After a long break, the Michelin Pilot Challenge championship for production-based race cars, returns to action at Watkins Glen International Raceway in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, a legendary circuit, that has it’s roots in sports car races that took place through the town streets of Watkins Glen in the post WW. II. Era. This is round four of the 2021 MPC championship. Besides the season opening BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway, this event, the Tioga Downs Casino 240, is the only other four hour race of the Michelin Pilot series season.
In the woods, is nestled one of the best tracks in the
country, one of the most historic. It is
hot, steamy, muggy. There’s plenty of
space for refreshment from the heat, and it is time for us to see a race. We’ve got a big stretch of races for Michelin
Pilot Challenge drivers and teams including another shorter race this coming
Friday. So, stay tuned for that one as
well. In the points standings, Kuno
Wittmer is the man with the lead, by 120 points over his closest rivals. Wittmer driving of course for the McLaren
team, being pursued hotly by the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 duo of Vincent
Barletta and Robby Foley.
AWA McLaren have won two races so far. Orey was on baby watch during the last race
at Mid-Ohio. Congratulations to the
family on the birth of a baby boy. McLaren
is at the sharp end. They lock out the
front row, and we will see a challenge from new kids on the block here in IMSA,
with the debut of Black Dog Speed Shop and their #34 McLaren 570S GT4 to be
driven by Michael Cooper and Spencer Pumpelly.
These drivers and the team have won races and championships. We also should look out for the Notlad Racing
by RS1 Aston Martin Vantage GT4. This
car, #23 is being shared by Patrick Gallagher and Stevan McAleer.
These teams are going to be competitive. Hyundai in TCR, they are leading the charge,
but are being hotly pursued by both Honda and Audi. The duo of Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler lead
by 40 points over second place Ryan Eversley.
The comes another Hyundai in the hands of Ryan Norman and Parker
Chase. Audi are also at the sharp end
with the Road Shagger duo of Jon Morley and Gavin Ernstone. The #84 Atlanta Speedwerks team has been
extremely fast, with their Honda, but they hae not been able to exeute in the
races.
Hyundai and Bryan Herta Autosport are searching for speed,
especially in these enduro events. Will
they find it today? We’re about to
answer that very question. The #77
Hagler/Lewis Hyundai Veloster has been very consistently lately with finishes
of fourth at Daytona, third at Sebring, second at Mid-Ohio. Can they win today at The Glen? Starting caboose on the TCR field is the
sister BHA Hyundai, the #98 Elantra TCR.
They are so far behind because of the transponder glitching and not
registering a qualifying time for Parker Chase sharing with Ryan Norman.
We have a wide variety of cars in each class. We have a split start for the Grand Sport and
the TCR cars. Here come the GS/GT4 cars
down for the start. An all McLaren front
row sweep. Again, we have Spencer
Pumpelly and Kuno Wittmer across row one.
Patrick Gallagher in the Aston Martin has the #8 McCann Racing Audi R8
GT4 of Andrew Davis at his elbow. Here
we go. The cars accelerate down the
front straightaway. Green flag! Go!
The McLarens are right on the button as Andrew Davis is moving into
fourth place. Michael Cooper has nothing
to lose, and he speeds past Wittmer uphill through the famous esses here at
Watkins Glen.
Gallagher in the Aston Martin nabs Wittmer as well. Here comes the TCR start and the Altanta
Speedwerks Honda’s want their first wins of the year. Honda had a Balance of Performance
adjustment, and oh dear. First incident
on the first lap as into The Boot, the #57 Mercedes AMG GT4 spins out. This is the Winward Racing car in the hands
of Bryce Ward and Alec Udell. Ward at
the wheel of it now. This is a two-car
team. Remember, Winward Mercedes won GT
Daytona at the Rolex 24 earlier in the year in the WeatherTech Championship.
That corner, moving into the laces of The Boot, is tricky. Cold tires must have contributed to
that. He was running out of road, or
lifting off the throttle too soon, passing the #11 FCP Euro Mercedes in the
hands of Michael Hurczyn and Nate Vincent.
The second Winward Mercedes of Russell Ward and Indy Dontje was also in
that scrap, car #4. Downhill into the
braking zone is a great passing opportunity into the first corner. Matt Plumb in the #46 TGM Racing Chevrolet
Camaro, he is shadowing Andrew Davis, letting him know he is there and wants to
pass. He wants a bite of the cherry, but
will Mr. Davis give it to him?
Ryan Hardwick in the meantime, is being monstered by one of
the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4’s and is driving in a defensive mode right now. Drive well today, you can be in the pound
seats to succeed at the next race, the sprint event, right here at Watkins
Glen, next Friday. Keep your eye on the
big picture. Black Dog Speed Shop are
racing here at Watkins Glen and will do so also at Road America. Black Dog Speed Shop have been very
successful with five driver’s and 14 manufacturer’s cup titles in the SRO
championship, the other major sports car championship here in North
America.
Michae Cooper is a four-time SRO champion. Spencer Pumpelly was drafted in when Black
Dog Speed Shop team owner/team boss Tony Gaples could not answer the call to
drive. Robert Noaker leads TCR just
ahead of the #88 VCMG Honda Civic TCR, Karl Wittmer at the controls. Kuno and Karl Wittmer are brothers, and they
have a third racing brother, Nick Wittmer, who is also extremely quick. The family is from Canada, and they love
motorsports.
Michael Cooper says he and his team are learning to race in
IMSA but they want to win as they are being chased still, by Notlad Racing and
their Aston Martin. Kuno Wittmer is
closing up once again on the lead duo, headed back to The Boot another
time. Gallagher is really closing in on
Cooper. This is a fair fight and we are
barely ten minutes into a four hour motor race. There’s a long, long way to go yet. Plenty of action to enjoy. The trio at the front is gapping the next
couple of cars and then there is a huge scrum for position in the back half of
the top ten. Cooper leads Gallagher by
four tenths of a second followed by Kuno Wittmer’s McLaren, Andrew Davis’ Audi,
and in fifth, the #3 Motorsports In Action McLaren of Sheena Monk and Spencer
Pigot.
Sixth through tenth is the #46 TGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro
GT4.R of Hugh Plumb, followed by Ryan Hardwick in the #16 Wright Motorsports
Porsche Cayman Clubsport, Dillon Machavern in the sister #95 Turner Motorsports
BMW M4 GT4, Brandon Kidd in the #09 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4,
and Alan Brynjolfsson in a similar Aston Martin for VOLT Racing with
Archangel. A good battle brewing in TCR
as the throaty, angry buzz of the 2.0 liter turbo 4 cylinder engines echoes its
way through the woods here at Watkins Glen, with Honda in the lead, Robert
Noaker, just a tenth ahead of Karl Wittmer.
We ride onboard, briefly, with the #21 Riley Motorsports
Toyota Supra GT4 in the GS class. This
team has two Toyota Supra’s in the field today.
#14, the regular entry being driven by Costa Rica’s Javier Quiros,
sharing with Alfredo Najri of the Dominican Republic, and their third bullet
this weekend is the rapid Brazilian LMP3 driver from the WeatherTech
Championship (and a competitor in several other sports car racing disciplines),
Felipe Fraga. The sister car, #21, that
also has a star-studded driving trio with IMSA prototype regular Scott Andrews alongside
prototype veteran Colin Braun, and the lineup anchored by regular driver Anton
Dias Perera. Andrews, the Australian,
could be driving the car now. Hard to
say.
The Toyota is trying to make a move on the #93 CarBahn with
Peregrine Racing Audi R8 GT4. This is
the car in the hands of the Californian trio of Tom Dyer, and Mark and Nolan
Siegel. Jeepers creepers! Both Supra’s are right on the back decklid of
the Audi! This is going to get tasty
soon, look. Back up front, you’ve missed
nothing. It remains an Aston Martin
smack in the middle of a McLaren sandwich.
Cooper, Gallagher, and Wittmer, being chased by Davis and Pigot. That is still your top five in the Grand
Sport class.
Similar battles ensue all over the track here at Watkins
Glen. This is some bloody find motor racing! Porsche, Aston Martin, BMW, Audi, all duking
it out. The back half of the tiop ten
sees Ryan Hardwick ahead of Brandon Kidd, Dillon Machavern, and Alan
Brynjolfsson, and none of these chaps are slowpokes at all. They are top drivers in the GT4 ranks here in
IMSA. To that end, though, in the midst
of their scrum for position, they are also chasing down sixth place man, Hugh
Plumb in that gray TGM Camaro, car #46, which was so successful for a good
while in our most recent event at Mid-Ohio.
Kidd appears to make a move on Hardwick as we jump headlong
now into the TCR battle as well. This is
a part of multi class sports car racing.
There’s always something to see.
There’s never a dull moment. Trenton
Estep, Todd Lamb, Dennis DuPont, and Tim Lewis Jr. all battle for position
behind class leader Roberto Noaker.
Honda vs. Honda vs. Hyundai vs. Alfa Romeo. But, also in TCR, there might be trouble
brewing! Who is that off the road? Oh dear!
It’s the #61 Road Shagger Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR! He’s hit the tire fence down, well, we will
have to have a Captain Cook, and see where that is on the track. Hang on a second.
Running in 13th in TCR, we can see that (not sure
if it is Jon Morley or Gavin Ernstone in that Audi), he was squeezed by a
Camaro, the #64 TGM entry and the sister car to their #46. Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler sharing the
driving chores. Cannot say if it was
Giovannis, the team owner, or Trinkler, at the wheel of it. The Audi wriggles its way across the grass
and says, "hello, tires! Not pleased to
meet you!” Now could it be game over for
the accounting firm of Ernstone and Morley?
We’ll have to see. Of course, I
don’t think either one of them is an accountant, so, take that as a figure of
speech ladies and gentlemen.
Meanwhile for the Camaro, that is a rather smoky left front
wheel, and it could be three wheels on me wagon there, look. In replay, we can see that the Camaro tried
moving inside of the Audi, and it all went pear shaped from there. Ooh!
That was hard contact, as the right front corner of the Audi goes
airborne leaving the road’s surface, before slamming back down to terra
firma! He exits the corner tail first,
trying not to spin, looks in the rearview mirror and goes, “oh no!” Then, he has a subsequent unscheduled
appointment with the tires.
How very tiring! Now,
what are the subsequent travails of poor old #64? In replay there Is the smoke billowing from
his left front tire. #64 trundles to the
pit lane. Poor old #61 is awaiting his
rescue. Corner marshals, give me a hand,
will you? The #64 team goes to
work. A crumpled left front fender, and
a change of the flatspotted Michelin Pilot tires are at hand here. Vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom go the NASCAR
style rattle guns removing the five lug nuts off the wheel to look and see if
the suspension has been knackered at all.
Fuel is going into the car as the mechai=nic pulls the fender out and
the Camaero sits in the lane burbling away.
Oh deary me! We have
another king size smash up here ladies and gentlemen! It’s another Camaro in a massive spot of
bother. The front end of the #71 Rebel
Rock Racing Camaro GT4 is utterly demolished!
Not just the front, but the rear tail section as well, look! Full Course Yellow on the race track, for
obvious reasons as it is littered with cars needing repairs, and they will have
to be quick if they want to continue in this race and then, get ready for next
week’s action here at the Glen, which yours truly believes is slated for Friday
afternoon, just before the second WeatherTech Championship event. So, Friday July 2nd, mark your
calendars. This will be a busy day of a
double whammy of IMSA racing action!
Pit stop time now for the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche
Cayman. #71, wow! He’s driving away! But he’s dragging and littering bits of
bodywork all over the place. Yes, yes,
yes. In one of the uphill turns there’s
clag and junk everywhere. Full Course
Yellow remains on the speedway. We’ve
got a replay! Either Frank DePew or
co-driver Robin Liddell, the Scotsman, they won’t want to watch this one
without covering their eyes, first. Turning,
downhill coming out of the spot where the old circuit rejoins the new, the
Camaro gets loose on the curb, takes a violent left turn, and plows headlong
into the barriers! Crunch! Ouch!
That one smarts!
The #21 Toyota Supra was right in the path, our camera
car. Thank goodness that was not a
multi-car pileup! He actually came
swooping across the bow of one of the Mercedes AMG GT4’s. Was that the Murillo Racing automobile? Hard to tell from this camera angle, lads and
lasses. The tire bundle and wrapping
that is shielding the Armco has a massive shark bite out of it. Safety car scramble for obvious reasons. The safety crews are there to tend to the
driver of the Camaro and to collect the car and drag it back to the
garage. I don’t think that Camaro is
going to race anymore today. It looks
pretty secondhand at this stage.
The #61 Audi is also forlornly sitting in the grass. Seems that car’s day is over as well. So, we have had multiple incidents here in
Michelin Pilot thus far and that’s why you are hearing me rumble on about
nothing as we wait for this wreckage to be cleaned up. The AMR safety ceews are out there now,
cleaning the debris up. The driver will
certainly be taken to the medican center for checkup even though he is out of
the car and OK. Game over for the Audi
boys or so it appears. Yes indeed. #61, out of race. Uh oh.
Speaking of Audi’s in strife, here’s another. This is the #17 JDC-Miller Unitronic Audi RS3
LMS TCR SEQ (that’s a mouthful), stopping on course.
SEQ means this car has a sequential gearbox. Chris Miller (from Minneapolis, Minnesota,
incidentally), sharing with fellow American William Talley, and South African
Mikey Taylor, are stopped dead stick. These
are the drivers who won the season opener at Daytona back in January. The field slowly motors their way ‘round the
stricken Audi. They trundle ‘round in
single file behind the safety car. What
shall we talk about during this yellow?
The weather? Football (as in
soccer, not American football)? Does
anyone have any ideas? We sure are not
talking about motor racing just yet while we wait out this track cleanup.
Not even half an hour on the board yet and we still have many laps of this race to go. The TCR field is now minus one Audi which will see a Hyundai vs. Honda battle the rest of the way. We still see the McLaren’s as the bread and the Aston Martin as the jelly in the middle of the leading sandwich. The Road Shagger Audi is on the rollback for it’s forlorn journey back to the paddock. The field is still frozen behind the safety car. I wonder how many commercials have aired on the television since this Full Course Yellow appeared.
Right now, is the perfect time for you to go to the fridge
or the cupboard and grab a snack and a beverage that hopefully will last the
rest of this race, because you may not have another chance to get some
nourishment, assuming we will go back to green soon. The stalled JDC-Miller Audi is being towed to
the paddock as the cement dust is being put down, the speedy dry, to sop up the
fluid dropped from a couple of those cars that had their mechanical woes. Drivers wisely stay to the left side of the
road to avoid the oil dry and here comes the jet dryer to assist. The track crews are still at work.
Once again, a Public Service Announcement. Without the marshals and the volunteers to
keep these races going, and keep them safe, there would be no motor racing at
all. We thank you, for your service to
motorsports, from the bottom of our hearts.
Might as well take a breather now, because there’s still lots of hard
driving ahead as we work our way through this four hour marathon. If you think this is something, we have six
hours for the WeatherTech Championship here at The Glen, tomorrow. You won’t want to miss that one let me tell
you.
Quite the variety of manufacturers of production sports and
touring cars racing here in Michelin Pilot Challenge. That is what keeps this and the WeatherTech
Championship healthy. Manufacturer
involvement and talented drivers. That’s
what keeps sports car racing alive. We
look at the track map. We are located a
wee bit due west of New York City. What
a great circuit this is. 11 corners in
3.4 miles. Super fast, super smooth,
high grip. Into turn one, go downhill
and it’s a good overtaking place. Stay
tight through there to get maximum grip.
Punch it, as you speed through the esses uphill. Fly through the Inner Loop. You do have to hit the brakes through here,
but it’s another wonderful overtaking opportunity on the track. Into turn six, that is The Boot. Into the heel of the boot, is another prime
overtaking spot. You drive down through
the laces, then to turn seven which is the toe, and then through turn eight
which is the heel. The drivers love this
track. High speed, high load, high
commitment, and watch out for the right side tires. 30 drivers have not raced here at Watkins
Glen before.
Check what I said earlier.
That massive accident we saw for the Rebel Rock #71 Camaro, was in fact
Frank DePew and not Robin Liddell in the car.
So, he got out of it OK, but their day, as well as that of the Road
Shagger #61 Audi TCR is over. The #17
JDC-Miller Audi we saw earlier stopped on the road, is now three laps
behind. We’re ready for a restart! Finally!
The Wright Motorsports Porsche was the only car to pit and Michael
Cooper shoots back into the lead with Kuno Wittmer second, as Spencer Pigot is
doing his level best to make it a 1-2-3 for McLaren, trying to move ‘round the
#8 Audi of Andrew Davis. You must take
the green on the track before pitting.
What will the stewards say?
The Aston Martin is pitting for a penalty. This was the second place car that gives up a
boatload of track position and could not take service. They probably needed a splash of gas. Notlad Racing is now on an alternate
strategy. Spencer Pigot did not qualify
well but he is now third. The Balance of
Performance adjustment to the McLaren, has made it have a one lap pace, but
they now are heavier and have a higher ride height. Oh no!
Another spin! You can hear the tires
squealing from here. Taylor Hagler spins
the #77 Hyundai Veloster into the gravel trap!
She is beached in the kitty litter.
Goodness me. They led the TCR
championship over Ryan Eversley by 40 points coming and she was tagged by
Michael Johnson in the #54 Copeland Motorsport Hyundai Veloster. The #77 is going to lose a lap.
This is the Tioga Downs Resort & Casino 240. Well, if you were betting on a poker game at
the casino, you probably would have laid your chips on the table to say that
the #77 team was going to win in TCR.
Today, you might lose a wee bit of bread on that bet. Yet another Full Course Yellow, but this time
is a standard yellow allowing wave by’s and so forth. The #94 Atlanta Speedwerk’s Honda will take
advantage of this misfortune for the #77 entry.
Hagler has beached that car.
She’s buried up past the tire and the car is sinking into the gravel
trap. She will surely need a rescue now.
The AMR safety truck has come to her rescue, and we see in
replay it looks like just a slight touch with the other Hyundai, the Michael
Johnson driven car. Johnson remains on
track. Finally, Taylor Hagler is indeed
rescued from the gravel trap and makes her way back to the pits. It appears there is no excess gravel
underneath that car, so no further debris and detritus to scatter all over the
racing surface. Honda #94 was about to
hit the pit lane but ducked back onto the racetrack right at the last possible
moment.
Todd Lamb at the wheel of it, leading TCR ahead of Taylor
Hagler. Wholesale pit stops now in the
Grand Sport class. Everyone is venturing
to the lane for service. Michael Cooper
comes to the attention of the Blackdog Speed Shop crew and hands the car over
to Spencer Pumpelly for the next stint while fuel is added, and tires are
changed. The #16 Wright Motorsports
Porsche Cayman GT4 is also in and out in a flash. Not sure Jan Heylen stayed in the car or
handed it over to Ryan Hardwick. Or, it
could be the other way ‘round. Difficult
to tell. Automatic Aston Martin, Turner
BMW, TGM Chevrolet Camaro, it’s a busy time down there in the pit lane.
40 minutes on the board.
A mad scramble out of the lane and back on track. PF Racing Mustang, Volt Lighting Aston
Martin, and more. The Blackdog team is
still getting used to the IMSA rules on pit stops hence why they are a tad
slower than everyone else in the lane.
The car is off the air jacks, fires up, and peels away. Full Course Yellow continues with Kuno
Wittmer now leading Spencer Pigot, Nate Vincent, Jeff Mosing, and Tim
Probert. Both Murillo Racing Mercedes’
have made it to the top five.
Jeff Mosing sharing the #56 Mercedes AMG GT4 with Eric Foss,
and the sister car #65 has Tim Probert at the controls, sharing with Kenny
Murillo, the team owner, and Jeff Mosing is also entered in that car as a third
driver, just in case. The field remains
behind the Chevrolet Corvette safety car for now. Pit lane is a busy place now, as the TCR
machines are in for service. Grand Sport
cars go in first, completing their stops, followed the next lap by the TCR
runners. A couple of the Hyundai
Veloster’s are in including the #81 CB Motorsport entry for CB Motorsports,
Trenton Estep probably handing the wheel to Mark Kvamme for the next stint.
Ditto the #27 entry for Copeland Motorsports. That is the Tyler and Tyler show. Tyler Maxson sharing with Tyler
Gonzalez. Not sure which Tyler is taking
over the car from the other. We shall
find out, perhaps. The Honda teams are
also in as we see the #88 VCMG entry, and both the Atlanta Speedwerks cars, #84
and #94. #54 in the lane as well and it
seems Stephen Simpson is now taking over for Michael Johnson, for the next
stint of the race. Smooth, clean pit
stops for the TCR runners and there too is the factory Hyundai Elantra for
Bryan Herta Autosport. Not sure if it is
Ryan Norman or possibly Parker Chase who stepped into that car.
Kuno Wittmer remains the overall leader. Once again, the TCR pit stops are now done
and dusted. The field is fprming up for
a restart with some TCR machines mixed in with the Grand Sport cars. Ah yes.
The leader is in pit lane. Kuno
Wittmer is handing the car to Orey Fidani, returning to the championship after
missing the most recent race at Mid-Ohio for an important event, the birth of
his son. We are still under the second
Full Course Yellow. #13 inherited the
lead as they pitted after the rest of the leaders came in and the team Hs lost
track position because of it. Orey Fidani
will drive the middle stint and then Kuno Wittmer will finish.
The Mid-Ohio race last month which the McLaren won, was not
expected to be a track where they were successful, but they sure were. Kuno Wittmer has gotten his minimum drive
time for points. But he has given up
track position. Nate Vincent is at the
wheel of the #11 FCP Euro Mercedes AMG GT4 and he is right in line behind
Spencer Pigot as we see the green flag again to restart this motor race. Pigot leads the way and here comes Dillon
Machavern as he is monstering Ryan Hardwick.
Machavern picks up places as we go onboard with the #40 Ford Mustang of
James Pesek. Now, we also see an onboaed
view of one of the Hyundai’s. Be very
careful of the apex curbs so you don’t hammer the tires on the loaded side of
the car.
Oh dear! Patrick
Gallagher is being pressurized right now by Michael Hurczyn I believe. The #64 TGM Camaro is being called in for a
drive through penalty for incident responsibility when Ted Giovannis turned
Gavin Ernstone in the Road Shagger Audi RS3 LMS TCR. Traffic is unbelievable. What a shemozzle right now. We watch James McCumbee as he runs flat
through the uphill esses. Pumpelly
passes Mike McCann. McLaren vs.
Audi. Spencer Pumpelly has driven many
Porsche’s through his career and the McLaren is a different animal. The suspension, the driveline, are completely
different.
Pumpelly and Cooper have been adversaries in SRO competition
through the years, but now, they are teammates.
Fascinating how motor racing works, sometimes. Eric Foss and Jeff Mosing have teamed up a
lot but sometimes one driver can only win a championship if another driver has
family commitments. Spencer Pigot leads
the motor race as Spencer Pumpelly has moved the McLaren up from 22nd
to 9th. TCR action is still
hot and heavy as well, look, and we are just shy of an hour into the race.
Tim Lewis Jr. in the black Alfa Romeo Giulietta is being
harried and passed by Dennis DuPont aboard the #19 Van der Steur Racing Hyundai
Veloster. The KMW TMR Alfa Romeo is very
quick, but they have never shaken bad luck.
We watch the Toyota Supra, (one of them), and those cars have made a
good impression thus far in the race, and we’ve seen some great onboard
pictures from the Toyota, too. No
further action on the incident between Michael Johnson and Taylor Hagler. The stewards have deemed it a racing deal.
We ride aboard the Hyundai Elantra, the #98 car for Bryan
Herta Autosport. Parker Chase at the
controls, chasing Tyler Gonzalez and Karl Wittmer up the hill and into the
Inner Loop. He tries to make a move on
Gonzalez, but Tyler Gonzalez proceeds to slam the door in his face. Downhill onto the outer portion of the track,
the cars are still negotiating the cement dust, the speedy dry, from the
earlier incident. Thuis chain of RCR
cars is massive and they are getting intermingled with the GT4 machines as
well, look. Meanwhile, Spencer Pigot
leads by nearly a second a half over Patrick Galagher as we approach the one
hour mark. Nearly an hour of this four
hour race is done and dusted.
The scrap continues through all the traffic. A big field of cars here in Michelin Pilot
Challenge. That’s for dead sure. Now we see James Pesek in the #40 PF Racing
Ford Mustang GT4 making his move on one of the Mercedes. Is that the #57 Winward Racing machine we saw
spin earlier? It appears to be that
black and silver liveried car. So, that
is either Alec Udell or Bryce Ward at the wheel of it. Difficult to say. No dice for a pass for Mr. Pesek, sharing
with NASCAR and road racer, Chad McCumbee.
A big scrap is brewing in TCR too.
Battles all over the track. This
is one of the Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic’s tussling with one of the
Veloster’s and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, for Tim Lewis Jr., Lewis Jr. is
keeping a watching brief.
Three wide!
Yikes! Lewis Jr., Dennis DuPont,
and Robert Noaker in the #84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda! Yikes!
Tyler Gonzalez, Parker Chase, and Stephen Simpson are all closing up on
this battle making it even larger. Parker
Chase in the factory Hyundai Elantra for Bryan Herta Autosport, he is going to
pass Tyler Gonzalez into The Boot, come what may. The Veloster’s are ganging up on the factory
Hyundai pilot. A hot shoe. Maybe just a shade too hot. Frantic.
Hot and heavy. Whatever adjective
you choose, that’s what we’ve got for the racing action in TCR here at The
Glen.
The back half of the top ten in Grand Sport is hotly
contested too, look. The GT4 cars are of
course in a race of their own. Hugh
Plumb, chasing after Alan Brynjolfsson, has the Murillo Mercedes in the way. Brynjolfsson is hot on the heels of Spencer
Pumpelly for eighth place. That is the
Black Dog Speed Shop McLaren, car #34, that was leading earlier on. Now back to the Parker Chase and Tyler
Gonzalez story. Gonzalez is really
applying the blowtorch and he has Stephen Simpson lurking back there as
well. This is a mega scrum and
extraordinary to watch!
Who says the TCR cars aren’t spectacular? Kicking up the dust coming back out onto the
main circuit, the train of TCR machines continues to chug. Simpson has Karl Wittmer all over his six
right now. Wittmer, meanwhile, is being
monstered by the sister Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR with Todd Lamb at
the wheel of it, and two more Hyundai’s.
Harry Gottsacker at the wheel of the #33 has the sister Hyundai Elantra
factory car in hot pursuit just behind the #51 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai
Veloster, A.J. Muss at the wheel of it, sharing with Mason Filippi.
Muss runs wide and Gottsacker says “thanks, mate, for
leaving the door open. I shall waltz
right through.” Muss is now watching a
battle in his windscreen between Parker Chase and Robert Noaker. BHA Hyundai vs. Atlanta Speedwerks
Honda. A.J. Muss, too, look, wants a
bite of the apple. He’s still in this
fight. Meanwhile, back at the ranch,
(the front), you’ve still missed nothing.
You’ve paid for your seat, only used the edge, but now, can
recline. Spencer Pigot still has a
second and a half lead over Patrick Gallagher.
Pigot is out for a Saturday drive. But there’s just over an hour on the board
and a long way to go yet. James Pesek in
the PF Racing Ford Mustang, the pink car, ahead of one of the Toyota Supra
GT4’s. Not sure if it’s the #21 or the #14. Both of those Supra’s are run by Riley
Motorsports, but one of them is being co-campaigned by Bluff City Racing. Tim Lewis Jr. leads TCR in the Alfa and his
gap back to Robert Noaker was a long one, but may be shrinking into turn one.
They are catching the tail of the Grand Sport field for the
GT4 cars. Parker Chase, meanwhile, moves
past Dennis DuPont. Here comes Tyler
Gonzalez into the fight as well, look.
Stephen Simpson too, has something left in the locker and wants to join
in. They’re having a party, and they
didn’t invite me! The former race
leader, the MIA (Motorsports In Action) McLaren is in the lane for scheduled
service and a driver change. Sheena Monk
should be taking over from Spencer Pigot.
Four tires and fuel, and the car is serviced and sent. Or is it?
Long hold on the fuel. TCR
battle, second verse same as the first.
Single file up through the esses and more passing abounds
into the Inner Loop. DuPont is the meat
in the sandwich now between Gonzalez and Simpson. Hopefully the two Copeland Hyundai’s don’t
make a pizza out of the identical van der Steur car! Gottsacker and Lamb are closing in. The sister cars for Bryan Herta Autosport and
Atlanta Speedwerks! To quote a skit from
The Muppet Show, “look, kid. You ain’t
got no guns, those are pickles!
Alright! You asked for it!” Ping, ping, ping. “Uh, sorry!
I didn’t know the pickles were loaded!”
That’s what this fight is.
Your confused, kid. You think
you’ve got a real hotrod? Well, check
this out! A bit of argy bargy and then Gonzalez
makes his move on DuPont. Identical
cars. Identical power. These two blokes are the fastest gunslingers
in this battle. Forget the pickles. Use cannons!
¼ distance into this race as we see Patrick Gallagher car in the
lead. Todd Lamb was dropping like a
stone, and he is moving his way back up the order. But, ladies and gentlemen, we have a huge
wreck in turn one! Oh my gosh! Speaking of an explosion, that’s what this
looks like! This is mad! The #27 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster
pinballs into the wall and spins around, and there’s already big damage as
well, to the #83 FastMD Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4!
That is the car of Alex Papadopoulos and James Vance and the
whole front end of it is destroyed! I
told you the cannons were loaded! Several
of the TCR cars got caught up in the debris field. #51 A.J. Muss is all torn up. Tyler Gonzalez in the #27. That loaded cannon just exploded. Caution number three of the day so far. The skidmarks are well past corner exit and
the impact zone is right into the steel Armco barrier. The car arced to the left and to the
wall. Terribly unfortunate that the
energy was directed to the guardrail and not the tire barriers that would
absorb lots more energy.
Muss was ninth.
Gonzalez was sixth, and Papadopoulos was running 13th in the
Grand Sport order, for the GT4 machines.
Yikes! This is a massive
accident. Muss has made his way back to
the pits. Vance got out of the Audi
under his own power but is being tended to by the medics. We are not even halfway yet. Merely an hour and 15 minutes into the motor
race. The #51 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai
is headed back to the garage. We will
look at a replay. Here’s it all again in
real time. Gonzalez runs wide, the TGM
Camaro t bones A.J. Muss, and Muss pinballs into Gonzalez who hits the wall
with a glancing blow.
Three into one won’t work and Gonzalez just clobbered the
Armco. Heavy damage to the front and a
huge debris field. Pit stop time for
Grand Sport cars, for the GT4’s. Notlad
and Black Dog Speedshop are in the lane together. Brandon Kidd in the Automatic Racing #09
Aston Martin is going to assume the race lead.
The Wright Motorsports #16 Porsche Cayman is also in for fresh tires and
fuel. A mechanic scrambles to retrieve a
loose wheel. Turner Motorsports, TGM,
and several other teams are in the lane as well as the GS cars pit. Two hours and 40 minutes to go, the standard
length of an IMSA WeatherTech Championship sprint event.
An IMSA official retrieves an errant Michelin Pilot
tire. The cars circulate at slow speed
behind the safety car and Brandon Kidd is still shown in the race lead as we
look at a replay of the tire running loose in the lane. On this lap, the TCR field is in the
lane. Alfa Romeo, Honda, Hyundai, and
the rest. Tires, fuel, and a driver
change for Alfa Romeo. Roy Block is
getting into the car. Hyundai #33 is in
and the Elantra there will be taken over by Mark Wilkins. Trouble, just outside pit lane for the #88
VCMG Honda Civic. It may be that Victor
Gonzalez took over that car from Karl Wittmer, but he is stopped at pit out.
No fire in the belly of the beast? Maybe the electronics need to be recycled
before he can start the car. These TCR
cars have nearly 300 horsepower at the front wheels. In replay, we see the #5 Alfa Romeo racing
the Hyundai’s out of the pit lane. Gonzalez
has his hazard flashers on, but the car still refuses to start. Your top runners in Grand Sport behind the
safety car are Jason Kidd in the #09 Automatic Racing Aston Martin, Eric Foss
in the #56 Murillo Racing Mercedes, Vinny Barletta in the #96 Turner
Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, the sister #95 Turner M4 of Dillon Machavern, Mike
McCann in the #8 McCann Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4, Orey Fidani in the #13 AWA
McLaren, Spencer Pumpelly in the #34 Black Dog Speedshop McLaren, and Hugh
Plumb in the #46 TGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
Roy Block leads TCR ahead of Robert Noaker, Todd Lamb, and
Nick Wittmer in the much delayed #88 Honda.
It is Wittmer and he is still dead in the water down at the end of the
pit lane. Someone is going to have to
try to tow him in. The lights are on and
there’s a bit of impact damage. But the
car is still not running. Most of the
leading GS and TCR cars are queued up behind the safety car at this point. This is the third Full Course Yellow in
today’s Tioga Downs Casino 240.
The incident we saw with the #83 Alex Papadopoulos driven
FastMD Audi was a single car accident. The
reason we saw the #94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda so slow (the car shared by Todd
Lamb and Ryan Eversley), a boost pipe came off the turbocharger. The problem is fixed now. Ryan Eversley will get into the car at the
halfway mark in the race at two hours, which is just about a half an hour
away. Sheena Monk has now taken over the
once overall leading MIA #3 McLaren 570S GT4 from Spencer Pigot, and they are
now tenth in the overall and in class in Grand Sport/GT4.
Spencer Pigot said the McLaren for MIA has not handled the
way they wanted through the weekend but maybe they’ve sorted the handling. The top two are off strategy, the Brandon
Kidd Aston Martin, leading over Eric Foss and Vinny Barletta as team mate
Dillon Machavern moves by. These cars
are off strategy. The Mercedes and the
Audi are right back in this fight. Aston
Martin, Mercedes, Audi, and BMW, as Nolan Segal is also a lap down and is in
this pack, car #93. Mark Segal, his dad,
handed the car over to his son. Team boss
Steve Dinan at CarBahn is really impressed.
Brandon Kidd is a Syracuse University grad and is an investment advisor
and has raced pavement late model stock cars and sprint cars, now in a GT car
at his home track.
Spencer Pumpelly has moved the #34 Black Dog Speedshop
McLaren to fifth overall and in Grand Sport while the #33 Bryan Herta Autosport
Hyundai Veloster is slowing down. Flat
right front tire on that automobile. Oh
dear. Harry Gottsacker at the
controls. At least Gottsacker was close
to the pit lane. Did he run over
debris? Probably so. The tire was cut down and there’s got to be a
suspension or steering issue on the Hyundai.
Team manager David Brown is looking things over. He has had massive amounts of experience in
racing, working with Porsche and before that, with the Williams Formula 1 team
and was overseeing the team when Ayrton Senna drove for them all too briefly in
1994 before his tragic death at Imola in Italy that year.
Don’t forget. Here’s
a programming note. Friday night, July 2nd,
a double header for the Michelin Pilot Challenge and the IMSA WeatherTech
Sports Car Championship. You won’t want
to miss either event. Tune in right here
for both on Endurance… The Sports Car Racing Blog. Have a car that is good now, but the weather
could change in a big way before the racing next week. The TCR action is hot and heavy as we near
the halfway mark of this motor race. We
continue watching more major battles in the GS ranks at the moment.
Oh dear! More
calamity as the #11 FCP Euro Mercedes AMG GT4 spins up the hill out of the
esses and tags the wall on the left rear corner! A wild ride!
He is crawling but he also has a flat right rear and a flat left rear
tire. Let’s see what happened. Ah. He
just spun and hit the wall ending up in the middle of the road. Now, is that Nate Vincent or Michael Hurczyn
driving? That was an ugly incident. Oh, hello.
A beaver pops up out of a hole in the infield as if he is interested in
watching the race here at Watkins Glen.
A beaver who likes sports car racing.
Who knew?
The beaver appears to have made a home in the carcass of a
discarded tire. Meanwhile, a brake
change is taking place for one of the Hyndai Elantra N TCR’s. Not sure if this is the #33 or the #98
car. Meanwhile, Mercedes #11 is a
wounded bird, trundling his way back to the pit lane with that steadily
delaminating left rear tire and crumpled left rear fender. The crew goes to work and fixes the tire
while also looking to tear away the loose bodywork and they do so. A new tire goes on the car but more repairs
to the rear fender must be made first.
Damage to the undertray on that car as well. The mechanics are calling for a prybar to
take the damaged bodywork and the undertray and fix it. The Mercedes will not start now. But it does fire up and will be back on track
soon, albeit, a ways behind. This is the
fourth Full Course Yellow of the race.
We have not had as much racing as we’ve truly wanted to see. That was Nate Vincent who spun and crunched
the car into the fence. Vincent got into
the clag and could not thread the needle.
They had huge success in TCR a couple years ago for another
championship, the SRO TCR series.
Many of the cars have been able to extend their fuel mileage
for over an hour due to the yellows. But
the #09 car could dispense with a pit stop.
This is a short yellow with the pit lane closed. Wait for green flag pit stops and some cars
have gone to the lane as we see the green back out. They can come now due to the short yellow
flag. We’ve had less than an hour of
racing with Brandon Kidd in the lead and the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4
in the lane. The #13 AWA McLaren has
taken fuel only and there is a driver change from Vinny Barletta to Robby Foley
in the #96 BMW M4 GT4 for Turner Motorsports.
Spencer Pumpelly is driving very well aboard the first-time
IMSA competing Black Dog Speedshop #34 McLaren.
Michael Cooper said that Black Dog has not made pit stops. In SRO sprint races they do driver changes but
no tire changes. Pumpelly unfortunately
is sliding back down the order. Eric
Foss is in the lead of the motor race as Trent Hindman and Patrick Gallagher
have both made their way around Spencer Pumpelly. Brandon Kidd, meanwhile, gives it up, handing
the lead to Eric Foss who now has a margin over the Aston Martin man of 7/10ths
of a second.
Trent Hindman in the other Aston Martin, the Volt Racing
entry, car #7, is making his way past Spencer Pumpelly. He needs to figure out the nuances of the
car, but the car is good, and the team is good too. Nolan Seagal will pit soon as we see Dillon
Machavern passing Brandon Kidd and Eric Foss.
Patrick Gallagher makes a move past Jason Kidd. Three Aston Martin’s in the top five. The marshals won’t like what Dillon Machavern
is trying to do. Machavern moves past
Kidd and Foss. Machavern is on a line
that isn’t the racing line. Kidd is out
of petrol. So, he hits the pit
lane.
Brandon Kidd is going to hand over the car. Not sure who they will change over to. It will be either Rob Ecklin or Ramin
Abdolvahabi. Two top runners (one each
in Grand Sport and TCR) get pinged for track limits by the marshals. So, the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW of Dillon
Machavern and the #94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR. Keep two tires on the curbs out of the
corners. Turns one, eight, and ten are
the turns the marshals are looking at closely.
Abusing track limits, it isn’t egregious to the lap time but has to be
consistent to every driver and they’ve been consistent all weekend long from
when Free Practice 1 happened. The #33
Hyundai Elantra has terminal trouble. It
is game over for Harry Gottsacker and Mark Wilkins.
Gottsacker says there was a “lump” in the steering. So, it is game over for one of the Bryan
Herta Autosport cars. Also, we have
trouble on track for the #14 Toyota GR Supra.
He tags the #65 Murillo Racing Mercedes.
Well, the #14 car is moving again, albeit slowly. It looks like he is coming out of pit lane
back onto the racing tarmac. A big scrum
here, too, for tenth on back in GS. The
MIA McLaren is being monstered by the PF Racing Ford Mustang as well as one of
the Winward Mercedes cars, one of the Murillo Racing Mercedes’, and the blue
TGM Camaro we saw in strife in pit lane earlier on.
Eric Foss wiggling all over the shop there, look, holding
second place behind the dominant Notlad Aston Martin #23 in the hands of Patrick
Gallagher. More trouble for the Toyota
Supra or so it appears. Monk in the MIA
McLaren, car #3, she is being hounded by the #40 PF Racing Ford Mustang and
it’s likely Chad McCumbee trying to make the pass, and he also has his hands
full with the Winward and Murillo Mercedes cars! Mama Mia!, and I don’t mean the Abba song, I
mean the Italian phrase expressing amazement or shock. There’s plenty of bumping and boring between
these three! Yikes!
I don’t know if it’s Indy Dontje or Russell Ward in the #4
Winward Racing Mercedes, but whoever it is, he has his hands full with the #65
Murillo Mercedes and the #64 TGM Camaro!
They thunder up through the toe of The Boot and back onto the main part
of the circuit here at Watkins Glen.
This is some spectacular racing we are seeing on a Saturday afternoon in
upstate New York. Classic racing at a
classic track. The #65 Mercedes runs
wide and makes the move back on track chasing down the #4 Mercedes and the #3
McLaren and now we see Trent Hindman has moved past Eric Foss and he is moving
in on Patrick Gallagher for the lead.
Monk gives it up to come to pit lane. We’re past halfway in Michelin Pilot
Challenge here at The Glen. Gallagher
leads Trent Hindman, Eric Foss, and Spencer Pumpelly. In replay, ooh, the #4 Mercedes for Winward
whacks the wall out of turn 11. That had
to give either Indy Dontje or Russell Ward a bit of a scare. Bounding over the curbs, the #4 continues on
it’s merry way. Meanwhile, Sheena Monk
has pitted the McLaren and maybe did hand it ba k over to Spencer Pigot, and we
do see some slight fender damage for Mercedes #4. A scrape on the fender.
More argy bargy for the #4 Mercedes as Parker Chase muscles
his way by in the Bryan Herta Autosport TCR Hyundai Elantra! Get out of my way! #4 is now pit lane and that minor damage may
need to be buffed out. The car is on the
air jacks but there’s going to have to be a consultation. Do we change tires? Do we fix the dented fender? Wait a minute. Hold everything. Lock the doors. We’ve got to do a brake change first and
change all the tires before we get to the damage at the rear. Ooh!
Deary me! That left a mark! You can see where #4 swapped paint with the
guardrail.
This is going to be a longer repair in the lane for the #4
team than they’d hoped. The battle in
TCR continues and it is Hyundai’s a go-go here.
Robert Noaker and Todd Lamb continue leading in class for the Atlanta
Speedwerks Honda team. But Parker Chase,
Stephen Simpson, and Michael Lewis, are having a battle of their own. Lewis taking over from Taylor Hagler. It’s Aston Martin time at the front, with
Patrick Gallagher moving ‘round the lapped #09 Automatic Racing Vantage
entry. Not sure who is in that car at
this stage.
In the background, look, Trent Hindman is lurking in the
chartreuse Aston Martin, the Volt Lighting entry. In the lane too, is the first of the Murillo
Racing Mercedes automobiles, this is #56.
Tires and fuel, and no driver change, leaving Eric Foss to do a double
stint. Waiting on the fuel, the car’s
tires are changed, he’s down off the air jacks, and away. The Aston Martin scrum continues as Hindman
moves past the Automatic Racing entry and is set to chase down Gallagher in the
Notlad Aston Martin. As you can see, the
Notlad by RS1 entry is painted in the famous Eddie van Halen guitar livery,
looking like one of Van Halen’s Frankenstrat Stratocaster guitars.
So, it is Gallagher vs. Hindman at the front of the
pack. Spencer Pumpelly who led the motor
race earlier is now third at the keyboard of the Blackdog Speed Shop McLaren,
car #34. It was Russell Ward in the
Winward Mercedes who whacked the wall out of the final turn as we watch again
in slow motion. 2014 Grand Sport
champion in Michelin Pilot Challenge, Trent Hindman, has the fastest lap of the
motor race at 1:52.2. The battle for
third through fifth is steaming along well, too. This is Spencer Pumpelly in the McLaren ahead
of Colin Braun in the #21, the second Riley Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4 being
run in cooperation with Bluff City Racing.
Hugh Plumb is also making inroads in the #46 TGM Chevrolet
Camaro GT4. We saw Matt Plumb in the car
earlier and now Hugh, his brother, takes over.
The third car behind Braun is the #93 Audi for CarBahn with Peregrine
Racing, and that automobile is a lap down.
That is Mark and Nolan Siegel sharing with Tom Dyer. Nolan Siegel at the controls now and doing a
fabulous job. Many teams went for two
drivers for this event, the second four-hour enduro for Michelin Pilot. That is along with the season opener at
Daytona, a race yours truly saw in person before the pandemic in 2020.
Some teams have drafted in some top drivers for this
enduro. Hindman is closing up on
Gallagher and it sounds like he needs to slow down and save fuel for their
window to make the pit stop. Hindman,
though, is pushing, pushing, pushing. Back
time this race with an hour and 50 minutes to go. Dillon Machavern in the #95 Turner
Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, he had a drive through penalty for exceeding track
limits. Now, Patrick Gallagher is in the lane for service and changing drivers
over to Stevan McAleer. Tires and fuel
for the boys from Notlad.
McAleer can make it to the end on two more pit stops, and we
hear that a full fuel load in a GS car around The Glen lasts for 47 minutes or
so. Trent Hindman is in the pound seats
on fuel while the Notlad boys will need a yellow to make up the
difference. Trent Hindman is back
full-time in the WeatherTech Championship for the competing team, for Wright
Motorsports in their GT Daytona Porsche.
So, stay tuned because you will read all about the 6 Hours of the Glen,
tomorrow. Hourly reports coming your
way, right here on Endurance… The Sports Car Racing Blog.
Now, the plot thickens, look, between Spencer Pumpelly’s McLaren and Colin Braun’s Toyota Supra. Braun right on Pumpelly’s six. They’ve shared cars before but are now rivals. These two blokes are the crème de la crème of sports car racing. Nolan Siegel is only 16 years old. Colin Braun debuted in sports cars at that age nearly two decades ago. We go onboard in the Supra with Colin Braun and he’s on a Saturday drive. Hindman, Pumpelly, and Braun, are three of the drivers we will see in tomorrow’s WeatherTech Championship enduro.
It will be screaming hot tomorrow. Two driver lineups will be tough to deal with
especially in the prototype cars. This
is a great time for drivers stepping over from other championships into sports
car racing. They aren’t obligated to do
it, but they choose to race in sports cars because they enjoy it. What we are going to see in the next couple
years is more manufacturer involvement with GT Daytona Pro coming in 2022 and
then the big news, with LMDh on the horizon.
Robert Noaker, another 17-year-old driver, who is on the rise. He has pace, but he will gain experience and
success to maybe move into the WeatherTech Championship one day.
Braun continues to hound Pumpelly for third spot. Naturally aspirated 3.8-liter V8 McLaren vs.
turbocharged V6 Toyota Supra. This,
ladies, and gentlemen, is a fair fight. They
move onto another lap, but are working to catch the leader, Trent Hindman. One hour and 44 minutes remaining on the
board. We check back deeper in the TCR
field. The Copeland Motorsports Hyundai
Veloster is the meat in a factory Hyundai Elantra sandwich or so it seems.
Check that. The other
blue Hyundai is the Veloster #77 for BHA, and so it is technically a factory
car. One is an Elantra and the other, a
Veloster. More battles afoot in Grand
Sport, but speaking of Grand Sport, the #46 TGM Camaro is in the lane. Meanwhile, the Hyundai’s are still enjoying
their party. Wow! Stephen Simpson is making his move on Parker
Chase, as we speak. Into the Inner Loop,
he gets the door slammed on him.
Ouch! What did you do that
for? The KMW TMR Alfa Romeo is closing
in as well, look. Roy Block and Tim
Lewis Jr. are in this fight.
Meantime, we return to the Spencer Pumpelly and Colin Braun
story. Short chapter. Pumpelly ducks for the pit lane. Fuel, tires, and a driver change back to Michael
Cooper. Waiting on fuel. It looks like one tire will be changed, one
Michelin Pilot tire before M.C. is sent on his way. Back to the TCR battle and your regularly
scheduled program right here on the sarcasm channel. Wait.
Never mind. More pit action. Enter the Volt Racing/Volt Lighting #7 Aston
Martin to pit lane. Trent Hindman, in
from the lead. Tires and fuel. No driver change, but a check of the
passenger side of the car, as that door is open. Maybe topping off a cool box or a drink
bottle or something.
Toyota in the lane with the Supra as well, the #21
machine. It appears to be a driver
change. Colin Braun out, and either
Scott Andrews or Anton Dias Perera, in. Tires
now going on the Aston Martin as fuel is added and Hindman is down and
away. The Supra is back on track and now
we see the #8 McCann Racing Audi R8 GT4 in the pits. Is it Michael McCann or is it Andrew
Davis? Michael McCann is into the
car. The TCR scrap rages. A sole Alfa Romeo vs. three hungry Hyundai’s.
The order has shuffled at the sharp end. Alec Udell leads in the #57 Winward Mercedes
followed by the Volt Lighting Racing Aston Martin for Trent Hindman, with Kenny
Murillo in the second #65 Murillo Racing Mercedes now third. Fourth goes to Dillon Machavern in the Turner
Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 #95. Andrew Davis
is fifth. In TCR, Robert Noaker leads Todd
Lamb, Parker Chase, and Stephen Simpson.
Machavern in the lane now for service and handing the car
over to the legend, Bill Auberlen. Meanwhile,
Stevan McAleer runs seventh in the verall and has a TCR battle right behind
between two of the Hyundai Veloster’s.
#77 and #54. Pit stop time for
one of the factory Hyundai cars, serviced and sent as we watch the driver at
work from the onboard camera. Into the
lane, too, the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 for fuel and tires but no
driver change, and the dame is true for the #65 Murillo Racing Mercedes.
Fuel and tires, for the most part, as wholesale pit stops
continue. A wee bit over an hour and a
half remains on the clock. Also in pit
lane, the #13 AWA McLaren. A driver
change. Not sure if it is Orey Fidani or
Kuno Wittmer to be honest. Stevan
McAleer seems to be moving up in the Notlad by RS1 Aston Martin. He is closing in on the two leaders who right
now are both Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic TCR’s, but the #84 is in the lane
for service as we speak. The order will
change. Robert Noaker pits handing the
car over to Brian Henderson.
Also pitting, the #19 van der Steur Racing Hyundai
Veloster. Down and away after a fuel
only stop? That could be. The TCR Honda’s lead the motor race overall
but things will reshuffle. Stevan
McAleer will likely assume the lead with Jan Heylen in second place and Trent
Hindman in third. We do see Todd Lamb in
the lead in the sister Atlanta Speedwerks Honda. But the equally quick GT4 Aston of Stevan
McAleer is closing in hand over fist and makes an easy pass on the Honda driver
who has to give it up.
Lamb is in the pit lane now and will hand the car over to
co-driver Ryan Eversley. The car
undershoots the pit lane. So, order is
restored with the Grand Sport cars at the head of the queue. This is the fourth race of the ten-race
season for Pilot Challenge. The next one
will be the fifth race, the halfway mark of the 2021 season. Stevan McAleer has pitted, and he is ahead of
Jan Heylen. Both have now leapfrogged
Trent Hindman. Aston Martin, Porsche,
Aston Martin. Notlad, followed by Wright
Motorsports, followed by Volt Racing with Archangel. Hindman might have enough fuel but could be
squeaky, squeaky on getting it to the end of the race and will need a splash
and dash.
Hindman has 18 laps more of petrol than his rival ahead, Jan
Heylen in the Porsche. McAleer is
outside the window. He might need
another yellow to get a chance to top up the tank. Stephen Simpson in the lane from the lead in
TCR in the #54 Michael Johnson Racing Hyundai.
Stephen Simpson won the WeatherTech Championship race overall here at
Watkins Glen in 2018 with JDC-Miller Motorsports. Robby Foley, meanwhile, has brought to the
lane, the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 as well. This team is second in the championship with
Foley second behind Kuno Wittmer in the drivers’ cup.
Hindman is saving fuel but still has pace as he speeds past
Jan Heylen. When a car handles well you
can save fuel. Burning excess fuel
trying to balance the car is not what you want as a driver. Coasting is helpful and that is possible in
some places on the track here at Watkins Glen, sailing the car into places like
turn one, turn eight, and the Bus Stop chicane in the inner loop. Ryan Norman in the Hyundai Elantra is chasing
Brian Henderson in the Honda Civic TCR.
Ryan Norman will race in IndyCar next weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course and he will miss the next race at Watkins Glen. Gabby Chaves will drive the Hyundai Elantra
this coming weekend.
So, we wish Ryan Norman well on his IndyCar debut. Usually, you went to sports cars if you
didn’t get an open wheel ride. But now,
you can drive almost anything. Stay with
a network for the team you are affiliated with.
Will Ryan Norman go on a path to IndyCar? We’ll see.
If the funding dries up, don’t disappear. If you are climbing the ladder, keep your
name in the hat and keep your profile out there. The TCR cars are far quicker than people
might give them credit for. We have an
hour and 20 minutes left in the motor race now.
It is harder to drive a car that does not give you as much top speed,
but if it can handle through the corners, your braking zones will be shortened
up. That is a good thing. The #09 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage
GT4 now is in the pit lane for service. The
challenges are there with a TCR car.
Ryan Norman has gone around Brian Henderson and Michael Lewis in the #77
Hyundai Veloster, trying to stay on the lead lap, the sister Bryan Herta
Autosport entry.
Most of these cars are going to need a short fill to get to
the end of the motor race. Ryan Norman
is on the power early, moving out of the draft, and takes the position away, out
braking the car on the outside, taking the preferred line. Ramin Abdolvahabi was at the wheel of the #09
and on the pit stop he very well could have turned the car over to third
driver, Rob Ecklin. A battle now rages
between Grand Sport and TCR as we see Stevan McAleer going around Brian
Henderson, second place man in TCR behind class leader Ryan Norman who we were
just speaking of. Norman in the TCR
class lead in the BHA Hyundai Elantra.
The TCR scrum rages on as the tires squeal into the corners,
the Michelin Pilot tires slightly protesting the side loads into the
turns. Here comes Henderson, right on
Norman’s gearbox and they have Michael Lewis in the way but will likely clear
him. Teammates are door to door down the
back straightaway and into the Inner Loop.
No dice yet. Norman stays behind
Lewis. Pit stop time now, from fourth
overall and in Grand Sport, for Jan Heylen in the #16 Wright Motorsports
Porsche Cayman. Just an hour and 15
minutes now remain in the motor race.
The TCR battle remains hot and heavy.
You have missed nothing. Norman
and Henderson are still going at it and they still have Michael Lewis in eighth
in class to contend with as they are trying to put him a lap down.
This TCR battle is fascinating to watch. The man with the front row seat to see all
this happen is our overall leader, Stevan McAleer, continuing to steer the #23
Notlad Racing by RS1 Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
He will want to pass these cars and lap them, but knows they are in a
battle of their own, or does he?
Henderson gves him room, and will the Hyundai lads do likewise? My guess is that yes, they will. Now, pit stop time again for our earlier
leader, the #3 MIA McLaren. MIA stands
for Motorsports in Action. That is the
team’s name. McAleer moves past Norman,
but now has to work his way ‘round Lewis as well.
Norman is making his move on Lewis and Lewis slams the door
in his face. Don’t roughhouse if you are
teammates. That will not look good. So, now Trent Hindman is moving up on the TCR
battle in the Volt Racing Aston Martin, closing up on Stevan McAleer. Although, McAleer is nowhere in sight. Norman is trying Lewis again and this time,
passes sucessfulkly while the #13 McLaren, the AWA car, is also moving in
fast. That would be Kuno Wittmer, I
think, in the driving seat. The shadows
grow long over Watkins Glen even though this race, and the WeatherTech 6 hours
tomorrow, will be events run in full daylight.
Just over an hour to go yet.
The action is hot and heavy in TCR as we’ve documented so much
today. Ryan Norman is hot and bothered,
probably, as Brian Henderson is right on his back door. Norman did have some contact with Kuno
Wittmer. Yes, into the Bus Stop, there
was contact between Norman in the Hyundai and Kuno Wittmer in the McLaren. Lewis probably had clag on his tires and was
squirrely into the laces of The Boot.
Focus forward. That is all you
can do.
The Honda accelerates well out of the heel of The Boot. Henderson can’t go anywhere, but here comes
the sister Atlanta Speedwerks Honda, Ryan Eversley at the wheel of it. Side by side stuff and Ryan Eversley flashes
by Brian Henderson! Jeepers
creepers! Maybe the two cars are on
different tire strategy. He is bish bash
boshing it right now through the toe of The Boot and Norman’s tires must be
knackered as he can’t turn into the apex of the corner. Eversley’s car is handling so much
better. Here he comes. Ryan Norman is struggling. Henderson and Stephen Simpson, if these two
blokes make a pig’s breakfast out of all this, they’ll be there to pick up the
scraps.
Eversley wants a win in TCR.
He is going to make his debut in NASCAR Cup for Rick Ware Racing, and
they are also entered with Ryan Norman in IndyCar at Mid-Ohio next weekend as
Stevan McAleer is still our overall leader of this thrilling motor race. Now, the gloves are off! TCR just gor serious! Here comes Eversley on the outside of
Norman. I think Norman will get caught
out, and he does. Here comes
Henderson! So, Ryan Eversley and Brian
Henderson both are moving around Ryan Norman!
Stevan McAleer is now in pit lane from the lead for tires and fuel.
One hour to go, right on the dot. Honda leading Hyundai in TCR. You’ve missed nothing. The order is unchanged in TCR but the battle
is heating up tenfold. We could see the
BHA Veloster and the JDC-Miller Veloster join the fun fairly soon. They are closing in. The order is changing up at the sharp end in
GS with the GT4 machines. We have quite
the fascinating top ten even though we’ve been paying a lot of attention to
TCR. Trent Hindman in the Aston Martin
leads Alec Udell in an AMG Mercedes, followed by Bill Auberlen in the BMW M4,
Matt Plumb’s Chevrolet Camaro GT4, Michael Cooper in the Blackdog McLaren,
Kenny Murillo’s Mercedes, Andrew Davis in the McCann Racing Audi R8 GT4, Stevan
McAleer in the Notlad Aston Martin (dropping to ninth), and rounding out the
top ten, Jan Heylen in the Wright Motorsports Porsche.
This battle in TCR remains hot and heavy as the Hyundai has
the slight edge on the two Honda’s while they are all working their way past
the Alfa Romeo Giulietta of Tim Lewis Jr., the KMW with TMR Alfa, car #5 is
running sixth in class and along with Mikey Taylor in the JDC-Miller
Motorsports Audi, those are the only two TCR cars currently, in the top ten,
that do not have an H badge on them for Hyundai or Honda. This is a good little scrap in TCR as the
leaders make their way ‘round the Alfa. Another
wreck! Oh dear! It’s the beleaguered Toyota Supra, one of
them. Both Supra’s have had a fraught
race today.
It looks like game over.
The car is crunched against the Armco and we can see from the still
operating onboard camera, the driver is unbuckling and clambering out. Dear me!
Is that Scott Andrews in the third-place car? If so, this retirement is massive! The left front corner is crunched, and the
Armco barrier is bent. Pit stop time for
Volt Racing and the Aston, for fuel and tires.
Down and away goes the Aston Martin.
The Toyota driver is out of the car, and hops over the Armco to safety
but we are under Full Course Yellow so the marshals can retrieve the car.
Oh boy. We do watch
in replay, and it is the #21 of Scott Andrews that has crunched the wall. What does the onboard camera tell us? In replay through turn five or six, before
The Boot, the car gets loose and, bang!
He hits the wall solidly on the left front corner. The race cam still runs as he abandons
ship. Andrews will be taken to the
medical center for precautionary checks.
The marshals will now retrieve that slightly used Toyota Supra GT4 and
try to repair the Armco.
The wrecker comes to retrieve the car. The field circulates single file behind the
safety car. Full Course Yellow still as
we clean up the track. Excuse me, while
I snooze. It looks like there are a
couple wave by’s happening. Hard to
tell. The race cam still runs in the
Toyota Supra as it is on the back of the wrecker. Maybe something broke on the #21 Toyota
Supra. Trent Hindman stays in the lead
of the motor race and he will be in the pound seats if everyone else needs to
hit the pit lane. We believe Stevan
McAleer should go to second. He is
pitting now along with a number of the GS cars.
The #34 McLaren pits for a final time and Michael Cooper is driving. Alec Udell in the #57 Mercedes for Winward
Racing. They want to challenge for the
win. Pitting as well, Bill Auberlen in
the #95 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4.
The #23 Notlad Aston needed a short fill. Jan Heylen in the Wright Motorsports Porsche
is up there as there’s trouble on the pit stop for the #34 McLaren.
That team, at Blackdog Speedshop, have raced well, but pit
stops have been their Achilles heel all day. Uh oh! Problems at Turner Motorsports as well, as
the car left the lane with the fuel hose attached and there’s raw fuel soaking
the pit box. Best get that cleaned up so
it won’t ignite. That’s the sister #96
car for Vincent Barletta and Robby Foley!
In replay, we see the fueler trying to remove the hose and he undoes it
but fuel sprays all over, and the hose comes loose from it’s moorings on the
fueling rig, the gravity fed fueling rig as the fueler tumbles to the pavement
in a heap and raw racing petrol spews all over the place!
Hopefully the pit crew is OK. They are angry about this incident, and
rightfully so. More woes for the #34
McLaren and Blackdog Speedshop. In their
haste to get the wheel done up, they’ve cross threaded the nut. McLaren have had a checkered history with the
wheel nut material and the hub material, the different metals, being
compatible. Meanwhile, the track
marshals are hard at work fixing the guardrail where we saw the Toyota come to
grief a wee while ago. Pit stops
continue for the TCR machines now. We
see many takers as the van der Steur Racing Hyundai Veloster and both of the
Bryan Herta Autosport Elantra’s are in.
The #84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda is pitting for routine
service. The car briefly stalls but then
makes it’s exit back onto the track. Presumably,
we have just seen the final pit stops for the TCR contenders. The safety car has scrambled the field a bit
and we have a mixed bag, a candy dish, if you will, of various flavors of GS
and TCR automobiles. What will happen as
we get closer to the end of this motor race in the fading, waning sunlight of a
Saturday summer afternoon in upstate New York?
A couple stragglers back into the lane for service.
So, the remainder of the field is present and accounted for. Barrier repairs continue here at Watkins Glen
with a half hour to go. Will we see a
restart? I wonder. This is a head scratcher. I wonder if we ought to insert more mindless
yammering during a yellow? No. No.
No. Not much to talk about. Been there, done that. Track cleanup continues as we continue with
the coverage here on the sarcasm channel.
One or two drivers are weaving ‘round to clean their tires while
everyone else stays in single file behind the safety car. We have seen enough yellow flags to equal a
whole bunch of bananas here. Bananas,
lemons, take your pick. Banana cream, or
lemon meringue?
Well, the guardrail is going to be as repaired as possible
as the safety crews and vehicles return to the pit lane. A long while for repairs. Safety first.
The field is still circulating behind the safety car. Wondering when we shall go back to
green. We have been under yellow for
half an hour. The leading #7 Aston
Martin has dodged a major bullet. Did
Hindman get to the pit lane in time? Yes. He was right in the lane as the pit commit
light was turned on. We are back to
green and Trent Hindman speeds away like a scalded cat! Some fast cars are in the fight. The championship leader is laps down as Bill
Auberlen is moving to the front.
The AWA #13 McLaren leading the championship as Auberlen is
miffed with Tom Dyer for holding him up as Dyer in the Audi is a lap down and
Spencer Pigot in the MIA McLaren, car #3 is in the hunt. Here comes Jan Heylen through the traffic as
well as this is a mad scramble. Jan
Heylen will have his elbows out. 20
minutes left. They scream past Chad McCumbee
in the #40 PF Racing Mustang. Stevan
McAleer is now fifth and Spencer Pigot in the MIA McLaren is up to third. In TCR it is Trenton Estep leading Ryan
Eversley. So, the Atlanta Speedwerks
boys have been snookered temporarily.
Estep in the #81 CB Motorsports Hyundai Veloster, sharing with Mark
Kvamme.
Eversley now leads as team mate Brian Henderson is trying to
move in on Kvamme while Ryan Norman has his hands full. Michael Lewis is steaming up to try to make a
move. This is good stuff here. Michael Lewis whistles past Dennis Dupont in
another Hyundai Veloster, and he will go to work on moving past Ryan Norman in
the Elantra. Check that. He has already passed Henderson and Norman
and is closing up on Eversley as Trent Hindman leads Bill Auberlen in the
overall for GT4/Grand Sport honors by three seconds.
Auberlen running wide, maybe abusing track limits through
turn eight. Stevan McAleer is monstering
Spencer Pigot right now. We have seen
warnings from the marshals about track limits.
Oh no! More bad luck for the Alfa
Romeo boys as they have a cut down, right front tire. Poor old Tim Lewis Jr. and Roy Block, these
blokes can’t catch a break! Right front
tire, cut down. They had to do a drive
through penalty for late entry at Volt Racing for leader Trent Hindman. There is a pit lane entry line and as long as
the car is inside the line when the light comes on.
The lane gets you to pit lane and Hindman was right in the
markers for that, 100 yards inside the line.
Hindman is staying out while the team debates with the marshals. Now we return to the ongoing saga of Stevan
McAleer vs. Spencer Pigot. Hello, and
welcome to the Spencer and Steve Show! Bill
Auberlen up ahead still in second spot. Now,
Hindman is in the pit lane for a drive through penalty? Yes. A
drive through penalty it is. So, he will
lose the lead of the motor race to Auberlen as time is of the essence. This drops #7 to seventh place right in
between Jan Heylen and Kenny Murillo.
Meanwhile, there is a whole cluster buster of TCR cars as
Hindman exits back onto the track. He is
in the clear, out ahead of the TCR scrap.
Meantime in TCR, the internecine battle of the Hyundai’s continues
unabated. Michael Lewis and Ryan Norman
scrapping for position but guess who is right on their back door? Yes, you’ve guessed it. Our old mate, Brian Henderson is still one of
the dogs in this fight. We should get
five or six more laps before this race is finished with 12 minutes and change
on the board. Wow! Lewis blows past Norman. I wonder if he missed a shift, or something
happened to the Elantra.
It sounds peachy from the onboard camera. So, he will be OK. That was a strange moment, though. Team orders?
Not likely. Norman is trying to
come back as they speed through a dust cloud.
The battle is clearly between the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 and the
Notlad Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4.
The #7 Volt Lighting Aston Martin did their drive through penalty and
dropped back. Trent Hindman is
tenth. Auberlen leads McAleer. McAleer might have something left in the
locker and the same is true for Spencer Pigot in the MIA McLaren, car #3.
Auberlen said yesterday that the BMW boys don’t have the
pace to match the Aston Martin’s, but they are doing so and perhaps exceedingly
right now. The BMW is harder on it’s
tires. McAleer now, he is the shark and
smells blood in the water. Auberlen just
may become the minnow. Ryan Eversley has
pulled a gap on Denis Dupont and Trenton Estep.
This race is very nearly done and dusted. Oh no!
Trenton Estep is off the road with damage, smoking squealing tires,
locking brakes into the runoff pavement at the side of the road. He was locked up, squealing, and smoking his
way down the hill, so those tires are busted.
Estep, look, those tires are screaming for mercy and he’s pulling
himself to safety or into oblivion depending on how you look at it.
He skids his way on the brakes, out of third in class in
TCR. In replay, we see Estep has a
broken left front wheel. It’s cocked
inward, so there was a suspension or steering failure there someplace. There just had to be. That’s a broken wheel without a doubt via
closer inspection of the replay, look. Hindman
is working his way through the pack and now, Stevan McAleer is right on Bill
Auberlen’s six. McAleer goes for the
lead diving to turn one. Auberlen has
the preferred line. He’s going to slam
the door in his face. Oh dear! Auberlen runs wide and McAleer nearly does
likewise!
They are nose to tail into the Inner Loop, the Bus Stop
perhaps for the final time or the penultimate time. Here comes McAleer on the inside after
Auberlen gets crossed up, and he makes the pass for the lead! Down into The Boot, this is get your own back
time for Auberlen. No dice. Nothing doing. McAleer stays in front. Up the hill from the toe and the laces of The
Boot into the heel. Back out onto the
main portion of the circuit, and Stevan McAleer, wow, he’s staying in
front. Looky there. McAleer is in the lead. Will; Auberlen be able to do anything with
just over a minute to go?
Auberlen can’t hang with the Aston in the corners. The speed isn’t there. Auberlen has recovered from a penalty
earlier. But they could have to settle
for second. McAleer has a one-off race
here, probably, at The Glen. Take the
maximum points. White flag. One lap to go. Auberlen runs wide. Final lap in TCR as well and Ryan Eversley
could be on his way to a win as Dennis Dupont is five plus seconds
in-arrears. Patrick Gallagher and Stevan
McAleer have had a shot and are going to take it. Both of them have had a long time between
drinks, and Notlad Racing by RS1 win the 4 Hours of Watkins Glen!
Let the celebration begin!
Thank you, Mat Dalton! He stepped
out of the car after an injury at another race.
Wow. In TCR, the winner is the
#94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic of Ryan Eversley and Todd Lamb. Lamb gets his first win and Eversley gets his
first win in five years!
Overall/GT4: #23 Gallagher/McAleer Notlad Racing by RS1 Aston Martin Vantage
GT4
TCR: #94
Lamb/Eversley Atlanta
Speedwerks Honda Civic FK7 TCR
That’s a wrap from the enduro at Watkins Glen. But, no.
We’re not done. There will be a
sprint race for Michelin Pilot Challenge in a doubleheader with the WeatherTech
Championship, this coming Friday. Also,
don’t forget to tune in tomorrow, Sunday, for wall to wall coverage round three
of the Michelin Endurance Cup for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship,
the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen! We’ll see
you tomorrow from Upstate New York. Good
night for now. Bye bye.
