Метка: Watkins Glen

Westbrook rues ‘killer’ IMSA penalty after hitting tire reader in pitlane

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Richard Westbrook says that the penalty handed to his customer Porsche 963 team JDC-Miller MotorSports at Watkins Glen on Sunday was a “bitter pill” after the car had led the race in the early going.

Team-mate Phil Hanson, who qualified the car fourth for the six-hour race, charged to the front in the opening stages, passing Cadillac’s Renger van der Zande after the first restart to lead.

But the team’s hopes of a good result were dashed when Westbrook “nudged” a piece of equipment at the gate at the end of the pitlane, and IMSA decided to hand down one of its strongest in-race penalties of a five-minute stop and hold.

Michelin uses a radio frequency identification system, which has tags embedded in tires to ensure it has reliable tire data every time a car leaves the pits. It has an RFID reader at the end of the pitlane, in the form of a metal box, and it was this that Westbrook struck at the gate at pit out and knocked over.

Westbrook explained that it happened as he was making an adjustment on his steering wheel, as track conditions had changed and the 963 has various settings to cope with the changing grip level that the rain tires and water on track produce.  

“I’m incredibly disappointed,” he said. “After we switched to wet tires, I had to adjust the steering wheel on the way out. That’s when I made the mistake and nudged Michelin’s tire RFID system.

“I had expected to get a drive-through penalty, but the five-minute penalty was a killer for us. There was nothing we could do.

“I feel so sorry for the team, especially since our car was so strong this weekend. It’s a super bitter pill to swallow.”

#85 JDC/Miller MotorSports Porsche 963: Tijmen van der Helm, Richard Westbrook, Phil Hanson

#85 JDC/Miller MotorSports Porsche 963: Tijmen van der Helm, Richard Westbrook, Phil Hanson

Photo by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images

His team boss John Church, whose team was the first to run a customer 963 in IMSA last year, was gutted by the outcome, which demoted his car to an 18th-place overall finish.

“We unloaded with the most competitive car since Sebring of this year,” he said. “The team took everything we learned at a test a few weeks ago and gave the drivers a very strong car.

“Phil was awesome in qualifying and then made some great passes to lead the race. It was great to see the car at the front of the field.

“It is unfortunate that there was an issue with the RFID gate. Things get crazy going into that gate as there isn’t much distance from the last pit boxes to the gate for everyone to get sorted single-file.  The penalty was quite harsh.”

Hanson wrote on Instagram: “Shame not to come away from Watkins with a result. Torrential rain threw a spanner in the works but we still managed to make moves and put banana boat into the lead at the beginning.”

His charge to the front prompted his watching Jota Porsche WEC team-mate Jenson Button to reply to his post with: “Well done mate, mega first stint.”

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Porsche wins wild, rain-halted six-hour race

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Porsche’s Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr won a topsy-turvy, rain-disrupted sixth round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, The Six Hours of The Glen.

Their Porsche beat the Cadillac of Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais by 0.7s after a series of rain showers and storms flipped the race order several times in a sometimes bizarre event.

Polewinner Louis Deletraz’s #40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 led the 56-car field to green at the fabled 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course in upstate New York. Van der Zande grabbed the lead entering The Boot section on the opening lap in the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac V-Series.R.

Phil Hanson’s #85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 passed Jack Aitken’s #31 Action Express-run Cadillac and picked off Deletraz to run second before the first full-course yellow, as Dwight Merriman spun Era Motorsport’s Oreca – which had won both LMP2 races so far – on lap two and got himself stuck in the grass.

At the restart, Hanson barged his way past van der Zande for the lead, banging wheels on the run to the Bus Stop and forging his way to an impressive lead in the customer 963.

The second caution was for George Kurtz (Crowdstrike by APR LMP2) brutally ramming Roberto Lecorte’s Cetilar GTD Ferrari into the fence at Turn 8.

All GTP cars pitted under yellow, and Philipp Eng’s #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 led the restart, having taken a shorter fill of energy, from Aitken. Erstwhile leader Hanson handed over to Tijmen van der Helm, who rejoined third but quickly tumbled back to sixth.

Aitken passed Eng the lead at the start of the second hour with a smart move around the outside of Turn 7.

But after the second round of pitstops, the leading #31 car required an unscheduled pitstop after Pipo Derani, who took over from Aitken, damaged the nose in an off at Turn 1. He also flatspotted the right-front tire, and the lengthy extra stop put him a lap down and out of the frame.

That promoted Nick Tandy’s #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, which he’d just taken over from Mathieu Jaminet, to the lead as Hour 3 began, from Bourdais in the #01 Cadillac. Jordan Taylor powered past Bourdais for second in the #40 Acura he took over from poleman Deletraz.

The third yellow was required when Joao Barbosa shunted the Sean Creech Motorsport-run Ligier LMP2 on the exit of Turn 1. The #7 PPM 963 of Cameron stayed out to lead, as Taylor picked up second from Tandy and Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 Acura – but Albuquerque was given a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release in the pitlane.

On fresher tires, Tandy passed Taylor to make it a Porsche 1-2 by half distance – just before the heavens opened. Cameron missed the pit entry and stayed out for a slow lap on slicks, as Tandy and Taylor pitted for wets.

The fourth yellow arrived soon after, as Gianmarco Levorato’s Proton-run Ford Mustang shunted on the approach to the final corner and Zach Robichon spun his Aston Martin in avoidance.

The second half of the race saw the wet-shod Tandy leading Taylor and Matteo Cairoli in the sole Lamborghini SC63 (which would later be hit by overheating issues). Tandy pitted immediately to switch to slicks, with Cameron rocketing back to the lead. Albuquerque rose to second, ahead of Nick Yelloly’s re-tubbed #25 BMW, which was crashed in practice by Connor De Phillippi and started from the pit lane, and Bourdais.

Heavy rain arrived on lap 101, bringing out another full-course caution that coincided with Sarah Bovy slamming her Iron Dames Lamborghini into the wall on the exit of a dry Turn 10.

Soon after the restart on a damp track, Albuquerque pulled a bold move to Cameron – the pair banging wheels on the back straight – to grab the lead towards the end of Hour 4.

After falling back on strategy, Tandy charged up to the front again, trading paint with Albuquerque in a frantic duel for the lead inside two hours to go. Tandy grabbed the top spot in a wild three-wide move with a backmarker in the chute towards Turn 6.

Moments later, rain hammered down once again, with multiple cars firing off into the barriers on their slick tires – four cars going off at Turn 8, including Loris Spinelli’s GTD Lamborghini ploughing head-on into the barriers, and Hunter McElrea’s LMP2 car slamming the Turn 1 tirewall.

There was also chaos in the Porsche Penske pits, as Jaminet (back in for Tandy) had to reverse around Nasr (in for Cameron) after both cars overshot their pit boxes.

That led to an Acura 1-2, with Deletraz’s #40 leading Ricky Taylor’s #10. De Phillippi snatched third ahead of van der Zande, Jaminet and Nasr. After several laps behind the pace car, the race was red flagged with 1h20m to go.

As the race went back to yellow conditions, as everyone changed to slicks, Deletraz won the race off pit road, as the #10 slumped from second to sixth. Nasr was big gainer, going from sixth to second, with van der Zande retaining third from Jaminet and De Phillippi.

More drama followed as Taylor ground to a halt as his right-rear wheel fell off just as IMSA was preparing to go to green. Team-mate Albuquerque believed the earlier contact with Cameron had caused some issues with that corner.

After a lengthy delay, the race restarted with just 16 minutes remaining. Nasr dived past Deletraz at Turn 1, with van der Zande grabbing second from him going into the Esses, and Jaminet took third from Deletraz at Turn 6.

Van der Zande couldn’t catch Nasr, who sprinted away to extend the #7 car’s points lead.

#88 Richard Mille AF Corse ORECA LMP2-Gibson: Luis Perez Companc, Nicklas Nielsen, Lilou Wadoux Ducellier

#88 Richard Mille AF Corse ORECA LMP2-Gibson: Luis Perez Companc, Nicklas Nielsen, Lilou Wadoux Ducellier

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

AF Corse’s Le Mans winner takes LMP2

In LMP2, poleman PJ Hyett led in AO Racing’s Oreca led from Steven Thomas (TDS Racing) and Daniel Goldburg’s #22 United Autosports. Hyett was given a drive-through penalty, however, for a start infringement – which set a trend for penalties for category frontrunners.

Just before half distance, Tom Dillmann in the leading #52 Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen entry was handed a drive-through penalty for a restart violation, as was Felipe Fraga (#74 Riley), who inherited the lead, for passing under yellow.

As the race restarted, overall Le Mans winner Niklas Nielsen led in AF Corse’s #88 car and survived contact from Fraga at Turn 7, as Ben Hanley’s #2 United Autosports entry got spun around by Colin Braun in the #04 Crowdstrike Oreca.

That gave Nielsen the win just seven days on from his famous Le Mans success with Ferrari, co-driven by Luis Perez Companc and Lilou Wadoux.

#62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3: Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo: Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas, #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims

#62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3: Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, #23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo: Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas, #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Aston Martin scores last-lap victory in GTD Pro

Daniel Serra led from pole in Risi Competizione’s Ferrari 296 from Alexander Sims in Corvette Racing’s #3 Z06 GT3.R.

Jack Hawksworth’s #14 Vasser Sullivan’s Pro class Lexus RC F gained the lead after the first round of pitstops from Sims, who had to pit the #3 for new brake rotors in the second hour.

The longtime leading #14 Lexus was given a drive-through just before half distance for ‘not maintaining pace at the third restart, and the class lead changed hands multiple times during the weather interruptions.

After the red flag, Tommy Milner found himself at the front of the GTD Pro field in the #4 Corvette, ahead of Ross Gunn’s Heart of Racing Aston Martin and Marvin Kirchhofer’s Pfaff McLaren 720S – all three having stayed out on slicks in the downpour.

Milner survived scary moments as the GTP leaders caught him and the GTD pack with just minutes remaining but what he couldn’t do was make it to the finish on fuel, and he had to pit at the white flag.

That allowed Gunn and Alex Riberas to scoop the class honors, ahead of the Pfaff McLaren and Antonio Garcia in the #3 Corvette he shared with Sims.

Philip Ellis led the pro-am class in Winward Racing’s Mercedes, having also slithered around on slicks – almost going off at Turn 6 as he did so. Ellis fended off an attack from Parker Thompson’s #12 Lexus at the Bus Stop in the closing moments to win along with Russell Ward and Indy Dontje.



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Acura beats Cadillac for GTP pole by 0.038s

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Acura’s Louis Deletraz will start the sixth round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, The Six Hours of The Glen, from pole position.

Deletraz will start from pole in the top GTP class, ahead of the Cadillacs of Renger van der Zande and Jack Aitken after the quickfire 15-minute qualifying sessions.

PJ Hyett scored the LMP2 pole for AO Racing, as Ferrari’s Daniel Serra topped the GTD Pro field, with Parker Thompson winning the pro-am class pole for Lexus.

IMSA brings a 56-car field to Watkins Glen’s 3.4-mile road course, which hosted the United States Grand Prix for 20 years, located amid the rolling hills near the Finger Lakes in upstate New York.

Felipe Nasr – who crashed out of Le Mans last weekend – set the early GTP pace in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 with a lap of 1m33.265s despite a huge moment at the penultimate corner, then worked down to 1m32.753s with a less frantic tour.

Van der Zande’s Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac V-Series.R briefly took P1, before Deletraz pipped him by 0.038s in his #40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 with 1m32.209s.

“It was an amazing feeling to push on low fuel,” said Deletraz. “The car was fast today, very fast. I felt good, so I could really push straightaway, get the grip, put it on pole, which is nice.

“We know what is important is Sunday; yhe points are tomorrow. The weather looks like it’ll play some games with us tomorrow.”

Jack Aitken took third, three tenths off the pace, in the #31 Action Express-run Cadillac. Phil Hanson will start the #85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 from fourth after an impressive session, outpacing the factory car of Mathieu Jaminet.

Nasr will start sixth, ahead of Ricky Taylor (#10 Acura), Philipp Eng’s #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 – which had set the pace in practice this morning – Andrea Caldarelli in the sole Lamborghini SC63 and Gianmaria Bruni’s Proton-run Porsche.

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#99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2-Gibson: PJ Hyett, Paul-Loup Chatin, Matt Brabham

#99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2-Gibson: PJ Hyett, Paul-Loup Chatin, Matt Brabham

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Hyett bosses LMP2 in ‘Spike’

In LMP2, PJ Hyett set a cracking pace from the start of the session in AO Racing’s purple dragon-liveried Oreca, working down to 1m35.925s, 0.682s clear of Daniel Goldburg’s #22 United Autosports version. “It was a special lap that I’ll remember for a long time,” said Hyett.

Steven Thomas (TDS Racing) was third, ahead of Nick Boulle in the Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen entry and, after his struggles at the Le Mans 24 Hours last weekend, Ben Keating in the #2 United car.

Ferrari and Lexus take GTD poles

The mixed GTD session started with Jack Hawksworth setting the early pace at 1m44.535s in Vasser Sullivan’s Pro class Lexus RC F. Ross Gunn took over in the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage, beating Hawksworth by 0.148s for a new GT track record of 1m44.387s.

Serra wrested P1 away in his Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 with a 1m44.227s, outpacing Gunn by 0.184s. “Honestly, was a pretty good lap,” said the Brazilian. “The high-speed corners here are good for the 296.”

Alexander Sims vaulted to second in Corvette Racing’s #3 Z06 GT3.R on 1m44.317s, with the sister #4 car of Nicky Catsburg taking fifth, behind Gunn and Hawksworth. Sims ended his session on three wheels, as he lost his left-rear tire on his final lap.

#12 VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3: Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson, Aaron Telitz

#12 VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3: Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson, Aaron Telitz

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Thompson led the way in the pro-am class in Vasser Sullivan’s #14 Lexus, a time good enough for sixth overall in the GT divisions.

Stormy weather is forecast to arrive during Sunday’s six-hour race, which starts at 11am local time.



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BMW beats Cadillac in FP2 but sister car shunts

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BMW’s Philipp Eng set the pace in opening practice for the sixth round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship at Watkins Glen, but the marque’s sister car crashed in the closing moments.

IMSA brings a 56-car field to the classic 3.4-mile road course, which hosted the United States Grand Prix for 20 years, located amid the rolling hills near the Finger Lakes in upstate New York.

Nick Tandy set the early GTP pace with a lap of 1m34.440s in his #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, a tenth clear of Renger van der Zande’s Chip Ganassi Racing-run Cadillac V-Series.R.

As the session ticked past its one-third point, Tom Blomqvist set the first sub-1m34s lap of the weekend in the Action Express-run Cadillac, lapping in 1m33.968s on his return to the series after being jettisoned from his IndyCar ride with Meyer Shank Racing.

A red flag was required just before the halfway point when Lance Willsey spun his Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier LMP2 car at Turn 9, traveling backwards into the wall.

After the resumption of the session, Friday’s pacesetter Dane Cameron went second fastest with 1m34.374s in the #7 PPM 963, before he was beaten by the #85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 of third driver Phil Hanson with 1m34.349s.

Van der Zande then took the top spot by 0.01s with 1m33.958s before Eng’s #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 reset the bar with 1m33.725s. Mathieu Jaminet got closest to it in the closing moments in the #6 Porsche, his 1m33.900s within 0.175s.

It wasn’t all good news for the BMW, however, as Connor De Phillippi shunted the #25 sister car to Eng on his last lap of the session at Turn 1.

Van der Zande and Blomqvist placed third and fourth in their Caddys, from Hanson and Cameron.

#74 Riley ORECA LMP2-Gibson: Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga, Josh Burdon

#74 Riley ORECA LMP2-Gibson: Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga, Josh Burdon

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

In LMP2, Felipe Fraga’s Riley-run Oreca set the benchmark at 1m35.917s, which he lowered to 1m35.269s. Colin Braun was best of the rest in his Crowdstrike by APR version, who lapped in 1m35.947s.

Daniel Serra set the early GTD Pro pace in Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 with 1m45.010s, which was beaten by Parker Thompson’s pro-am class Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F on 1m44.930s after 30 minutes.

Madison Snow snatched the GTD Pro top spot with 1m44.907s in his Paul Miller Racing BMW M4. That proved to be the fastest time of the session, 0.023s ahead of Thompson, with Serra retaining third.

Pos Nº Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Gap   Laps 
1  24 Jesse Krohn
Philipp Eng		 BMW 1’33.725   43
2  6 Nick Tandy
Mathieu Jaminet		 Porsche 1’33.900 0.175 34
3  01 R.van der Zande
S.Bourdais		 Cadillac 1’33.958 0.233 44
4  31 Pipo Derani
Jack Aitken
Tom Blomqvist		 Cadillac 1’33.968 0.243 38
5  85 T.van der Helm
R.Westbrook
Phil Hanson		 Porsche 1’34.349 0.624 42
6  7 Dane Cameron
Felipe Nasr		 Porsche 1’34.374 0.649 36
7  63 Matteo Cairoli
A.Caldarelli		 Lamborghini 1’34.487 0.762 42
8  40 Jordan Taylor
Louis Delétraz		 Acura 1’34.617 0.892 36
9  10 Ricky Taylor
F.Albuquerque		 Acura 1’34.726 1.001 38
10  25 C.De Phillippi
Nick Yelloly		 BMW 1’34.823 1.098 34
11  74 Gar Robinson
Felipe Fraga
Josh Burdon		 ORECA/Gibson 1’35.269 1.544 40
12  5 Gianmaria Bruni
Bent Viscaal		 Porsche 1’35.295 1.570 46
13  04 George Kurtz
Colin Braun
Toby Sowery		 ORECA/Gibson 1’35.947 2.222 40
14  88 L.P.-Companc
Nicklas Nielsen
Lilou Wadoux		 ORECA/Gibson 1’36.135 2.410 37
15  22 Daniel Goldburg
Paul Di Resta
Bijoy Garg		 ORECA/Gibson 1’36.327 2.602 44
16  81 Eric Lux
Rasmus Lindh
Nico Varrone		 ORECA/Gibson 1’36.616 2.891 45
17  11 Steven Thomas
Mikkel Jensen
Hunter McElrea		 ORECA/Gibson 1’36.660 2.935 44
18  99 PJ Hyett
Paul-Loup Chatin
Matthew Brabham		 ORECA/Gibson 1’36.777 3.052 42
19  52 J.Śmiechowski
Nick Boulle
Tom Dillmann		 ORECA/Gibson 1’37.006 3.281 44
20  33 João Barbosa
Jonny Edgar
Lance Willsey		 Ligier/Gibson 1’37.097 3.372 30
21  20 Dennis Andersen
Seth Lucas
Scott Huffaker		 ORECA/Gibson 1’37.305 3.580 44
22  2 Ben Keating
Ben Hanley
Nico Pino		 ORECA/Gibson 1’37.395 3.670 45
23  18 Dwight Merriman
Ryan Dalziel
Connor Zilisch		 ORECA/Gibson 1’38.186 4.461 43
24  8 John Farano
Michael Dinan
Charlie Eastwood		 ORECA/Gibson 1’39.424 5.699 25
25  1 Bryan Sellers
Madison Snow
Neil Verhagen		 BMW 1’44.907 11.182 36
26  12 F.Montecalvo
Parker Thompson
Aaron Telitz		 Lexus 1’44.930 11.205 36
27  62 Daniel Serra
Davide Rigon		 Ferrari 1’45.010 11.285 37
28  23 Ross Gunn
Alex Riberas		 Aston Martin 1’45.548 11.823 32
29  3 Antonio García
Alexander Sims		 Chevrolet 1’45.552 11.827 38
30  14 Jack Hawksworth
Ben Barnicoat		 Lexus 1’45.573 11.848 29
31  77 Laurin Heinrich
Seb Priaulx		 Porsche 1’45.691 11.966 42
32  57 Russell Ward
Philip Ellis
Indy Dontje		 Mercedes 1’45.766 12.041 39
33  64 Harry Tincknell
M.Rockenfeller		 Ford 1’45.807 12.082 36
34  32 Mike Skeen
Mikaël Grenier
Kenton Koch		 Mercedes 1’45.860 12.135 36
35  47 Roberto Lacorte
G.Sernagiotto
Antonio Fuoco		 Ferrari 1’45.922 12.197 41
36  9 M.Kirchhöfer
Oliver Jarvis		 McLaren 1’45.922 12.197 33
37  44 John Potter
Andy Lally
Spencer Pumpelly		 Aston Martin 1’45.949 12.224 40
38  4 Tommy Milner
Nicky Catsburg		 Chevrolet 1’45.951 12.226 39
39  70 Brendan Iribe
F.Schandorff
Ollie Millroy		 McLaren 1’45.967 12.242 33
40  023 Onofrio Triarsi
Charles Scardina
Alessio Rovera		 Ferrari 1’46.031 12.306 40
41  21 Simon Mann
François Heriau
Miguel Molina		 Ferrari 1’46.069 12.344 40
42  19 Franck Perera
Jordan Pepper		 Lamborghini 1’46.184 12.459 37
43  83 Rahel Frey
Michelle Gatting
Sarah Bovy		 Lamborghini 1’46.186 12.461 42
44  78 Misha Goikhberg
Loris Spinelli
D.Defrancesco		 Lamborghini 1’46.330 12.605 40
45  96 Robby Foley
P.Gallagher
Jake Walker		 BMW 1’46.355 12.630 37
46  45 Kyle Marcelli
Danny Formal
Graham Doyle		 Lamborghini 1’46.456 12.731 39
47  66 Sheena Monk
Tatiana Calderón
Stevan McAleer		 Acura 1’46.472 12.747 38
48  27 Roman De Angelis
Z.Robichon
Ian James		 Aston Martin 1’46.488 12.763 30
49  65 Joey Hand
Dirk Müller		 Ford 1’46.544 12.819 17
50  86 Kerong Li
Anders Fjordbach
Klaus Bachler		 Porsche 1’46.649 12.924 42
51  55 G.Levorato
Corey Lewis
Ryan Hardwick		 Ford 1’46.684 12.959 40
52  120 Adam Adelson
Elliott Skeer
Jan Heylen		 Porsche 1’46.775 13.050 37
53  34 Manny Franco
Albert Costa
C.Sbirrazzuoli		 Ferrari 1’46.779 13.054 37
54  43 Jarett Andretti
Gabby Chaves
Scott Hargrove		 Porsche 1’46.933 13.208 36
55  13 Orey Fidani
Matthew Bell
Lars Kern		 Chevrolet 1’47.046 13.321 37
56  80 Salih Yoluc
Rui Andrade
Scott Andrews		 Mercedes 1’48.032 14.307 30



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Cameron pips returnee Blomqvist after two red flags in FP1

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Porsche’s Dane Cameron set the pace in opening practice for the sixth round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship at Watkins Glen, ahead of the returning Tom Blomqvist for Cadillac.

IMSA brings a 56-car field to the classic 3.4-mile road course, which hosted the United States Grand Prix for 20 years, set in the rolling hills near the Finger Lakes in upstate New York.

Cameron led the way in the 90-minute session in his factory-backed #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 with a lap of 1m34.175s, as dry conditions altered the run plans of the teams, many of which were expecting wet weather in each practice session this weekend.

After a brief red flag for the Tower Motorsports LMP2 Oreca crashing at Turn 1, which required some barrier repairs, recently jettisoned IndyCar racer Blomqvist jumped up to second in the Action Express-run #31 Cadillac V-Series.R, lapping 0.172s off Cameron’s pace.

Unlike the majority of the GTP teams, Blomqvist joins regular-season racers Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken in a three-driver lineup for the six-hour enduro.

“I missed it more than I thought I would,” Blomqvist told IMSA Radio. “Took me a few laps but then I got comfortable, I guess this is what I’m built for!

“Initially I wasn’t supposed to be here, but things happened on the other side [in IndyCar] and Pipo’s expecting another child, so in case it arrives then it’s better to have three drivers instead of one!”

A second red flag was required with 13 minutes remaining, again for the Tower LMP2, when Charlie Eastwood crashed it at Turn 7, this time deranging its left-front corner.

That only allowed for a four-minute sprint to the end of the session, but the hard compound Michelin tire in play this weekend meant there were no significant improvements.

Filipe Albuquerque was third fastest in his Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06, ahead of Philipp Eng’s BMW M Hybrid V8 and Nick Tandy in the #6 PPM 963.

Mikkel Jensen led LMP2 with 1m35.531s in the TDS Racing Oreca that he will share with Steven Thomas and Hunter McElrea. He was 0.046s quicker than Felipe Fraga’s Riley-run version, and set the fastest middle sector overall.

Laurin Heinrich set the pace in GTD Pro, lapping his AO Racing ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3 R in 1m45.242s, a couple of tenths clear of the pro-am category leader Scott Andrews in Lone Star Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Spencer Pumpelly spun the Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage at Turn 7 and rejoined.



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Taylor vows Acura can ‘gain back the points we lost’ in IMSA title chase

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Ricky Taylor believes Acura remains in the IMSA SportsCar Championship title hunt after he and team-mate Filipe Albuquerque ended their win drought last time out on the streets of Detroit.

As a result of their victory, Taylor and Albuquerque’s Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 has risen to sixth in points, 239 off the leading Porsche of Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr – which has been top of the pile since winning the season-opening Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

They head into this weekend’s six-hour race at Watkins Glen keen to maintain momentum, and Taylor reckons his epic late-race pass on Porsche’s Mathieu Jaminet to grab victory in Detroit can be a turning point.

#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque

#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque

Photo by: Brett Farmer / Motorsport Images

“It was a rough start to the year, and it was nice to turn it around at Detroit,” said Taylor. “Historically, our team has been a strong starter, and kinda holds on to the finish, so there’s no reason why we can’t make up what we’ve lost until Detroit. If we’ve lost that much, hopefully we can gain it back.

“There are still a lot of cars at the top of the charts, and unique to this season those cars are quite close. But there are still quite a few races to go – with a lot of [stormy] weather expected this weekend, so a lot can still happen.

“I think like in 2020 [when he won the title in a Penske-run Acura DPi with Helio Castroneves], going out and winning a lot of races is all we can do.”

Ricky Taylor & Helio Castroneves won 2020 DPi title in Penske-run Acura

Ricky Taylor & Helio Castroneves won 2020 DPi title in Penske-run Acura

Photo by: Art Fleischmann

Taylor revealed that post-race investigation by his team showed that its Detroit victory shouldn’t have happened: “The ironic thing was that on our analysis of Detroit, we were actually the slowest car – so the slowest car ended up winning the race!

“I think that showed just how wild it was, and how much chaos that race produced.”

Taylor boasts 25 wins spanning 10 years in IMSA’s top class but the losing streak since Road America in 2022 has been one of his longest win droughts of his career.

“There’s a lot we can gain,” he added. “Coming out of a drought of not winning, I think we were kinda trying to force it a little bit, after not winning for so long. I think that adds to the pressure and compounds it. Then you start to think nothing can go right.

“Now we’ve got that win, the pressure is kinda off now – and we can let things come to us more naturally now. We can do what we do, and hopefully our results will speak for themselves.

“The team has been really strong, especially with our two cars working really well together, there’s been a lot of opportunities for good results that just didn’t materialize for us.

“If the opportunity is there, I think we can make a little charge here. We definitely still have our sights set on the championship, even though it’s a big points spread. We’re coming off a high, and hopefully we can carry that momentum.”

#10: Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz

#10: Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz

Photo by: Art Fleischmann

One curveball ahead of the Six Hours of The Glen is a weather forecast that promises a heady mix of heatwave and thunderstorms at one of America’s greatest road courses. A 56-car entry for the four-class endurance event will pack Watkins Glen’s 3.4-mile layout, making it a huge challenge to conquer.

“The funny thing about the rain we’re expecting is that three of our four drivers haven’t driven the car in the rain yet,” admitted Taylor. “So Louis [Deletraz, who shares the sister No. 40 car with Ricky’s brother Jordan Taylor] is the only one who’s driven this car in the wet. He qualified on pole for Petit last year, in the damp, and it didn’t look bad.

“The guys coming back from Le Mans are ready to go with plenty of fresh rain experience! Looks like rain almost every single session this weekend, so all of us want to drive as much as possible to get a feel for it – I’ll certainly be putting my hand up.”

#10: Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz

#10: Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Watkins Glen is a track that the team has targeted improved performance and has tested recently at a circuit that’s had some significant changes in terms of fresh curbs being added at the Bus Stop since last year’s event here.

“The first section is OK for us, but the big curb [at the left-hand elements] is off limits for us,” he explained. “There’s a bit of a sweet spot behind the ‘hot dog’ where if you can get your front wheel in the right spot, it’s kinda smooth, but the chances of missing that, it’s quite a big consequence for us.

“I’ll be interesting to see how the different cars handle it, and we’re definitely going to work on our car to see if we can get it to be more compliant over those. But I don’t think all of [the curb] is going to be useable.”

Taylor is hoping that the track will play to the ORECA-chassised Acura’s strength of coping with the low ride-height required here, which Porsche fell foul of last year when its winning car was disqualified for excessive plank wear – handing victory to BMW.

“One standout of the Acura is that it’s really efficient, you can run it really low, and Watkins Glen is such a smooth track,” he said. “It’s also one of the higher-energy tracks that we go to, so we’re using the hard tire, which will be hard to warm-up as usual. It’s going to be in the 90[F]s when it’s dry, so I think that caters to us a little bit.

“Even though Acura has won two races this year, the motivation is really high that we still need to improve. Watkins isn’t historically a good track for us, we had some reliability issues last year, but we were really quick.”

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