6 Hrs of The Glen: Double podium for Aston Martin

IMSA

Jun 25

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, was full of dramas with continuous changing weather: sunshine, spotty rain showers, suffocating humidity, brief and lingering deluges of epic proportion. Team strategies had to be adjusted regularly with rain tires and slicks changes.

Both GTD and GTD PRO class saw several leader changes with local yellows, full-course cautions, ending with a 16’ sprint after a lengthy red flag. The last drama happened during the very last lap when the then class-leading #4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R shared by Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner dashed to the pits for fuel, opening the way for #27 Heart of Racing Team GTD Pro class win.

Heart of Racing Team win

Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas in the #23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo won GTD PRO as well as both class combined.

Pfaff Motorsport second

The #9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo of Marvin Kirchhofer and Oliver Jarvis ended second, 1.340 seconds behind the winning Aston Martin.

Podium Finish For Corvette

Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims scored the season’s second podium finish for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a third-place result.

The #3 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports ran up front in GTD PRO, fell down the order following an early-race brake change and then challenged for the win late in a topsy-turvy enduro at Watkins Glen International that was severely impacted by rain. It was the first podium finish for the Garcia/Sims duo.

ANTONIO GARCIA: “I’m happy with this. Considering we were on the front row the last two races and didn’t convert, it feels like today we got one back. It was an amazing job by Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller guys to change the brakes. They had the skills to almost keep us on the lead lap. Yes we lost some track position but after that, the car was good and every single strategy call was the right one. I had one of the scariest half-stints in my life when a whole set of our tear-offs on the windscreen came off and then came back on. So I had a triangle in front of me and I couldn’t see to my left. Somehow I made up several positions on the restart, but it was very scary to just keep the car on track. I just couldn’t see anything. Fortunately we got it fixed after the yellow, and it was made better when we were on the same strategy as the Porsche and Lexus to go on wet tires. It was the right call and it would have been nice to run four or five laps in the rain but we couldn’t take advantage of that. It’s also a shame for the No. 4 guys. With all the flag sequences, I think they deserved it. But it’s nice that we were able to get the first podium for Alex and me, and for the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team. Now we need to keep the momentum. We know we are fast; we just need to convert and hopefully a win is around the corner.”

ALEXANDER SIMS: “To be honest with the weather forecast coming into this weekend, it kind of exactly panned out how we expected with a mayhem-filled race. We started up front and had a nice comfortable stint before we had to change the front brakes. The guys did an amazing job to change everything, and we almost got out without falling off the lead lap, which was pretty impressive. So our race went south for a little while but as with IMSA you’re able to get back in the race and we did. The guys made some great calls and the car was fast. It’s great to get a podium; it felt like we came back into contention where we should have been. It’s cool to get our first podium with the No. 3 Corvette. Antonio did a brilliant job in the end to almost get second. It was really tight out there, and I enjoyed it.” Source: Corvette Racing

P4 for Lexus RC F

J. Hamksworth and B. Barnicoat’s Vasser Sullivan #14 Lexus RC F GT3 ended fourth, 0,656 seconds from a podium seat..

Ford Mustang fifth

The #64 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 of Harry Tincknell and M.ike Rockenfeller, which had been leading GTD Pro at the red flag, finished fifth in class after a slow final pit stop.

MIKE ROCKENFELLER, #64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 (GTD PRO) – “We had really good race pace today. It was a crazy race, which is always to be expected with wet weather. We were leading the race and it was looking like we had a good chance to win, which is amazing when we are only in the fifth race of the year so it’s pretty encouraging. It was good for the team to see their car in the lead after all of the hard work they have put in. We got a little unlucky at the end as we just missed the pit lane entry when the rain was really heavy and those behind us made it in as they had a bit more time to react. That’s why we lost the race in the end but I think a top-five finish is very good and we had real pace for the first time this year so I hope we can keep that. We need to keep improving and keep working. I know it’s hard to digest because everybody needs a big result to relax a little but it will come and that’s what I look forward to.” Source: Ford Performance

#77 AO Racing keeps Weathertech SportsCar Championship Team lead

AO Racing’s 911 GT3 R dubbed “Rexy” finished sixth. As a result, Sebastian Priaulx and the former Porsche Junior Laurin Heinrich defended their championship lead.

Laurin Heinrich (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): “After our wins at Laguna Seca and Detroit, our spirits and expectations were high coming to Watkins Glen. Nevertheless, we always knew that the racetrack wasn’t the best fit for our 911 GT3 R. We were running among the top three at times but lost a lot of ground due to making the wrong tyre decision, among other factors. Ultimately, it was the last-ditch sprint that resulted in sixth place for us. At least we defended our lead in the championship.” Source: Porsche

#57 Winward Racing tops GTD

The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo ended seventh of combined class and came out on top in GTD. This was Russell Ward and Philip Ellis’ fourth win in the class out of 5 races so far. Indy Dontje was also on the wheel of the #57 Mercedes-AMG.

#34 Ferrari 296 GT3 promoted second in GTD

#120 Wright Motorsport’s Porsche 911 GT3 R crossed the finish line in second place after six hours – only for the team with drivers Adam Adelson, Eliott Skeer and Jan Heylen to lose its podium place as the crew of the #120 car had violated the regulations regarding the minimum driving time. Wright Motorsport’s 911 was relegated to 21st place. This promoted M. Franco, A. Costa Balboa and C. Sbirrazzuali with Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 #34 in P2 of GTD class.

Magnus Racing third in GTD

J. Potter, A. Lally and S. Pumpelly with Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo #44 were promoted to the last step of the podium thanks to #120 penalty.