EDGE Management driver Kaylen Frederick celebrated his first podium finish in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class after an outstanding recovery drive at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, held at the world-famous Watkins Glen International Circuit on Sunday 28 June.
Returning to the IMSA GTP paddock for the first time since the Sebring 12 Hours earlier in the season, Frederick was back behind the wheel of the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche 963, sharing driving duties with Laurin Heinrich and Tijmen van der Helm.
With three drivers sharing the car throughout the event, track time during practice was naturally limited. Having spent several months away from the championship, Frederick focused on making the most of every lap to quickly reacclimatise to the Porsche 963 and the demands of GTP competition. While he admitted it took a little time to get back into the rhythm of driving the car, he finished testing confident that both he and the team had the pace to challenge at the front.
That confidence was immediately justified in qualifying, with the JDC-Miller MotorSports entry securing fifth place on the GTP grid against fierce manufacturer opposition from Cadillac, BMW, Aston Martin and fellow Porsche entries.
The six-hour race itself presented one of the greatest challenges in endurance racing: managing heavy multi-class traffic. With GTP machinery lapping around ten seconds faster than the GTD field, negotiating slower traffic cleanly was critical throughout the race.
Unfortunately, Frederick’s stint was compromised when contact with a GTD car resulted in a puncture. The incident occurred as the GTD car moved across on the exit of the final corner onto the back straight, forcing an unscheduled pit stop. With the pit window closed, the team was only permitted to change the damaged tyre, meaning they subsequently had to make another stop once the scheduled pit window opened. The sequence dropped the Porsche 963 a lap behind the leaders.
Despite the setback, Frederick and the JDC-Miller MotorSports team produced an exceptional recovery. Demonstrating race-winning pace, Frederick fought his way back onto the lead lap before handing the car over to Heinrich for the closing stages. Heinrich and van der Helm completed the recovery by bringing the Porsche home in an outstanding third place overall in the GTP class, securing Frederick’s maiden IMSA GTP podium finish.
Reflecting on the weekend, Frederick said:
“It was fantastic to be back at Watkins Glen. I hadn’t raced here for five or six years since my junior racing days, so to come back and drive a GTP car around such an incredible circuit was really special.
“The team did a fantastic job all weekend. We had excellent pace, and even after the puncture we never gave up. To recover onto the podium after going a lap down was a brilliant effort from everyone involved.
“I’d like to thank Laurin, Tijmen, JDC-Miller MotorSports and Edge Sporting Management for making this opportunity possible. I’m already looking forward to the next round.”