FRANCO: Conquering the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen

By Manny Franco

As we head back to upstate New York for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, there’s an additional layer of motivation for myself and everyone at Conquest Racing. Last year’s podium was a massive accomplishment for our team, and ever since we left Watkins Glen with that second-place trophy, we’ve had our sights firmly set on coming back for the win.

The No. 34 Corsa Horizon Ferrari 296 GT3 has been an incredible machine to drive, and over the past year, we’ve turned it into a genuine contender in what is a very competitive GTD grid. As a driver, you look for every opportunity to turn past success into something even greater.

Looking back at the 2024 event, it was one of the most chaotic and rewarding races I’ve ever been part of. The weather was as unpredictable as it gets, and from the moment I strapped into the car for my opening stint, I knew we were going to be in for a battle.

I remember how the skies were already threatening as the green flag dropped. My job was to carve through the GTD field from eighth on the grid while keeping the car clean and in the fight. It wasn’t necessarily about taking big risks, but more about being smart, calculated, and picking the right moments to push. A lot can happen in six hours, and we knew the weather would come into play eventually, so it was a fine balance.

When the rain finally arrived, it was relentless. The track turned treacherous in an instant, and we had to keep our heads while others slid off around us. I can’t overstate how crucial the decisions from the pit wall were that day. The team made bold but calculated strategy calls, and every one of them paid off.

When the red flag came out, we regrouped and got ready for one final push after the restart. We managed to claw our way into podium contention as the clock wound down. Initially, we crossed the line in third, but then a post-race penalty for another car bumped us up to second.

It was a huge result for us. That finish wasn’t just a trophy, it was validation for all the hard work, long days, and relentless development we’d put into the program.

We worked so hard in order to ensure that the car was reliable. When you enter a long race, such as this one, you don’t always know if the small changes will work out as you hope they will. I’m very happy to say that the adjustments we made were great and they paid off; they were the key to our podium result.

We built on what we have learned over the past season and a half. Last year, we secured a podium finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, a second-place result at Watkins Glen, and the team went on to achieve wins at Road America and Road Atlanta.

More recently, we scored a third place finish at Laguna Seca last month.

Our team chemistry has been top-notch. Daniel Serra has been a phenomenal teammate. His experience and precision behind the wheel push me to raise my own game every race weekend. We’ve also welcomed Ben Tuck to the lineup for Watkins Glen.

Coming off his run at Le Mans, he brings valuable endurance racing experience, and I can already tell he’s going to fit in well with our crew.

What makes this team so special isn’t just the driver lineup, though. Our engineering group, composed of Brice Laforge, John Dick, Zach Jones, and Joe Sweet, are instrumental.

The continuity we have with them has been a huge part of our success. They know this car inside and out, and their ability to adapt under pressure is something I have seen time and time again.

When conditions get tricky, like they did last year at The Glen, these are the people you want in your corner.

As we return to Watkins Glen, our goal is clear: we’re not here to chase a podium, we’re here to win. We’ve proven we can fight at the front, we’ve shown resilience when the weather takes a  turn for the worse, and we’ve built a car that can go the distance.

The forecast looks like we might be in for another unpredictable weekend, but honestly, that’s fine by us. Last year we proved that we can thrive in those moments. The trick is to stay sharp, stay patient, and make the right moves at the right time.

If we do that, I believe we’ll be standing on the top step when the checkered flag waves.

See you at The Glen.