Strategy, Drama and Last-Lap Heartbreak Shape IMSA’s Six Hours of The Glen

Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Take GTP Win in Dramatic Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen

RACE RESULTS 

If Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Watkins Glen International had been the “Sahlen’s 5:58 of The Glen,” the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Engineering team would be celebrating a win.

But as the six-hour mark approached, strategy and energy conservation took center stage—and ultimately decided the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) outcome.

Earl Bamber, leading in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, dove to pit lane for a splash of energy rather than taking the white flag, handing the lead—and the win—to Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06. Blomqvist, alongside co-driver Colin Braun, crossed the line 1.880 seconds ahead of Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, with the sister No. 10 WTR Cadillac of Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque completing the podium.

The final hour was a tense chess match of strategy as Bamber built a 10-second lead over Nick Yelloly in the No. 93 Acura, but all eyes were on fuel levels. WTR called Deletraz in early, and a series of pit stops shuffled the order before a caution froze the field with just over 10 minutes to go, leaving Bamber short on energy.

At the final restart with three minutes left, Bamber led the charge but veered to pit lane at the final corner. Blomqvist swept past to claim Meyer Shank Racing’s second consecutive GTP win.

“That was part of the plan,” Blomqvist explained. “We committed to that, and we were going to be able to go to the end regardless of the yellow. The yellow made things a little less stressful… just a masterful job by our strategists.”

The race started on a damp track with rain adding drama early on. Braun battled visibility issues after his windshield wiper failed but still kept the No. 60 Acura in contention.

Despite missing out on victory, the Cadillac camp showed progress with its first double podium of the season.

“The call to pit kind of made our race,” said Jordan Taylor. “It feels like we’ve turned the corner on the bad luck this year.”

The GTP championship picture also shifted after a heavy crash for the No. 7 Porsche of Nick Tandy. Both he and co-driver Felipe Nasr lost ground to Porsche Penske teammates Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell, who finished fourth Sunday.

United Autosports Fends Off Furious LMP2 Challenge

The LMP2 class produced a nail-biting finish as Paul Di Resta held off Dane Cameron to secure victory for the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA 07.

Sharing the car with Daniel Goldburg and Rasmus Lindh, Di Resta took the lead with 58 minutes remaining and never managed more than a second’s cushion over Cameron’s No. 99 AO Racing ORECA. The two fought tooth and nail to the finish, with Di Resta prevailing by just 0.627 seconds.

The win marked the team’s second of the season and propelled them to the top of the LMP2 standings.

“After Daytona, we didn’t really get to celebrate,” Goldburg noted. “This makes up for that.”

Paul Miller Racing BMW Rebounds for GTD PRO Win

Paul Miller Racing’s second BMW entry in GTD PRO delivered a breakthrough win as Max Hesse and Dan Harper overcame a costly penalty to claim their first IMSA victory in the No. 48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

Despite a stop-plus-60 seconds penalty for a pit lane infraction, the duo methodically charged back through the field, aided by frequent cautions. They led the final 35 laps, holding off Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims, who finished second and moved into the GTD PRO points lead.

DragonSpeed’s Albert Costa and Davide Rigon inherited third after post-race penalties for the No. 65 Ford Mustang GT3.

Heartbreak for Lexus, Triumph for Heart of Racing in GTD

In GTD, the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus appeared poised to end a string of near-misses, leading a class-high 83 laps. But fuel mileage heartbreak struck on the final lap as Jack Hawksworth slowed and stopped, handing victory to the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Tom Gamble, Zacharie Robichon, and Casper Stevenson.

Gamble, Robichon and Stevenson secured their first IMSA wins, capitalizing on late-race drama.

Inception Racing’s No. 70 Ferrari claimed second—their best result of the year—while Korthoff Motorsports completed the podium with the No. 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 after a wild weekend of substitute drivers and changing conditions.

Despite early-race contact, Winward Racing’s No. 57 Mercedes retained the GTD points lead, but its margin narrowed heading into the next round.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship continues July 13 with the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where LMP2 headlines alongside both GT classes.

 

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