JDC–Miller MotorSports is a sports car racing team that currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.[1] The team currently fields the No. 85 Porsche 963 full-time for Tijmen van der Helm and Laurin Heinrich in the GTP class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.[2] JDC-Miller also runs the No. 17 Unitronic/Liqui Moly Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport full-time for Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor in the GS class in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series.[3]
In June 2022, Porsche confirmed that JDC–Miller MotorSports would field a new Porsche 963 prototype race car as the first customer entry for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class.[4]
History
The team was founded in 1994 by John Church and Gerry Kraut. The first major trophy was winning the 2007 Star Mazda Championship with American driver Dane Cameron. The performance was not repeated in 2008, when the American racing driver Joel Miller finished the season only on the 2nd place. JDC MotorSports won its second drivers' title in the 2009 season, when British racing driver Adam Christodoulou won the championship.[5] Also in 2009, JDC MotorSports won the championship in the F2000 Championship Series through American racing driver Chris Miller. In 2011, Frenchman Tristan Vautier won the Star Mazda Championship, receiving a scholarship that later allowed him to advance in 2012 Indy Lights, in the Road to Indy program.[6] The 2012 season brings another runner-up title in this competition through Colombian racing driver Gabby Chaves.
In 2014, the JDC-Miller MotorSports made its debut in the new competition, United SportsCar Championship, which resulted from the merger of Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series. At the first participation in this competition, the best result was the 3rd place in the race from Road America to the Prototype Challenge class. The main race drivers this season were Chris Miller and Stephen Simpson.[7] In the 2015 season, the team finished three times on the podium, in the race at The Raceway on Belle Isle they finished in 2nd place, and in the 24-hour races at Daytona and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park they finished in 3rd place. Races were Mikhail Goikhberg, Chris Miller, Rusty Mitchell and Stephen Simpson. In the third season of this competition, with the name change in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the JDC-Miller MotorSports achieves its first major victories, winning the 24-hour race at Daytona[8][9] and Long Beach Street Circuit,[10] finishing at the end of the season in position third in the general classification with pilots Mikhail Goikhberg and Stephen Simpson in the 2016 Prototype Challenge class.[11]
In the 2017 season, the team moved to the Prototype class, Mikhail Goikhberg and Stephen Simpson finished 2nd in Watkins Glen International and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, finishing 4th overall. The 2018 season brings another premiere within the team, being the first time they line up two cars at the start.[12] In the no. 85 car, the full season racing drivers were the American Robert Alon[13] and the Swiss Simon Trummer, and in the no. 99 car were Mikhail Goikhberg and Stephen Simpson, the latter bringing the only victory of the season and the first in the Prototype class in round of the Watkins Glen International.[14] 2019 was the most modest season for the team.[15] Stephen Simpson and Simon Trummer in car number 84 and Mikhail Goikhberg and Tristan Vautier in car number 85 only had points in the 10 rounds of the season.[16]
Racing results
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
Michelin Pilot Challenge
| Year | Class | Car | Drivers | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos. | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | DAY | SEB | MOH | WGL1 | WGL2 | LIM | ELK | LGA | VIR | ATL | ||||||
| TCR | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR | Chris Miller Mikey Taylor | 17 | 1 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 6th | 2450 | |
| 2022 | DAY | SEB | LGA | MOH | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | ATL | ||||||
| TCR | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR | Chris Miller Mikey Taylor | 17 | 10 | 10th | 210 | ||||||||||
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship wins
Overall wins
| Season | Date | Classes | Track / Race | No. | Winning drivers | Chassis | Engine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2018 | July 1 | Prototype | Watkins Glen | 99 | Mikhail Goikhberg / Chris Miller / Stephen Simpson | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 |
| 2 | 2021 | March 20 | DPi | Sebring | 5 | Sébastien Bourdais / Loïc Duval / Tristan Vautier | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 |
| 3 | 2026 | May 3 | GTP | Monterey | 5 | Tijmen van der Helm / Laurin Heinrich | Porsche 963 | Porsche 4.6 L V8 |
Class wins
| Season | Date | Classes | Track / Race | No. | Winning drivers | Chassis | Engine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016 | January 30–31 | PC | Daytona | 85 | Mikhail Goikhberg / Kenton Koch / Chris Miller / Stephen Simpson | Oreca FLM09 | Chevrolet LS3 6.2L V8 |
| 2 | April 16 | PC | Long Beach | 85 | Goikhberg / Simpson | Oreca FLM09 | Chevrolet LS3 6.2L V8 |
References
- ^ JDC MotorSports. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ Dagys, John (2022-12-01). "JDC-Miller Enlists LMP3 in Place of Porsche 963 for Daytona – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
- ^ Dagys, John (January 17, 2022). "Miller, Taylor Set for Return in JDC-Miller Audi TCR". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- ^ "Porsche announces JDC-Miller as first IMSA customer prototype race team"
- ^ Star Mazda: Adam Christodoulou wins championship showdown. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ JDC MOTORSPORTS SIGNS RACE WINNER VAUTIER FOR 2011 STAR MAZDA TITLE RUN. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ JDC Miller Sebring Driver Lineup Confirmed. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ JDC Miller Motorsports Wins Class at Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ 2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona Results. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ SIMPSON SET FOR LONG BEACH STREET FEST. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ 2016 IMSA Silly Season Update 2: Prototype Challenge. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ GAINSCO Partners with JDC-Miller for New ‘Red Dragon’. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ Robert Alon Joins JDC Miller. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ Watkins Glen win gets “monkey off our back” for JDC-Miller. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ JDC-Miller Confirms Two-Car Cadillac DPi Program for 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ Vautier Moves to JDC-Miller; Barrichello for Rolex 24. Retrieved July 18, 2020.