IndyCars - The off-season: Series news and comment until the March 2014 kick-off

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Saturday at VIR - The starting grid for USF Juniors Race 2…

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…was set by taking either the driver’s 2nd fastest qualifying lap or their best Race 1 lap - whichever was better.

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Here is the way USF Juniors will grid for Season Round 6: all drivers are rookies

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Row 1

Pole - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing

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P2 - Jeremy Fairbairn [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports

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Row 2

P3 - Titus Sherlkock [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports

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P4 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development

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Row 3

P5 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development

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P6 - Sam Corry [R], Velocity Racing Development

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Row 4

P7 - Andre Castro [R], International Motorsport
P8 - Alan Isambard [R], International Motorsport

Row 5

P9 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development
P10 - Earl Tucker [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Ethan Ho [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P12 - Jake Bonilla [R], DEForce Racing

Row 7

P13 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing
P14 - Quinn Armstrong [R], DEForce Racing

Row 8

P15 - Ryan Shehan [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports
P16 - Lucas Fecury [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Ethan Barker [R], Barker Racing

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Notable:

• This is Mac Clark’s 5th pole of the season.

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Mac Clark

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The race is set for 8:30am EASTERN time on Sunday morning.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Sunday morning at VIR - USF Juniors Race 2…

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…was not as tidy as Race 1, with two full-course cautions and a red flag period to clean up the carnage. In the thrilling end, 15-year-old Alessandro De Tullio for Velocity Racing Development pulled in P1 for the 2nd time this weekend from his P5 start. P2 went to 14-year-old teammate Sam Corry while 17-year-old Titus Sherlock for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports pulled in 3rd.

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Mac Clark for DEForce Racing led the field from pole and on the first lap lots of jockeying, as Nikita Johnson for VRD went from P4 to P2, Alessandro went from P5 to P3 and Sam Corry from P6 to P5, while Titus Sherlock dropped from P3 to P6 and Jeremy Fairbairn for Crosslink went from P2 to P4. Near the end of the lap Earl Tucker for DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports, teammate Ethan Ho and Maxwell Jaimeson for DEForce all collected each other, bringing out a full course caution. The three-car wreck took long enough to clean up that Race Control eventually red-flagged the race to save the kids lap time.

On the lap 5 restart Alessandro dropped off and back on course in Turn 1, dropping from P3 to P14. Mac Clark set Fastest Lap in an effort to get away. On lap 6 Jeremy Fairbairn went off course from P4, elevating Sam Corry to P4 and Titus Sherlock to P3. Another full course caution came out to retrieve Fairbairn. On the lap 9 restart Sam took his own turn off and on, dropping from P4 to P7 while Alessandro moved into P11 past Ethan Barker for Barker Racing. On lap 10 Alan Isambard for International Motorsport went past Elliot Cox for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development to take P4, but Elliot regained P4 by the end of the lap. Near Oak Tree, Nikita Johnson moved past Mac Clark to take the lead of the race.

On lap 11 Alessandro set Fastest Lap as he moved into P7. On lap 12 Mac regained P1 from Nikita while Sam took P3 from Titus. Alessandro took P5 from Elliot Cox. The race turned into a timed event and as final lap 13 unfolded Nikita and Mac battled for the lead for most of it. As they entered Turn 15 they took each other off course as Alessandro passed Sam and Titus to take the lead and the WIN a few corners from the finish line. Sam was a mere 0.065 seconds off De Tullio while Titus was just 0.073 seconds off Sam - That’s how close it was!

A thrilling finish!

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Your happy podium - That’s Sam Corry on the left in P2, Alessandro De Tullio in P1 in the middle and Titus Sherlock in his first podium in P3 on the right:

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Race 3 will soon have its grid set. The race will commence this early afternoon.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Sunday at VIR - The starting grid for USF Juniors Race 3…

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…was set by taking either the driver’s 2nd fastest qualifying lap or their best Race 2 lap - whichever was better.

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Here is the way USF Juniors will grid for Season Round 7: all drivers are rookies

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Row 1

Pole - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing

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P2 - Jeremy Fairbairn [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports

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Row 2

P3 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development

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P4 - Sam Corry [R], Velocity Racing Development

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Row 3

P5 - Titus Sherlkock [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports

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P6 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development

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Row 4

P7 - Andre Castro [R], International Motorsport
P8 - Alan Isambard [R], International Motorsport

Row 5

P9 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development
P10 - Jake Bonilla [R], DEForce Racing

Row 6

P11 - Earl Tucker [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P12 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing

Row 7

P13 - Quinn Armstrong [R], DEForce Racing
P14 - Ryan Shehan [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Ethan Barker [R], Barker Racing
P16 - Ethan Ho [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Lucas Fecury [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports

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Notable:

• This is 17-year-old Canadian Mac Clark’s 6th pole of 7 races for the season, so far.

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Mac Clark

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The race is scheduled for 1:25pm EASTERN time, Sunday

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M

[MarkyS]

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Sunday at VIR - USF Juniors close out their race weekend with Race # 3…

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…and SWEEPING the weekend was 15-year-old Miami, Florida native Alessandro De Tullio for Velocity Racing Development with the WIN from his P3 start. P2 was DEForce Racing’s 17-year-old Mac Clark from pole while P3 went to 14-year-old Sam Corry, also for VRD, from his P4 start.

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As with both other races at VIR, this one quickly developed into a four-car battle up front between the three VRD drivers and Mac Clark for DEForce. Mac set Fastest Lap on lap 1, trying to get away. Jeremy Fairbairn for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports was passed by Alessandro for P2 and then was also passed by Sam Corry for P3. Titus Sherlock for Crosslink fell to Nikita Johnson for VRD who took over P5. On lap 2 Sam then went after Alessandro and took him for P2 while Nikita took P4 from Jeremy. Sam set Fastest Lap. On lap 3 Sam went for the lead and took Mac. Shortly afterwards, Alessandro also got by the Canadian for the P2 spot. Titus moved past Jeremy to take over P5 while Nikita Johnson set Fastest Lap. The front four cars were now beginning to separate from the pack, as they had done in Race 1 and Race 2.

Alan Isambard for International Motorsport moved into P7 past Elliot Cox for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development as a similar group vying for P5, P6 and P7 began to develop. On lap 4 Jeremy took P5 from Titus, then Alan took P6 from Titus. Alessandro in P2 set Fastest Lap going after Sam Corry. On lap 6 Nikita passed Mac in the front group to take P3 while Titus passed Alan in the 2nd group to take back P6, but on lap 7 Alan again took P6.

On lap 8 Alessandro finally took the lead from Sam and Nikita followed through into P2, setting Fastest Lap on the way. Alan Isambard took over P5 from Jeremy Fairbairn. On lap 10 Titus was past Jeremy into P6 and Andre Castro for International Motorsport followed through to take P7. Lap 11 saw Mac Clark use the classic over-under maneuver to move past Nikita and Sam and take over P2. He now went after Alessandro, but the TOP FOUR were still nose-to-tail and on lap 14 Nikita was passing him to reclaim P2. Now it was Nikita’s chance for the WIN. On final lap 15 he made a move on Alessandro but ended up going off course and back on, dropping to P4 in the process. Alessandro crossed the line 0.28 seconds ahead of Mac who was 0.45 seconds ahead of Sam.

Thrilling!

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Notable:

• It’s clear that the TOP FOUR are the cream of this crop. They gave us great racing all weekend long and put on a passing clinic. De Tullio, who comes almost straight from karting, made a huge impression this weekend, and he and Mac Clark are the two series leaders, with now 3 WINS for De Tullio and 4 WINS for Clark in the 7 races thus far, but Sam Corry and Nikita Johnson just needed a bit of luck to also take WINS.

• Velocity Racing Development earned the most points as a team with 3 of their 4 drivers on the podiums all weekend.

• The 2nd group was also full of fun as Titus Sherlock, Jeremy Fairbairn, Andre Castro and Alan Isambard were also impressive all weekend.

• The kids were a lot tidier for Race 3 than they were for Race 2, having learned the valuable lesson that to have a chance to WIN, one must first finish the race.

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Your happy podium - That’s Mac Clark in P2 on the left, Alessandro De Tullio in P1 in the middle and Sam Corry in P3 on the right. Alessandro is holding his broom for his “clean sweep” of the weekend:

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With these results, here are the TOP FIVE in series points leaving Virginia:

1 - Mac Clark, 189
2 - Alessandro De Tullio, 152
3 - Sam Corry, 143
4 - Nikita Johnson, 132
5 - Andre Castro, 119
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The next outings for USF Juniors will be at Mid-Ohio July 7-9 for Season Rounds 8, 9 and 10, one week after the IndyCar race there.

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[MarkyS]

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It’s time to check in with Josef Newgarden’s “Admit 1” series…

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This episode is from the Detroit Grand Prix weekend:

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ADMIT1: 2022 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix

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Oh, my Lord - The in-car camera stuff as Josef went for - and got - pole position…Bell Isle… we are so going to miss you!
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[MarkyS]

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The IndyCars were in Newton, Iowa on Monday…

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…for a private test that saw 19 cars on track for the whole day. The weather was hot but the winds were calm, which led to a day of incident-free testing. in attendance were guys from Team Penske, Arrow McLaren SP, Chip Ganassi Racing, Meyer Shank Racing, Dale Coyne Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Juncos Hollinger Racing and 2 out of 3 AJ Foyt Enterprises cars.

Not there were the cars from Ed Carpenter Racing, Andretti Autosport and Tatiana Calderon from Foyt, as she is not doing the ovals, this season.

As this was a private test, no times were released but the fence-sitters stop-watched for us and we have unofficial results, here

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars private test at Iowa, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; times are for 1 lap

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1 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 18.377s

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2 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 18.522s

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3 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 18.537s

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4 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing - time of 18.597s

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5 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 18.702s

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6 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
7 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
9 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
10 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

11 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
12 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
13 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
14 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
15 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
16 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
17 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
18 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
19 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• Josef Newgarden has 3 WINS at Iowa from 2020, 2019 and 2016. His WIN in 2016 was probably the race that got him his job with Team Penske, as Roger Penske was mightily impressed with the Ed Carpenter driver’s performance, despite a broken hand and clavicle from a shunt at Texas, a month earlier in the year.

• Other former WINNERS in the field in 2022 will be Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud.

• Best series rookie is Christian Lundgaard who made the TOP FIVE for the day. Best track rookie is Scott McLaughlin, who was a series rookie in 2021, when Iowa was off the schedule.

• JR Hildebrand is tentatively scheduled to drive the # 11 for AJ Foyt in place of Tatiana Calderon, but for some reason it did not test, though JR was there in Newton.

• Though Andretti Autosport was not there, they have a technical alliance with Meyer Shank Racing, so the information gleaned by Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud gets shared with the Andretti guys - neat.

• Lots of laps were turned all day and the difference between Josef and Dalton Kellett is 1.185 seconds, so no one was slouching out there.

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Josef Newgarden - check the land title…he may OWN Iowa Speedway

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The double-header at Iowa takes place about a month away, on July 23-24. The next test for the IndyCars will be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Thursday, with all 4 drivers for Andretti Autosport, Simona De Silvestro of Paretta Autosport, the Arrow McLaren SP pair of Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist and Kyle Kirkwood of AJ Foyt.

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[MarkyS]

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Benjamin Pedersen is set to test for Juncos Hollinger Racing in a big car, next week…

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The sophomore Indy Lights drivers for Global Racing Group w/ HMD Motorsports will test at Sebring’s short course. His goal is to catch the eye of someone for the 2023 season of IndyCars.

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22-year-old Dane Benjamin Pedersen for GRG w/HMD

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In a year and a half of racing in the Lights Pedersen has 9 podiums, including 5 P2s, but has yet to grab that first WIN.

Said Benjamin, “It doesn’t weigh on me, but I really want to win. We’re putting in a lot of work for it, but we take it as it comes and I think if you just treat it like that, you’ll subconsciously help the results come with that process. All the focus just stays on how to get the win.”

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On the test itself, he said, “My whole career has been about getting into faster cars, whether it’s through F4 to F3 to Indy Lights, now it’s just another step with that. So that that’s not very different. The only difference is now it will be the highest level within America that you get to. So going up to test an IndyCar, it doesn’t feel foreign.”

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Good luck, Benjamin!

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[MarkyS]

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It’s time for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen!..

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IMSA returns to upstate New York this weekend to do the 3rd of four Michelin Endurance Cup races embedded in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Although the 6 Hours is the shortest of the four races, it is often the most intense, because of the lack of time to make up for mistakes in the early going. The teams HAVE TO get it right from the start.

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The venue is beautiful Watkins Glen International - one of North America’s oldest and most storied natural road courses in the Finger Lakes region of the state. IMSA will be using the long course which includes the famous “boot” section of the 3.37-mile, 11-turn track.

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The track map:

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The WeatherTech race will take place on Sunday but there will be support from the Michelin Pilot Challenge series, the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series and the Mazda MX-5 Cup series all weekend. We will be following the WeatherTech gang, the Michelin Pilot gang and the Porsche gang, as that is where the IndyCar guys will be.

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Continued…

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[MarkyS]

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It’s time for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen!..(part 2)…

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All five classes of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series will be racing, this weekend, as well as both classes for the Michelin gang and the full compliment of Porsche Carrera Cup guys. Included in the cars will be a large number of former IndyCar and Road to Indy drivers and even a few current drivers. Let’s see who they are, starting with the WeatherTech gang:

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DPI class - 4-time IndyCar Champion Sebastien Bourdais is one of the two series regulars in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Cadillac Racing, pairing with veteran Renger van der Zande.

Sebastien Bourdais

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Indy Lights Champion Tristan Vautier is one of the two regular guys in the # 5 Cadillac DPi V.R for JDC-Miller Motorsports, with his co-driver being Richard Westbrook. For the Glen they are adding Loic Duval to the car.

Tristan Vautier

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Indy Pro 2000 alum Pipo Derani is a series regular in the # 31 Whelen Cadillac for Action Express, along with co-driver Olivier Pla. For the Glen they are adding former IndyCar race WINNER Mike Conway

Pipo Derani (left) and Mike Conway

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IndyCar driver Jimmie Johnson will pilot the # 48 Ally Cadillac DPi V.R for Action Express with assistance from Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller.

Jimmie Johnson

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LMP2 class - USF2000 phenom and 16-year-old Josh Pierson will drive the # 11 ORECA 07 Gibson for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports with veteran Jonathan Bomarito and Steven Thomas. Pierson has already WON a number of international LMP2 races, this year.

Josh Pierson

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2-time Indy 500 WINNER Juan Pablo Montoya shares the # 81 ORECA 07 Gibson with Henrik Hedman as they drive for DragonSpeed USA. Added in for the Glen is Juan Pablo’s 17-year-old son Sebastian Montoya, as he was at Sebring, this season.

Juan Pablo Montoya

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LMP3 class - Canadian Indy Lights alum Garett Grist will share the # 30 Ligier JS P320 for Jr III Racing with Ari Balogh and added in the car is current Indy Pro 2000 driver Nolan Siegel.

Garett Grist (left) and Nolan Siegel

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Indy Lights alum and SRO SportsCar Champion Jarett Andretti will drive the # 36 Ligier for Andretti Autosport with Aussie Josh Burdon. Added in for the Glen will be former Indy Lights Champ and IndyCar driver Gabby Chaves.

Jarett Andretti (left) and Gabby Chaves

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Swedish Road to Indy ace Rasmus Lindh shares the # 38 Ligier for Performance Tech Motorsports with Dan Goldburg. Added in for the Glen will be another RTI ace, Cameron Shields.

Rasmus Lindh (left) and Cameron Shields

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USF2000 alum Max Hanratty will drive the # 40 Duqueine D08 for FastMD Racing with co-drivers James Vance and Nico Varrone.

Max Hanratty

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Multiple junior formula Champion and Road to Indy ace Dakota Dickerson is a co-driver with Josh Sarchet in the # 58 Ligier for MLT Motorsports. Added in for the Glen is Tyler Maxson

Dakota Dickerson

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GTD Pro class - Driving the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 should have been Indy Pro 2000 Champ Jack Hawksworth, but Jack is injured and a sub will be in the car - no word yet on whom that will be. The other driver in the car is Ben Barnicoat. Added in for the Glen is current IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood. Kirkwood and Barnicoat are coming off the WIN at Detroit a few weeks ago.

Kyle Kirkwood

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Road to Indy ace Connor de Phillippe will drive the # 25 BMW M4 GT3 for BMW M Team RLL with co-drivers John Edwards and Augusto Farfus.

Connor de Phillippe

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GTD class - former Indy Pro 2000 Champion Aaron Telitz is a pilot of the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan with co-driver Franke Montecalvo. Added in for the Glen will be Richard Heistand.

Aaron Telitz

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Former Champ Car driver and a Champion of 3 different series in 2021, Jan Heylen drives the # 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R for Wright Motorsports with co-driver Ryan Hardwick. Added in for the Glen is 2021 GTD class champ Zacharie Robichon.

Jan Heylen

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Indy Lights race WINNER Rob Megennis drives the # 39 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for CarBahn with Peregrine Racing with co-driver Jeff Westphal. The Glen will see Corey Lewis added to the car.

Rob Megennis

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Current Indy Lights driver Kyffin Simpson is a driver in the # 66 Acura NSX GT3 for Gradient Racing with co-drivers Till Bechtolsheimer and Mario Farnbacher.

Kyffin Simpson

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Former Champ Car driver Katherine Legge is a regular in the # 99 Team Hardpoint Porsche 911 GT3 R with co-driver Rob Ferriol. Added in for the Glen is IndyCar driver Stefan Wilson.

Katherine Legge (left) and Stefan Wilson

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• The Michelin Pilot Challenge series has only one IndyCar guy in the Grand Sport class but does have a few in the Touring Car class:

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GS class - Eric Filgueiras is a former USF2000 National Class Champion with 7 WINs in the 2016 season. He will share the # 28 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport for RS1 with Stevan McAleer.

Eric Filgueiras

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TCR class - Indy Lights race WINNER and former TCR class champion Ryan Norman shares the # 2 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport with AJ Muss.

Ryan Norman

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Former IndyCar driver and paraplegic Robert Wickens drives the # 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport using hand controls. His co-driver is Mark Wilkins.

Robert Wickens

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Former Indy Pro 2000 alum and paraplegic Michael Johnson drives the # 54 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Michael Johnson Racing w/ Bryan Herta Autosport, using hand controls. His co-driver is Stephen Simpson.

Michael Johnson

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• The Porsche Carrera Cup North America series has a few IndyCar guys as well:

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Road to Indy Shootout veteran Trenton Estep drives the # 6 Porsche 992 for MDK Motorsports.

Trenton Estep

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Road to Indy multiple ace Parker Thompson drives the # 9 Porsche 992 for JDX Racing. Parker already has 5 podiums and is coming off 2 WINS at Laguna Seca.

Parker Thompson

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TJ Fischer is another Road to Indy veteran with success this season, driving the # 58 Porsche for Topp Racing and collecting a podium at Long Beach.

TJ Fischer

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There are several driver “TBAs” - to be announced - in all three series we will watch, so there is the chance that even more IndyCar drivers will race this weekend. Stay tuned.

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Thursday will be a day of practice for the Porsche gang and the Michelin Pilot Challenge gang. Let’s GET THIS THING GOING!!

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[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Watkins Glen - The Porsche Carrera Cup North America guys hold practice…

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In anticipation of qualifying on Friday for the series’ two weekend races, the PCCNA boys held both of their weekend practice sessions today. The TOP THREE in practice for the day all came from the P-2 session, this afternoon. We have them here:

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Road to Indy alum Trenton Estep pulled down the fastest speeds of the day in the # 6 Porsche 992 Cup car for MDK Motorsports with a time of 1:48.937s for a speed of 112.358mph. Trenton was the only guy all day to crack 1:48 on time. He bested points-leader Kay van Berlo for Kelly-Moss Road & Race in the # 3 Porsche by 0.223 seconds. Third fastest was Road to Indy ace Parker Thompson in the # 9 Porsche for JDX Racing.

Trenton, Kay and Parker are the 3 TOP DAWGS in the series at the moment and any one of them can be best for the day or a race WINNER. Estep is a former Porsche GT3 Challenge USA Champion while van Berlo was the PCCNA Vice-Champion in 2021 The other PCCNA guy to watch is Texan Riley Dickinson for K-M R & R. Riley is always lingering in this top group and was 2nd fastest in the morning session, topped by van Berlo, while Parker was 3rd this morning, too.

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The # 6 Porsche 992 Cup car for MDK Motorsports - TOPS in practice for the day

Trenton Estep

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The Porsche gang will qualify for both races on Friday morning and then hold Race 1 of the weekend on early Friday afternoon.

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[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Watkins Glen - The Michelin Pilot Challenge gang hold their P-1 session…

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The first practice session for the series was held late this afternoon and we have the TOP THREE in each class, here:

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Grand Sport class - TOPPING the session was Stevan McAleer in the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1 with a time of 1:54.993s for a speed of 106.441mph. Stevan bested Bill Auberlen in the # 95 BMW M4 GT4 for Turner Motorsport by a teensy 0.036 seconds. Third quickest was Eric Foss in the # 56 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 for Murillo Racing, just beating out teammate Kenny Murillo in the # 72 Mercedes-AMG.

Stevan’s co-driver in the Porsche is former USF2000 National Class Champ Eric Filgueiras while Bill’s co-driver in the Bimmer is Dillon Machavern. Eric shares the # 56 with Kenton Koch while Kenny shares the # 72 with Christian Szymczak

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The # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1 - TOPS in the P-1 practice

Stevan McAleer

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Touring Car class - TOPS for the day in the session was Denis Dupont in the # 15 Audi RS3 LMS DSG for Belgard & Techniseal Racing with a time of 1:56.649s for a speed of 104.930mph. Denis topped AJ Muss in the # 2 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport by a healthy 0.889 seconds. Third quickest was Mikey Taylor in the # 17 Audi RS3 LMS SEQ for Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports.

Denis shares the # 15 Audi with Alex Rockwell while AJ shares the Hyundai with Indy Lights driver Ryan Norman. Mikey’s co-driver in the # 17 Audi is Chris Miller.

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The # 15 Audi RS3 LMS DSG for Belgard & Techniseal Racing - TOPS in P-1 practice

Denis Dupont

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The MPC gang hold a second practice session on Friday, midday, and then qualify for Saturday’s Tioga Downs Casino Resort 120 on Friday afternoon.

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This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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[MarkyS]

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Eight IndyCars tested at the Indianapolis Road Course today…

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The four drivers for Andretti Autosport, the two drivers for Arrow McLaren SP, Kyle Kirkwood for AJ Foyt and Simona de Silvestro for Paretta Autosport were all at the Road Course today to test for the up-coming July 30 Gallagher Grand Prix race.

The test was a private test, so no times were released, but there were enough privately-held stop-watches around to collect some useful times, and we have them. There was a morning session and an afternoon session and we have COMBINED the two session to give you the fastest for the day.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars test at IMS, with times for all: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 70.5574s for a speed of 124.443mph

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2 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 70.7497s for a speed of 124.105mph

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3 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 70.7898s for a speed of 124.035mph

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4 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 70.8142s for a speed of 123.992mph

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5 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - time of 71.1413s for a speed of 123.422mph

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6 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner - time of 71.3987s for a speed of 122.977mph

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7 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises - time of 71.4427s for a speed of 122.901mph

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8 - Simona De Silvestro, Paretta Autosport - time of 71.8532s for a speed of 122.199mph

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Notable:

• A funny mix of musical chairs, here. Alexander will be teammates with Pato and Felix in 2023 while Kyle will be teammates with Romain, Colton and Devlin in 2023.

• Today, it was announced that Felix has a contract extension with McLaren good probably through 2024, but it was NOT announced whether he will drive on the Arrow McLaren SP IndyCar team or on the new-for-2023 McLaren Formula E team. Felix has a ton of Formula E experience with Mahindra, giving them 3 WINS in the electric car series, so it could go either way. It has only been CONFIRMED that Arrow McLaren SP will be a 3-car team in 2023.

• Every outing for Simona is a blessing, as she is trying to knock off 7 years of rust since her last outings in IndyCars on road courses. She is doing very well and was only 1.3 seconds off the top time of the day.

• The testing not only benefits Simona, but also everyone on her team, all of whom need to gel together as a team in very short order. The car is in a technical alliance with Ed Carpenter Racing but a number of the engineers and mechanics are Paretta Autosport people who haven’t worked together since last season.

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A word from Colton Herta:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

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And a word or two from Kyle Kirkwood:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

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The IndyCars return to battle next weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with support from the Road to Indy.

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Friday at Watkins Glen - The Porsche Carrera Cup gang qualify and then hold Race 1…

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…of the weekend. On the pole for the race was Kay van Berlo in the # 3 Porsche 992 for Kelly-Moss Road & Race with teammate Riley Dickinson in the # 53 in P2 next to him. Starting from P3 was Road to Indy ace Parker Thompson for JDX Racing in the # 9 Porsche and after a stunted race with much of the running under yellow, the podium looked EXACTLY the same as the start with van Berlo taking his 5th Win of the season, Dickinson in P2 and Thompson in P3.

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The race started with Pro class driver and P12 starter Travis Wiley for Topp Racing having a heavy shunt on the opening lap at the Esses, which saw the teenager roll his Porsche after making an impact with the Armco barriers that required repairs. The repairs ate up about half the race laps. Once the race was underway it was a steady and controlled drive to the WIN for van Berlo with no unexpected maneuvers to counter him. Coming in just off the podium in 4th was Road to Indy guy Trenton Estep from his P4 start for MDK Motorsports.

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Saturday’s Race 2 will see van Berlo again start from pole, with Dickinson in P2, Estep in P3 and Thompson in P4.

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Friday at Watkins Glen - The Michelin Pilot Challenge gang hold a practice and qualifying…

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…for Saturday’s Tioga Downs Casino Resort 120. Both classes held a P-2 practice session followed by qualifying later in the day and we have the TOPS in P-2 and the TOP THREE qualifiers in each class:

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Grand Sport class - Dillon Machavern took the # 95 BMW M4 GT4 for Turner Motorsports to the top of the charts in the morning practice session, just besting former USF2000 Champion Eric Filgueiras in the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1 but when it came time to go for the pole it was Eric taking it with a time of 1:54.499s for a speed of 106.900mph. Eric bested Alfredo Najri in the # 14 Toyota Supra GT4 for Riley Motorsports by 0.212 seconds. Starting 3rd will be Kenny Murillo in the # 72 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 for Murillo Racing.

Eric shares the Porsche with Stevan McAleer while Alfredo shares the Toyota with Brazilian Thiago Camilo. Kenny’s co-driver in the Mercedes is Christian Szymczak while Dillon’s co-driver in the Bimmer is Bill Auberlen.

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Eric Filgueiras and the # 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS for RS1 - on the pole in GS class

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Touring Car class - TOPPING the P-2 practice was Tim Lewis in the # 5 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR for KMW Motorsports w/ TMR Engineering, just besting IndyCar driver Robert Wickens in the # 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport, but when it was time to qualify the guy grabbing pole was Mason Filippi in the # 77 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta, with a time of 1:56.955s for a speed of 104.655mph. Mason beat out Chris Miller in the # 17 Audi RS3 LMS SEQ for Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports by a scant by 0.067 seconds. Robby Wickens will start 3rd on the grid.

Mason shares the # 77 Elantra with Tyler Maxson while Chris shares the # 17 Audi with South African Mikey Taylor. Robby’s co-driver in the # 33 Elantra is fellow Canadian Mark Wilkins while Tim’s co-driver in the little Alfa is Roy Block.

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Mason Filippi and the # 77 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport - on pole

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The race is scheduled for a Saturday broadcast LIVE on Peacock Premium, starting at 3:45pm EASTERN time.

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Friday at Watkins Glen - The WeatherTech gang hold their P-1 practice session…

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All five classes of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship took to the track late in the day to hold the P-1 practice session for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen and we have the TOP THREE on speed for each class here:

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DPi class - TOPPING the session was Oliver Jarvis in the # 60 Acura ARX-05 for Meyer Shank Racing with a time of 131.217s for a speed of 134.185mph. Oli bested Renger van der Zande in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Chip Ganassi’s Cadillac Racing by 0.322 seconds. Third fastest was Filipe Albquerque in the # 10 Acura for Wayne Taylor Racing.

Oli shares the # 60 Acura with Tom Blomqvist while Renger shares the # 01 Caddy with IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais. Filipe’s co-driver in the # 10 Acura is Ricky Taylor.

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The # 60 Acura ARX-05 for Meyer Shank Racing - TOPS in P-1

Oliver Jarvis

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LMP2 class - The HOT SHOE in the practice was Mikkel Jensen in the # 52 ORECA 07 Gibson for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports with a time of 1:32.629s for a speed of 132.140mph. Mikkel beat out Louis Deletraz in the # 8 ORECA for Tower Motorsport by 0.443 seconds. Third fastest was Jonathan Bomarito in the # 11 ORECA for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports.

Mikkel shares the # 52 with Ben Keating and Scott Huffaker while Louis shares the # 8 with Rui Pinto de Andrade and John Farano. Jonathan’s co-drivers are Steven Thomas and Road to Indy ace Josh Pierson.

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The # 52 ORECA 07 Gibson for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports - TOPS in P-1

Mikkel Jensen

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LMP3 class - The RABBIT for the session was George Kurtz in the # 54 CORE Autosport Ligier JSP320 with a time of 1:39.789s for a speed of 122.658mph. George bested Ari Balogh in the # 30 Ligier for Jr III Racing by a healthy 0.700 seconds. Third quickest was Tyler Maxson in the # 58 Ligier for MLT Motorsports.

George shares the # 54 with Colin Braun and Jon Bennett while Ari shares the # 30 with IndyCar guys Garett Grist and Nolan Siegel. Tyler’s co-drivers in the # 58 are Josh Sarchet and Road to Indy ace Dakota Dickerson.

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The # 54 CORE Autosport Ligier JSP320 - TOPS in the P-1 session

George Kurtz

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GTD Pro class - the LEAD FOOT in the practice was Ross Gunn in the # 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for Heart of Racing Team with a time of 1:46.356s for a speed of 115.085mph. Ross beat out Italy’s Davide Rigon in the # 62 Ferrari 488 GT3 for Risi Competizione by a teensy 0.046 seconds. Third quickest was Augusto Farfus in the # 25 BMW M4 GT3 for BMW M Team RLL.

Ross shares the Aston with Alex Riberas while Davide shares the Ferrari with Daniel Serra. Augusto’s co-drivers are John Edwards and Road to Indy ace Connor De Phillippi.

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The # 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for Heart of Racing Team - TOPS in the P-1 session

Ross Gunn

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GTD class - TOPPING the class for the practice was Dirk Mueller in the # 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Team Korthoff Motorsports with a time of 1:46.197s for a speed of 115.257mph. Dirk skinned Andy Lally in the # 44 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for Magnus Racing by an itty-bitty 0.028 seconds. Third fastest was Franke Montecalvo in the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan.

Dirk shares the Mercedes with Stevan McAleer and Mike Skeen while Andy shares the Aston with John Potter and Spencer Pumpelly. Franke’s co-drivers are Richard Heistand and Indy Pro 2000 champion Aaron Telitz.

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The # 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Team Korthoff Motorsports - TOPS in the P-1 session

Dirk Mueller

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The WeatherTech series will practice again first thing in the morning on Saturday and then qualify in the early afternoon for Sunday’s race. This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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Saturday at Watkins Glen - The WeatherTech gang hold P-2 and then qualify…

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The five classes of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series held their 2nd practice session of the weekend first thing this morning and followed that up in the early afternoon with qualifying. We have the TOP driver in each class in practice and the TOP THREE qualifiers for each class, as well:

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DPi class - TOPS in the morning practice was Tom Blomqvist in the # 60 Acura ARX-05 for Meyer Shank Racing. Tom then backed that up by taking pole for the class in the afternoon, with a time of 1:29.580s for a speed of 136.637mph. Tom bested Filipe Albuquerque in the other Acura, the # 10 for Wayne Taylor Racing, by 0.164 seconds. Starting third will be IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Cadillac Racing. The Acuras have never WON at WGI, so this bodes well for the mark.

Tom shares the # 60 Acura with Oliver Jarvis while Filipe shares the # 10 with Ricky Taylor. Sebastien’s co-driver in the Caddy is Renger van der Zande.

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The # 60 Acura ARX-05 for Meyer Shank Racing - on the pole

Tom Blomqvist

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LMP2 class - TOPPING the P-2 session was Nederlander Giedo van der Garde, fittingly in the # 29 Racing Team Nederland ORECA 07 Gibson, but when it came to qualifying it was Ben Keating gabbing the pole for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports in the # 52 ORECA with a time of 1:33.930s for a speed of 130.309mph. Ben topped teammate Steven Thomas in the sister car, the # 11, by an incredible 0.001 seconds - HARD to even measure! Starting third will be Denmark’s Dennis Andersen in the # 20 ORECA for High Class Racing.

Ben’s co-drivers in the # 52 are Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker while Steven’s co-drivers in the # 11 are Jonathan Bomarito and Road to Indy phenom 16-year-old Josh Pierson. Dennis shares the # 20 with fellow Dane Anders Fjordbach and Fabio Scherer while Giedo shares the # 29 with Frits Van Eerd and Dylan Murry.

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The # 52 ORECA for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports - on the pole

Ben Keating

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LMP3 class - The fast guy in the practice this morning was Malthe Jakobsen in the # 33 Ligier JSP320 for Sean Creech Motorsport but qualifying saw Nico Varrone take the # 40 Duqueine D08 for FastMD Racing to pole with a time of 1:40.028s for a speed of 122.365mph. Nico bested Josh Sarchet in the # 58 Ligier for MLT Motorsports by a decent 0.562 seconds. Starting third will be Jon Bennett in the # 54 CORE Autosport Ligier.

Nico shares the Duqueine with James Vance and Road to Indy alum Max Hanratty while Josh shares the # 58 Ligier with Tyler Maxson and Road to Indy ace Dakota Dickerson. Jonathan’s co-drivers in the # 54 Ligier are Colin Braun and George Kurtz.

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The # 40 Duqueine D08 for FastMD Racing - on the pole

Nico Varrone

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GTD Pro class - TOPPING the practice session was Brit Ben Barnicoat in the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 for Vasser Sullivan but TOPPING the qually was Road to Indy ace Connor De Phillippi in the # 25 BMW M4 GT3 for BMW M Team RLL with a time of 1:44.755s for a speed of 1:44.755mph. Connor got on top of Ross Gunn in the # 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 by 0.048 seconds. Starting third will be Davide Rigon in the # 62 Ferrari 488 GT3 for Risi Competizione.

Connor shares the Bimmer with Augusto Farfus and John Edwards while Ross shares the Aston with Spaniard Alex Riberas. Davide’s co-driver in the Ferrari is Brazilian Daniel Serra while Ben’s co-driver in the Lexus is IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood.

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The # 25 BMW M4 GT3 for BMW M Team RLL - on the pole

Connor De Phillippi

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GTD class - The HOT SHOE in practice was Stevan McAleer in the # 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Stevan used that speed to take pole later in the day with a time of 1:45.077s for a speed of 116.486mph. Stevan topped Richard Heistand in the # 12 Lexus RCF GT3 by 0.340 seconds. Starting third will be Robby Foley in the # 96 BMW M4 GT3 for Turner Motorsport.

Stevan, pulling double duty this weekend, (He’s in the MPC race for RS1, as well), co-drives the Mercedes with Mike Skeen and Dirk Mueller while Richard’s co-drivers in the Lexus are Frankie Montecalvo and Indy Pro 2000 Champion Aaron Telitz. Robby shares the BMW with Michael Dinan and Bill Auberlen.

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The # 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 - on the pole

Stevan McAleer

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The race is schedule for LIVE broadcast on Sunday, starting at 10:40am EASTERN time on Peacock Premium. The race will also be covered on USA network but not starting there until 2:00pm EASTERN time and running then to the end.

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Saturday at Watkins Glen - The Porsche Carrera Cup North America Race 2…

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Kay van Berlo for Kelly-Moss Road & Race SWEPT the weekend with another victory from pole in this afternoon’s Season Round 8. Taking P2 was teammate Riley Dickinson from his P2 start while Road to Indy alum Trenton Estep drove to P3 for MDK Motorsports from his P3 start.

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The young Nederlander van Berlo stretched into an early lead and controlled the remainder of the race, WINNING the contest by a stout 4.917 seconds over Riley. Coming in 4th was Road to Indy ace Parker Thompson for JDX Racing from his P4 start. The race’s only full course caution came for contact between the # 30 Porsche of Dominique Lequeux and the #. 92 Kelly-Moss entry driven by Joseph Lombardo on the entry into Turn 1. Race Control called the accident the responsibility of Lequex, who retired from the race with damage.

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Notable:

• This is Kay’s 6th WIN of the season from 6 poles and he extends his points lead heading into the next two rounds. Once on pole, he seems impossible to pass.

• Van Berlo got pole by setting Fastest Lap in Race 1 but already had it from qualifying.

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Kay van Berlo

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With these results, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Watkins Glen:

1 - Kay van Berlo, 199
2 - Parker Thompson, 152
3 - Riley Dickinson, 127
4 - Trento Estep, 116
5 - Leh Keen, 79

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The next outings for the PCCNA gang will be at Toronto, in support of the IndyCar race, July 15-17.

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Saturday at Watkins Glen, the Michelin Pilot Challenge race makes history…

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The Tioga Downs Casino Resort 120 will be remembered as the first TCR-class WIN for paraplegic IndyCar driver Robert Wickens since his debilitating accident in an IndyCar at Pocono in 2018. It marked Wickens’ first WIN since the 2017 DTM round at the Nürburgring in only his 5th start in the # 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport, fitted with hand controls. He shares the # 33 with fellow Canadian Mark Wilkins.

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Wickens, who started P3, took over the lead in his stint by first passing P2 starter Chris Miller in the # 17 Audi RS3 LMS SEQ for Unitronic JDC-Miller MotorSports and then pole-sitter Mason Filippi in the # 77 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport before handing over to fellow Canadian Wilkins with 57 minutes to go in the two-hour race.

Wilkins held off the #5 KMW Motorsports w/ TMR Engineering Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR of starter Roy Block and closer Tim Lewis by 0.374 seconds at the line. P3 went to the # 2 BHA Hyundai of closer and Indy Lights driver Ryan Norman and starter AJ Muss.

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Robert Wickens - a WINNER again.

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The overall and GS class race WINNERs were starter Dillon Machavern and closer Bill Auberlen in the # 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 from their P3 start, thanks to a late-race pass for the lead by Auberlen at the Bus Stop Chicane. Bill passed the # 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Christian Szymczak with 12 minutes to go. The pole-sitting # 28 RS1 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport of starter Stevan McAleer and closer and Road to Indy Champion Eric Filgueiras passed Szymczak for P2 at the end. Christian and his P2 starting co-driver Kenny Murillo finished 3rd.

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#IMSA

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Notable:

• While this is Robby’s first WIN in a car with hand controls, it is not the first time that has ever happened. That honor belongs to Road to Indy alum Michael Johnson who WON a TCR class race with co-driver Stephen Simpson at Lime Rock Park in 2018. Michael is Robby’s teammate and finished 5th today with Simpson from their P6 start.

Michael Johnson

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Points have yet to be awarded for this result. The next outing for the Michelin Pilot Challenge series is at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park - aka Mosport - where they will support the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Chevrolet Grand Prix, July 1-3.

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Sunday at Watkins Glen - Weather makes a mess of the Sahlen’s six Hours of the Glen…

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…but that didn’t stop the racers from racing hard to the end, as Wayne Taylor Racing WINS the overall and the DPi class for Acura for the first time ever at WGI. The race was red flagged at one point due to lightning and restarted with 21 minutes to go. At the wheel at the end was closer Filipe Albuquerque in the # 10 Acura ARX-05 he shares with Ricky Taylor. Filipe was running on fumes and a bit damaged from a collision late in the race with a GTD class car. Coming in P2 was Tom Blomqvist in the # 60 Acura that he shares with Olivier Pla for Meyer Shank Racing while P3 went to IndyCar driver and closer Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Cadillac Racing.

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LMP2 class was WON by Scott Huffaker in the # 52 ORECA 07 Gibson for PR1 Mathisaen Motorsports. Huffaker was in the car instead of normal team closer Mikkel Jensen because of the Weather delay that had red-flagged the race. With only 21 minutes left to run after the restart, it just wasn’t feasible to stop and change drivers, so Scott got the job and the WIN. Also in the car was starter Ben Keating. Scott WON by only by 0.107 seconds over a hard-charging Louis Deletraz in the # 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA he shared with Rui Pinto de Andrade and John Farano. P3 went to Giedo van der Garde in the Racing Team Nederland car he shares with Frits Van Eerd and Dylan Murry.

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The LMP3 class WIN went to the # 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 Nissan of Felipe Fraga, Gar Robinson and Kay van Berlo, despite a late-race stop by Felipe. Fraga WON by a full lap over the # 54 CORE Autosport Ligier of Jon Bennett, Colin Braun and George Kurtz. The class had a lot of drama and a number of incidents that had cars dropping out. Third place went to the # 36 Ligier of Indy Lights driver Jarett Andretti, IndyCar driver Gabby Chaves and Josh Burdon. For van Berlo, the WIN was the third of the weekend, having already taken BOTH Porsche Carerra Cup races.

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Left to right, Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Kay van Berlo

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In GTD Pro class the # 25 BMW of Augusto Farfus, John Edwards and Road to Indy ace Connor De Phillippi crossed the finish line first today, but due to the red flag that messed up everyone’s strategies, the car was hit with a post-race drive time penalty that handed the WIN to the Heart of Racing Team’s # 23 Aston Martin Vantage of Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas.

GTD class was a similar situation as AGAIN the race leader at the line was the # 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Marvin Dienst but a post-race drive time penalty gave the WIN to the # 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Roman De Angelis, Ian James and Maxime Martin. It was the first time a GTD Pro and GTD class WIN was of the same mark.

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Aston Martin gets a double GT WIN

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Here are extended race highlights that will help to show some of the action:

IMSA: Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen | EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS | 6/26/22 | Motorsports on NBC

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Next up for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series is the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, next weekend.

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It’s time to update our view of Josef Newgarden’s “Admit 1” feature…

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The IndyCars are racing at Mid-Ohio this weekend so we think it’s a great time to get caught up on Newgy’s featurette. The latest one comes from the Sonio Grand Prix at Road America, which was a wonderful weekend for the Tennessee native.

Take a look:

ADMIT1: Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America

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