I discovered my tempo, I simply sort of stayed there.”

The #7 and #6 Porsche GTP vehicles began the race behind the pole-sitting #24 BMW M Group RLL and its sister #25 automobile. The #6 encountered a short incident with the #93 Acura Meyer Shank w/Curb Agajanian that was temporary and did not require any motion from Race Management. However the #13 AWA Racing Corvette managed to hit the wall of Flip 8 after an ungainly dance between it and the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini,  which triggered the primary full course yellow to be waved. 

It is right here that technique performed effectively for the #7 and #6, as the vast majority of the sector outdoors of the #25 BMW and the #60 Acura pitted. This introduced each Porsche Penske vehicles to a wholesome lead within the discipline which they saved for the rest of the race with out a lot as a sneeze. 

The remainder of the GTP discipline remained largely quiet, albeit the #93 Acura concerned within the earlier talked about incident with the #6 Porsche was despatched to pit lane for repairs from the incident. The choice to not do these repairs in the course of the full course warning pit sequence compelled the automobile to the again of the sector, the place it remained, ending a lap down. And on Lap 40, the #85 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche automobile had a misunderstanding with the #27 Coronary heart Of Racing Aston Martin because it tried to take the identical racing line into Flip 6. The Aston Martin hit the #85’s aspect, inflicting it to spin to the skin of the flip, shedding its wing enroute. The incident initiated the considerably game-changing second (and ultimate) full course yellow.

In GTD, the #177 AO Racing Porsche 911 Rawr “Rexy” takes the category win with Jonny Edgar and Laurens Vanthoor. The GTD discipline additionally took benefit of the primary full course warning issued, making driver adjustments and topping off on gasoline to make it to the top of the race with none extra stops.

This primary pit cease almost units the rostrum for the top of the race. The 177, together with each Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus vehicles (the #12 and the #89) will preserve the lead in the course of the race and ending the race in that order. 

The AWA Corvette would bear repairs throughout that very same warning, that will put it a lap down when it did lastly rejoin the sector, which it was in a position to get again with that second full-course yellow. Nevertheless it wasn’t quiet sufficient, ending thirteenth within the GTD class.

However a race-defining second price speaking about after this weekend seems like a deja vu incident between a Corvette, and a BMW… this time that includes the #36 DXDT Racing Corvette with Tommy Milner behind the wheel, and the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW with driver Patrick Gallagher. Transient contact going into the hairpin within the final a part of the race left Milner with the left rear panel hanging off the DXDT Corvette. Though based on Milner, this was simply racing.

Stated Milner, “I feel he obtained blocked large time into Flip Eight and I had a pleasant run on him going into 9. I stayed near him via there after which simply was peeking round in 10. We have been robust there, I may inform already and was in fairly good place to make a tough move, no query, within the Hairpin. I believed my braking level was positive. My entry pace was okay. I feel, as is the case there, it is laborious to go two-by-two and he turned in as a result of he must. I do not suppose he did something fallacious actually. We simply made side-to-side contact and I feel we simply sort of obtained hooked collectively. I will must see video to know for positive, however that is what my feeling is.”

Race Management issued a “mechanical black flag” to the #36, which compelled the automobile to pit instantly for repairs. What began as a promising race for Milner and teammate Robert Wickens, after a sequence of mishaps in apply and qualifying this weekend, ended with the duo ending fifteenth within the class.

The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship returns for a shorter race — a 2 hour and 40 minute run time — at Laguna Seca Might 9/11.