Vanier Scored a Win and Runner-Up, Joined by Teammate Alex Sedgwick on Sunday’s Podium; JDX Racing Led Every Lap During the Doubleheader
MIAMI (May 6, 2024) – JDX Racing drivers led every lap overall and in the Pro class of Porsche Carrera Cup North America during the Miami Grand Prix doubleheader, with Zach Vanier and Alex Sedgwick taking the top two steps on the podium in Sunday’s race.
It was the first career Porsche Carrera Cup win for Vanier, who swooped to the lead from third on the grid in the opening corner and then held out for the duration of the 40-minute race in the No. 9 Technica Mining/Byers Imports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup.
Vanier had Sedgwick’s No. 98 PT Autosport/Byers Imports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on his tail and survived two additional restarts after the race was slowed for extended full-course caution periods. Sedgwick moved to the lead near the mid-point of the race, going around Vanier to take the lead, but gave the position back after exceeding track limits rather than face a penalty later.
At the finish, Vanier was just 0.282-second in front of his teammate. The win was Vanier’s first in Carrera Cup competition, and the second time in as many years that JDX Racing has boosted a pair of drivers to the podium at the Miami Grand Prix.
Sedgwick was one of those drivers on the podium a year ago, and started both races on pole this weekend. After leading every lap on Saturday and crossing the finish line first, he was given a 10-second time penalty for an improper move on the start. The penalty was contested by the team in the moment but ultimately upheld, dropping him to 15th in the official results.
He bounced back just as strong for Sunday’s race in front of the world crowd. Vanier’s move on the start dropped him to second, but he beat all but his teammate to earn his second podium in as many years at the temporary track.
Vanier crossed the stripe fourth during Saturday’s, but after all penalties were assessed came away with a second-place finish in that race as well. That was a best career finish before winning on the track on Sunday.
Those penalties elevated Elias De La Torre into the top five during Saturday’s race after he crossed the line seventh in the No. 4 HCB Yachts/iKon Boats/Byers Imports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. De La Torre started that race ninth on the grid and took advantage of his sixth-place start on Sunday to finish in the same spot.
Madeline Stewart’s No. 82 Spool Imports/Porsche Columbus Porsche 911 GT3 Cup machine was collected in a significant opening lap incident on Sunday, an unfortunate ending after a solid Saturday showing. On Saturday, Stewart started 18th on the grid and worked her way to 13th in the Pro class, her best finish so far early in her first season of Carrera Cup competition.
In all, JDX Racing leaves the Miami Grand Prix with three trophies, including the first win of the season for the team, and four total top-five finishes spread out amongst three drivers. Unofficially, the strong weekend leaves Vanier third in the point standings, with Sedgwick fifth and De La Torre in seventh after four of the 14 races. JDX Racing leaves Miami third in the team championship.
The next round of the 2024 Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship is once again with Formula One, this time north of the border at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, June 7-9. Like all races on the calendar, the Montreal rounds will be a doubleheader race weekend.
JDX Racing Quote Board
Jeremy Dale, JDX Team Principal: “This was a really great weekend for us as a team and was one tough call away from being an amazing weekend overall. Though a penalty wiped out Saturday’s win, we still led every lap of the weekend, Alex took both pole positions, and we leave here with three podiums including Sunday’s win. Everyone, including Madeline and Elias earned their best finishes of the season, and Zachary scored his first of what will be many career wins. The team, including both our crew and our partners at Byers Imports and Porsche Columbus, and our drivers have really come together and we saw that this weekend. We’ll carry that momentum to Montreal and through the season while we continue to rack up podiums and points.”
Alex Sedgwick, Driver, No. 98 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “This was a bittersweet weekend. I feel like this should have been two poles and two wins. We had the car and pace to do so, but a questionable call yesterday took a first win away after leading lights-to-flag. Sunday, I made an error at the start which allowed my teammate to get around me. We both had pace on the field, but I definitely felt I was able to get around him. We just had extremely limited racing time due to incidents. I had one shot and took it, and unfortunately ran wide and was forced to give back the position. It was a little frustrating but we know we have the potential and need to string it all together for the remaining six events this year. A huge shout out to JDX for the car and all of the ongoing work to have such a successful team weekend, and to PT Autosport for the support and our new partners STEAM Sports Foundation, Classic Car Club Manhattan and NJMP for coming on board.”
Zach Vanier, Driver, No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “I’m absolutely speechless about this one. Saturday felt like such a win in so many ways although it was only a second-place finish, so to come back Sunday and get my first win in Porsche Carrera Cup North America at the Miami Grand Prix F1 race is a feeling unlike anything else. I didn’t intend to go for the lead at the start, the intention was to slide into second and run away with Alex and sort things out at the end. The opportunity presented itself to ecome the race leader and I felt comfortable taking that opportunity which ultimately is what I believe won us the race today. I must say it was a well-executed day by everyone under the JDX Racing team but especially from Alex and myself to bring the team a one-two finish at such an awesome event. it was hard, but clean racing between teammates which I ultimately respect and appreciate. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but glad we were able to come away with the victory. it gives us a lot of confidence and momentum moving forward with the remainder of the season but especially going into my home race in a month’s time. I can’t thank the entire JDX Racing team enough for all their effort, my dad for all his support and my partners for making it happen. Now we just need to keep it rolling.”
Elias De La Torre, Driver, No. 4 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “The Miami Grand Prix weekend was a great experience with massive crowds and action-packed sessions. We ended my home race event with P5 and P6 finishes, our best weekend points haul in Carrera Cup. It was quite a dramatic weekend with most of the time under safety car conditions, but we learned a lot from the data we gathered throughout the sessions we had and will utilize that information to improve our pace another step at the next race.”
Madeline Stewart, Driver, No. 82 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup: “Miami was a very mixed bag for me, but it was a fantastic event to be a part of. It was my first time at a street circuit and I felt like I learned the track quite well in our two 30-minute practice sessions. The red flags in qualifying worked against me but the team did a great job to change tires quickly and get us out for a one-lap dash at the end of th esession. I had a really solid first race moving forward a couple of positions but unfortunately messed up at the start of the second race to end my race early. I’m looking forward to building on what I learned at Miami to have an even better weekend at Montreal. It was really great to see the team have so much success over the weekend, so I’m very proud of the whole JDX Racing team.”
About JDX Racing:
Founded in 2008 and based outside of Denver, CO, JDX Racing represents the very best in professional motorsports. Competing in the IMSA sports car series, JDX Racing campaigns cars in events throughout North America. JDX Racing features world-class drivers, outstanding crew members and dynamic marketers from Champ Car, IndyCar, NASCAR, ALMS and the Champ Car Atlantic Championship series. For more information, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/jdxracing, on Twitter @JDXRACING and on Instagram @jdxracing.
