Harry Tincknell and the #55 Mazda Motorsports squad turned the tables on the opposition to take a second consecutive Sahlens 6 Hours of the Glen after their win in 2019, the #55 Mazda RT24-P fuel saving to a very narrow win over the long-time leading #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 with Olivier Pla crossing the line just under a second behind the Mazda which had started from the back of the DPi grid after an engine change post-qualifying.
Mazda chose to take track position in their final stop, 53 minutes from the end of the race, taking fuel only as the race went to a Full Course Yellow, the #60 squad, Play sharing the Acura with Dane Cameron, taking two tyres at the stop, the time taken enough to put the Mazda into the lead, Tincknell stretching the fuel just enough to give himself and team-mates Oliver Jarvis and Jonathan Bomarito Mazda’s first win of 2021.
“They had their numbers absolutely spot on,” Tincknell said. “To be honest, a perfect race car is the one that crosses the line and then breaks down. They did a fantastic job there.”
“I had the call on the last lap to go flat-out,” Tincknell continued. “I knew at that point we should be OK. The team calculated it perfectly for the last lap, but they forgot about the in lap, so I ran out of fuel in Turn 7. It was quite a cool moment, all of us being pushed into victory lane.”
In the opening two-plus hours of the race, the #10 and #60 Acuras entries swapped the overall lead, a full-course caution period 20 minutes before the halfway point saw the #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi, with Felipe Nasr at the wheel, take the lead before the Acuras made their way back to the lead.
Behind there was last lap drama as Kamui Kobayashi in the #48 Ally Cadillac and Kevin Magnussen in the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac made contact, the Dane off and into the gravel trap, failing to cross the line, Kobayashi would be deemed at fault and would be dealt a post-race penalty, 35 seconds in lieu of a drive-through, living the #48 finishing fourth, behind the #31 Whelen Cadillac.
LMP2
The pole-sitting #11 WIN Autosport team of Steven Thomas, Tristan Nunex and Thomas Merrill led at the beginning, middle and end to capture the LMP2 victory, and the first for the team, at The Glen ahead of the #52 entry from PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports piloted by Ben Keating, Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker, Nunez and Jensen duelling to the end, the WIN man getting the better run through traffic to take a win by a single second.
“That was the hardest race I’ve ever had in my career,” said Nunez, who recorded the seventh IMSA win of his career and second at WGI. “Jensen was definitely driving an amazing race. There definitely was a little bit of fuel-saving. It was tough out there, especially with all the traffic.”
The #22 United Autosports car with James McGuire, Wayne Boyd and Guy Smith rounded out the podium in a race that saw mechanical troubles eliminate the other two class entries. The #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca hit trouble, and the armco, before Turn One as Gabriel Aubrey had a wild ride that saw the car pit and go behind the wall, further mechanical issues finally saw them call it a day later by which time the #17 Era Motorsport car had already retired.
GTLM
A late-race battle for the win saw the #3 Corvette C8.R take victory on the car’s first appearance at Watkins Glen, Antonio GarciaJordan Taylor fending off a late push from the #24 BMW Team All M8 GTE of John Edwards to claim the win alongside Jordan Taylor.
“It was a flat-out fight,” Garcia said. “All the classes got together with two laps to go. Fortunately, there were no crashes, no yellows and (I) managed to stay ahead and bring Corvette another victory here. It’s been a long time since the last one.” (Corvette last won at Watkins Glen in 2014).
The victory gave Taylor the career grand slam of IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races, with previous victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts and Motul Petit Le Mans.
“This one has been high on my list,” Taylor said. “Every year it seems like something goes wrong.”
The #25 BMW would complete the podium ahead of the #4 Corvette, these four the only finishers after a brush with the wall on lap three saw the #79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche pit with a significant fire at the rear, the car retired as a result.
LMP3
The #74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320 with Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga and Scott Andrews behind the wheel started sixth out of the seven entries in the LMP3 category but found themselves in the lead by the three-hour mark – and again at the checkered flag.
Jonathan Bennett, George Kurtz and Colin Braun were second in the Core Autosport #54 entry, while the #91 Riley Motorsports entry finished third with Jim Cox, Dylan Murry, and Jeroen Bleekemolen.
Andretti cousins Marco and Jarett placed fourth in the #36 Andretti Autosport car. They were joined in the car by Oliver Askew.
Fifth place went to the longtime class-leading #2 United Autosport’s car, pole-sitter Austin McCusker put in a very impressive opening stint before an error as the leading DPis were passing saw him off line and into the barriers, the subsequent damage delaying the car and dropping the effort off the lead lap.
GTD
Bill Auberlen was not going to be denied victory at The Glen in the GTD class Sunday after settling for second place in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race the day before.
“They were like carbon copies of each other,” Auberlen said of the races staged on back-to-back days. Auberlen was leading near the end of the Pilot Challenge race but was passed for the win.
“It was such a great move, I would have high-fived him if I could reach out the window,” he joked, but Sunday the all-time IMSA wins leader provided a different ending to the script and finished off his record-extending 64th win in IMSA’s top-tier series.
Auberlen, who was co-driving the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 with Robby Foley and Aidan Read, said the late full-course caution created incredible track position for his car.
“Are there five guys ahead of me? Are they all going to the pits?” Auberlen recalled thinking as the pits were opened under the yellow. “It was like the parting of the seas. They all went in and we became the leader. I saw Bryan Sellers (#1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3) behind me, but luckily, I got through traffic. The BMW M6 may not be the ultimate fast car, but it is good through traffic.”
Sellers, driving with Madison Snow and Corey Lewis, took second place followed by the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 piloted by Roman De Angelis, Ross Gunn and Ian James. Along with Audi, Mercedes-AMG, Lexus and Porsche, the top seven GTD finishers Sunday each represented a different manufacturer.
Leading them all after four races in the season championship are Auberlen and Foley in the No. 96 BMW. They enjoy a 61-point advantage on De Angelis and Gunn.
“To win a championship is why we are here,” Auberlen said. “To win races is great, but to win championships is amazing.”
