6 Hours of Watkins Glen: Hour 6 (the finish)

Pit stop time for Ford.  Richard Westbrook in the lane with 58 minutes left.  He'll finish this race.  Gianmaria Bruni had to serve a penalty for passing under a local yellow.  He had to do a drive through penalty and head for the sin bin.  There was a yellow at the flag stand at the start/finish line.  Olivier Pla has been the fastest car on the road, but he had some contact with the #86 Acura.  Andy Lally passes.  That was a 50/50 deal because Pla wanted to pass, thudded the Acura and spun.  BMW in the lane.  Problems for John Edwards.  The hood is off the car.  Unbelievable.  They are so close to making things happen.  They can't catch a break!

Ford #66 is in pit lane for a scheduled stop with Joey Hand at the controls.  Hand shares with Jorg Mueller.  Rain could be coming.  What kind of out lap did Westbrook have compared to Hand's in lap.  Hand can't carry the p[ower his team mate has.  Gently, boys.  Be careful.  It's game on for the class win.  Westbrook is going for his fourth straight win at Watkins Glen, and second straight in GT Le Mans with a Ford GT.  Joao Barbosa continues to lead.  Antonio Garcia leads in the #3 Corvette but will need to stop.  Both Ford's are good to the end.  But, with the BMW of Alexander Sims and Bill Auberlen, they are going to need a splash and a dash before the end of this race.

The BMW is far thirstier than the Ford and the Chevy.  It's game over for BMW #24.  One bullet left in the gun for Bavarian Motorwerks.  Meanwhile, a slight issue for the #5 Cadillac.  The #5 is bouncing back after issues with the #10 we saw earlier at the start of this race.  Corvette #3 is in the lane.  Antonio Garcia trundles down the lane and brings it to the marks.  New Michelin tires and fuel.  Corvette is only six points ahead of the Ford duo.  Rain is Corvette's only hope.  But it does not look to be coming.  Well, hang on.  There are sprinkles.

If we get some drizzle, that could help BMW with saving fuel.  There are sprinkles on the camera.  As they say, "it is getting curiouser and curiouser".  Will the rain play a role?  The weather looks pleasant.  But there's dark clouds, and rain out there.  Put up the umbrellas.  One of the ESM cars is slow and it's Pippo Derani in the #2 car.  Derani is tryi8ng to movr over so he does not impede traffic.  It could give a position to Ricky Taylor in the #10 Cadillac.  This could bring the caution flag out.  The #5 Cadillac dives for pit lane.  Good strategy call by these boys.

Fuel and tires for the #5.  #85 is also in the lane.  Joao Barbosa has won the 6 Hours of the Glen before.  Can he do so again?  He has to focus forward and go for it.  ESM says Pippo Derani's throttle isn't working.  It's a fly by wire system.  Oh!  Acura #86 also has problems!  Jeff Segal is stopped.  A full course yellow has lifted the spirits of BMW!  Wow!  Everyone going for slick tires.  The rain just might pass us by.  The #38 Prototype Challenge car has lost the use of it's air jacks.  So, they have a quick lft jack.  Kyle Masson is at the wheel of it.  He won both Prototype Challenge races, one in a deluge of rain.

Something has broken on the right front of the #86 car.  There is a shock damper or something that broke as the car is not tracking in a straight line whatsoever.  The angle of the front wheel, where it gets bumped, it can really mess things up.  This is game over for the #86 racer.  Pit lane is busy with just a half hour to go.  Olivier Pla is waitring on fuel.  The trouble is with the car, not the fueling rig.  He's got the pace, laying down a new track record at 1:33.493.  He's going to have to slice through traffic in the final half hour.  Lots to play for.  BMW vs. Ford for GTLM honors.  The BMW M6 GT is on older tires.  Andy Lally and the #93 Acura NSX leads GT Daytona.  This will be a battle royal to the end.

25 minutes left.  We have been under yellow, but now, we will go back to green and Gianmaria Bruni in the #912 Porsche is back up at the sharp end.  The fight to the finish isa go!  On the inside, Simpson passes Barbosa!  Westbrook is going for Sims in GTLM!  JDC Miller doesn't need tires.  Alex Sims is fighting back, and Gianmaria Bruni is coming.  Here comes one of the Corvett'es.  This is battle for third.  Bruni and Joey Hand do not like each other.  Bruni took Hand out at Sebring a few years back.  Hand is in trouble.  His tires are fading.  The #3 Corvette goes by.  Alex Sims is there, and Gianmaria Bruni is coming as Pilet tries the Ford.  Hand has major issues.  Olivier Pla threads the needle.  He's coming, fast!

In GT Daytona, Andy Lally leads over Alessandro Balzan.  Jens Klingman is third in class.  Wow.  Right behind Klingman is Lawson Aschenbach in the Audi.  Hand got junk on his tires after Bruni passed him.  It's crunch time with 20 minutes to go.  Hand is driving an evil handling race car.  He has no handling.  He's weaving around, scrubbing junk off his tires.  Oh my.  Porsche #911 is a lap down.  Westbrook is going for his fourth win at Watkins Glen and second in GTLM here.  Bruni ran here, at Road America, and at Vallelunga in Italy.

Antonio Garcia is fourth in class.  Sims is 6/10ths faster than the Ford GT.  Things might heat up as a couple cars blow the chicane, we're headed to the climax of this one.  It's going to be a doozy!  The Taylor brothers' streak is at an end, but they will be tied in the modern era with Tom Kristensen for five straight wins in American sports car racing in the opening races of a season.  Less than 15 minutes now remain.  Hand got pickup on his tires which makes you think you have a puncture even if you don't.  Hand is starting to move up again.  Andy Lally has to be grateful to Jeroen Bleekemolen.  Bleekemolen is actually giving Lally a break, forcing Alessandro Balzan to trash his tires.

Shane van Gusbergen currently leads the Australian Supercars championship and is also an accomplished endurance racer.  Stephen Simpson is fast in a straight line, but with lapped traffic, it won't have enough to get by the big V8 Cadillac.  Action Express came into this race, 30 points behind.  Will they win and gain anything?  Barbosa is closing up on Stephen Simpson and he has a big run!  Simpson defends.  Oooh!.  They touch.  Barbosa on the high side.  This is a fight.  Barbosa sweeps through, using the Stevenson Audi as apick!  There's a seam in the road that catches the undertray on the car and causes some smoke.

Barbosa is balked and here comes Simpson!  Wow!  Great racing for the lead.  This race isn't done and dusted just yet.  Simpson has not been able to answer Barbosa without traffic.  Alexander Sims is stretching his lead over Richard Westbrook in GT Le Mans.  Gianmaria Bruni is settled into the front of GTLM as the new boy for Porsche.  Andy Lally leads GT Daytona over Alessandro Balzan.  The #57 Audi is in the lane for a flat left rear tire, out of fourth in GTD.  Too bad.  Does Balzan have enough steam to catch Lally?

Are the BMW's in trouble on their fuel?  Hmmm.  There are some flames coming from the rear of the Acura, and Porsche has a left rear tire issue.  They have dropped down and they can't quite get to the checkered flag.  Racing is a tough, fickle sport.  Richard Westbrook wants his fourth straight win at The Glen.  He's taking time out of Alex Sims.  Simpson was chasing Barbosa, but no dice as he's blocked by a GTD car.  We are headed for the final lap.  The #93 Acura will be OK.  Sims is back into his rhythm.  This is it.  Who will win the 6 Hours of the Glen?

White flag.  One lap left at the 6 Hours of the Glen.  What a change of fortun for Acura.  They are going to win in class for two in a row!  Joao Barbosa will win the fourth race in six tries here at Watkins Glen.  Cadillac wins at The Glen!  BMW wins GT Le Mans.  GT Daytona is won by Acura for the second race in a row!  Andy Lally and Katherine Legge.  Pat O'Ward, James French, and Kyle Masson, keep their perfect streak alive, winning five Prototype Challenge races in a row!

Overall/Prototype: #5 Barbosa/Fittipaldi/Albuquerque     Cadillac DPi-V.R

              Prototype
              Challenge: #38 O'Ward/French/Masson               Oreca FLM Chevrolet

              GT Le Mans: #25 Auberlen/Sims                         BMW M6 GT

              GT Daytona: #93 Lally/Legge                               Acura NSX GT3

So, round three of four in the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup is in the books.  The final event is also the finale of the 2017 IWSC season, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, in October.  As for the season in general, we are back to sprint racing, north of the border, in Canada, eh?  Next time out, we will race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (more appropriately, Mosport Park), another legendary palace of speed, coming up next Sunday.