DPi Highlights - Mazda wins back-to-back at The Glen in Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen
Mazda went back-to-back in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, defending their 2019 victory in the endurance race with drivers Oliver Jarvis, Harry Tincknell and Jonathan Bomarito splitting the duties in the No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda DPi. Tincknell and Bomarito were in that 2019 race-winning car, while Oliver Jarvis had been in a Mazda that finished second that year.
Tincknell was in the car for the final stint and it turned out to be a race to the bottom of the fuel tank, as he ran out of gas on the cool-down lap after taking the checkered flag.
The No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura DPi entry, owned by the same duo that fronted this year’s Indy 500-winning entry driven by Helio Castroneves, finished second with Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla behind the wheel.
In the opening two-plus hours of the race, the No. 10 Konica Minolta and No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura entries swapped the overall lead. However, a full-course caution period 20 minutes before the halfway point brought all the leaders to pit lane and the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi, with Felipe Nasr at the wheel, took the lead and held on to it at the half-way mark. However, the car would ultimately finish fifth.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson competed in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac Racing Cadillac DPi alongside Indy 500 champion Simon Pagenaud and Kamui Kobayashi. They crossed the line sixth.
LMP2 Highlights – WIN Autosport wins from pole
The pole-sitting team of Steven Thomas, Tristan Nunex and Thomas Merrill in the No. 11 WIN Autosport ORECA LMP2 07 led at the beginning, middle and end to capture the LMP2 victory at The Glen.
Coming in second was the No. 52 entry from PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports piloted by Ben Keating, Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker and the No. 22 United Autosports car with James McGuire, Wayne Bowd and Guy Smith behind the wheel rounded out the podium.
LMP3 Highlights – Riley Motorsports comes from deep in LMP3 field for win
The No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 with Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Scott Andrews behind the wheel started sixth out of the seven entries in the LMP3 category, but found themselves in the lead by the three-hour mark – and again at the checkered flag.
Jonathan Bennett, George Kurtz and Colin Braun were second in the Core Autosport No. 54 entry, while the No. 91 Riley Motorsports entry finished third with Jim Cox, Dylan Murry, and Jeroen Bleekemolen.
Andretti cousins Marco and Jarett placed fourth in the No. 36 Andretti Autosport car. They were joined in the car by Oliver Askew.
GTLM Highlights – Corvette C8.R shines in Watkins Glen debut
The Corvette C8.R made its debut in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship last year, but wasn’t able to race in Central New York as the 2020 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But it made its debut at The Glen a special one, as Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor drove the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C8.R to the top spot on the podium.
The No. 4 Corvette driven by Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy had been leading late in the race, until with approximately 30 minutes remaining in the race, Garcia passed their sister car at the inner loop. They brought along the No. 24 BMW Team RLL car with them, driven at the time by John Edwards, who passed Tandy in the No. 4 at the same time. Jesse Krohn and Augusto Farfus joined Edwards in the car to finish second, while the other BMW Team RLL car, the No. 25 with Connor De Phillippi, Phillip Eng, and Bruno Spengler finished third.
GTD Highlights – Bill Auberlin continues his winning ways with GTD win
Bill Auberlin recorded his 64th career IMSA win as the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 co-piloted by Robby Foley and Aidan Read took the checkered flag over the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow and Corey Lewis.
The Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin was third in the No. 23 piloted by Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn and Ian James.
Coming up next at The Glen:
IMSA will return to the twists and turns of The Glen in just a few short days. Thursday, July 1, will feature practice and qualifying for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race (the WeatherTech 240) as well as qualifying for the Sahlen’s 120 at The Glen for the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Friday afternoon, July 2, the two-hour Sahlen’s 120 at The Glen will begin at 2:35 p.m. ET while the WeatherTech 240 takes to the track as day turns to night, running a two-hour and 40-minute race beginning at 6:10 p.m. ET.
Local driver Brandon Kidd will race for the second time in a week in front of friends and family at his hometown track, driving the No. 09 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in the Michelin Pilot Challenge Sahlen’s 120 at The Glen on Friday afternoon. A graduate of Syracuse University, Kidd lives and works in Rochester.
To purchase race tickets, camping and additional information, call 1-866-461-RACE or visit TheGlen.com.
