After last weekend’s third of four races in the Michelin Endurance Cup with the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship returns to the fabled Watkins Glen International Raceway in upstate New York, this time, for a sprint race on Independence Day weekend. The strategy for this event will be entirely different as opposed to the endurance event, the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen raced last weekend. Once again, every class in the WeatherTech Championship is represented in this race. DPi with LMP2, LMP3, GT Le Mans, and GT Daytona.
It has been five days since victory. You can still see the checkered flag and
remember your victory. The fight is
brutal but the rewards are great. Now,
it is your time to try and do it again, but all glory is fleeting. Who will celebrate today? Who will find their dreams in tatters? We are about to find out. Four of the five class winners from the 6
Hours of Watkins Glen are back. There
will be fireworks on and off the track as we race on the weekend of America’s
birthday. Rain has been prevalent, and
the chance of rain is plummeting right now as the sun is setting.
We are halfway through the season. Mazda #55 and Acura #10 have been
consistent. In GT Le Mans, Corvette has
won twice already, and they want another victory. The WeatherTech Porsche show perseverance is
everything. Bill Auberlen wants to
double up on victories. Win Autosport
won the 6 Hour in LMP2 last weekend. Gar
Robinson and Riley Motorsports have won twice in LMP3. Some drivers want to rinse and repeat. It is much cooler and it is a green race
track compared to last weekend.
In Free Practice in the rain, Kevin Magnussen crashed the
#01 Ganasi Cadillac. Katherine Legge had
a big impact, and Jaret Andretti spun in the wet. Plenty of stories set to be told from here at
Watkins Glen. The field is formed up,
heating their tires behind the Cadillac safety car. Two safety cars here at Watkins Glen, leading
the prototypes and then the GT class cars.
Some of the greatest motor races have happened right here at Watkins
Glen. There are many stories to
tell. In DPi, Acura has a front row
lockout. Last weekend everyone thought
they’d win and they didn’t.
Corvette wants to win in GTLM, and Porsche and the
WeatherTech team repaired their car after a massive crash and fire. We have to look out in GT Daytona for the #14
Vasser Sullivan Lexus. Lights out on the
safety car. Time to race, now. Acura vs. Cadillac on the first two
rows. We have not had a lot of dry
racing here this weekend. Here we
go. The prototypes come up for a
start. Green flag. Go!
Good start for the #10 as Kevin Magnussen runs into Olivier Pla. GTLM/GTD start and the Corvette’s lead and
one of the Acura’s way out wide.
Corvette’s side by side through the esses for the first time. Nick Tandy wrestling the lead away from
Jordan Taylor or trying to.
It’s cool today and was in the high 90s last weekend. Kevin Magnussen was flying. Pipo Derani challenging the Mazda as the
drivers are getting their tires cleaned up.
The #10 Acura is gapping the field.
Magnussen defending from Derani and he tags Pla. Derani blocked momentarily and he goes by. Olivier Pla is on the recovery. 2 hours and 40 minutes for this race. You can’t wait and have to go now. Olivier Pla, he sits on the left side of the
car. What was his lateral
visibility? Go racing now and
regroup. Tincknell runs 1.6 seconds
behind Ricky Taylor who is making headway immediately over the rest of the
field.
No damage to either of the cars that go tangled up at the
start. Harry Tincknell, meanwhile, has
the fastest lap at 1:32.93. Tincknell
does simulator work for the FIA Formula E championship and has learned to save
fuel through that. #96 in the pit lane
with the bonnet up. Foley in the
car. They broke a gearbox at Belle Isle
and are going back to the paddock now.
Ricky Taylor has run off like a scalded cat so far. We shall see, because there is a pack of
hungry wolves chasing. Tincknell,
Derani, Magnussen. The leaders are
already working their way through the lapped traffic.
The skies are darkening over Watkins Glen. Rain is not out of the question. Taylor moves ahead of Harry Tincknell. Hot and cold, keep the performance hot in
cooler conditions. Watch fuel
mileage. The DPi cars go just shy of 40
minutes. Cut the cake into four slices
but use three pit stops. Traffic
management is also crucial. Tincknell is
moving in on Ricky Taylor. Problems for
the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura.
Traffic trouble for Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla. Pla in the car now. He has to hang tight and keep his head down.
Kevin Magnussen has moved around Pipo Derani for the time
being. Magnussen third, and Derani
fourth. The track here at Watkins Glen,
is effective for aero. Run low to the
ground and run stiff. Acura and the
Oreca chassis, built in France seem to work.
Mateo Llarene has served a drive through penalty for lining up on the
wrong side of the grid. Jaret Andretti
is the LMP3 class leader as we go onboard with Frankie Montecalvo in the #12
Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, being harried by Richard Heistand in the #39
CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8.
Madison Snow has dropped to third in the #1 Paul Miller Racing
Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
He is being chased by the #23 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin
Vantage in the hands of Roman De Angelis, the Canadian. Ben Keating leads LMP2 in the #52
PR1/Mathiasen car. The strength in
numbers in LMP2 isn’t quite there, but the battles have been there since
Sebring in qualifying between Keating and Steven Thomas in the #11 WIN
Autosport entry. Keating is moving ahead
of both Steven Thomas and Johnn Farano.
Felipe Nasr right on Kevin Magnussen’s six for third spot now. Podiums are a necessity. Wins are a necessity. Action Express has been slightly on the back
foot.
But the podium is what they are looking for. They have had poles and rebounded in the
finishes, and they are hungry. Derani
said they hoped for a wet race because they cannot extract as much more out of
the car as they could last weekend in the 6 Hours. Play the strategy card. That is what has to be done. Action Express knows how to win. Taylor and Tincknell continue their scrap for
the top spot. Here comes Tincknell down
into The Boot as the #31 is in the lane for tires and fuel. Early pit strategy for Action Express. We ride onboard with the #4 Corvette
C8.R. Meanwhile, back at the sharp end,
it appears Ricky Taylor is opening a lead on Harry Tincknell.
So, Nick Tandy has moved past Jordan Taylor. You don’t want to lose to your teammate and
so Tandy wants around Jordan Taylor and cuts right ‘round him. In qualifying, Jordan Taylor had a brilliant
lap for the pole. The #5 JDC-Miller
Motorsports Cadillac is in the lane for The French Connection, of Loic Duval
and Tristan Vautier. #31 has made a
strategy call. They may not have the
outright pace, and maybe a different strategy will be to go full chat for a
four stop race and catch a yellow flag.
Cadillac’s got one liter extra of petrol. It is odd they would be short on fuel, but
maybe the pace needs to be compromised to get to the 40-minute mark and they
did that. Maybe they can get track
position and leapfrog the rest. Kevin
Magnussen, after his Detroit win, wants to taste more champagne. His Formula 1 experience mean aggressiveness,
but it is a learning curve for him to be in a sports car. Magnussen is half a second or so faster than
Tincknell right now. In GT Daytona,
Frankie Montecalvo leads Richard Heistand as Olivier Pla is working his way to
the front, passing the GT Daytona lead battle.
DPi cars, 30 miles an hour faster than the GT Daytona machines. Watch the gray line on the outside, where the
tire clag is going to build up.
Magnussen cutting through traffic, catching up to Harry
Tincknell, running a wee bit sideways. Multiclass
racing is what sports car racing is all about as we are indeed on Independence
Day weekend. Happy 4th of
July everyone, coming up on Sunday. Dark
clouds continue to loom over the circuit especially down into The Boot. Taylor leads Tincknell and Magnussen, and
Magnussen is flashing the lights at the GT Daytona traffic. Ben Keating leads LMP2 and Jaret Andretti
leads LMP3. Compared o the 6 Hour race
last weekend, teams and drivers will be aggressive on tires, strategies and
fuel, while this race is short and will end just before sunset.
This is a race where it will be cooler. Only one Free Practice session this
weekend. Strategy is totally
different. Good tires work, and great
support is even better. Michelin is
experienced and prepared. Olivier Pla
has moved ‘round Pipo Derani for the time being. In GT Le Mans, there are multiple compounds,
while other classes have a spec tire to suit them. Harry Tincknell and company who won the 6
Hours five days ago, he is very close behind Ricky Taylor.
Frankie Montecalvo is still being monstered by Richard
Heistand and Roman De Angelis is falling behind the lead scrap. De Angelis, Aaron Telitz, and Robby Foley,
all qualified on wet tires on a drying track.
Montecalvo sharing with Zach Veach.
Roman De Angelis is closing in on both Heistand and Montecalvo hand over
fist. 155 miles an hour top speed for
GTD and 180 miles an hour for DPi. 25
miles per hour, the speed differential. Aston
Martin and The Heart of Racing don’t have the data for this circuit having not
raced here last year. Two cars are
better for data as we see the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac in the lane.
Magnussen stays in the car.
Tires and fuel for the car. He
will do a double stint. The pit lane
delta is 30 seconds. Acura #10 and Mazda
#55 both pit now. The speed they were
carrying on the in lap, was wide open.
Nose to tail to the end of the pit lane.
Mazda in first. Tincknell is
oversteering. This is the car that won
the 6 Hours last weekend. Filipe
Albuquerque will take over from Ricky Taylor in Acura #10. Those boys were third in the 6 Hour. Acura #60 pits as well recovering from their
lap one shemozzle. Dane Cameron replaces
Olivier Pla at the wheel.
Pipo Derani vs. Filipe Albuquerque. Derani is coming and makes the move on
Albuquerque for the undercut. He’s done
it. Derani leads. Rain could still be coming our way on the
radar. Pipo Derani leads the motor race
and has clear sailing at the moment.
Meanwhile Albuquerque is being monsterd for second by Harry Tincknell. Three wide and a spin there for the #54 CORE
Autosport car in LMP3. Jon Bennett loses
the tail of the car under braking. Pipo
Derani has made it happen and gone to the lead.
He is on maximum attack. Weather
or a yellow flag could help the #31 car.
It depends on if they need an extra pit stop. Filipe Albuquerque on cold tires, and Pipo
Derani tried his best to block the move.
Derani on maximum rich, run it until it conks out. The temperature has dropped ten degrees and
the rain is coming. Will the weather
throw a spanner in the works? There was
only an hour of practice in the wet. The
co-drivers are being dropped in at the deep end. Half a fuel load for the #31 while full fuel
loads on strategy for Acura and Mazda.
History shows that rain can come at one corner and be dry on all other
sections of the course.
Jarett Andretti leads LMP3 and is pitting. He is just ahead of Matt Campbell in the #79
WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 in GTLM.
Minimum drive time has been met for #36.
IndyCar driver Oliver Askew ran well at the 6 Hours and is in the
catbird seat for this race too.
Tincknell passes Filipe Albuquerque.
Matty Campbell continues chasing the two Corvette’s. Last weekened, a thud with the wall caused
major damage on that car including a fire.
Major fire damage on that car.
They elected to rebuild the car instead of using a spare chassis.
Fire can heat up and burn unseen wires and other components
on the car. A total rebuild of the
engine comparent as Franck Perera in the #19 Grasser Racing Lamborghini is in
limp home mode. Pipo Derani leads over
Harry Tincknell, last weekend’s winner.
One of the Corvette’s comes to pit lane as the battles on the road
continue. Corvette #3 is in and Jordan
Taylor will give away to Antonio Garcia, “The King of Spain”. #31 in the lane from the lead of the motor
race. Felipe Nasr on deck to drive. Regular service for Action Express. Same for the #14 Lexus as Jack Hawksworth
replaces Aaron Telitz at the controls.
Damage on the left front of the Lexus using Bear Bond, super
sticky and ten times as thick as duct tape.
Poor old Franck Perera is dead stick in the Bus Stop. Full Course Yellow could come from this. Poor old Perera nearly gets clobbered by
Antonio Garcia as we see now, the #4 Corvette C8.R in the lane. Driver change as Tommy Milner takes over from
Nick Tandy. Lexus #12 in as well. Zach Veach in, replacing Frankie Montecalvo. Pit lane is now closed.
#31 came in because of the DPi split. Felipe Nasr will have more fuel than the leaders. It will pay dividends perhaps for Whelen
Engineering/Action Express. Rain moving
in. This is going to get hairy. This looks like a typical English summer
day. The inclement weather is here. Turns one and two, dry as a bone. But the rest of the place will be
soaked. A rain tire won’t survive on the
dry pavement and the dry tire won’t survive in the rain. This is a double whammy. Look at the championship. Do you have to play it safe or can you roll
the dice?
What do you do?
Mother nature has thrown a spanner in the works here, look. The cars are coming to pit lane. What is this?
Red flag for rain on the south end and lightning to protect the corner
workers and the camera operators. The
strategy is now going to change again.
The #31 team are desperate for a good run. Now, we will wait to see if the rain lets up,
and if the lightning lets up. That’s all
we can do. The track at Watkins Glen has
an eerie silence over it with no cars running.
The aerial cameras are low on the north end of the course to
show us pictures. The weather in the
background is still there. The fans are
staying through the weather as drivers do speak to the competition and do a lot
of that with hand gestures as well as speech.
We are going to get ready to restart the race. Trouble for Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley =
shredded power steering belt. Game
over. Watkins Glen is a legendary track. 3.4 miles, 11 turns. Go into town and get a map of the original
street course. First pro road race on
August 4th, 1957. Hosted IMSA
races since the 1960s, and Formula 1 raced the United States Grand Prix here.
The Inner Loop was added to the course back in 1992. We still wait to see when this motor race
will resume. Dark clouds linger over the
speedway. Thunder in the air. Mother Nature is not pleased, and we have
seen more lightning. Zach Veach believes
he is really finding a home in IMSA learning how to drive sports cars, after an
11-year IndyCar career. Watch your
braking into turn one, and then go uphill through flowing turns toward the Bus
Stop. Take lots of curb, but you can’t
do that in a prototype. Be smooth
through the Carousel. Don’t get aggressive
into turn six.
Turn seven braking, uphill.
Small straightaway before turn eight.
Braking down the hill and running wide.
Into the last sector, there is a left hander, flat out, and the final
turn is tough. Look out for the wall and
carry speed. The Boot is amazingly
challenging and the elevation change is a huge deal here as it is at a lot of
tracks. Great flow to the circuit. The prototypes with all the grip and the
change of direction makes them like slot cars.
Aaron Telitz says that the #14 Lexus, they did not have the
race they wanted in the 6 Hours last weekend.
A yellow in the beginning of the last hour made a pig’s breakfast of
their pit stop strategy. Following other
cars through the high-speed corners, cars don’t want to follow when going
fast. However, Aaron and Jack Hawksworth
have been pushing. Drivers and crew
members are getting back to the cars. We
shall restart this motor race with an hour to go. This will be a sprint to the end.
The red flag will be coming to an end and cars will roll
where a yellow procedure will be coming up in seven or so minutes. So we will have about 45 minutes left in a
sprint to the end. Drivers are getting
buckled into their cars now. It’s going
to be a mad dash to the finish. Run to
the fridge now because you will have no time once this race resumes. Grab a sandwich and a beverage and settle in
for a wicked ending to this motor race.
Again, everyone is being buckled into the driver’s seat so we can finish
this motor race. Turn one is dry. The camera operators for NBC Sports Network
have not been called to the scissor lifts just yet.
There’s dampness on the fixed position cameras we can see in
the Inner Loop. At the far end, with
another fixed camera from the exit of the Bus Stop down into The Boot, it
starts to slicken up big style. It’s wet
from the toe of The Boot into turn eight.
Six to eight are going to be squeaky indeed. 49 minutes and counting before this motor
race is done and dusted. It’s squeaky
window time here. Drivers on a survey
lap. Watch through The Carousel, down
into The Boot under Full Course Yellow, standard yellow.
The pit lane should be open for the prototypes next time
by. Will there be more rain? We will have to find out. There’s standing water. 47 minutes on the board. The Mazda boys had a half a fuel load. Tirs are now the strategy. Mazda #55, Acura #10, and Cadillac #01 all in
the lane for slicks, and so is the #60 Acura.
Dry tires the rule of the day.
Cadillac #31 for Action Express pitted as well. Once again, the downhill part of the circuit
is still as slick as ice. The #60 Meyer
Shank Racing Acura has spare bodywork prepared.
We will see where that goes.
Here. We are pnboard with #60. A
couple GTLM cars, Corvette #3 and Porsche #79 hit the pit lane. The #55 lost it in a straight line into the
braking zone, and Oliver Jarvis, rotates.
He was trying to accelerate off the corner at low speed and still looped
it. Cold slicks on damp track, this is
why these chaps earn their money for these races. #60 added downforce, changing the nose and
the rear tail. In the lap one incident,
they damaged the floor. These cars are
very sensitive with the flat bottom on the underside of the race car. 40 minutes or less left.
More dark clouds on the way.
Lights out on the safety car and we are set to go back to green! This is going to be huge after a 45 minute 47
second red flag. Just over 30 minutes
now remaining. The DPi boys should be
good to go to the end. Nasr leads the
motor race over Albuquerque and Vautier.
Green flag in the air and Felipe Nasr leads the motor race. This is treacherous. Dry in turns one and two and then we see the
wet.
Side by side battle for the P2 lead between #11 and
#52. How hard do you push? What do you do? It’s still damp. Will higher downforce pay dividends for the
#60 Acura? Nasr is gapping Felipe
Albuquerque. We have debris on the road
and that looks like a piece of the Lexus.
Full Course Yellow! Deary me! Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz need to make
wins happen as do Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr in the #31. The desperation level for those down the
order gets to be stressful. So many
adjectives describe it, but the laces of The Boot and the toe of The Boot,
those are the trouble places. Calamity
corner!
Mikkel Jensen is trying the damp line if there is one,
aboard the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsport car.
Felipe Nase laying back from the safety car. Go!
Here comes Tristan Vautier, screaming past Filipe Albuquerque! Albuquerque wants by and is on the high
side. Vautier hangs on by the skin of
his teeth and here comes Oliver Jarvis in the #55 Mazda. Albuquerque is struggling. By going defensive he gets on the damp and
here comes Jarvis!
Renger van der Zande tries Jarvis but no. The wolves are hungry. Renger van der Zande slings past the
Mazda! Damage to the #01 left front dive
plane. Nasr leads over Vautier. The track is not back up to full on grip
yet. Dane Cameron is now making inroads
on Tincknell and here comes van der Zande past Vautier! More dark clouds on the horizon. Felipe Nasr is stretching his lead over
Renger van der Zande by van der Zande is coming fast. Go to the whip! Push it, push it, push it! The lap times will begin to fall. Jack Hawksworth leads GTD IN Lexus #14 over
the sister car #12 in the hands of Zach Veach.
Nasr, van der Zande, Vautier. This is the top three. Lexus 1-2 in GTD as Ross Gunn in the Aston
Martin is chasing hard. 22 minutes on
the board. Hawksworth lamenting his
missing chunk of left front fender, and the team says that they are seven miles
an hour down. One of the LMP3 cars,
Rasmus Lindh in the #38 LMP3 Performance Tech cars and the #3 Corvette C8.R of
Antonio Garcia leads the sister car.
There was a touch there of Rasmus Lindh gets rotated by Colin Braun.
Lindh did that to himelf there. The LMP3 battle is hot. In LMP2 meanwhile, Mikkel Jensen races ahead,
a long way ahead of both Gabriel Aubry and Steven Thomas. Mikkel Jensen has been nominated along with
Kevin Magnussen for the Peugeot Hypercar program in the FIA World Endurance
Championship. In LMP3, Felipe Fraga
leads the sister car of Dylan Murry in the Riley Motorsports LMP3
machines. The LMP3 battle is going to go
down to the wire. Dylan Murry won in
2019 here at The Glen in a Mercedes in GT4 in Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Renger van der Zande is closing in on Felipe Nasr. Vautier moves Albuquerque wide. Wow!
The dark clouds are still there.
15 minutes to go. Felipe Nasr and
company for Action Express want the win, but Renger van der Zande, too, he is
in the pound seats as well. Action
Express wants to rekindle and focus the fire.
Traffic management is key. We
said that when the race started.
Meantime, Vautier leans on Albuquerque moving him out of the way. Albuquerque will be fuming. This motor race is not over yet. Magnussen is closing in, ever so
slightly. Lapped traffic for Felipe Nasr
as Magnussen is closing.
Lexus 1-2 in GT Daytona as Jack Hawksworth leads with front
end damage to the left front fender.
Hawksworth is faster than both Zach Veach and Ross Gunn. The Hawk has wing damage. Dare I say it. Ross Gunn is being harried by Jeff
Westphal. In the gloom is Daniel Morad
as well in the Mercedes. Corvette still
1-2 in GTLM a long way over third place man, Matty Campbell in the #79
WeatherTech Porsche. Matt Campbell
closing up on the GT Daytona battle.
Hawksworth is gapping Telitz as the track conditions are not the best.
Go with the faster traffic.
Follow through the hole. Nasr is
using traffic to his advantage. Van der
Zande has to work around the traffic.
Filipe Albuquerque is up to third spot.
Three or so minutes left. Vautier
chases Albuquerque. Cameron wants by
Jarvis and Jarvis too is looking to use all he has to go by Vautier. Less than two minutes on the board. A lap or so left. Nasr has no traffic. This will be a hot lap. Nasr slips up. Van der Zande is nailed. One lap to go. Nasr leads van der Zande. GTLM cars ahead. The darkness has descended.
Nasr should hold on for one more lap through the darkness
here at Watkins Glen. The distance
between the #31 and #01 is growing. Out
of turn 11 for the final time. It’s Nasr
and Derani! At long last, Action Express
wins, in style at the WeatherTech 240 at Watkins Glen International Raceway!
Overall/DPi: #31 Nasr/Derani Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R
LMP2:
#52 Keating/Jensen PR1/Mathiasen
Motorsports Oreca 07
LMP3:
#91 Cox/Murry Riley
Motorsports Ligier JS P 320 Nissan
GT Le
Mans: #3 Garcia/Taylor
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R
GT
Daytona: #14 Hawksworth/Telitz Lexus
RC F GT3
So, Action Express gets a long overdue victory! LMP2 honors to go PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports
and the #52 entry of Ben Keating and Mikkel Jensen. Jim Cox and Dylan Murry for Riley Motorsports
take the checkered flag first in LMP3.
GT Le Mans honors go to Corvette Racing and the #3 C8.R of Antonio
Garcia and Jordan Taylor. GT Daytona
produces another win that has been long in coming for Vasser Sullivan Lexus and
their #14 RC F GT3 in the hands of Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz.
Watkins Glen sprint is in the bag. Next up, it is an all GT class race, at the
bull ring that is the legendary Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut,
coming up in two weeks.
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