equila Patrón North American Endurance Cup Standings Tighten In Topsy-Turvy First Half At Sahlen’s S

Although the lead did not change hands in any of the four classes in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup standings after the first half of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, they definitely got tighter in three of the four classes.

In the Prototype (P) class, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R team and co-drivers Ricky and Jordan Taylor saw their led reduced from three coming into the race to one when Ricky Taylor encountered trouble on the opening lap of the race that dropped the team several laps behind. The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R trio of Christian Fittipaldi, Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque took advantage of the No. 10 team’s misfortune and a second-place position at halfway and now trail in the standings by a one-point margin, 34-33.

The race leader at halfway was the No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi shared by Bruno Senna and Johannes van Overbeek, giving the team the maximum five points for leading and bringing its season Patrón Endurance Cup total of 19 points.

In the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, the No. 911 Porsche GT Team and drivers Dirk Werner and Patrick Pilet – who were running third at halfway – now leads the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing team by two points, 30-28. The No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R shared by Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner led at halfway to earn the maximum five points, bringing its season total to 19.

In the GT Daytona (GTD) class, the No. 86 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 and co-drivers Ozz Negri and Jeff Segal led the class to earn the five points and run their Patrón Endurance Cup total to 25. They now are third, one behind second-place co-drivers Christina Nielsen, Alessandro Balzan and Matteo Cressoni in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GTS and two points in arrears of leaders Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Mario Farnbacher in the No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3. The No. 33 team was scored ninth at halfway.

The No. 38 Performance Tech ORECA FLM09 and co-drivers James French, Pato O’Ward and Kyle Masson led at halfway in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class to remain perfect this season in Patrón Endurance Cup segments. The trio holds a healthy 14-point lead over the No. 26 BAR1 Motorsports ORECA FLM09 team.

The final hours of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen can be seen live on FS2 and FOX Sports GO.

• The No. 2 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi, which was qualified on the Prototype class pole by Pipo Derani, built a healthy lead early in the race before Scott Sharp made contact with the tire barrier in an incident with Boris Said in the No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Sharp was able to limp the car back to the pits for repairs and continue in the race. It was battling back onto the lead lap at halfway.

• The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R of Eric Curran and Dane Cameron was another strong contender through much of the first half until Cameron lost his right-rear tire following a pit stop, leaving him stranded and needing to be towed back to the garage area.

• The WeatherTech Championship GTLM points-leading No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R of Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia fell into an early hole due to an opening-lap spin. It was eighth in class at halfway, but still on the lead lap.

Contact:

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