RNW Staff

In sweltering conditions at Watkins Glen International, Paul Miller Racing earned their fifth consecutive podium of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Sunday. Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow drove in one of the most physically challenging events of the season, bringing the No. 48 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 across the finish line in third place at the Sahlen’s Six Hour of the Glen. Having never finished outside the podium yet this season, the American duo continues to lead the GTD class championship by one point.

United Autosports leave Watkins Glen disappointed after a fourth place finish in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen after contact leaves the team thinking what could have been.

A podium finish at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen has again eluded Tequila Patrón ESM. Although the Nissan Onroak DPi team showed strong speeds and consistent improvements throughout the IMSA SportsCar Championship weekend, the team retired both cars early from the six hour endurance event.

One highlight follows the other in the IMSA SportsCar Championship: Just a week after the six-hour classic at Watkins Glen, North America’s premier sports car race series makes its traditional detour over the border for Canada’s one and only round of the season contested on 8 July at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The Porsche GT Team fields two 510 hp 911 RSR in the GTLM class on the very fast and demanding course close to Bowmanville. This category, in which four automobile manufacturers compete, is known to be particularly tough and is packed with suspense from start to finish. Porsche’s customer team Wright Motorsports runs two 911 GT3 R racers in the GTD class. 

Phil Hanson scored another very strong finish in a major international endurance race with fourth place at the star-studded Sahlens Six Hours of the Glen at the world famous Watkins Glen, home to the United States Grand Prix from 1961-1980, yesterday (1 Jul). The 18-year-old Briton though left the circuit in upstate New York disappointed after a performance that looked set to leave him and United Autosports team-mates Bruno Senna (BRA) and Paul Di Resta (GB) in real contention for the overall win until rear end contact from another car late in the race.

Meyer Shank Racing continued its streak of quick pit stops, strong strategy and tuned-in drivers to come home with a second-place result along with capturing its second Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup Championship round win of the season on Sunday.

The Spirit of Daytona Racing team battled through several incidents on Sunday to earn a solid finish in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen International, race six of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and race three of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing DPi-V.R of Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran, and Mike Conway finished seventh in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen on Sunday as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship staged round six of the 2018 season.

It was a six-hour race on a near 100-degree day at Watkins Glen International, but it all came down to an amazing restart by Stephen Simpson in the No. 99 GAINSCO “Red Dragon” ORECA LMP2 car that sealed the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen victory for the JDC-Miller Motorsports team in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition Sunday.

It was a clean sweep for Ford at Watkins Glen International.

Carrying the icons of American history and honoring the branches of the Armed Forces, the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R raced hard to take a sixth place finish in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen on Sunday with drivers Gabby Chaves, Christian Fittipaldi and Filipe Albuquerque. The team had been targeting a third consecutive victory at Watkins Glen in the prestigious six hour race, but were unable to match that result despite a well-executed effort on both sides of the pit wall.

Jerseyman Jack Butel and English teammate Dominic Paul put together a strong weekend in the UK LMP3 Cup with the British team taking a brilliant second place in the opening encounter before an electrical problem robbed them of their first win in the second race at Snetterton (30/1 June/July).

The six-hour race at Watkins Glen in the US state of New York turned into a heated battle: In temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius, the ca. 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR scored positions three and four. At round five of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Sunday, the Frenchman Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy from the UK crossed the finish line ahead of the sister car driven by Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Earl Bamber (New Zealand). In the GTLM class, the Porsche GT Team has notched up two wins so far this season at Sebring and in Mid-Ohio. After five championship rounds, Porsche ranks second in the manufacturers classification.

BMW Team RLL finished the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in seventh and eighth positions in GTLM class. The No. 25 BMW M8 GTE finished seventh with Bill Auberlen, Connor De Phillippi and Alexander Sims sharing the driving duties after a problem-free race. The No. 24 BMW M8 GTE, of Tom Blomqvist, John Edwards and Jesse Krohn, finished 27 laps down in eighth after a challenging race. The race was won by the No. 66 Ford GT.

Sunday afternoon’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International brought a tenth-place finish for Mazda Team Joest.

Corvette Racing endured one of its most trying races in recent memory Sunday, and the team was rewarded with a runner-up finish by Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.  The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R led 30 laps at Watkins Glen International as the squad soldiered through record-setting heat in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Performance Tech Motorsports was forced to retire with two hours remaining from Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen after an incident on track.

WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Jeff Segal (Miami, Fla.) and Gunnar Jeannette (Salt Lake City, Ut.) were thwarted by penalties, flames and 100-degree temperatures to finish seventh in GTD in today’s running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen..

The Chang SUPER GT RACE, Round 4 of the 2018 AUTOBACS SUPER GT series, was run on July 1th at the Chang International Circuit (4,554m × 66 laps) in Buriram, Thailand. In the GT500 class, the No. 39 DENSO KOBELCO SARD LC500 driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Kamui Kobayashi came from 3rd position on the grid to take the win. In the GT300 class, the No. 11 GAINER TANAX GT-R driven by Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Hironobu Yasuda was the winner.

Round three of the GT4 European Series season brought the teams to the Misano World Circuit in Italy last week. It was a weekend with extremes. High temperatures on the two race days and heavy rain during practice. The two thrilling races provided new overall race winners in the form of RN Vision STS and Equipe Verschuur and as usual the paddock was buzzing again.