Watkins Glen Friday Notebook

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

***Mikey Taylor has been a late replacement in the No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo this weekend, taking the place of Seth Lucas in the GTD entry. It will mark the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut for Taylor, the 2024 Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class champion.

***It’s unclear if Lucas is out of the car for the remainder of season. His father, Chris Lucas, is a partner in the team through his Competition Motors team.

***The Korthoff Competition Motors Instagram page no longer features any of the team’s current branding or logos and all posts after Oct. 12, 2024, have been removed, including the page’s profile image, which is now blank.

***The No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 has an all-new lineup this weekend in Alessandro Balzan, Jason Hart and AJ Muss. While the car is still green, Sheena Monk’s program has come to an abrupt halt, in what she wrote as “unforeseen circumstances” on social media.

***Monk said: “I don’t know if we will race again this season because our entry is now being carried on by someone else, but I’m confident that we will eventually be back one way or another. This outcome isn’t taken lightly and I would like to apologize to Stevan [McAleer], and Mike [Skeen], IMSA and JG Wentworth.”

***Team principal Onofrio Triarsi added: “We are grateful for Sheena and Randy’s presence in our WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program. We’ve shared valuable experiences together on and off the track and we wish them all the best in whatever lies ahead.”

***The Lamborghini SC63 has not undergone any updates or Evo jokers since its last appearance at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring according to Lamborghini’s head of motorsport Maurizio Leschiutta, who confirmed some small “tweaks” since the Sebring race.

***Leschiutta confirmed that the factory squad tested at Watkins Glen in the build-up to this weekend’s event.

***Magnus Racing, which is making it series return after initially announcing a hiatus following the Rolex 24 at Daytona, is sporting a new livery with primary sponsorship from ‘virtual energy’ in a nod to IMSA’s new-for-2025 torque sensor-mandated Balance of Performance process in the GTD ranks.

***Team owner/driver John Potter said: “We couldn’t be happier to welcome such a well embraced partner with Virtual Energy,” stated Potter. “Virtual Energy has been the talk of the paddock all year, so we’re thrilled to carry their colors. When we’d paused the program in January we knew we wanted to return, but just couldn’t identify when everything would align to make it happen. With our new program we feel a new sense of, dare I say, energy to the team.”

***Sportscar365 understands that IMSA requested the team remove several BoP-related innuendos that were written on the car as it was unloaded in the paddock on Thursday.

***The No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3’s chassis has been repaired since its accident on the streets of Detroit, with team principal Elton Julian revealing to Sportscar365 that repairs were made to the rear support structure at Ferrari of Houston’s frame shop.

***Julian confirmed that Giacomo Altoe will return to the team for the remainder of the season, beginning with next month’s round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Altoe missed the Detroit round but was never scheduled to contest this weekend, with Ferrari factory driver Davide Rigon having previously been confirmed for the Michelin Endurance Cup races prior to Altoe’s hiring.

***Julian joked that it has switched back to a primary white livery following the yellow-colored No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P’s historic victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans but admitted to Sportscar365 that its decision to revert to the team’s classic colors came prior to last weekend.

***Louis Deletraz believes he’s carrying momentum off the back of his LMP2 Pro-Am class victory in last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with AO by TF. The Cadillac driver teamed with PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron, who are also racing this weekend, but in AO Racing’s LMP2 entry, for class victory.

***Deletraz told Sportscar365: “Winning Le Mans is always good. It’s a very good thing that I’m super happy of and to have back-to-back races, I’m always saying when you drive any cars, you’re sharper and more ready for the next event. I feel like I’m coming here very fresh and ready to go fast.”

***Action Express Racing is expected to receive its spare Cadillac V-Series.R chassis, which was used as a backup chassis that went un-used at Le Mans, sometime this weekend according to a Cadillac spokesperson, who confirmed no logistical hurdles for AXR or WTR in arriving back Stateside for this weekend’s race.

***The two engine failures on the No. 101 WTR and No. 311 AXR Cadillacs at Le Mans, meanwhile, are “en route” from Le Mans to GM’s Performance and Racing Center for “root cause analysis,” a statement read. “The engines for Watkins Glen have been inspected based on our initial data analysis and findings from Le Mans, and are ready to race.”

***A number of GTP teams will be staying on at Watkins Glen International on Monday for a ten-hour Michelin tire test featuring its new range of 2026 tires for the GTP/Hypercar classes. The French tire manufacturer recently revealed its ‘Pilot Sport Endurance 2026′ tires during a launch event at Paul Ricard last month.

***There is new curbing colors on the 3.4-mile circuit this weekend, with blue incorporated into the previous yellow and red design.

***Michael Christensen is serving as Porsche Penske Motorsport’s dedicated reserve driver this weekend.

***JDC-Miller Motorsports will return with its LMP2 program for Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Road America, with Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews as co-drivers, team principal John Church confirmed to Sportscar365.

***Church has expressed interest in again having a Porsche factory driver to complete the team’s lineup in the No. 83 Porsche 963 for the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans. Pascal Wehrlein joined the team in the Rolex 24 while Nico Mueller was drafted into the team for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

***NBC Sports’ coverage of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen gets underway Sunday at 12 p.m. through 3 p.m. EST, with the full race streamed live on Peacock. Leigh Diffey and Calvin Fish will be joined by Brian Till in the booth, with Dave Burns, Matt Yocum and Chris Wilner on pit lane.

***IMSA Radio’s coverage, which is available on the international YouTube feed, will be headed up by John Hindhaugh and Peter Mackay in the booth, with Diana Binks and Arjuna Kankipati on pit lane.

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