Porsche leads the GTP standings together with Acura after two races in the 2024 IMSA season – the brand finished third at Sebring, BMW was unlucky
The German brands Porsche and BMW competed in the GTP class of the IMSA series at the 24 Hours of Sebring with their LMDh cars. While Porsche was at least able to make a mark in the first half of the race and finished on the podium, BMW had to settle for fourth place. Porsche and Acura share first place in the overall standings after two races of the season
Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell and Felipe Nasr were able to collect at least a few leading laps in an exciting and action-packed race, even though the race was dominated by Cadillac and Acura for long stretches. After a heavy crash of the Action Express Cadillac in the second half of the race, Acura took command and won the race ahead of the 40 Andretti-Taylor-Acura of Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta and Jordan Taylor. Both teams have collected 706 points so far. In the Endurance Cup, the Porsche is just one point behind the Action Express Cadillac in second place.
Porsche satisfied with race overall
The second Penske works Porsche was involved in an incident during the race. Frederic Makowiecki touched a GT car and suffered a puncture. He had to tow the car back to the pits at a snail’s pace for almost the entire six kilometers. The result was a two-lap deficit that was impossible to make up. In the end, Makowiecki, Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet finished in ninth place. The customer Porsches from Proton and JDC-Miller finished eighth and eleventh.
“That was a hard-fought podium finish for our Porsche Penske Motorsport works team,” summarized Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “Congratulations to Acura. They had the fastest car in the decisive final phase. We couldn’t quite keep up with the pace of the leaders in the cooler temperatures towards the end of the race. We now have to analyze this and draw the appropriate conclusions for the next races.”
Campbell says: “After winning at Daytona, third place at Sebring – it could hardly be better. We got the maximum out of what was a difficult weekend for us. Although we were a bit slower than the competition over long stretches today, we scored a lot of points. That was hard work. In today’s conditions, third place is a success we can be proud of. “
BMW narrowly misses out on the podium
Makowiecki, meanwhile, struggled with the driving style of Gradient driver Sheena Monk, with whom he collided in the race: “I didn’t know which side of the track she wanted to drive on. I pulled to the inside, then there was a big bump on the left side. That was probably the cause of the puncture a little later. This incident robbed us of all our chances – what a shame.”
Although BMW narrowly missed out on the podium in Sebring, it nevertheless drew many positive conclusions from the endurance race in Central Florida. The mogul track is a great challenge for man and machine every year, so it is not a matter of course to even see the chequered flag. BMW continued the good trend with fourth place in the GTP class
It was the BMW M Hybrid V8 with starting number 25 that was able to keep up with the leading group for long stretches, even if the pace would probably not have been enough for a race win under its own steam. Nevertheless, BMW collected leading laps, but a place on the podium was not possible for Nick Yelloly, Maxime Martin and Connor De Phillippi. The sister car 24 with Jesse Krohn, Philipp Eng and Augusto Farfus suffered a puncture and damage to the rear wing during the race, but sixth place brought important points to the Bavarians’ account.
The voices from BMW
Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, says: “Our BMW M Hybrid V8 showed in the race that it has the right pace. In the end, we were a bit unlucky with the timing of one of the final caution phases, as it brought some of our rivals back into the fight for the lead. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the podium in the end, but it’s good to see that our hard work since Daytona has paid off and we were able to significantly improve both the performance and the durability of the car.”
Martin was also satisfied after an exciting race: “We showed good potential, but unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough for the podium. We had a clean race and it’s obviously annoying not to be the first team on the podium. My first Sebring race in the top category was a great experience. It feels good to be able to fight for overall victory in a race like this. The track is tough, but it was fun. “
