Watkins Glen Post-Race Notebook

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

***Sunday’s Six Hours of The Glen marked the first overall victory for a Mazda-powered prototype since the 2012 American Le Mans Series race at Road America, which saw Chris Dyson and Guy Smith steer Dyson Racing’s Lola B09/86 Mazda to the win.

***The pair of Team Joest Mazda RT24-Ps combined to lead 183 of the 211 laps, with all six of its drivers leading the race at various stages.

***Harry Tincknell, who claimed his first career IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win, said he didn’t even know the left-side engine cover had become dislodged in the closing laps. “I certainly started to feel the car was a little bit freer on the rear, a little bit more loose, but I just thought it was the tires, to be honest,” he said.

***The team made the call to hold positions once Tincknell’s issue developed.

***The No. 6 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 started from the pit lane after it discovered a slow puncture while on the grid. It resulted in a drive-through penalty for Dane Cameron, who along with Juan Pablo Montoya ended up with a third place result.

***The duo take over the DPi points lead from Whelen Engineering Racing’s Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr after a disastrous race for the Action Express Racing-run Cadillac DPi-V.R that was triggered by a left-rear puncture caused by debris from the opening-lap accident.

***The No. 31 Cadillac DPi went down two laps due to repairs and the fitting of a new rear deck, while bodywork issues also struck the team’s sister Mustang Sampling-sponsored entry throughout the race.

***A broken input shaft in the gearbox halted CORE autosport’s race in the fourth hour. It came after a charge through the field by Romain Dumas and Colin Braun after recovering from a stop-and-hold-plus 60-second penalty for running the pit lane red light while under the race’s second full-course caution.

***Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet not only delivered Porsche’s fourth consecutive class victory in GT Le Mans but also the German manufacturer’s 570th win in IMSA history. Porsche is the all-time leader in wins in the sanctioning body’s history.

***Jan Magnussen made his 250th start with Corvette Racing on Sunday. The record, dating back to 2004, includes 35 class wins, four championship titles and four class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

***Corvette Racing teammate Tommy Milner, meanwhile, is set for his 100th start with the team in this weekend’s round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The Pratt & Miller-run squad is still seeking its elusive 100th victory on North American soil.

***Richard Westbrook lost the GTLM class lead at the end of the opening hour when his Ford GT’s steering column came loose, briefly locking him into second gear before he was able to reposition the column, which is movable for driver changes.

***Westbrook gave praise to Porsche, which has been “executing very well” in recent races. “Nick and the boys are driving really well,” he told Sportscar365. “Hats off to them. But right now we’ve got nothing for them.”

***The cause of the flash fire for the No. 25 Team RLL BMW M8 GTE in the final hour is still under investigation, although a replacement chassis may need to be prepped for CTMP this weekend. 

***It’s understood the cars and equipment from the now-defunct BMW Team MTEK WEC program are due to be shipped Stateside to be used as spares for the Team RLL program, although it’s unclear on the timing.

***The GTLM points race has tightened up significantly, with three crews within 1 point of each other, led by Watkins Glen winners Tandy and Pilet over Corvette’s Magnussen and Antonio Garcia, plus Porsche teammates Laurens Vanthoor and Earl Bamber, who entered the weekend as championship leaders.

***Trent Hindman claimed his first career WeatherTech Championship win and the second GTD class victory in the last three years for Meyer Shank Racing at Watkins Glen.

***It also marked the first win for the Acura NSX GT3 Evo in IMSA competition.

***Hindman and co-driver Mario Farnbacher have extended their championship lead to 16 points over AIM Vasser Sullivan’s Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand, who saw their two-race win streak come to an end with a fifth place class finish on Sunday.

***Matt McMurry has closed to 1 point of Cameron Cassels and Kyle Masson for the lead of the LMP2 drivers’ championship following his and co-drivers Gabriel Aubry and Eric Lux’s class win on Sunday.

***Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Felipe Fraga continue to lead the Michelin Endurance Cup standings in GTD, despite not even completing a single lap on Sunday. The Riley Motorsports trio scored the minimum two points for each segment as a result of starting the race.

***A number of drivers, including class winners Tandy, Pilet, Farnbacher and McMurry, took overnight flights to Belgium for this week’s Total 24 Hours of Spa Test Days, which runs on Tuesday and Wednesday in a newly expanded two-day format for 2019.

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