JDC-Miller Has “Better Grasp” on Porsche One Year After Debut

Photo: Gruppe C Photography/Porsche

JDC-Miller Motorsports has a “better grasp” on the Porsche 963 one year after making its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class debut at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca according to team principal John Church.

The Minnesota-based team became the second Porsche LMDh customer, and first in the WeatherTech Championship, 12 months ago at the Motul Monterey Course de Monterey presented by Hyundai N, when its bright yellow Porsche broke cover for drivers Mike Rockenfeller and Tijmen van der Helm.

Rockenfeller and van der Helm combined to score a seventh place finish in that race, with the pair having went on to score a pair of fourth place finishes in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

This season, van der Helm has teamed up with Richard Westbrook in the No. 85 Porsche, in what Church said has been a much more prepared position, especially in its return to Laguna Seca one year on from its debut.

“There’s a lot of things that you worry about going into [a new program] that suddenly are not a worry now and probably never should have been,” Church told Sportscar365.

“It’s maybe like buying your first house an you’re thinking, ‘How am I going to pay for this or do this and how I’m going to do that.’

“Then you get six months into it and it’s like, ‘Oh I should have bought a bigger house. This isn’t as bad as a I thought.’

“That’s not what this is, trust me! This has only gotten more expensive as I’ve gotten into it.

“But there’s a lot of stuff going in that you were all panicked and worried about. As you learn, you realize, ‘Ok, well those aren’t a big deal.’

“It’s a super complicated [car and class]… More complicated than I think it needs to be. But I think we have a better grasp of everything, for sure right now.

“We’re way more relaxed and comfortable. We’ve encountered a lot of the problems that everybody has had at this point and we know how to react to them and we roll with it.

“It’s a lot easier now than it was a year ago for sure.”

When asked what specific areas he’s felt they’ve made the most gains, such as car setup or personnel, Church said “all of the above.”

He added: “You’re more knowledgeable, you know what things do what and how and how sensitive and you understand the sensitivities of the car now.

“You evolve how you develop the team, the car and the drivers based on that.

“It’s just like anything else. The more you know about it, the easier it becomes, and the less stuff you worry about because now you know how you’re going to get out of the weeds when you get into it.”

Church, however, stressed the level of complexity in operating a LMDh car, is something he’s still coming to grasp with.

“I’m pretty sure it’s easier to launch a space shuttle than it is to run one of these cars!” he joked.

“It’s rewarding when you get the [top five] finishes and it’s rewarding when you can make the car go fast. It’s just a matter of evolving and working on the stuff that matters and developing everything.”

Westbrook: JDC-Miller “Punching Above Our Weight”

JDC-Miller driver Westbrook, meanwhile, has praised the team for its efforts so far this season, having rejoined the organization after a year away racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing.

“I think we’ve done a really good job with the car,” Westbrook said. “I’ve got absolutely no complaints with the car. Daytona, Sebring and even Long Beach, it’s been very, very enjoyable to drive.

“The car’s been quick we just haven’t really been able to show it apart from maybe Sebring, where we were in a really good spot and we thought we had the tools to take the fight at the end of the race.

“We were definitely the quickest Porsche, that’s for sure. Unfortunately we had the problem with the rear axle that put us out of the race.

“We had some big damage in Daytona quite early on in the race that we couldn’t repair.

“We’re going into Laguna desperately needing a good result because that’s what the boys deserve. They’ve given us a really good car.

“We just want to repay them with a good result.

“The team has been great. As everyone talks about, these cars are so complicated but for a small team they’ve really got a handle on it.

“They’re doing a really good job. It was really satisfying at Sebring just seeing us outperform the two factory cars.

“I feel like we’re punching above our weight but we just haven’t gotten a result to back it up. That’s what I’m looking forward to doing at Laguna.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John