IMSA: Late Drama To End The Six Hours Of The Glen

With under one hour to go in the Six Hours of The Glen, there would be a big shakeup in the finishing order for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.

As the first series to take to the repaved asphalt of Watkins Glen International in New York, the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship went after its longest race since the 12 Hours of Sebring earlier this year – the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. At the end of the day, it would be a Corvette 1-2 for Action Express Racing leading the charge home.

With just half an hour to go in the race, it looked as if the #90 Corvette of VisitFlorida Racing would take home the win, were it not for a spin that would relegate them off the podium for the prototype class. That allowed the Action Express Corvettes, led by the #5 team of Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, to race to victory lane for the first time this year, but by less than a second over their teammates Dane Cameron and Eric Curran. Following the two DP chassis home would be Michael Shank Racing’s #60 Honda in third, with Oliver Pla, John Pew, and Ozz Negri driving.

Meanwhile, two teams who captured victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans brought their momentum with them to The Glen. The #67 Ford GT of Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe would cruise to victory in the GT Le Mans class, while the Scuderia Corsa team of Jeff Segal, Christina Nielsen, and Alessandro Balzan would win in GT Daytona. The #63 Ferrari would pass the Audi of Stevenson Motorsports, who led most of the six-hour race, for the win.

In the Prototype Challenge category, following a scary wreck by the #20 team of BAR1 Motorsports early in the race, it would be a battle between Starworks Motorsports and Performance Tech Motorsports at the finish, won out by polesitter Renger van der Zande by just 0.112 seconds.

Here are the full results from the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, with class winners marked in bold and the starting driver in the car listed:

1. Christian Fittipaldi, Chevrolet, Action Express Racing, Prototype
2. Eric Curran, Chevrolet, Action Express Racing, Prototype
3. Ozz Negri Jr., Honda, Michael Shank Racing, Prototype
4. Ricky Taylor, Chevrolet, Wayne Taylor Racing, Prototype
5. Tom Long, Mazda, Mazda Motorsports, Prototype
6. Ryan Dalziel, Chevrolet, VisitFlorida Racing, Prototype
7. Renger van der Zande, Chevrolet, Starworks Motorsports, Prototype Challenge
8. James French, Chevrolet, Performance Tech Motorsports, Prototype Challenge
9. Mark Kvamme, Chevrolet, Starworks Motorsports, Prototype Challenge
10. Misha Goikhberg, Chevrolet, JDC-Miller Motorsports, Prototype Challenge
11. Richard Westbrook, Ford, Chip Ganassi Racing, GT Le Mans
12. Joey Hand, Ford, Chip Ganassi Racing, GT Le Mans
13. Dirk Werner, BMW, BMW Team RLL, GT Le Mans
14. Tommy Milner, Chevrolet, Corvette Racing, GT Le Mans
15. Alessandro Pier Guidi, Ferrari, Scuderia Corsa, GT Le Mans
16. Tony Vilander, Ferrari, Risi Competizione, GT Le Mans
17. Jan Magnussen, Chevrolet, Corvette Racing, GT Le Mans
18. John Edwards, BMW, BMW Team RLL, GT Le Mans
19. Nick Tandy, Porsche, Porsche North America, GT Le Mans
20. Frederick Makowiecki, Porsche, Porsche North America, GT Le Mans
21. Katherine Legge, Elan, Panoz Delta Wing Racing, Prototype
22. Christina Nielsen, Ferrari, Scuderia Corsa, GT Daytona
23. John Potter, Audi, Magnus Racing, GT Daytona
24. Mario Farnbacher, Porsche, Team Seattle / Alex Job Racing, GT Daytona
25. Ben Keating, Dodge, Riley Motorsports, GT Daytona
26. Cooper MacNeil, Porsche, Alex Job Racing, GT Daytona
27. Lawson Aschenbach, Audi, Stevenson Motorsports, GT Daytona
28. Timothy Pappas, Porsche, Black Swan Racing, GT Daytona
29. Tristan Nunez, Mazda, Mazda Motorsports, Prototype
30. Matt McMurry, Porsche, Park Place Motorsports, GT Daytona
31. Corey Lewis, Lamborghini, Change Racing, GT Daytona
32. Michael Marsal, BMW, Turner Motorsport, GT Daytona
33. Johannes van Overbeek, Honda, Tequila Patron ESM, Prototype
34. Robert Alon, Chevrolet, PR1 / Mathiasen Motorsports, Prototype Challenge
35. Jon Bennett, Chevrolet, CORE Autosport, Prototype Challenge
36. Robin Liddell, Audi, Stevenson Motorsports, GT Daytona
37. Madison Snow, Lamborghini, Paul Miller Motorsports, GT Daytona
38. Bret Curtis, BMW, Turner Motorsport, GT Daytona
39. Johnny Mowlem, Chevrolet, BAR1 Motorsports, Prototype Challenge

must read: NASCAR Fans Should be Missing NASCAR on FOX

The next race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship comes next week from Canada. See the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix from Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on Sunday, July 10, with live coverage beginning at 11:00 am eastern on FS1.