IMSA Six Hours of The Glen results: Nasr, Cameron find Porsche redemption

 

Provisional Race Results

It’s fair to say that Porsche Penske Motorsport had the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen circled on the 2024 calendar.

A year ago, the team’s No. 6 Porsche 963 crossed the line first in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class at the annual six-hour IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance contest at Watkins Glen International, only to have the victory rescinded because the car’s chassis skid plate (a measure of ground clearance) was less than one millimeter out of legal tolerance.

That made Porsche Penske Motorsport’s 1-3 GTP finish in this year’s Sahlen’s Six Hours all the more satisfying, with the No. 7 Porsche driven by Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron notching the win Sunday and Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy (who forfeited the trophy in ’23) claiming a visit to the podium in the No. 6.

Nasr and Cameron won by 0.749 seconds over the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R shared by Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais. Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor claimed fourth place in the Motul Pole Award-winning No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06.

“For sure, I think the No. 6 guys were motivated to right that wrong, and for us, we knew it was an opportunity to get a win in this summer stretch of races we targeted as being good for our car,” said Cameron, a three-time champion in IMSA competition. “It was really critical to us to get this win.”

The race was restarted under caution with 42 minutes remaining following a 40-minute red flag for heavy rain that left standing water on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course. After running several laps behind the safety car, the track dried sufficiently for all competitors to use slick, dry-condition Michelin tires.

The green flag waved with just over 16 minutes to go. As with the original race start, Deletraz struggled to work his tires up to working temperature and was quickly overtaken by Nasr and van der Zande. Then, Jaminet slipped past Deletraz at Turn 6 and the Porsches really began to show their speed, with Nasr and Jaminet exchanging fastest laps and van der Zande keeping pace.

In the last five minutes, Nasr was finally able to pull out a more comfortable two-second cushion over the Cadillac before easing up at the finish. It was the fifth podium finish in six races this year for Cameron and Nasr.

“It was pretty wild out there,” Nasr said. “I have to say that these mixed conditions always make our life a lot harder to read track grip. But I knew I was going to have one chance, and that one chance came right at the restart. I could see as soon as we got the ‘get-go’ at the last corner the car ahead of me struggle and I said, ‘Man, I’m going for it.’ Made the move stick, and then it was all about managing the traffic. You have to make smart moves.

“I’m very happy we did it,” he added. “At points in the race, we were in the back and then forward again, and it was difficult to read the potential of the car. Everybody did incredible work to keep us calm and made wise decisions, and Dane did amazing work as well. Everything just came together and I’m very pleased to get another victory here at Watkins Glen.

Van der Zande did all he could to catch Nasr in the closing stages but had to settle for second-place points.

“It was one of those typical IMSA races where everything can happen,” van der Zande said. “I think we were doing OK until the rain came. But after the restart, it was very clear from the get-go every time I went to the power, I didn’t have the power to attack. I’m not complaining, because we’re taking a load of points home to go into the final rounds of the championship.”

The Watkins Glen podium mirrored the top three in the GTP standings after six of nine races, with Nasr and Cameron extending their margin over Bourdais and van der Zande to 93 points and to 132 over Jaminet and Tandy.

“It’s been a great year so far – very, very consistent,” Cameron said. “I think that has been the focus for the No. 7 car, just to execute at every opportunity. I felt at Detroit we had one get away from us, but we also kind of overachieved at other rounds where we weren’t that great. That’s what it takes to win this championship. We really believe in that formula and we’re committed to it.”

Richard Mille AF Corse Team Notches First LMP2 Win

More than three months had passed since the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class was in action at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac, so the 13 class entries were raring to go at Watkins Glen.

The changing conditions throughout the Sahlen’s Six Hours made it a difficult race to strategize for competitors, but the No. 88 Richard Mille AF Corse team parlayed a timely pit stop to set up drivers Luis Perez Companc, Nicklas Nielsen and Lilou Wadoux for their first WeatherTech Championship victory.

The No. 88 ORECA LMP2 07 was on the correct slick tires and fueled to make the finish when the red flag for heavy rain suspended the six-hour race near the end. When racing resumed, Nielsen – who also scored the overall win a week ago in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – crossed the line ahead of the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA by 38.453 seconds. However, the No. 04 was penalized for a drive-time infraction, handing second place to the No. 74 Riley ORECA and drivers Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Josh Burdon.

Wadoux became the first female race winner in WeatherTech Championship competition since Katherine Legge in 2018.

“The start of year was very difficult, with an issue at Daytona and contact and a fire at Sebring,” said Wadoux. “So, it’s good to finish the race and be in the top place. It was not an easy race with tricky conditions, but the team and my co-drivers did an amazing job and the car was amazing.”

“It’s been a good couple of weeks, I would say, and I’m happy to take my maiden win in IMSA,” added Nielsen. “It’s a super competitive championship. We’ve been fast the whole season, just a bit unlucky. I’m happy to bounce back here, and coming fresh from a victory at Le Mans makes this even better.”

Next up for the LMP2 class is the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park from July 12-14. The GTP and LMP2 classes will both be in action at the IMSA Sports Car Weekend at Road America, Aug. 1-4.

Heart of Racing Team Gunning for Championship with Win at The Glen

The situation called for a mix of patience and aggression. Ross Gunn delivered equal amounts of both.

Knowing the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R, being driven by Tommy Milner, was low on fuel on a restart with 16 minutes remaining, Gunn patiently pressed him from second place. As he came to the white flag for the final lap, Milner was forced to pit for fuel and Gunn’s approach turned to victory for the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

“It was really important not to take any unnecessary risks,” Gunn said. “It was always a case of if there was a chance, take it. I could see that whenever (Milner) had a tiny gap, he was lifting and coasting in Turn 8 and Turn 1. I just made sure I pressed him as hard as I could. In the end, it was enough.”

The victory was the first of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season for Gunn and co-driver Alex Riberas. It was the eighth IMSA victory of Gunn’s career, and the seventh for Riberas.

“It’s without a doubt one of my proudest wins because it was such a big team effort,” Riberas said. “We were down for a bit. We made some mistakes. That really is a test for a team. It’s never the first mistake that’s the costly one, it’s the second and third mistakes. Today, we didn’t let the first mistake dictate our fate for the rest of the race.”

The race was delayed for 40 minutes because of standing water on the track following a heavy downpour. Once the red flag lifted and the class leaders pitted under yellow, Gunn found himself running second behind Milner’s No. 4 Corvette.

When the green flag waved with 16 minutes, 20 seconds left, Milner had gone more than 30 laps since his previous pit stop. That’s when Gunn applied the patience and aggression.

“We were down but never out,” Gunn said. “I think that’s the key to these races. You always have to be giving it everything but never giving up. … Coming on to the home straight with him pitting off on the last lap is definitely something I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life.”

As Milner, Gunn and Marvin Kirchhoefer in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo waged a stirring battle for the GTD PRO lead, they had to contend with passing Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars.

After the last-lap pit stop, Milner finished sixth in the class with co-driver Nicky Catsburg.

“Tommy did an amazing job late in the race in holding off the Aston Martin,” Catsburg said. “I knew he had it and we were hoping the fuel would work out, but then that got snatched away. It’s tough. This style of racing makes some of these races a lottery.”

Kirchhoefer and co-driver Oliver Jarvis claimed second place in the No. 9 McLaren, 1.340 seconds behind Gunn. Antonio Garcia scored a third-place finish in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R he co-drives with Alexander Sims.

The victory helped Gunn in his pursuit of a GTD PRO driver’s championship, unofficially putting him within 11 points of No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 co-drivers Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth for second place. AO Racing teammates Seb Priaulx and Laurin Heinrich, in the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R, lead the Lexus duo by 49 points after five of 10 races.

“It’s nice to be close, but we’re really taking it race by race and one step at a time,” Gunn said. “I think that’s the key. Today proved that so many things can happen. You can be high one moment and low a split-second later.”

Winward Keeps Winning with Fourth GTD Triumph of 2024

The No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 may not have been the fastest of the 21 GT Daytona (GTD) competitors for most of Sunday’s race. But not only was the GTD championship leader fastest when it counted most, Philip Ellis was in the right place at the right time to make the most of it.

So, after a topsy-turvy race in which nearly everything that could happen did happen, Ellis found himself in the class lead at the final restart with 16 minutes to go and promptly steered the Winward Mercedes to its fourth win of the season in five outings.

“It was a very chaotic race,” Ellis said. “A lot of mixed weather conditions, very heavy rain coming down at times, then just a bit of drizzle. But for the most part we were always on the right tires at the right time. To be honest, we were a bit lucky with the red flag coming out when it did, and we rolled the dice that we’d have enough fuel to make it to the end. Then it was just up to me to keep the other cars behind.”

Not that he had an easy time. Aboard the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, Parker Thompson harried Ellis from the wave of the final green flag and made a bold move on the Mercedes approaching the Inner Loop with about seven minutes remaining. Neither driver blinked. The cars swapped paint. Ellis made the corner, Thompson did not and fell down the order as a result.

“I think he wanted to make the first opportunity he had being next to me count,” said Ellis. “He tried to pass me around outside. We had some passes there during the race that worked, sometimes for the lead and sometimes not. But with three or four laps left, neither one of us was going to give the other room – just enough to survive. It was just a good, hard fight and it was unfortunate for him that he lost so many positions.”

Ellis took the checkered flag 0.884 seconds ahead of Jan Heylen in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, though the No. 120 was later moved to the rear of the finishing order for a minimum drive-time violation. That promoted Conquest Racing’s No. 34 Ferrari 296 GT3 shared by Manny Franco, Albert Costa Balboa and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli to second place, with the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of John Potter, Andy Lally and Spencer Pumpelly in third.

With the win, Ellis, co-driver Russell Ward and the No. 57 Winward Mercedes built a commanding 315-point lead in GTD over Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher and the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, which was credited with a fifth-place finish at Watkins Glen. What’s more, with wins in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac and Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Ellis, Ward and endurance driver Indy Dontje are three-for-three in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup events.

“It’s a testament to the group of people we’ve put together,” observed Ward. “The drivers just kind of did our jobs today. We didn’t bend the car; we didn’t go off the track. Like I said, it’s just a testament to the group of people we’ve put together.”

The next race for the GTD PRO and GTD classes is the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park from July 12-14.

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