Jaminet Makes Late-Race Pass for Porsche Victory at The Glen

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

A late-race pass through traffic by Mathieu Jaminet on Connor De Philippi has given Porsche Penske Motorsport victory in Sunday’s action-packed Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

The Frenchman and co-driver Nick Tandy extended their lead in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class points standings as a result of the last-gasp win, their second of the season.

An accident by the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of of Bill Auberlen, which rolled on its roof, with four minutes to go, resulted in the race ending under full course caution just moments after the overall race-winning move.

Jaminet, in the No. 6 Porsche 963, hunted down De Phillippi in the closing stint of the Michelin Endurance Cup round, erasing a nearly ten-second deficit following the final round of pit stops, which saw both the Porsche and the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 take on four fresh Michelin tires.

While De Phillippi remained in his car, Tandy swapped over to Jaminet, who got up to speed quickly in the final 40-minute stretch to the checkered flag.

The No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken completed the overall and GTP class podium in third followed by the fourth-placed No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, which also led at stages of the race.

JDC-Miller Motorsports recorded a top-five result with its customer Porsche 963, in an attrition-filled contest that saw issues for one car from each GTP manufacturer.

The No. 24 BMW of Augusto Farfus brought out the race’s first caution after the Brazilian lost control of his car on cold tires on the opening lap and was later retired due to damage sustained in the crash.

A controlling early 1-2 run by Porsche Penske was derailed in the third hour when Felipe Nasr hit hybrid issues while running second and spent nearly two hours in the garage undergoing an extensive rebuild.

Multiple issues, meanwhile, struck the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac, including an early race accident by Sebastien Bourdais and a mechanical black flag for tire requirements, a penalty that also impacted the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura and numerous others in the GT ranks.

The WTR Andretti Acura ended up retiring in the final 30 minutes, with the CGR entry finishing four laps behind in sixth.

LMP2 class honors went to the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca 07 Gibson of Ben Hanley, Nolan Siegel and George Kurtz, who continued his streak of wins in sports car racing competition dating back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Hanley drove the Algarve Pro Racing-run entry to the victory over the No. 18 Era Motorsport Oreca of Christian Rasmussen, with Paul-Loup Chatin completing the class podium in third for PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.

Riley maintained its undefeated record in LMP3 competition at Watkins Glen by taking the class win with Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Josh Burdon.

Fraga, in the No. 74 Ligier JS P320 Nissan, had a fierce battle with the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier of Garett Grist in the closing stages that saw both cars have off-course moments.

The Jr III entry, featuring a last-minute substitute driver in Dylan Murry, led through the middle stages, prior to the Brazilian’s late charge.

Vasser Sullivan Lexus Sweeps GT Classes

Aaron Telitz, Frankie Montecalvo and Parker Thompson led home a Vasser Sullivan Lexus 1-2 finish, in a sweep of the production-based ranks for both the team and manufacturer.

The No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 held control of the class from the third hour, following multiple tire-related penalties for teams, including the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2s from Forte Racing by US RaceTronics and the Iron Dames.

Telitz, in the GTD class entry, finished ahead of teammate Jack Hawksworth, who overcame a late-race pit lane penalty to take top honors in GTD Pro.

The No. 14 Lexus emerged as the clear favorite after a four-car accident wiped out the then class-leading No. 63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini of Andrea Caldarelli, although faced final hour drama of its own due to a pit lane speeding infringement.

Hawksworth emerged from the drive-through penalty behind the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD of Antonio Garcia, although got around the Spaniard for the class lead with 23 minutes to go.

He then faced pressure from the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 of Daniel Serra, who moved into second in class prior to the race-ending yellow, with Garcia and Jordan Taylor’s Corvette demoted to third at the end.

It marked only the second time in WeatherTech Championship history that a team won both the GTD and GTD Pro classes in a race.

The No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 railed from an early two-lap deficit due to an electrical issue to finish second in the GTD class with Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow and Corey Lewis, maintaining their class points lead in the process.

Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen and Zach Robichon, meanwhile, completed the GTD podium and was the highest-placed Bronze Cup entry in third.

RESULTS: Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John