The race broadcast of the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen from Watkins Glen International Raceway in Watkins Glen, New York. We join IMSA Radio for the commentary with John Hindhaugh and Jeremy Shaw in the booth, trackside, and Shea Adam in the pit lane.
https://www.imsa.com/video/2022-sahlens-six-hours-of-the-glen-race-broadcast/
FIA GT World Cup cancelled for third year in a row due to quarantine, logistics reasons...
IMSA news as the WeatherTech Championship (and Michelin Pilot Challenge) head north of the border, to Canada, eh, for the Chevrolet Grand Prix and a return to the sprint race format.
Recapping last weekend's 6 Hours of Watkins Glen via the official IMSA Website
Pre-Race News
Jonathan Grace, John Dagys recap Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and more…
https://sportscar365.com/podcasts/double-stint-watkins-glen-recap-news-roundup-mire/
Reports from GT Masters, British GT and NLS plus other racing action and news...
https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-6-27-22/
Race 4 of the Nurburgring Langstrecken Series, taking place a month or so after the Nurburgring 24 Hours. Radio Show Limited has the commentary with Jonny Palmer and Peter Snowden. Check it out.
Here is the race recap of the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen.
Well, well, well. The sky is brightening up. We could get the rest of this race in as the clock ticks down. We will have a 40 minute or maybe 35-minute sprint to the end. Birds singing in the background. That's always pleasant. The birds have enjoyed the motor racing today. We have seen Acura at the top. We may not see the rain tires. The pavement is convincingly drying out. The clouds and the rain came and cooled the track. The clock is contnuing to run. What will the fuel deal be? Father Time and Mother Nature are going to determine at least partially, how this motor race is going to come out. In GTD Pro and GTD, the #25 BMW M4 GT3 pitted and the true leader as we wait is the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3.
In GTD the #57 Winward Mercedes has minded their own business and could get into the picture with Phil Ellis, Marvin Dienst, and Russell Ward. Felipe Fraga was told by his team at Riley Motorsports was going unbearably slow before the rains came. But they have a lap advantage in LMP3. Will cars pit? The #10 is the question compared to the #60. What will we see from Ganassi and from Action Express? We do have a drying race course and we could indeed have to switch back over to dry weather tires. Stand by. This is going to be a sprint to the end. A real shootout at the OK Corral.
The fans are enjoying themselves as we are getting closer to going back to racing and we should not see any more rain I don't think. Cars back on track behind the safety car. We are ready for a restart. It's time to bring the action once more. Pits will open next time by. #31 in the lane. Pipo Derani set to take it to the checkers. Damp race track, high chances of a probable yellow. John Edwards and Ross Gunn may have the fuel in GTD Pro. BMW vs. Aston Martin. Wayne Taylor says it is odd that the clock was stopped at 35 minutes. Allowing more time means the 10 may be behind the eight ball.
#32 in the pit lane, GT Daytona championship leader, nine laps behind. The Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes. Magnus Racing calls an audible for the #44 Aston Martin and Andy Lally takes over but Spencer Pumpelly overshot the pit box and had some trouble. John Potter has yet to win at Watkins Glen and he made his professional debut here. So they will need to dig their way back throughl Green flag this time by. In turn seven, the toe of The Boot. One more pace lap. That's it. Then we'll be back at it.
It's about to be squeaky, squeaky time, like when you wipe a clean window. How clean will this be? #81 DragonSpeed LMP2 Oreca in the lane. Green flag. Now, Tom Blomqvist has Filipe Albuquerque right behind along with the Cadillac's. Painted curbs if they are wet, are like ice. Albuquerque to the lead over Blomqvist. Wow! Full send. You have to do it. Do not hold back. Bourdais hanging tough. What about fuel? We know the #60 has more fuel and the #47 Ferrari has gone off the road and hit the IMSA sign.
He is going to run over the signboard and keep on trucking. Antonio Fuoco at the wheel of the #47. That's one way to control track limis and the #81 is back to the lane after Sebastian Montoya switched into the car. It is a penalty for leaving the lane with equipment. Do not see anything about pit equipment attached to the car. Before the red flag, maybe the penalty was called. That's strange. Maybe Montoya was upset about that part. The #52 PR1/Mathiasen LMP2 car is leading in class with Scott Huffaker. Ross Gunn is probing and moving in on the Magnus Aston Martin. Not sure if that is Andy Lally, John Potter, or Spencer Pumpelly.
The battle at the front is Acura vs. Acura. WTR vs. MSR. #10 vs. #60. Cadillac's follow. Ganassi, Ganassi, Action Express, Action Express. The DPi class is right together n the road it looks like. It looks like it is mano e mano between the two Acura's. Sebastien Bourdais is third in the #01 Cadillac. Will #10 make it on fuel? That is the question on everybody's mind. They are going to be in fuel save mode. Anything is possible with 12 minutes to go. Traffic ahead everywhere. Here comes Tom Blomqvist.
Blomqvist has a run on Albuquerque as they clear the traffic and now the Cadillac's have to get through it. Bourdais, Lynn, Derani. A possible splash and dash for Albuquerque. Are they fuel saving? They are hoping for a yellow in the last ten minutes. No changes in other classes. Traffic all over the shop. Blomqvist wants a run on Albuquerque. Bourdais is right on top of them. Nose to tail they run downhill through The Boot. Bourdais may be plotting a paln to get past the Acura's. Not sure if Lynn and Derani will be close enough to get into the fight.
Lynn seems to be moving into the picture. Where is Derani? He seems to be a tad behind but could still be hanging on to fifth place. The top five is all bunched together. On fuel, in GTD Pro, Risi Competizione Ferrari can't make it on gas. They need a yellow and so does the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus and the #9 Pfaff Porsche. In GTD, Phil Ellis leads at Winward Mercedes in #57. It will be very close. This will be nip and tuck on the clock. Pipo Derani is turning up the wick. Lynn and Derani both on the charge as the Ferrari dives for the lane for gas.
Edwards in the BMW M4 GT3 up a place. Edwards and BMW are in good shape. Pfaff Porsche ready for a splash and a dash. Bourdais has a huge run on Blomqvist past an LMP3! Wow! No dice. Blomqvist stays second. Blomqvist right on the #10's six. Three to go and we see Porsche #9 and Lexus #14 short on fuel in GTD Pro as Edwards and BMW go to the lead. Splash and dash. The leaders weaving through traffic. Bourdais threading the needle too, look. Serra ahead of Jaminet. The GTD traffic is there. White flag this time it seems. #10 will roll the dice.
Blomqvist right on Albuquerque's tail. Bourdais has lost touch. Lynn and Derani behind. One to go. Lapped traffic ahoy to the end. lomqvst balked and here comes Bourdais to second spot, perhaps. Albuquerque has clear road. Blomqviust and Bourdais. Bourdais has to back out of it. Just a handful of turns left. Nerve racking! Albuquerque might be in the clear. WTR win it. Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor are your winners. LMP2 win on the line. Huffaker and Deletraz. Deletraz has a run but no! PR1/Mathiasen win it. Keating, Jensen, Huffaker.
In LMP3, Felipe Fraga and Riley Motorsports along with Kay van Berlo and Gar Robinson are going to win it. This is it. LMP3 and a dominant performance for Riley Motorsports! Well, well. In GTD Pro, the two divisions of Pro and regular. John Edwards and BMW and the Winward Mercedes of Phil Ellis get the victories!
Overall/DPi: #10 Taylor/Albuquerque Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05
LMP2: #8 Farano/Deletraz/Andrade Tower Motorsport Oreca 07
LMP3: #74 Robinson/Ftaga/van Berlo Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GT Daytona Pro: #25 De Philippi/Edwards/Farfus BMW Team RLL BMW M4 GT3
GT Daytona: #57 Ward/Ellis/Dienst Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3
Next weekend, back to racing, sprint race style. A return to Mosport Park in Canada, north of the border. Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, next Sunday for a flat out 2 hour and 40-minute shootout. See you next week for that. So long for now from Watkins Glen ladies and gentlemen. Take care.
Into the final hour here at The Glen and as you know, Mother Nature is holding up proceedings with the rain. We are waiting for an all clear on the weather if there is no more lightning to worry about. We could see a sprint to the end here. Last year in the sprint race in July it was the same scenario. My buddies at Action Express Racing won that one. Now, will they come back? They are in fourth spot right now and will be racing hard with the other DPi contenders. Yours truly has been on pins and needles all season wondering when AXR can break through. Will today be the day? We'll have to wait and find out. One of the safety vehicles still on the road checking for the lightning to go away. 11 turns and 3.4 miles on this circuit. First race of all five classes since Sebring. Third of four endurance races this year.
As we said, this was a Formula 1 venue for nearly two decades between 1961 and 1980. If the sky is clear and we have no lightning, we can get back to it with 48 minutes left. Cloud cover and a wee bit of drizzle. The wind picked up. Our friends at Peacock, and NBC Sports have found the Watkins Glen ice cream machine. We are going to take a break for a bit, everybody. We wonder when the race will get back going again. I think I will leave it here for the time being and probably start another post because right now there's not much to talk about and we don't want to be talking about rain because that would be boring.
We want to speak about this motor race and what is going to happen before it is all done and dusted.
We have to see but there might be rain coming. Rain is OK. We do not want lightning. Ollie Milroy being chased by Bryan Sellers. Sellers in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 with a patriotic paint scheme approaching Independence Day. Ben Keating, now, finally is a Le Mans winner. It is tougher sledding for him and his team in LMP2 at The Glen today. Keating says his team needs more traffic opportunities to make passes. They want to be in it in LMP2. Action Express, fifth and sixth. 31 and then 48. Ricky Taylor says their window is smaller than the #60 and the #01. They want to see green flag running.
Mike Conway in the #31 and Mike Rockenfeller now in the #48. Truthfully, you have missed nothing at the top of the shop. #60, working their way through the lapped traffic being harried by the #10. Albuquerque making a move on Jarvis, or, he wants to. Albuquerque balked by traffic. We are going to see raindrops before this one is done and dusted. BMW Team RLL #25 in the lane. Auguto Farfus out, and John Edwards, he will take the car to the end. In DTM, the BMW M4 GT3 has run in the rain. Not yet in IMSA though. In replay, Filipe Albuquerque gets a massive run on Oliver Jarvids and Albuquerque very nearly runs into the back of Jarvis negotiating lapped traffic!
Albuquerque wants it. If it begins to sprinkle, forget it. Everything is reset and we shall be going back to the drawing board. It will put the cat among the pigeons. This motor race isn't over. Watkins Glen is so long it can be rainy on one side and dry on the other. Clouds shading the track and the ambient temperature is falling. The handling, the balance of the cars will change if the track cools. Rain is 10-15 minutes away. Keep it close. We had five yellows in the first half but in the last couple hours it has been clean and green. Hard to say why the #10 team went off strategy in hour two. They were looking for the Michelin Endurance Cup bonus points but no dice.
Into the Outer Loop. In GTD Pro, the leading car is the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 of Daniel Serra sharing with Davide Rigon. The #23 The Heart of acing Aston Martin of Alex Riberas and Ross Gunn has also pitted. It will be a full Pro lineup in both GT Daytona classes to the end of the race. It will be a full-on slugfest. Dark clouds are looming, and the air is cooling. Mother Nature is fickle, and she might have her way with this race in the final third of it. More drama on the way? We'll find out.
Pit stop time for the star-spangled Paul Miller Racing BMW. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, traffic everywhere. Acura #10 in the lane too. One of the LMP3's has a problem. The #30 car ignited in flames. Garett Grist in the JR III. Ligier sharing with Ari Balogh and Nolan Siegel. Game over. Garett Grist was told to bail out. Another big fire for an LMP3 car. Surprisingly the pit crew did not take the engine cover off to try and extinguish the fire. Game over for the #30. The skies are darkening. What will happen as we ride along with Maro Engel in the #79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 being shared with Mikael Grenier and Cooper MacNeil. Serra leading Kirkwood and Jaminet by 18 seconds and Philip Ellis is leading GT Daytona by 14 some odd seconds.
This is the first race for Risi Competizione at The Glen in six years. Jaminet wants to make a move on Kirkwood through The Carousel. The Porsche is lighter and might have more speed out of The Boot. Mike Rockenfeller is pushing trying to get through lapped traffic. The #02 Ganassi Racing Cadillac as well, with Earl Bamber at the wheel. Jaminet passes Kirkwood and Maro Engel also makes his move. MacNeil says that he is enjoying having different Mercedes GT3 factory drivers assisting him. Maro Engel wants by Matty Jaminet. The skies darken more and the racing is intensifying.
The #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW fell off the air jack and onto Bryan Sellers' foot! He has a very sore foot, on his right foot. We run at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park next weekend. So let's hope Bryan Sellers is OK. Madison Snow is now at the wheel of #1 and they have Sweden's Erik Johnasson as the third driver. But, will Sellers be OK to finish, or is his foot of any concern? Pit stop time now for the #48 Ally Cadillac at Action Express/Hendrick Motorsports. Porsche, Lexus, Mercedes, the battle in GTD Pro. Kirkwood all over Jaminet like a cheap suit here. Jaminet holding his ground up through The Boot.
Just over an hour and a half to go. Daniel Serra's advantage had ballooned and we see that Jaminet went wide in turn ten and there's a massive traffic jam with the Mercedes of Maro Engel going full send and losing a place to the Lexus! Mama Mia! Jaminet does not have a pace advantage. Just a track position advantage. Leader in DPi to the lane, the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of Oliver Jarvis. One more pit stop to the end if you are on fuel save strategy. Driver change back to Tom Blomqvist. Bryan Sellers is on the pit box in a ton of pain. He says he is OK. It is hard to tell as the foot is swollen and it hurts like crazy.
Massive accident! Jeff Westphal has plowed into the wall in turn seven. In replay, he got tagged by an LMP2 car and he got plowed into the Armco in the toe of The Boot! Oh my God! He was an innocent bystander, moving around, and that door might fall off. Somebody panicked there. Full Course Yellow. Full Course Yellow. Westphal out of the car under his own steam. There looks like a spring out of the car. In replay, the top three in LMP2, #20 hits Dylan Murry and it is like a pinball machine. Juan Pablo Montoya. Red flag as we have lightning. Red flag. We have to stop and wait for the weather to clear up.
The clock will continue to run. This is the final race for DPi cars at Watkins Glen before we get the new GTP machines next year. An hour and 12 minutes left as we are still waiting to see what the weather does. We have lightning in the area and have to stop for safety for half an hour. In ten minutes, we can get the all clear and race in the rain. The lightning is dissipating, but there's more rain over Corning, New York, and the museum of glass. Secure your coverings. The wind is picking up at Watkins Glen. We are going to reset and see if we can finish out the 6 Hours of the Glen here, ladies and gentlemen.
We are waiting to make sure there is no lightning. Rain to the end, this will be wild, perhaps. Look at the tire marbles, the clag, on the road. So, just over an hour to go as we remain under red flag. Leaders are #60, #81, #74, #62, and #57. The gaps have been erased and there will be a total reset. What will we see about tire strategy going back to green? How about fuel strategy? We are into the second half of the season. We are in the seventh of ten DPi races this year in the final year of DPi before we see GTP next year. Rain still falling. Not much else to report as we are entering the final hour of the race. Rain falling and the breeze picking up as you can hear on the trackside microphones.
Sounds like ping pong balls falling into a basket.
We have seen a lot of yellow so far and let's hope we can get more green running in the second half of the event. We are actually at 1/3rd distance. Big commitment and consequences around Watkins Glen and the same deal at CTMP next weekend. No real runoff and a lot of Armco barrier at these tracks. The Cadillac's have been strong and now Acura are shining. BoP has now become track specific. There is a 25 kilogram difference in favor of the Cadillac's. They are lighter while the Cadillac's are heavier. Expect track specific Balance of Performance from now on. They have a data book on it at IMSA, the tech stewards. Strategies continue to change with all these yellows.
The strategists are under a lot of stress trying to plan out the race for the rest of it. Be flexible. Think on your feet. Roll the dice. Be bold. Be daring. The second engineer is the person who has to tell the exact numbers on fuel to the team bosses and the strategists. The DPi cars are cleaning the tires but the Acura drivers are jumping the field as we go back to green. Albuquerque gapping Blomqvist big style. #02 has a run, Earl Bamber on #5 of Tristan Vautier. Ganassi vs. JDC-Miller Motorsports. There is a wooden plank under the car to protect the chassis. Tristan Vautier is defending from Earl Bamber. Look out! Bamber slithers by. No harm, no foul. The driver lineups in DPi are unreal this year.
Pipo Derani passes team mate Jimmie Johnson for sixth. #31 past #48 at Action Express. Albuquerque's lead has ballooned to almost a second over Blomqvist. In LMP2, Mikkel Jensen is chasing Dylan Murry. Racing Team Nederland vs. PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports. Mikkel Jensen is a Peugeot Hypercar driver who will be racing with them in World Endurance coming up soon at Monza in Italy in a few weekends time. Fabio Scherer leads LMP2 in the High Class Racing car. Juan Pablo Montoya is pushing in the #81 DragonSpeed car. He is pushing hard.
We wonder if it will be father or son finishing at DragonSpeed. Will it be Juan Pablo or Sebastian Montoya? Pipo Derani chasing Tristan Vautier. Are things coming back to the #31 team? They need clear track. That was a strange call about pitting under a closed pit lane, but the fuel was a concern. Can Pipo Derani catch and pass Tristan Vautier? Great camera shots and Pipo Derani has a clear road as we see the #10 Acura in the pit lane. They will have 46 minutes on full lean for full fuel tanks. Filipe "Albaquick" Albuquerque hands over to Ricky Taylor.
Fuel savings are possible coming to the halfway mark for the Michelin Endurance Cup points with 3 hours and 45 mnutes left on the board. Some guys are engineers fully while others go with their gut, fly by the seat of their pants. Filipe Albuquerque says the track is very demanding and you can feel the G forces and loads here. Going through traffic, you need luck. Albuquerque says the Acura's could be quicker here at Watkins Glen compared to the Cadillac's. But, then again, the Cadillac teams will tell you a totally different story.
Wayne Taylor Racing has their rivalry with Meyer Shank Racing as Blomqvist checks up through lapped traffic and here comes Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais goes for it and gets chopped by Blomqvist! Wow. Bourdais knew he had one chance to move in for the lead but gets snookered. Bamber closing in on Bourdais and Derani not far behind. Blomqvist has traffic and Ricky Taylor has clean air so he is a second faster than Blomqvist. Lars Kern released from the infield medical center with no injuries. He is fine. The team will fix the car at AWA for Mosport in Canada next weekend.
The Lexus has corner speed, downforce, and stability, and has done well here at Watkins Glen. Richard Heistand keeping it clean sharing with Aaron Telitz and Frankie Montecalvo as we see Ben Barnicoat in the sister GTD Pro Lexus, car #14 sharing with Kyle Kirkwood. Can the two of them play strategy? It is hard to say, BMW #25 in the lane from the lead. Connor De Philippi handing the car over to Augusto Farfus, the rapid Brazilian. The #5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac to the lane. Driver change as Richard Westbrook takes over from Tristan Vautier. JDC-Miller will be a Porsche customer team with the new 963 GTP car.
Westbrook did a ton of karting and then went into Formula 3. His career hit the skids at 18 years old doing anything to make ends meet as a chef and bartender. Then he got back into racing. He was won three times at Watkins Glen, twice in the Ford GT and also in prototypes. Pit stop time for the #02 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Earl Bamber pitting from third. Alex Lynn may take over. Sebastien Bourdais in the #01 car. Both Chip Ganassi Cadillac's are in. Renger van der Zande will take over the #01. These cars are completely clean at CGR. Lynn gets balked by a GTD car at the RFID tire readers. Pipo Derani pits and twitches on cold tires. He will have to be careful. Blomqvist, Lynn, van der Zande, Derani, the top four in DPi.
In GTD, the leader in the lane, Richard Heistand in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. Frankie Montecalvo takes over the car. They have been in it all day in class. Cadillac #48, Jimmie Johnson finishing his stint and handing over to Mike Rockenfeller who is racing Watkins Glen for the first time in 16 years at Watkins Glen. Rockenfeller won the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Action Express in their first race ever in 2010. Rockenfeller on his out lap, finding his way on the road. Three and a half hours to go. Cold tires. The LMP2 cars are just as quick as DPi.
Their power delivery throttled back with Balance of Performance, but they still have the downforce. Rockenfeller still trying to get the belts tightened down. Pit stop time for the #60 Meyer Shank Acura. Have to think Tom Blomqvist will be hopping out and handing over to Oliver Jarvis. Jarvis down and a way. Quick stop at Meyer Shank Racing. Augusto Farfus taking it around in the #25 BMW Team RLLL BMW M4 GT3. Connor De Philippi says there was understeer but now they are getting into the sweet spot, although the Lexus and Aston Martin were faster and might still be.
The middle part of the race will show where the BMW boys are according to John Edwards. De Philippi says the car is in good shape. #25, the team was warned for tire pressure minimums. Oh dear. The #32 Mercedes off and on and back into the race, but Dirk Mueller has a flat right front tire. In replay, he tags the #02 Ganassi Racing Cadillac and the whole wheel is broken on the right front. That tire and wheel are smoking. With a wounded car, he did not take the shortcut. It should be allowed to take the shortcut as long as you do not gain an advantage. It is a safety issue.
This car is surely three wheels on me wagon and it's a devastating blow for the #32 Korthoff Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. Marvin Dienst is in the GTD lead. Tom Blomqvist says that he was comfortable out front under a long stint and he is sapped. Boatloads of yellow with 48 cars on this track. The Cadillac's are still strong and the battle will continue and nobody is going to let up. Oliver Jarvis pushing. Risk in traffic is part of the deal. There are so many spots where if you do not get it right, you will be in trouble and at risk of a rival passing you.
Ricky Taylor has inherited the lead through the pit sequence. Yellow flag laps in the sun are tough because of the heat. You get heat soak. Mike Rockenfeller is pushing. Training in the heat in the summertime is so different compared to other times of the year. Jimmie Johnson had a huge crash in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and had a huge smash into the wall after brake failure but he took it in stride. Since then, he has become a racing legend. Jimmie says his stint has gone easy. He is being methodical.
With his eyeglasses, it is age. It helps eyesight. Lots of racing left. Issues in qualifying for the #48 that have been resolved. #48 thought they had a driveline issue but it was a braking deal in qualifying. Ricky Taylor in the lead by 3.8 seconds over Oliver Jarvis. He wants maximum bonus points. Jarvis is right on his tail with more fuel in the tank. Taylor has to be saving petrol while Jarvis can go Harry Flatters. Jarvis is being told to go get Taylor. Six cars have been called for track limits in GTD. Everyone on double secret probation. 3, 9, 32, 96, and a couple others. These old school tracks like The Glen, Mosport, Road America, the track limits are the grass. #3 Corvette C8.R of Jordan Taylor, penalized for track limits. Drive through penalty.
Marvin Dienst leading the GT Daytona class, the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 he shares with Russell Ward and Phillip Ellis. No pit entry for Jordan Taylor yet. Taylor can stay out a few more laps but must get to the lane so the stewards do not stop scoring you. Ricky Taylor, on fuel save, 5.1 seconds to the good over Oliver Jarvis. Jordan Taylor had all four tires off the road through the apex. The Ferrari behind took a different line. Davide Rigon at the controls of the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari. Ben Barnicoat pitting the #14 Vasser Sullivan GTD Pro Lexus handing the car to Kyle Kirkwood.
There was a slight delay in the lane for #14. He did so well at Detroit at Belle Isle, fastest in GTD and in IndyCar and had a huge issue in Friday practice under braking. Injured his hand and won the GTD race and then had a wonderful IndyCar race but then wrecked the IndyCar as we see Jordan Taylor in the pit lane serving a drive through penalty for track limits. Juan Pablo Montoya vs. Mikkel Jensen, that is the battle in LMP2 for second place while Anders Fjordbach leads but barely, only by 3/10ths of a second. Traffic comes up fast. The #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche in the lane. Matt Campbell now handing back to Matthieu Jaminet.
"Jam Jam" should have a good race car in the Porsche. Corvette #3 has a driver change over to Antonio Garcia known as "The King of Spain". Garcia knows how careful he will have to be. Keep it clean, mate. Keep it clean. Do you start at zero on track limits? Is that the scoop? It sounds like the drivers' only commentary is top notch and the espresso must be working well. Keep watching on Peacock if you have that or if you don't, swap over to USA Network. Wayne Taylor Racing short on their fuel stint. Routine stop. Ricky Taylor stays in the car and the balance seems to be good as we have a spun Porsche.
The #16 Wright Motorsports car spun and now is back after it as we see the #21 AF Corse Ferrari with a right rear tire that has been cut down. Contact between the two of them. Ugh. #16 could not stay off the whirligig. Then the #21 Ferrari went off in the dust. AF Corse not ready and had to scramble for the tires. So they are going to be on the back foot. The hub is broken. Toni Vilander at the wheel of it, "the flying Finn". They are only entered in the enduro races. They will miss the bonus points if they have a fowl up here. Vilander inside Zacharie Robichon and Robichon went sideways. The #59 Crucial Motorsports McLaren also spins in turn eight.
Inception Racing, car #70 spins off and more woe for the #21 after slamming the wall and he has big damage. To the garage he goes. Jordan Taylor says he cannot remember the last time he had a track limits penalty. Renger van der Zande now chasing down Oliver Jarvis for the lead of the motor race. Defensive driving in GTD and the GTD Pro Lexus passes the regular GTD Lexus. Frankie Montecalvo passed by Kyle Kirkwood. Make sure Auberlen knows he is racing the Pro class Lexus. We are now halfway home. The prototypes just flash by! Antonio Fuoco, incident responsibility drive through penalty with the #59 Crucial Motorsports McLaren.
GTD traffic is very difficult on cold tires according to Nico Varrone. But he is managing traffic well. The temperature is climbing. We are going to have some hot racing drivers out there and could see raindrops before this motor race is done and dusted. Maybe we will see rain in the final half hour. The high will be close to 90 degrees, feeling lik 100. Four layers of Nomex and a helmet in a hot sports car, you are like a roasting chicken. Thank heavens you can keep the visor up. It takes getting used to, if you switch from an open wheel car to a sports car, a fully enclosed GT car or a prototype and you have no sense of where you are, save for out your windscreen. Tune in your spatial awareness.
Drag race in the lane in LMP2. Be careful. Steven Thomas ahead of Ben Keating. Were there driver changes? No. Keating still in the #52. Watch the stoplight at the end of pit lane as the safety car passes the blend line. They have a little contact on pit lane. #52 caught the red light. Thomas was maybe not looking at the light and Ben Keating, class winner at Le Mans, he had to wonder what was going on. 1/6th of the way and we are back to green. Tom Blomqvist leads the motor race. Blomqvist is eking a gap out. Blomqvist, Albuquerque, Bamber, Bourdais, Pla. Oh no! The #13 AWA LMP3 car, Orey Fidani gets on the whirligig before the Inner Loop. Looks like he may have dropped a wheel. In replay, big lockup on the rear brakes and gets biffed by the Andretti Autosport car.
Fidani back on the road now. A wee bit of damage on the left bumper, the cheese wedge is missing. Yes. The left side cheese wedge is gone. The wing is askew. The left side dive plane on Jarett Andretti's car is askew as well. #36 had a clatter earlier on as well. AWA will evaluate the damage. They are going to evaluate the damage and go behind the wall. Maybe they can make the rest of this race a test session. Kyle Marcelli is the Gold driver along with Orey Fidani and Lars Kern. Kuno Wittmer no longer in that seat. Are the tires warm yet? Not yet. Blomqvist punches it and here comes Albuquerque. Five Cadillac's and two Acura's.
Find out where the weaving limit is, and you eventually do. We have seen it in sports cars, IndyCar, and Formula 1. Andretti Autosport back on the button in turn eight. Keating passes the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports LMP3 leader, Dan Goldburg. Tom Blomqvist a second ahaead as the #11 PR1/Mathiasen car has a stop plus 60 second hold penalty. There was contact, and an unsafe release for #52 and while Keating stops, #11 runs the red light. The is a stop + 60 second hold from the pit lane traffic cops. Ben Keating, passing under yellow also gets a ticket from two yellows ago. A local yellow, look, in corner one.
Lexus off the road and back on. Only a drive through penalty. #11 released back to the race. Tower Motorsports #8 has penalties for pitting in a closed pit and speeding in the lane. A double whammy. Now then, #20, Dennis Andersen, the Dane, in the High Class Oreca leads LMP2. Andersen sharing with Anders Fjordbach and Fabio Scherer. Clear road for Tom Blomqvist in the lead of the motor race, the son of World Rally and Audi Group B legend, Stig Blomqvist. Trouble for the #6 Muehlner Motorsports LMP3 on fire! Dillon Machavern bails out. That car is on FiYah! A slang term for fire. Wow. Full Course Yellow. Thank God the marshals are there to put out the fire.
This car grenades a motor. Bang. Smoke spewing out both exhausts. A catastrophic explosion for that Nissan 5.6-liter V8. A four wheeled volcano. Dillon Machavern bailed out. The Heart of Racing Aston, he can't see anything through all that smoke and look at the oil on the windscreen. Dillon Machavern, thank God he found a corner station to bail out of that automobile. Renger van der Zande watching teammate Sebastien Bourdais. Only a two-driver lineup. van der Zande knows how fast his teammate is. Three driver teams have had harder times trying to get practice. Maybe Ganassi has an advantage with the two driver teams.
It is not as hot as we thought here at Watkins Glen. Cloud cover helping the drivers keep cool. No rush for some of the DPi drivers. But the three driver teams are getting set for their driver changes. We have four races left in the championship for prototypes after today. This is round seven of ten for DPi cars. #31 pits with Olivier Pla in a closed pit. Emergency service? Fuel top up. Did something go awry on strategy? Did Tim Keane and Iain Watt have a plan? Maybe they are looking at the bonus points for the Michelin Endurance Cup. Olivier Pla at the wheel of the Cadillac. 30 minutes minimum in DPi and GTD Pro while the others are an hour and a half with a maximum of four hours.
Pits are open. #31 stopped early compared to the other DPi's. Emergency fuel necessity for Action Express. #10 staying out on track while others are in. #60, #48, #01, #02, #5. #31 back in. They came down the pit lane for fuel and now are back putting Pipo Derani in the car. Pipo was standing here and he had no clue he had to be ready. Maybe an audible called by Tim Keane, crew chief Gary Nelson, and team boss Bob Johnson. Pipo Derani may have to serve a penalty if the caution stays out. Jimmie Johnson picked up some places on the pit exchange in the #48 Action Express Ally Cadillac. Jimmie Johnson came close to winning here in NASCAR Cup but could not get it done.
One road course win for Jimmie Johnson in NASCAR. Most NASCAR races were done on the short course as well as a 2011 sprint race here with the Gainsco team. GTD Pro and GTD pit stops up. Everyone in the lane. Holding off, at The Heart of Racing Aston Martin. Tires and fuel as Ross Gunn will do a double stint to reach minimum drive time. New tear off as well. Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas, just a two-driver team, and they lost track position on their stop in GTD Pro. The sister GTD #27 has Roman De Angelis, Maxime Martin, and Ian James.
At Action Express, Olivier Pla says that the strategy has been decided for passing the car to Pipo Derani. Olivier Pla will take over after Mike Conway's stint. Track position is what the team wants. You need to be aggressive but careful and keep your time deltas in mind. it is all about running to a routine. The Acura teams are staying out and with fuel saving they can get a longer run. 17 laps into this stint under yellow with fuel save and 14 sans the fuel save under green flag conditions. On full attack it is 24 laps 90 second lap time 37minutes. 45 minutes 27 laps on save. 41 43, 62, 70, 59, 69. These are the attack save margins for LMP2, LMP3, and GTD.
Shaking up strategy. Back timing the race. These are parts of the strategy. Now, turn 11 is the spot where the stewards are judging the restarts. Action Express are now back to fourth for #48 and seventh for #31. If you visit Watkins Glen check out the track and the old street course. This place closed for a few years and was resurrected. In 1971, the Boot was added and the inner loop, 30 years ago in 1992. F1 ran here from 1961-1980. The old street course was 6.6 miles long and the great Cameron Argetsinger put all this together. This is a world renown track. Rob Ecklin Jr. who raced Michelin Pilot Challenge, his family has helped resurrect this great track.
Race Control is saying "come on, gents, clean up the driving a wee bit, please." Jarett Andretti leads LMP3, Dillon Murry leads LMP2, and then it's Connor De Philippi in GTD Pro and Richard Heistand in GTD. Green flag again! Clean the tires. Bamber wide through one and side by side between Vautier and Johnson with Pipo Derani pushing. Derani ahead of Johnson. He is learning from some of the best. Derani is a past champion of course, thinking back to last year and the great second half of the year from AXR. Blomqvist on old tires and full fuel.
In GTD Pro and GTD, two class leaders in Connor De Philippi and Richard Heistand. No emergency service for Pipo Derani. Penalty for pitting and gaining an advantage taking fuel as emergency service. #31 will go a lap down. Derani will have to push. He is on track and now has Filipe Albuquerque bearing down. He is on cold tires. In replay, we see contact between the #36 and #74. Damaged cheese wedge for the #36 Andretti Autosport car with Jarett Andretti still leading. Filipe Albuquerque is about to put Pipo Derani a lap down.
Ricky Taylor waiting for his stint. He is analyzing and calling the strategy. Pipo Derani hopes for another yellow to get back on the lead lap or stay there and he knows that the #10 will stop before he does but then has to stay ahead of the #60 of Blomqvist. The #70 Inception Racing McLaren has showed pace in the enduros and they did race at Long Beach. Jordan Pepper, Brendon Iribe, and Ollie Milroy. The #59 Crucial Motorsports entry is also there. Drive through penalty for Jarett Andretti for incident responsibility.
The other McLaren is the #59 Crucial Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3. Jon Miller sharing with Paul Holton and Pat Gallagher. The Mercedes cars are strong and showing good lap times in GTD as Josh Sarchet leads LMP3 in the #58 MLT Motorsports sharing the Ligier JS P3 with Dakota Dickerson and Tyler Maxson. Albuquerque closing up on Derani trying to put #31 a lap down. This feels like the race start and more lapped traffic. More cars there just to be passed. Running wide, the GTD #99 Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3R of Rob Ferriol, Katherine Legge, and Stefan Wilson. Another massive hit for #13 AWA LMP3 car of Lars Kern headed through the esses!
This is at the exit of turn one. What on earth happened? The AMR safety team is attending to the driver. This looks like it was a one car incident. Lars Kern climbs out under his own steam. So he is fine. Kern is a GT man and does all their testing of production cars at the Nurburgring. Recently he ran with Pfaff Motorsports in GTD before the GTD Pro class was added this year. In replay, it is a long way away. Kern loses it through the turn one exit and he got up on the curb and clobbered the wall. These cars are so low to the ground, all four wheels can come off the ground and pitch the car into a strange angle and the car stopped abruptly. Do not pinch the crest of the curb.
Is that car compromised? It is now. That car is compacted. It is a short week before we head to CTMP for the home race for AWA, from Canada. Kyle Marcelli replacing Kuno Wittmer in that car and he has also run Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Michelin Pilot Challenge already this weekend. We are turning it over to a driver's only booth. Townsend Bell, James Hinchcliffe, and Calvin Fish. OK. Brian Till and Dillon Welch in the pit lane. We have not been able to find a rhythm in this race.
The picturesque, Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, is home to one of the premier road courses in all of the United States. This is Watkins Glen International Raceway. This town, Watkins Glen has known road racing and sports car racing, since the late 1940s and early '50s when the streets of the town, were the circuit, until "The Glen" as it is known, was built in 1957. Formula 1 raced here for two decades. NASCAR has raced here. But truly, this place is renown, for sports cars and the fabled 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, a race that is experiencing another renewal today as round three of four in the Michelin Endurance Cup for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.
There are combinations through the field, in each class of two or three-driver lineups in each car depending on the class. All five classes are racing today. Daytona Prototype International, LMP2, LMP3, GT Daytona Pro, and GT Daytona. A grand total of 48 cars will be starting today's race. 3.4 miles of twists and turns and plenty of elevation change here at The Glen await the drivers. You want to race? If you insist. At the price I can't resist. What kind of drama will we see today? It's summertime on Seneca Lake and we are set to race. We have a star studded field of drivers. This is the biggest field at Watkins Glen since 2014.
The weather is comfortable now, but we are going to have heat and stickiness and in the last few hours we could see rain before this motor race is done and dusted as we welcome Kevin Lee, Townsend Bell, and James Hinchcliffe in the broadcast booth. It is the shortest of the four endurance races. Traffic will be a big deal and the championship fight is on. When you feel like a superhero, everyone else does, too. It is the case of best frenemies or worst enemies, maybe. This is cutthroat stuff. Three prototype classes against the GT3 cars. All five classes are represented today for the first time since the 12 Hours of Sebring back in March.
Acura are at the top of the shop and we see the Ganassi Cadillac team gaining momentum. Will the two Action Express Cadillac's have a say in this? #31 and #48. Horses for courses dictates the Acura boys might have a performance edge and the same at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park next weekend. In GT Daytona Pro and GT Daytona, the battle is also hot and heavy for the production-based cars. The GT3 cars. The #9 Pfaff Motorsports entry wants a championship. They won in class at Laguna Seca Raceway. The Porsche's may not quite have the speed here at Watkins Glen. Stevan McAleer is the starting driver, on pole in GT Daytona for Korthoff Motorsports and the #32 Mercedes. #9 has Matt Campbell and Matthieu Jaminet racing as a duo.
Team Korthoff has Mike Skeen, Stevan McAleer, and Dirk Mueller. In LMP2, the car to beat is the #81 DragonSpeed entry that won Mid-Ohio. Henrik Hedman, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Sebastian Montoya. Nico Varrone in the FastMD #40 entry is here to win in LMP3 and not going for points. Watch the traffic. Keep it close. Be fully committed. Tom Blomqvist has been the chap to beat in practice and qualifying. Here we go. Split start today between prototypes and GTD cars. Let's go racing! This is going to feel like a sprint. Away we go!
Blomqvist to the lead and here comes Filipe Albuquerque as Tristan Vautier tries Earl Bamber. Acura's side by side into the Inner Loop for the first time, and Filipe Albuquerque leads passing Tom Blomqvist. Sebastien Bourdais hanging tough and here come the GTD Pro and GTD cars and that is a mixed candy dish with several flavors after qualifying. Ben Barnicoat and Richard Heistand in the two Lexus cars. Corvette Racing struggling for pace. Ross Gunn in the Aston Martin wants a bite of the cherry and so does the Winward Racing Mercedes in the hands of Russell Ward. Now then, Wright Motorsports also pressing on early doors.
Protect the bodywork. We have a pit caller. The #36 Andretti Autosport LMP3 entry. Pfaff Motorsports, working their way through GTD as Matty Jaminet passes the Risi Competizione #62 Ferrari 488 GT3. Richard Heistand, focused forward in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. Argy bargy ahoy with Ferrari vs. Porsche. Davide Rigon closing the door in Matty Jaiminet's face. GTD Pro have red highlights while the GTD cars have green accents but other than that, no difference.
Albuquerque in the lead of the moor race. Blomqvist may be saving petrol early doors here. Decision making and strategy are everything. The Acura fight is on, look. How many cars can I pass? What can I do? Be smart. It is a chess match. Push the button. Don't wait. This is a big wad of traffic and the track is hot and grippy right now. The DPi cars can move around the outside and the one lap is the only clean lap you are going to get and you will be in traffic the whole way which really racks your brain as a driver. Your mind will be firing on all neurons, on all cylinders.
Sports car racing, you get the behavior of a certain car, but the driver teams, every driver has a different technique for how they drive and now, the Action Express Cadillac's are beginning to move up with Kamui Kobayashi in the #48 and Olivier Pla in the #31. The Ally Financial and Whelen Cadillac's. #48 had to have an engine change and also a brake issue that had to be fixed. The track is billiard table smooth with boatloads of grip. Recapping the start, Filipe Albuquerque punches a hole in the air and is right on Blomqvist's six. He can't afford to go for it and just lets Albuquerque go.
The two Acura's are fighting for the top spot in the points. Connor De Philippi in the six cylinder BMW vs. Ross Gunn in the V8 Aston Martin. Late night for the BMW RLL bunch replacing a power steering pump on the #25 entry. Traffic, traffic, traffic. That is the name of the game here. The Aston Martin brings more power but in the braking zones and corners, the BMW M4 GT3 has the handling advantage. The Aston is sometimes a bear to drive. Turner Motorsports struggled at the Rolex 24 but since then they have turned it on and so has Paul Miller Racing. They have been with the series this year since Sebring and did not race the Rolex 24 at the beginning of the year.
185 mules an hour top speed for DPi and 160 for GTD. So, a 25 mile an hour speed gap. Yikes. Luis Perez Companc saves it without getting hip checked by the #8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 entry. That is Rui Andrade sharing with John Falb and Louis Deletraz. AF Corse is Ferrari's factory team. They have run in FIA World Endurance and in SRO endurance as well I believe. Luis Perez Companc, Simon Mann, and Toni Vilander as Jordan Taylor in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R is passed. Taylor sharing with Antonio Garcia. The rearview camera for the Corvette is something all cars use but at times it works and other times it does not.
Corvette says they are down on power and speed. They need to bring more power compared to the Porsche's the Lexus cars etc. Watkins Glen, you can drive defensively but you have to get to the top of the shop to be able to do that, to be able to run at maximum attack. Whoa! Big spin and a crunch into the barriers with two LMP3 cars. #74, the Riley Motorsports car and heavy damage on the #7 Forty7 Motorsports car. Anthony Mantella at the wheel of it while #74 is Gar Robinson. This is a short yellow so it will not include pit stops. #74 spins, Gar Robinson, and Mantella has nowheree to go. Tom Blomqvist is a lucky luck boy to get through that with no damage!
Holy mackerel! Blomqvist, thankfully is able to continue. Filipe Albuquerque as well, he skated by too. Way too close for comfort early doors in a six-hour race as Mantella is now back on the road and he is going to drive back to the lane, but the front left fender is gone. It looks like an open wheel racer on the front left corner. Through The Carousel, he would not be scored going through The Carousel but could get back soon. A major story this weekend. Yesterday, in Michelin Pilot Challenge, Robert Wickens completed his comeback and won in class in Michelin Pilot Challenge! He has done it!
He has run races since DTM and now finally has a win for the first time since DTM when they raced the Class 1 touring cars back in the day. Sebastian Montoya is confident about his race today racing with Juan Pablo Montoya, his dad, and Henrik Hedman, the Swede, currently in the #81 DragonSpeed car. There is a DPi split for the restart as well as one for the LMP2 and LMP3 cars over the GTD Pro's and GTD's. Meyer Shank started to show winning pace and they might have the edge over #10 in the Acura camp. In the Cadillac camp, we have seen Ganassi Racing going for it and Action Express, they want a bite of the cherry. They really, really do. Could today be the day? They have two bullets with the #31 and the #48.
We have the next sprint race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Mosport Park), next weekend, for another sprint event. It will be summer, so, fans north of the border, do not wear too much flannel. It will be too hot. The Pfaff Motorsports Porsche has received two track limits warnings. Do not start making mistakes and watch out for turns one, eight, and ten. Matthieu Jaminet, keep it on the blacktop, sunbeam. Ben Keating and company topped off on petrol so they can go longer than their competition in LMP2, Keating sharing with Scott Huffaker and Mikkel Jensen.
He is racing the #11 Win Autosport car of Steven Thomas with Josh Pierson and Jonathan Bomarito. In LMP3, watch for the #38 Performance Tech car of Dan Goldburg, Rasmus Lindh, and Cameron Shields. We are green again and the Acura's train length everyone else! Sebastien Bourdais asleep at the switch, maybe. The tires are like a wet snowball picking up more. Olivier Pla moves past Tristan Vautier. Pla won here with Mazda in 2019. He is sharing with Pipo Derani and Mike Conway. In GTD, Ben Barnicoat squeezes by Stevan McAleer! McAleer, the GT Daytona leader. Barnicoat in GTD Pro, he had the spot.
Richard Heistand in the sister car, the GTD car, he is pushing early as well, look. He is right ahead of Matty Jaminet and Davide Rigon. In GTD, Robby Foley leading in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 sharing with Robby Foley and Michael Dinan. Bill Auberlen won overall in Michelin Pilot Challenge with Robby Foley in their M4 GT4 yesterday. Driving defensively is Matty Jaminet in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. As a driver, you race GTD as one big class. The separation means zilch.
As things spread out it is two classes but when it is close quarters it is a whole GT3 event. Jaminet is leading the championship and he can't make hay while the sun shines here at Watkins Glen with the fast, long duration turns, which we will also see next weekend at Mosport north of the border. Ross Gunn has been monstering Connor De Philippi in GTD pro and has uncorked fastest lap. We do not know the time. Gunn and Roman De Angelis won the Sprint Cup in GTD last year. Gunn was runner up in GTD in Detroit on the streets of Belle Isle in the last race there, ever, a few weekends ago. Ben Barnicoat is without Jack Hawksworth as a co-driver after he had a training accident on his motocross bike. Kyle Kirkwood is the sub.
Kirkwood will run the middle of the race and he and Barnicoat are one of the two-driver teams. Kirkwood is recovered from his hand injury he suffered at Belle Isle in Detroit. Matthieu Jaminet was warned for track limits and now, he has been bluing on the radio about Ben Barnicoat also cutting the curbs and is very angry about it. Actually, it is Richard Heistand that "Jam Jam" is upset with. If all four wheels are outside the red and yellow curbs, that is what the stewards are looking at. You see times deleted in qualifying. What will the Race Director decide. Track limits actually are per car. So, your other drivers inherit these penalties.
What one chap does counts for the next chap in the car. Blomqvist is carving through the GTD traffic and those guys just cannot hit a disappear button. Impossible. This is motor racing. Not a spy movie. Kamui Kobayashi is on the charge looking to get by Kamui Kobayashi. Traffic management is critical. Three wide splitting the Ferrari! Kobayashi vs. Bourdais! The DPi's come up so fast on the GTD cars. It's like a rocketship. DPi pit stops coming up. Jimmie Johnson is next up in the #48 and he is running his first race since the Rolex 24 and was in the Cadillac simulator. He has raced in IndyCar a lot this year.
Jimmie Johnson is using eyeglasses for the first time. Johnson put the work in this weekend. These drivers, sometimes, are trusted simulator drivers for Formula 1 teams. Davide Rigon with Ferrari. Ben Barnicoat with Mercedes. Pit stop time now for the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW with their patriotic livery before Independence Day. These tires have full stints on them including qualifying. We may be seeing driver changes in GTD. The #27 Aston Martin for Heart of Racing also in the lane. Back on track now. Pit stop time too for the #31 Whelen Cadillac with Olivier Pla. Mike Conway on the pit box observing things before his stint. He is not going to drive yet. Olivier Pla will do a double stint.
Pla has clean track and will catch GTD traffic and carve his way through. In GT Daytona, meanwhile, Robby Foley did pass Stevan McAleer who si right up on Foley's six. We are watching tire degradation with the qualifying tires. The Mercedes is great on old tires. Trouble again, look, for the LMP3 boys. #36 and #33. Jarett Andreti in the #36 Andretti Autosport car and Dr. Lance Willsey dives in late and turns Andretti, synchronized spinning. No man's land. Willsey spins off.
Loose wheel. Henrik Hedman loses the left front wheel from the #81 DragonSpeed car and now the two Acura's are in the lane. They have beat the caution flag. Tires, fuel, and a driver change. Did Olivier Pla take tires in the #31? We have to check. Blomqvist a double stint. Trouble on the right front for Albuquerque. Blomqvist back in front and the #81 lost the wheel coming to the lane. No left side tires for the #60. GT Daytona and LMP2 and LMP3 cars in the lane now.
Poor old #33 is still stranded. Ferrari #62 in the lane. This is very busy right now. The blokes in GTD are concerned about tire wear. Full Course Yellow. Full Course Yellow. The safety truck comes to rescue the #33. So, Blomqvist passes Albuquerque for the lead. #81 has four ew tires. In replay, in turn eight, he gets all crossed up when the left front tire departs. You've picked a fine time to leave me, loose wheel! That thing is bouncing up and down and thank God that tire did not fly into the air! Jeepers creepers! I would have a Captain Cook at that hub on the left front to make sure the thing isn't broken.
John Farano must pit the #8 Tower Motorsports car. Thomas in #11 and Keating in #52 have hit the lane. Same in GTD with a couple pit takers. The bonus points are awarded for Michelin Endurance Cup at the three hour mark. Restart is imminent. Watkins Glen has hosted tons of different racing. Formula 1, NASCAR, IndyCar, sports cars. You name it. It has been here. #8 gives up the LMP2 lead to pit. They will do a top off. A splash and a dash. Emergency service. They will have to come in and now, pardon the pun, they are behind the eight ball. The safety car is a Cadillac CT4 Black Wing. A gorgeous IMSA track edition version.
They have a Watkins Glen edition, a Sebring edition, and a Road America edition I believe. We saw the tire off the #81 and the team at DragonSpeed suspects only a wheel nut failure. No worries in the hub department. Pits open for the prototypes and we will see a wave by. In replay, the tire says, "no. I will stay here and zoom across the road." That thing just shot over at 100 miles an hour and went 100 feet in the air and landed on a section of track from the short course. #5 and #48 are taking their fuel, topping up. The #58 MLT Motorsports LMP3 is in the lane as well. Josh Sarchet sharing with Tyler Maxson and Dakota Dickerson. Maxson has raced Michelin Pilot Challenge and other touring car championships.
He won 11 TCR races in SRO America a few years ago. Jimmie Johnson now at the wheel of the #48 Ally Cadillac for Action Express and Hendrick Motorsports. He was on the Dallara simulator in Indianapolis, Indiana. The sim racer is a two-story room built as the cockpit of a racing car and the engineers have a pit box on the lower level. Jimmie Johnson has also done only half the course here at Watkins Glen. The Boot is the specific part of the long course here at WGIR. Jimmie Johnson is using glasses in competition. The comfort factor has to be there if drivers wear glasses and it is not comfortable in certain situations inside your helmet.
FastMd Racing are running well. Nico Varrone was on pole and now, Max Hanratty has taken over. James Vance is the third driver.
Good morning, everybody. It is race day at Watkins Glen for the 6 Hours. Here's a quick newsflash before the race gets underway. Tune in on Peacock, or, further afield, or at the track, on IMSA Radio to check out all the action, and stay tuned for a comprehensive race report right here on Endurance... The Sports Car Racing Blog.
A Lap Around Watkins Glen International with Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 Konica Minolta Acura.
All the pre-race news before the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen tomorrow, round three of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.
Robert Wickens claims first win since devastating IndyCar accident; Turner wins overall...
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/impc/wickens-scores-comeback-victory-turner-wins-overall/
Welcome, everybody, to the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, and the legendary Watkins Glen International Raceway, as the Michelin Pilot Challenge returns to this venue for the Tioga Downs Resort & Casino 120. This race, last year, was a four-hour endurance event. This year, it is a conventional two-hour event, while the second four-hour marathon aside from the season opener at Daytona, will be taking place at Road America in August. On the pole for the race today is the very competitive team of Stevan McAleer and Eric Filgueiras. We have a large field of 44 cars on the starting grid for today's event at The Glen, this most historic track.
It used to be that there were true road races here, through the streets of Watkins Glen, New York, in the town itself, before The Glen, as we know it today, was built, circa 1957. Lots of different racing has taken place here through the years and this was the original home of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix for nearly two decades. We roll into summer and have Michelin Pilot Challenge to look forward to. This is the Tioga Downs Casino & Resort 120. Two hours of motor racing coming up, and we will be at the midway point of the season after this race today.
Lots of points on the table yet but Volt Racing and Aston Martin, with Wright Motorsports, they are on top of the shop. They won at Laguna Seca Raceway in late April. RS1, the Porsche Cayman #28, Stevan McAleer won this race last year with Patrick Gallagher in an Aston Msrtin. But he and Eric Filgueiras in the Porsche Cayman, they are going to be a major player in all of this. At Turner Motorsports, it seems they are on a diet, because they are still looking for a win and they cannot have their favorite meal, tacos, unless they win.
In TCR, it is close at the top of the shop, with Bryan Herta Autosport eking out a lead on the others but in the top five in the rest of the field, they are only split by 110 points. BHA had trouble with ABS and the speed sensor. They have had to go back to the drawing board. Here at Watkins Glen, we will use the whole layout, 275 miles north of New York City. 3,4 miles and 11 corners. Downhill in turn one, do not drop tires into the dirt. Through the Inner Loop, into The Boot, that is a key place on this track for passing. So, watch when the cars stream into The Boot.
Two hours, instead of four in today's race. Grand Sport will run 55 minutes on fuel and an hour for TCR, so they should have one stop. Here comes the field. Split start. GS first, then TCR. Green flag! Punch it! Kenny Murillo and Luca Mars barge through the field as they stream uphukk through the esses for the first time and here comes Dillon Machavern and Patrick Gallagher as well. Hyundai vs. Audi in TCR. Mason Filippi leads the field. Side by side action as Parker Chase passes team mate Robert Wickens. Clean and green in TCR. Gavin Ernstone also got a flyer!
The #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR he shares with Jon Morley. Downhill to turn eight and Alfredo Najri has dropped down the order a wee bit. They are worried about their reliability. They need more straightaway speed and the Achilles heel of the Toyota is how fragile that motorcar is. Watch out for the steering arms and the control arms. We see Alan Brynjolfsson monstering Hugh Plumb, our championship leader, the #7 Volt Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Good battle in TCR as the #99 VGRT Honda Civic ovf Victor Gonzalez chases A.J. Muss in the #2 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra as Parker Chase passes Robert Wickens and is monstering Mikey Taylor in the #17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi. Wickens to the inside of Parker Chase and he is very quicjk.
Chase tries to defend. Wickens having none of it. Keep it clean. Gently, boys. Rory van der Steur is next up in the #19 van der Steur Racing Hyundai Veloster N TCR, the older model hatchback Hyundai as opposed to the Elantra, the factory cars, being a sedan. Gavin Ernstone in the Audi running ahead of one of the BHA entries. That is the A.J. Muss and Ryan Norman driven entry I believe. Muss, the snowboarder turned racing driver. van der Steur keeping a watching brief. Now, in Grand Sport, we see a scrap between the #877 PF Racing Ford Mustang and the #11 FCP Euro Mercedes AMG GT4.
Sheena Monk and Kyle Marcelli sharing the Mustang with Gary Ferrera and Kris Wilson sharing the Benz. Back at the pointy end, good scrap here, look, as Alan Brynjolfsson is doing all he knows to hold off the challenge of the #46 TGM Racing Potsche Cayman in the hands of Hugh Plumb. Your leader remains the RS1 Porsche, the #28 entry. So, Eric Filgueiras I believe is still at the controls as we join Kevin Lee and Calvin Fish in the booth and pit lane reporters Brian Till and Hannah Newhouse. Filgueiras and McAleer have dominated in the SRO GT4 series winning five of six races so far as you have read about.
They have had quite the season. McAleer, from England, living in New York currently. Filguerias, a Floridian. He has been pounding around looking for racing opportunities and now he has it. McAleer is a likable chap. There is great chemistry between McAleer and Filgueiras. They have known each other for a long time, sponsored by Community Beer and they have been racing at a motor club as well. Tomorrow, McAleer is on pole in GT Daytona for the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen tomorrow for the WeatherTech Championship. You have such tough competition in both GT3 and GT4. Tire wear is the deal.
Some cars are already having their tires all knackered with ten minutes only, on the board. Track temp is a screaming 123 degrees Fahrenheit! Keep the clean air to the front end of the Porsche. Traffic stymies the clean air but watch the temperature gauge so you do not overheat and get robbed of horsepower. Luca Mars in the #60 Kohr Motorsports Ford Mustang is running really well under team boss Dean Martin. Mars is part of the HPD Driver Academy for Honda Performance Development. Luca Mars is only 16 years old and Nate Stacy, his co-driver is just 22 years old. Manage the Michelin Pilot tires.
Luca Mars has been making people in the paddock notice. Brett Mars, Luca's father, drove with Dean Martin in the Grand Am days. Frank DePew off and on in the Rebel Rock #71 Chevreolet Camaro GT4.R. Hard to see what happened as the screen went blank. Liddell has a cut down tire so he will have to trundle to the lane. Flat left front after hitting someone in turn one. They will be able to continue but will lose track position hand over fist. Only 17 minutes on the board, but time as they say, is of the essence. He got clobbered by the #877 PF Racing Ford Mustang there, and that cut the tire dpwn as he skates across the grass in the Inner Loop.
Pit ceww fixing the damage, pulling the sheetmetal away from the tire and he is serviced and sent. TCR in the meantime, it is the two factory Hyundai's going at it and now, we have a slow car. That is the #43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 with a shredded left front tire! Sean Quinlan and Greg Liefooghe are in a spot of bother as well, look. I don't like that. That is a wobbly tire, the carcass separated fromt the wheel on the left side. To the pit lane immediately. TCR scrap, hot and heavy. Audi, Hyundai, Hyundai, Hyundai, and we have a crash into the Armco for the #21 Toyota Supra GT4. Full Course Yellow. Full Course Yellow, now.
Debris in the catch fence, as the Armco has scooped up bodywork off that Supra after he clattered the barrier. Deary me. Oh. In replay, he just spun, and hits the corner on the... boom. Ow! That Supra is going nowhere, fast. Well, well, well. Yellow number one here at The Glen, ladies and gentlemen. Too early to hit the lane for scheduled service. That is Anton Dias Perera and Riley Motorsports, in the toe of The Boot. Got on the power, lost the rear end, and tore up the Supra. Game over for Dias Perera, a vascular surgeon from Memphis, Tennessee. The marshals will recover the car to the paddock and clean up the debris.
Co-driver Scott Andrews says the car is very nervous in order to drive fast because of the short wheelbase. The car has to be twitchy in the turns and poor old Anton Dias Perera just lost it. He is climbing out of the car under his own steam. In replay, it was Sheena Monk who clattered Frank DePew into turn one and then cut down the tire and could not make the turn. The Full Course Yellow should put the Rebel Rock Camaro back in the game. Frank DePew at first thought he had no brakes and then realized his tire was square. Not a good day for Frank DePew and co-driver Robin Liddell so far.
40 minutes is the minimum drive time and DePew will have a short stint. Sean Quinlan is now a lap down due to his cut tire we saw earlier. So, the action is hot and heavy early doors here at Watkins Glen, New York, in the Finger Lakes. The track marshals are repairing the Armco where Anton Dias Perera crashed. We will likely not see Scott Andrews in that car later. Game over. The sister #14 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4 is still on track, with Alfredo Najri of the Dominican Republic sharing with Thiago Camilo, the Brazilian. Full Course Yellow remains out as the cars trundle around behind the safety car.
No changes up front as the field is frozen for now with nearly 30 minutes elapsed. Some takers coming into the pit lane in Grand Sport it appears, and bucketloads of them. It is Grand Central Station in the lane right now. Both of the KohR Mustang's, Turner Motorsports, the #14 surviving Riley Motorsports Supra is in. Routine service for everybody and they now file back onto the track save for two cars with slower stops than they'd like. One of those looks like the Automatic Racing Aston Martin car #09. That is the Rob Ecklin, Ramin Abdolvahabi car.
So, we are still under yellow looking at the #77 Hyundai Elantra N TCR from Bryan Herta Autosport for Mason Filippi and Tyler Maxson. Then we switch to have a Captain Cook at their #98 Elantra as well for Parker Chase and Harry Gottsacker. Still under yellow. The top two cars stayed out and the TCR blokes are in the lane. Most of the Hyundai Elantra's are in the lane. Mason Filippi will stay in #77. Fuel and right side tires. The #77 ran their Veloster hatchback earlier and now have the Elantra back after a crash at Sebring. Parker Chase and Robert Wickens both want by the #17 Audi for JDC-Miller Motorsports and there is a bit of a fight on the radio between Lewis and Wickens who both want to pass.
The #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi s pciking up places and into the lane, there's a concertina effect and a tap between the Hyundai's. Wickens tags Chase so no wonder he is not happy and Jon Morley tags Chase in the overlap in the fast lane and the stewards will be having a good eyeball at that. Pardon me. That is Gavin Ernstone at the wheel of #61. 48 seconds full fuel load for GS and 52 seconds for TCR. Eric Filgueiras has to push if we see a restart soon. We have a mixed field, a candy dish. Pick your flavor. We will be headed back to green, and I guarantee you this will be an all-out scrum. This will be a rugby match more than a motor race. As the Australians would say, these blokes will be racing for sheep stations, whatever that may mean.
Top ten in GS did not pit and two in TCR stayed out. Victor Gonzalez leads Alex Rockwall and Rory van der Steur. Filgueiras gets shot from a gun on this restart and now, we can see Alan Brynjolfsson flying. Kenny Murillo in the #72 Mercedes AMG GT4 and the two Murillo entries beginning to push. Frank DePew was a lucky chap to stay on the lead lap as we have some argy bargy between the two KohR Mustang's. Sameer Ghandi tries to escape in the #93 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Porsche Cyaman and we see a tire rub on the #19 Hyundai Veloster. Rory van der Steur, third in class, is in trouble. He has a broken suspension.
Into the uphill turn, he scrapes it over the curbs and somehow or other, that car has a wobble wheel on the right rear of it, look. The team at van der Steur Racing will be gutted. Gavin Ernstone is ahead of this angry pack of Hyundai's. He is the minnow while the sharks are ganging up on him. Good strategy call for Road Shagger that could bring them to the front as Chris Miller is also in the fight in the #17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi. We are past the minimum drive time of 40 minutes. A.J. Muss moves past Ernstone and Miller is still behind. They had a huge disappointment at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Oh dear! Wrestling at 100 miles an hour and he is clipped! Ryan Norman in the #2, and that is A.J. Muss. Muss not happy with Jon Morley and Chris Miller says, "thanks, boys. I will whistle off into the distance now." Mike LaMarra in the #73 LA Honda World Honda Civic slams the #5 KMW with TMR Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR. That is Roy Block and Tim Lewis. Mason Filippi, the pole man in TCR is now eighth in class and they are on the same strategy as Road Shagger who did not take tires and leapfrogged the field. So, Robert Wickens is now leading the motor race.
He knows he is fast, driving of course with hand controls, teamed up with Mark Wilkins. He has a bit of bodywork flapping off the windscreen or something. Hard to tell. Victor Gonzalez and Parker Chase both in hot pursuit. Wickens is teamed back up with Mark Wilkins who missed the most recent race at Mid-Ohio last month, six weeks ago. There was a family emergency for Mark Wilkins with his daughter Maisy. Maisy is OK. Thank goodness. Rory van der Steur is disgusted. He says it is not fair that they had to get tagged by the CarBahn GS Porsche. He believes some drivers should not even have a license for driving like a maniac.
Trouble to for the #12 Corsa Horizon with MC Squared Aston Martin and a flat tire on the right front for the Volt Racing Aston Martin! Wow! They are losing gobs of time. Alan Brynjolfsson will hand over to Trent Hindman and they might drop like a stone. Do not destroy wheel speed sensors or ABS components. The tire is beginning to come apart. Slow down. The left front is flailing around. Brynkolfsson to the lane. They are doing the driver change and have to pull the car back before changing the tire. Trent Hindman climbs aboard. Do not lose any more time. Reach into the wheel well and check no cords from the tire are wrapped around the suspension.
The car was in one piece and now Trent Hindman has to push. #7 is now a lap down. So, Eric Filgueiras leads and in points, Eric Foss with 1400 points would be 40 points up on Volt with RS1 and their Porsche third in the standings as of now. Porsche Cayman vs. Mercedes AMG as Filgueiras is now being monstered for the race lead by Kenny Murillo in the #72 Murillo Racing Mercedes, sharing with Christian Szymczak. We are nearing the halfway mark here at Watkins Glen. Since this event is now a sprint instead of an enduro it has flown by. Tomorrow's WeatherTech event will be an enduro, a mini enduro.
Murillo is within striking distance. Luca Mars was the first car to pit in the #60 Mustang is pushing. Robert Wickens has brought the #33 Hyundai to the top. Robert Wickens won at the Nurburgring in DRM with Mercedes in 2017 and that was his last race victory. No worries with Road Shagger Racing in the #61 Road Shagger Audi. A clean stop for those boys. They are in the pound seats if we see a Full Course Yellow. Hindman at 1:55.1 has uncorked fastest lap. He is a lap down. He is praying for a yellow to get cycled to the tail end, of the Grand Sport field for the GT4 cars. Down the hill into a tricky corner, balancing the car on the brakes. Hindman is trying to pass the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes of Eric Foss.
Foss still needs to pit the #56 entry. Seven seconds he needs and a yellow and we could see one. Trouble for tires with the #14 Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra of Alfredo Najri. He took the NASCAR shortcut and that lap will not count. To the lane as well, the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman. Eirc Filgueiras handing over to Stevan McAleer. The pit crew has tape out to try and see about some damage on that automobile. Cannot see anything needing a bandage. Is the yellow tape a signaling system? They are taping up the bonnet which is loose. Watch out for the brake cooling inlets though.
Don't get overheating on a hot day. Trouble for another of the Toyota Supra's who stalls. This is the #6 Forbush Performance Toyota Supra of Brandon Kidd and Tom Long. Tire trouble again for BMW #43 and now, pit stop time for the #72 Murillo Mercedes. Christian Szymczak taking over for Kenny Murillo. Four tires and fuel. TCR leader in the lane in #33. Wickens' trainer, Jim Leo, from Pit Fit, will assist him into the car. Wickens is carried to the wall as they change to Mark Wilins who has front tires only. TCR cars use their front tires most due to Front Wheel Drive and the steering. Wickens has had a great stint.
Wilkins now in the car. #33 has track position on the #61 Audi. That is Morley I believe. Flat tire for the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4. Bill Auberlen out and into the car, Dillon Machavern I believe. Tire trouble for the Turner boys. Little things that pick at you, have gotten them all year. Turner Motorsports needs good luck. That is for dead sure. 53 minutes left on the board. Turner should be on the money for fuel. Machavern taking the car home to the finish. More GT4's pitting in GS. From the lead, the #56 Murillo Mercedes as Kenton Koch takes over from Eric Foss. Foss was injured in a driver coach situation in a car that had brake failure.
He was in a foot brace and on crutches after that wreck. Yellow on the speedway. I wonder. #46 has not cycled to the lane, Hugh Plumb in the TGM Porsche. Plumb could be the fly in the ointment, the oil in the ointment. Now, debris on the road and the safety crews are doing a track inspection. Ah. A sailboat out on te lake. Very peaceful, here at Seneca Lake, adjacent to the racecourse at Watkins Glen. Some serenity to break up all this wild and frantic action for a wee while. There is the Seneca Spirit tour boat as well, look. A good day to be out on the water or at the track.
It is a picture perfect, Chamber of Commerce day for weather here in upstate New York. Track crews continuing the cleanup process or completing it. Again, some folks are content to be out on Seneca Lake today. Meanwhile, we could see a major day for Robert Wickens. Wickens says, "it is a long race and I could see Mason pulling away. I don't know if Parker has more rear wing than me but I was never close enough to lunge into the Bus Stop." He had a fun stint. He is driving Watkins Glen for the first time and as he says "I am taking to it like a duck to water."
Eric Foss says the #56 car is running well and they are missing Jeff Mosing, and he could not continue driving for the time being. Eric Foss is appreciating how Robert Wickens is able to drive. With his inured foot, he is doing well. It is inspirational to see drivers out there who overcome physical disabilities to drive. But ultimately, they are abel to make it work and have the desire to win just like everyone else. Pit stop time at the #46 TGM Porsche camp. Not sure there was a driver change. The sister #64 is also in and now back out along with numerous others. Hugh and Matt Plumb in #46 and #64 has Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler.
Just over 40 minutes of racing still to go. This one has flown by. I was right. Whoops. We have the #26 car coming to a halt. This is also in TCR. The TWOth Autosport Audi is in strife, being shared by Travis Hill and Eddie Killeen. The car is slow. We also saw the LA Honda World Honda Civic in the lane. That is Mike LaMarra and Ryan Eversley in their Civic FK7 TCR. Mercedes vs. Faord vs. Porsche vs. BMW in GS and a Hyundai show at the top of the shop in TCR. So, we can see the TWOth Autosport entry has made it to pit lane and to service. Less than 40 minutes before this motor race will be done and dusted.
As soon as we are released from behind the safety car, it will be go time. Kenton Koch leads over teammate Christian Szymczak and third, Nate Stacy in the KohR Motorsports #60 Ford Mustang GT4. Mark Wilkins leads TCR in the #33 Hyndai Elantra as Jon Morley has stolen fast lap away from Robert Wickens and he has a second in hand over everyone else who have been caught in traffic on old tires. Ryan Norman, Tyler Maxson, and Tim Lewis Jr. in the Alfa Romeo are also in the fight. All the GS cars will be pointed by the TCR cars. #60 were good on strategy and the yellow flag has pulled the rug out from under them and given chances to Liddell, Foley, Hindman, and others. This is a straight fight for the final 35 minutes.
Green flag. Green flag. Leading the motor race, Koch, over Szymczak. Stevan McAleer inside Nate Stacy. Porsche passes Mustang for third place. Mike Skeen and Bill Auberlen are about to gobble Stacy up. This is a massive battle for position. Auberlen and Machavern have had a quiet season in 2022 after doing well most of 2021. Chad McCumbee chasing Spencer Pumpelly and Robin Liddell passes both of them. Mustang vs. Camaro vs. Porsche Cayman vs. BMW M4. Bill Auberlen late on the inside on Stacy. Taking the Mustang driver by surprise. Robby Foley also pressing hard.
Chad McCumbee at the wheel of the #40 PF Racing Mustang. Trouble for Tyler Maxson and the #77 Hyundai Elantra! He is not in a safe haven and he is far from home. No power. Mark Wilkins hangs on over Jon Morley. Morley defending from Ryan Norman and here comes Norman. Morley slams the door in his face. These two blokes ran into each other at Laguna Seca a couple months back. Koch and Szymczak are pushing and we have a yellow for the stranded Hyundai Elantra. Busted driveline for #2 and Full Course Yellow. A short yellow as we just came off of one. Half an hour remaining before we settle this one. It is going to be a real dogfight.
#2 has no steam. The engine is fine but the driveline locked up. Transmission or driveshaft, gone. Kenton Koch and Christian Szymczak for Murillo Racing are pushing in the lead. Ted Giovanis, he is at his 100th race start and got a painting or something to celebrate signed by the team. Well done, Ted. Congratulations. He wrote a book about Medicare reimbursement. Back to green, McAleer wants it on Szymczak. Yikes! Auberlen to the inside of Mike Skeen. Auberlen, a man on a mission and he gets a massive tow up nto the Porsche. Four car battle pack at the front. Here comes McLaeer on Szymczak. Through the Bus Stop. McAleer clears him for second spot!
Kenton Koch had to give it up. Worries at RS1 about the tape on the front. The hood is delaminating on the Porsche. The bonnet is creating drag through the turbulent air. Not good. Auberlen to the outside on Kenton Koch who is backing up into the clutches of the #11 Mercedes. I believe that is the Capstone car and here comes Robin Liddell pushing, pushing, pushing in the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Camaro. He wants it too. Wow! Liddell on Skeen to the outside and Mike Skeen gets snookered! Holy cow! Szymczak has experienced and his eking a gap out on McAleer and Auberlen. Szymczak and Murillo won an SRO title in 2021.
Is another car stopped on the road? Kenny Murillo is a data engineer for the team. That is Ryan Eversley in the #73 LA Honda World Civic, he is stopped in The Boot and is not safe. That will be a yellow for sure. They won this race but then were disqualified, last year. Will we go yellow? That is the question with just a tad over 20 minutes remaining. Do not go anywhere. If you need to run to the fridge or cupboard for snack, do it now, because you won't want to miss the end of this one. Ryan Eversley disappointed but can still wave to the crowd.
He has run with Rick Ware Racing and their Acura NSX GT3 in GT Daytona in the WeatherTech Championship. They had delayed flights from LA and drove in a minivan to the track. Mike LaMarra had a cancelled flight and could not be there until Friday afternoon. What a frustrating deal from Wednesday until now. Travel trouble for everyone everywhere in our world right now. Mark Wilkins now at the wheel of the #33 BHA Hyundai Elantra that Robert Wickens took to the lead in TCR and they could very well win the race. 18 minutes remaining now.
Oh dear. Trouble for one of the Audi TCR's as #15 comes to a stop and resumes. That is the Audi RS3 LMS TCR DSG of Alex Rockwell and Dennis Dupont for Belgard & Techniseal Racing. Join us tomorrow at 9:30 A.M. for the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen for the WeatherTech Championship. A massive day tomorrow. Taylor Hagler said that the drive time for BHA might be cut too close. Drive time is only calculated from pit out. Michael Lewis needed a 40-minute drive time. The team started down the order after electrical trouble in qualifying. Mercedes, porsche, BMW, Camaro, Mercedes, Ford, Aston Martin, Porsche. Lots of top cars going for it in GT4.
Inside 15 minutes. This will go bonkers in a minute and get really tasty! Cinch down those belts and get ready. This is going to be a barn burner to the end! Green flag! Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson in Hyundai #54 have run well. Bill Auberlen tries grabbing second on McAleer and he does it! He has the draft from Szymczak. Watch out for Robin Liddell. Auberlen has to go on defense and stays second behind Szymczak. Liddell has the pace. He has to control his speed.
Skeen motoring around the outside on Liddell down the chute into turn six. Kenny Murillo is getting back into the picture. Auberlen has cleared McAleer and chasing Szymczak. Trent Hindman making up ground and he is making his move on Chad McCumbee who won with James Pesek at Sebring back in March. Liddel looking to the inside. No dice. No change through turn one as Hindman is pushing hard as they have reclaimed the points to be in the lead of the championship. Mark Wilkins doing all he can to bring it home in TCR over Tim Lewis Jr. and the others. Auberlen to the lead and here comes McAleer around Szymczak and Liddell wants it. Big move by Skeen who is nudged by Szymczak. Liddell outside Skeen.
Auberlen is chuckling like a stuck possum right now, getting away. A real squeeze between the Mustang's. Szymczak has no torque and no handling. No torque on the steering. Liddell wants by Szymczak. We are ready for blastoff to the finish here at Watkins Glen! McAleer makes his move to try and pass and he does. Liddell is now stymied by Szymczak. Murillo looks for a way around the #55 FCP Euro by Ricca Autosport Mercedes. That is the Mike Skeen car he has shared with Trevor Andrusko.
Bill Auberlen leads Stevan McAleer. Shades of a year ago when these two were in the fight and McAleer won with Patrick Gallagher in an Aston Martin. Auberlen, pushing through the Inner Loop on the Murillo Mercedes. Auberlen now leads by two and a half, three seconds. Stevan McAleer had contact on the restart and the toe is out. The car has massive understeer. Hang on and see how far you can go. He is doing everything he knows to sa,lvage a spot. Tim Lewis Jr. is closing on Mark Wilkins. Alfa Romeo vs. Hyundai. Robert Wickens wants to win for the first time since 2017 in the old DTM with touring cars for Mercedes.
Robert Wickens looking on, watching the race on his phone. Wickens will become a dad this summer as well as his wife Carly is expected a baby. Will today be the day for Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins? He has GS traffic to work with. Wilkins and Wickens have known each other since racing go karts in Canada. Next week, the two of them will be at home at Mosport Park, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, next weekend. Wilkins has a fight on his hands to hold off Tim Lewis Jr. in the KMW TMR #5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Robert Wickens was on the brink of Formula 1. He went to IndyCar and on debut in 2018 he won the pole at St. Petersburg. He had a devastating accident at Pocono Raceway that could have ended his career.
He needs hand controls as he has lost some use in his legs. He could very well win if Mark Wilkins can hold on. Bill Auberlen leading overall before we go to the white flag next time by. The gap increases as Robin Liddell wants by Christian Szymczak. Trent Hindman has made up three places in the last wee while to gain them more championship points. 1480 for theb #7 and then 140 down is Eric Floss and then Stevan McAleer 190 behind. Murillo Racing have won championships in MPC. IN tcr, lewis right on Wilkins' six.
McAleer wants to hold onto a runner-up finish. Hindman running out of time to try and get on the podium. This is it. Auberlen takes the white flag. 3.4 miles to go. One lap. Winningest driver in IMSA, now, Mikey Taylor in the #17 JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi slowing. One more lap to go. Wilkins being closed up on by Lewis Jr. in the Alfa Romeo. Does Lewis have anything? The Alfa Romeo has the run. Wilkins must stay in position. Lewis will try to send it on the outside, no. Wilkins losing grip offline. Wilkins wants this win. Down through The Boot.
Bill Auberlen exiting The Boot, into turns eight and nine. A couple more turns to go. Auberlen leading by two seconds but has enough. He and Dillon Machavern win! It is taco time! Mark Wilkins will make Robert Wickens a winner in TCR! BHA Hyundai win Watkins Glen! That's fabulous! Wow. Trainer and friend Jim Leo and Sean Jones, helping Robert Wickens to try and get back to driving again. Now he has won! What a fabulous moment for Robert Wickens and Mark Wilkins.
Overall/Grand Sport: #95 Auberlen/Machavern Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4
TCR: #33 Wilkins/Wickens Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N TCR
So, that is a wrap for Michelin Pilot Challenge at Watkins Glen. What a motor race! Next up for Michelin Pilot Challenge, a return to Mosport Park, (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, north of the border, eh, for the Chevrolet Grand Prix/Canadian Tire Motorsports Park 120, next Saturday. Join us in Canada for the next race, next weekend. See you then. Bye for now. See you tomorrow for the big one, the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen.
