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Sunday at Watkins Glen - Expect the unexpected in WeatherTech racing…
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The improbable WINNERS of the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen - Both overall and in DPi class - were Oliver Jarvis, Jonathan Bomarito and closer Harry Tincknell in the # 55 Mazda RT24-P for Mazda Motorsports. P2 went to Olivier Pla and Dane Cameron in the # 60 Acura ARX-05 for Meyer Shank Racing while P3 went to Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi in the # 10 Acura for Wayne Taylor Racing.
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Improbable, because all day long, prior to the last stint, the Mazda was nowhere to be seen, while the two Acuras dominated the class and the race. But an ill-timed full-course caution put the Mazda in the lead and Tincknell was able to eke out enough fuel to cross the finish line in P1, running out of gas on the cool-down lap.
The same yellow also bit the leaders of the GTD class - the # 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Patrick Long, Trent Hindman and IndyCar driver Jan Heylen and the # 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus of IndyCar drivers Aaron Telitz, Kyle Kirkwood and Jack Hawksworth. Both cars led most of the race, between them, but ended up in P8 and P6 respectively, when they too were caught on the wrong side of the final stint when the caution flew.
The WINNERS of the class were Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley and Aiden Read in the # 96 BMW M6 GT3 for Turner Motorsports. P2 went to the # 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow and Corey Lewis while P3 went to Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis and Ian James in the Heart of Racing # 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. All three cars had just pitted when the final caution flew and they were there to collect the spoils.
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Auberlen, Read and Foley - GTD class
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LMP2 class went to Tristan Nunez, Thomas Merrill and Steve Thomas in the # 11 ORECA 07 Gibson for WIN Autosport, leading much of the day. P2 went to the # 52 ORECA for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports with Scott Huffaker, Ben Keating and Mikkel Jensen while P3 went to Guy Smith, Wayne Boyd and James McGuire in the # 22 United Autosports ORECA.
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Tristan Nunez celebrates the WIN from pole.
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In LMP3 class the WINNERS were Felipe Fraga, Gar Robinson and Scott Andrews in a class-leading Ligier JS P320 for Riley Motorsports that executed well the whole race. P2 went to the # 54 CORE Autosport Ligier of Colin Braun, Jonathan Bennett and George Kurtz while P3 went to the other Riley Motorsports car, the # 91 of Jeroen Bleekemolen, Jim Cox and Dylan Murry.
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Robinson, Andrews and Fraga - class act in LMP3 class
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The two Corvette C8.Rs for Corvette Racing led the race most of the day in the GTLM class but the two BMW M8 GTEs for BMW Team RLL were lurking very close all day long and they finally let it all out in the final stint, passing the # 4 Corvette, but the # 3 Corvette of Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor kept the lead and took the WIN, with the # 24 Bimmer of John Edwards, Augusto Farfus and Jesse Krohn in P2 while Philipp Eng, Bruno Spengler and IndyCar guy Connor De Phillippi came in P3 in the # 25.
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Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia - well-earned WIN
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Another great multi-class endurance race from the WeatherTech gang, this one had all the drama and all the action we’ve come to expect from IMSA. At 6 hours, this is the shortest duration race of the four Michelin Endurance Cup races on the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule, and as such it was raced much more like a sprint race than a long enduro, and that was fun to watch.
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With these results here are the TOP THREE in points in each of the five classes, leaving this event:
DPi class -
1 - Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, 1733
2 - Oliver Jarvis, Harry Tincknell, 1701
3 - Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, 1576
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LMP2 class -
1 - Mikkell Jensen, Scott Huffaker, Ben Keating, 702
2 - Tristan Nunez, Thomas Merrill, Steve Thomas, 700
3 - Dwight Merriman, Kyle Tilley, Ryan Dalziel, 640
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LMP3 class -
1 - Gar Robinson, 1090
2 - Colin Braun, Jonathan Bennett, 1040
3 - Dylan Murry, Jim Cox, 970
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GTLM class -
1 - Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, 1082
2 - Jesse Krohn, John Edwards, Augusto Farfus, 1001
3 - Connor De Phillippi, Bruno Spengler, Philipp Eng, 966
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GTD class -
1 - Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley, 1296
2 - Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn, 1235
3 - Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, 1192
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Next up for the WeatherTech gang is right here at Watkins Glen! The race at Canadian Tire and Motorsport Park has been cancelled, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and it was decided a sprint race at Watkins Glen was just the thing for a close replacement, so, the teams are all staying in the area and will race on this track, next Friday.
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