The old racing adage says your teammate is your first rival, but Felipe Nasr is taking that paradox to a whole new level this weekend at Watkins Glen International.
As the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship heads to the historic 3.4-mile, 11-turn natural terrain road course for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, the Brazilian finds himself hunting down a primary title contender who also happens to share his exact same cockpit for select endurance rounds in breakout star Laurin Heinrich.
When asked how he approaches the unique dynamic of racing against a driver who he also shares a seat with, Nasr didn’t hesitate.
“Listen, I race anyone as hard as I can and I want to compete against the best,” Nasr told Motorsport.com.
An unprecedented title fight
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre, Felipe Nasr
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images
Heinrich has set the sports car world ablaze this season. While he serves as the third driver alongside Nasr and full-season co-driver Julien Andlauer in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963 for select long-distance rounds, his primary campaign in IMSA is being contested with the privateer squad JDC-Miller MotorSports.
Thanks to an incredible upset victory with the customer team earlier this season at Laguna Seca, Heinrich has vaulted into sole possession of second place in the driver standings, shaking up the factory hierarchy. The performances also led to a reshuffling of his schedule, which originally had him missing a couple of IMSA rounds due to conflicts, such as this weekend’s Spa 24 Hours. Now, he’s sorted and primed to properly fight for the IMSA crown.
The championship picture
#31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R: Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images
As the field arrives at the New York circuit, it’s tight the margins at the top of the GTP class. Jack Aitken, driver of the #31 Cadillac V-Series.R Whelen Cadillac, leads the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with 1760 points, with Heinrich second (-144), and the combination of Andlauer and Nasr third (-154).
Although the slim 10-point margin has Heinrich ahead of his occasional co-drivers in the full season championship, the three are actually leading the Endurance Cup together after going a perfect 2-for-2 with victories at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
However, that shared harmony pauses this weekend as Heinrich suits up for the JDC-Miller team, directly threatening Nasr’s quest to maintain his stranglehold on the Endurance Cup – a crown Nasr has claimed for the previous two consecutive seasons.
High praise for the breakout apprentice
#5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963: Tijmen van der Helm, Laurin Heinrich, Kaylen Frederick
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images
For all this odd rivalry is, however, Nasr offered high praise for the young German and his full-season partner, Andlauer.
“Both Laurin and Julien, man, they have been doing a great job,” Nasr said. “They came through the ranks, Porsche juniors, now factory drivers, and they’ve been delivering. I couldn’t ask for a better start of the year.
“Seeing the success for them as well, you can see they are happy, they are achieving those goals they want to achieve as drivers. And yeah, just being at the right place at the right time. I think Laurin had the chance to show what he can do when he was at the right place at the right time.”
Nasr also isn’t “shocked” that Heinrich, occasionally contesting with a customer team utilizing an older-spec aero package, is in the fight for the title.
“No, I’m not shocked, because if you look back to our ’25 package, it’s what we won the championship with,” Nasr said. “We won Daytona last year, we won Sebring… He does a great job as a driver to profit from those opportunities. When the car is right, the time is right, he has to deliver. And I think he’s been delivering.”
Praying for rain at Watkins Glen
#7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer, Ricky Taylor
Photo by: Brandon Badraoui / Lumen via Getty Images
While the intra-Porsche battle provides plenty of theater, both camps are ultimately chasing Aitken. To close the gap, Nasr believes turning the tide this weekend will require an assist from the weather.
Having gone 2-for-2 in the endurance races so far this season, Nasr was asked if he can make it 3-for-3 at the Glen.
“I hope the rain comes this weekend, and then we’ll beat everybody again,” Nasr said.
When pressed on whether he truly feels the #7 crew needs wet weather to win, Nasr didn’t mince words regarding the car’s current standing of lacking outright pace compared to the Cadillacs.
“Oh, absolutely we need the rain because I feel we still lack speed compared to the other competitors, especially the Cadillac,” Nasr said. “When we are on our best day, best execution and performance wise, we always see this delta to them. They’re always faster, better in qualifying, better in the race than us.
“I cannot pull any more gears in my car, so that’s all I have. That’s the situation we are in right now. But I have to say, when it comes to endurance racing, Porsche Penske has been executing really well, and I’m hoping the same for this weekend. So, we’re going to bring our best game and try to beat everybody else.”
Watch: The Rolex 24 at Daytona: Precision, Perfection, and The Road To Victory (IMSA Endurance Racing)
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
