Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA
A late-race pass through traffic by Mathieu Jaminet on Connor De Philippi has given Porsche Penske Motorsport victory in Sunday’s action-packed Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
The Frenchman and co-driver Nick Tandy extended their lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class as a result of the last-gasp win, their second of the season.
An accident by the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of of Bill Auberlen, which rolled on its roof, with four minutes to go resulted in the race ending under full course caution, just moments after the race-winning pass.
Jaminet, in the No. 6 Porsche 963, hunted down De Phillippi in the closing stint of the Michelin Endurance Cup round, erasing a nearly ten-second deficit following the final round of pit stops, which saw both the Porsche and the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 take four fresh Michelin tires.
The No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken completed the overall and GTP class podium in third followed by the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, which also led at stages of the race.
JDC-Miller Motorsports recorded a top-five result with its customer Porsche 963, in an attrition-filled contest that impacted a car from each GTP manufacturer.
The No. 24 BMW of Augusto Farfus brought out the race’s first caution after the Brazilian lost control of his car on cold tires o the opening lap.
A controlling early 1-2 run by Porsche Penske was derailed in the third hour when Felipe Nasr hit hybrid issues while running second and spent more than two hours in the garage.
Multiple issues, meanwhile, struck the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac, including an early race accident by Sebastien Bourdais and a mechanical black flag for tire requirements, a penalty that also impacted the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura.
The WTR Andretti Acura ended up retiring in the final 30 minutes, with the CGR entry finishing five laps behind in sixth.
LMP2 class honors went to the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca 07 Gibson of Ben Hanley, Nolan Siegel and George Kurtz, who continued his streak of victories in sports car racing competition dating back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Hanley drove the Algarve Pro Racing-run entry to the class win over the No. 18 Era Motorsport Oreca of Christian Rasmussen, with Paul-Loup Chatin completing the class podium in third for PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.
Riley maintained its undefeated record in LMP3 competition at Watkins Glen by taking top class honors with Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Josh Burdon.
Fraga, in the No. 74 Ligier JS P320 Nissan, had a fierce battle with the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier of Garett Grist in the closing stages that saw the 74 Ranch-sponsored machine come out on top.
The Jr III entry, featuring a last-minute substitute driver in Dylan Murry, led through the middle stages of the race prior to a late charge by Fraga.
Vasser Sullivan Lexus Sweeps GT Classes
Aaron Telitz, Frankie Montecalvo and Parker Thompson led home a Vasser Sullivan Lexus 1-2 finish, in a sweep of the production-based ranks for the team and manufacturer.
More to come…
