LONG BEACH — Small mistakes meant big consequences on Saturday.
Ricky Taylor went for the win but ended up in the wall, and Mathieu Jaminet raced to the checkered flag at the IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix of Long Beach.
“In the end, if I was him I think I do the same,” Jaminet said. “With two (laps) to go you have to go. It’s not every day you have a chance at Long Beach, and fortunately it worked out for us.”
Taylor used the day’s quickest pit stop to push for the lead, and after jumping into second place on Lap 69, was on the tail of Jaminet’s No. 6 Porsche 963 in the final 2 minutes of the 100-minute race.
“I saw him closing and I thought, ‘Here we go,’” Jaminet said. “He was close and I tried to do no mistakes.”
Jaminet did not hold off Taylor, who swung inside on Turn 1 on Lap 75 but was unable to correct his No. 10 Acura ARX-06 before slamming into the tire barrier as Jaminet throttled past.
“I kind of saw it coming. He had fresh tires and it made sense that with 2 minutes left that he would go for it,” Jaminet said. “I saw him lock up his brakes and get in the fence, and I just went through.”
Jaminet cruised to the finish for his first IMSA victory of the season, teaming with Nick Tandy to win by 0.903 seconds. It’s the first victory for the Porsche 963 anywhere in the world.
“To get a result and get some trophies is amazing and a testament to the hard work across the globe,” Tandy said. “We wanted to do something different and we made some great decisions because they paid off.”
Nick Yelloly and Connor De Phillippi finished second in their BMW M Hybrid V8 in the GTP class. Felipe Nasr and Matt Campbell were third, giving Porsche two Top-3 finishers.
“To come here and get a podium place feels quite nice, I have to say,” Yelloly said. “Connor, in the last little bit (of the race), gave everything.”
Taylor’s teammate, Filipe Albuquerque, won the pole on Friday in 1 minute, 9.909 seconds, and after…
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