Le Mans Podium Finishers Carry Momentum To Sahlen’s Six Hours Of The Glen
- plugged2racing
- Jun 23, 2015
- 4 min read
The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship heads to Watkins Glen International this weekend for the sixth round of the season, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen. Sunday’s race will be televised live beginning on FOX Sports 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET, with FOX Sports 2 covering the conclusion from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
The GT Le Mans (GTLM) class – which took a break from competition following the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to enable teams such as Corvette Racing to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – returns for the six-hour endurance classic. All four TUDOR Championship classes will be competing.
Fresh from their GTE-Pro class victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Corvette Racing co-drivers Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner return to the same bright yellow Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, this time wearing its familiar No. 4. Their Le Mans co-driver, Jordan Taylor, meanwhile, returns to his regular TUDOR Championship ride, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP in the Prototype class.
Fellow Corvette Racing teammates and current GTLM-points leaders Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia also will be racing this weekend, however not in their regular Corvette C7.R. Instead, the No. 3 will be a borrowed Corvette from the European Larbre Competition team, as the No. 3 machine was damaged in an incident in qualifying prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and requires more time for repairs.
This Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen field will include a total of five winners from the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, including a pair of overall winners. Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber, who made up two-thirds of the LM P1-winning lineup along with Formula 1 racer Nico Hulkenberg in the No. 19 Porsche 919 Hybrid, both return to TUDOR Championship action in the GTLM class.
Tandy will co-drive the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR with Patrick Pilet, while Bamber is slated to share the team’s No. 912 RSR with Joerg Bergmeister. Both Pilet and Bergmeister also competed at Le Mans this year.
But the list doesn’t end there: Giancarlo Fisichella, who’s co-piloting the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen with Le Mans LM P1 driver Pierre Kaffer, finished third in GTE-Pro at Le Mans. Wolf Henzler, co-driving the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR with Bryan Sellers, also competed in the GTE-Pro class but was not able to finish the race.
While they did not compete at Le Mans, the two BMW Team RLL IHG Rewards Club BMW Z4 GTEs co-driven by John Edwards and Lucas Luhr in the No. 24, and Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner in the No. 25, are carrying plenty of TUDOR Championship momentum with them to The Glen. The No. 25 drivers are currently second and No. 24 drivers are currently third in the GTLM point standings.
Scuderia Corsa Teammates Riding Le Mans Podium Momentum In GT Daytona Class
Corvette Racing isn’t the only TUDOR Championship team at Watkins Glen coming off a podium at the 24-hour French classic. Scuderia Corsa drivers Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell are racing the No. 63 Robert Graham/Royal Purple Ferrari 458 Italia in the GT Daytona (GTD) class following their third-place finish in the GTE-Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was the first attempt at Le Mans for both drivers.
The No. 93 Riley Motorsports ViperExhange.com Dodge Viper SRT driven by Al Carter, Cameron Lawrence and Marc Goossens, is currently ahead of the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia by just 3 points in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.
No. 33 Riley Motorsports ViperExchange.com Dodge Viper SRT drivers Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen also are returning from competition in the GTE-Am class at Le Mans. Unfortunately due to mechanical issues late in the race, they, along with Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge driver Marc Miller, were unable to finish. However, the team was able to leave France with their heads held high knowing their car turned the fastest GTE-Am class lap of the race with a time of 3:55:896 with Bleekemolen at the wheel.
Marco Seefried, who’s driving the No. 44 Magnus Racing Flex Box Porsche 911 GT America this weekend with John Potter and Andy Lally, finished second in the GTE-Am class at Le Mans alongside part-time 2015 TUDOR Championship competitor, Patrick Dempsey.
GTD points leaders Dion von Moltke and Christopher Haase, along with co-driver Bryce Miller, will race the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Castrol EDGE Audi R8 LMS. Von Moltke earned the TOTAL Pole Award for the most recent TUDOR Championship race in Detroit, but the team is hoping for a breakthrough 2015 victory this weekend.
Currently second in the GTD point standings, Christina Nielsen is sharing the No. 007 TRG-AMR Royal Purple/Orion Energy/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin V12 Vantage with a different co-driver this weekend, Kuno Wittmer, the 2014 TUDOR Championship GTLM champion.
The two Alex Job Racing Porsches, No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT America and No. 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Heart of Racing Porsche 911 GT America, head for Watkins Glen looking to build on momentum from the team’s second victory of the season last time out at Detroit.
The No. 22 will be driven by Leh Keen and Cooper MacNeil, who are currently third in the GTD standings, along with Andrew Davis. The No. 23 will be driven by Ian James and teammate Mario Farnbacher, who won at both Sebring and Detroit.
Also looking to add to their 2015 win total will be Patrick Lindsey and Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America. They won at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Wright Motorsports will race the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen with co-drivers Madison Snow and Jan Heylen in the No. 58 Brumos Porsche/UIS Porsche 911 GT America. Michael Marsal and Markus Palttala round out the GT Daytona entries in the No. 97 Tuner Motorsport Alvarez & Marsal/IHG Rewards Club BMW Z4.
The Sahlen’s Six Hours is the third round of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup, which includes the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida and Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta.
Contact:
Nate Siebens
nsiebens@imsa.com
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