IMSA has published the 56-car provisional entry list for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, taking place Sunday, 22 June – during the biggest month of endurance sports car racing.
The field is headed up by a 13-car GTP field which welcomes back the #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 and the #63 Lamborghini Squadra Corse SC63 for their third appearances of the year, in this third round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.
Proton Competition’s driver trio from the Le Mans 24 Hours is set to reprise their roles at Watkins Glen: Neel Jani, Nico Varrone, and Nico Pino will drive the #5 Porsche. It will be Varrone’s first GTP start in IMSA after running Daytona and Sebring with Corvette Racing/Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD PRO.
The Riley-run Lamborghini, meanwhile, will be driven by Romain Grosjean and Daniil Kvyat, who will look to finish their first race of 2025.
In this six-hour race, most GTP and GTD PRO teams will only use two drivers. In GTP, Endurance Cup specialists Frederik Vesti (#31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R) and Kakunoshin ‘Kaku’ Ohta (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06) will return to IMSA action.
As reported yesterday, Ben Barnicoat will make his return to racing, driving the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 alongside Aaron Telitz as part of the 10-car GTD PRO field. It’s Barnicoat’s first race since a cycling accident sidelined him for three months.
Only Paul Miller Racing is set to have a third driver in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO alongside Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen. This role has been filled by Connor De Phillippi at Daytona and Sebring, but the slot is currently listed as ‘TBD’.
Other driver changes in GTD PRO include Sandy Mitchell replacing Marco Mapelli at Pfaff Motorsports, as reported earlier this week; in addition, DragonSpeed’s Endurance Cup driver Davide Rigon will return – replacing Giacomo Altoe, who will be out for the second consecutive race.
For the first time since the Twelve Hours of Sebring, the LMP2 class returns to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with 12 cars. Since Sebring, the #74 Riley ORECA 07-Gibson (Gar Robinson/Felipe Fraga/Josh Burdon) leads the LMP2 standings by just two points from the #22 United Autosports USA ORECA (Dan Goldburg/Paul di Resta/Rasmus Lindh).
Driver changes in LMP2 teams include Manuel Espirito Santo making his IMSA debut in the #73 Pratt Miller Motorsports ORECA. Espirito Santo, 21, is a Silver-graded rookie in the European Le Mans Series LMP2 class, driving for CLX Motorsport alongside Pipo Derani and Enzo Fittipaldi.
Veteran Matthieu Vaxiviere will be back in the #88 AF Corse ORECA alongside Luis and Matias Perez Companc, and Alpine Hypercar driver Paul-Loup Chatin returns to the #18 Era Motorsport ORECA.
GTD features 21 cars, headlined by the much-welcomed return of Magnus Racing after a brief hiatus from motorsport.
With his business commitments away from racing settled, John Potter will be back behind the wheel of the #44 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, sharing the car with long-time Magnus associate Spencer Pumpelly and Aston Martin Racing factory driver Marco Sorensen.
Other GTD Endurance Cup teams returning to the grid include AF Corse, Cetilar Racing, Van der Steur Racing, Lone Star Racing, and Iron Dames.
Of note, Sarah Bovy and Rahel Frey’s co-driver in the #83 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R has yet to be determined after Michelle Gatting’s foot injury sustained during Le Mans Test Day. Other teams still yet to finalise their line-ups are Lone Star Racing’s #80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, and Forte Racing’s #78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
Triarsi Competizione will welcome IMSA debutant Andrew Waite to drive the #023 Ferrari 296 GT3, replacing team mainstay Charles Scardina. Waite has worked as a professional driving coach in his native New Zealand for over a decade, and he has prior experience racing GT3 cars in Australia and China.
The other driver changes here include Ben Tuck’s IMSA debut for Conquest Racing, announced last week.
Feature image © IMSA
