IMSA Watkins Glen: Porsche snatches last-gasp win from BMW

Jaminet passed Connor De Phillippi’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan-run BMW with just six minutes of the six-hour race remaining. The race went full-course yellow just moments later, as a BMW GTD car somersaulted on the approach to the final corner.

The fifth round of America’s premier sportscar series began with the prototype classes starting in championship order, after the multi-car shunt that halted the LMP2/P3 session and led to the GTP session being abandoned due to heavy rain. The 57-car entry was the largest here since 1984.

Nick Tandy (#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963) led Pipo Derani (#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R), as Augusto Farfus spun the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 out of sixth place at the first corner. The right-front corner of the car was wrecked in the impact with the barrier, putting it out of the race. “My fault, I just lost the rear,” Farfus admitted.

Officials then green-flagged the GTD field, despite the stationary BMW on the track at Turn 1, but fortunately the stacked field of 20 cars, many of them two-wide, managed to avoid hitting it. The race went full-course yellow moments later.

Soon after the restart, the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06 of Louis Deletraz required a new left-rear tyre after being black-flagged by IMSA for a low-pressure warning. More opening-hour drama included Derani getting clipped by Mark Kvamme’s High Class Racing LMP2 car.

That didn’t cause a caution, but it wasn't long as LMP2 frontrunner Salih Yoluc (Towe Motorsports) harpooned Ben Keating (PR1 Mathiasen) at the final corner, causing Steven Thomas (TDS Racing) to hit the barrier in avoidance. He then reversed into the middle of the track at the blind corner, causing some near misses.

#25: BMW M Team RLL, BMW M Hybrid V8, GTP: Connor De Phillippi, Nick Yelloly (Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images)

Matt Campbell picked up the lead as he’d pitted the #7 963 before the yellow, heading Tandy in a Porsche 1-2, while the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura of Colin Braun vaulted to third by not taking tyres but was then penalised with a drive-through for pitlane speeding.

Just inside the second hour the third FCY flew when Sebastien Bourdais crashed the Chip Ganassi Racing Caddy out of fourth after misjudging a lapping move on a Porsche GTD car and was smashed from behind by the close-following De Phillippi’s #25 BMW.

At the bottom of the second hour, the leading Porsches swapped places, with Mathieu Jaminet (in for Tandy) passing Felipe Nasr (in for Campbell) after the #6 pitted earlier than the #7.

Before the 2h30m point, the #7 Porsche pulled into pitlane from second place with a failing hybrid system and went behind the wall, elevating the #10 Acura up to second.

But that spot appeared to be cursed, as Filipe Albuquerque’s left-rear wheel flew off at the Inner Loop just a few minutes later. He lost a lap after taking the shortcut back to the pits, which promoted the #60 Acura to second and the #31 Cadillac to third. The remaining #25 BMW was in fourth, despite a half spin for Yelloly after contacting a GTD Lamborghini just before half distance.

The P2 curse continued when the #60 suffered a right-rear puncture, while more bad news for Acura was the #10 being penalised for failing to adhere to the minimum refuelling time. The leading #6 Porsche also received a scare when race control announced a warning for “failing to adhere to powertrain parameters”.

The next major incident was a four-car pile-up at Turn 6 in the fourth hour, as the #38 LMP3 of Alex Kirby ploughed into the rear of GTD Pro contending #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini of Andrea Caldarelli, which collected the #42 Lambo of Rob Ferriol and the #01 Ganassi Cadillac of Renger van der Zande, who was running fifth overall.

#5: JDC Miller MotorSports, Porsche 963, GTP: Tijmen van der Helm, Mike Rockenfeller (Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images)

At the restart with just over two hours remaining, Jack Aitken benefited from the timing of the yellow to lead in the #31 AXR Caddy from Braun in the #60 Acura, Tandy and Yelloly. Ten minutes into the stint, Yelloly jumped past Tandy for third, while Aitken battled for the lead with Braun.

De Phillippi took over the #25 BMW from Yelloly and a rapid penultimate pitstop meant he rejoined in the lead, while Tandy passed Derani for second with 75m on the clock. The #60 Acura slipped back to fourth, with Tom Blomqvist taking over from Braun despite a shoulder injury inflicted by sharing a seat with his team-mate.

In the closing stages, De Phillippi was unable to unleash the BMW’s pace that it had packed all weekend, pulling away to lead by over 7s from Jaminet, Derani and Blomqvist. But Jaminet responded in the final stages in a desperate final push as the 963 came into its own.

Jaminet grabbed the lead with a wild move in traffic with just six minutes remaining, as De Phillippi got stuck behind the GTD-leading Lexus.

The race ended under yellow when Bill Auberlen rolled his Turner Motorsports BMW M4 just moments later.

Derani finished third, ahead of Blomqvist. The JDC Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 of Mike Rockenfeller and Tijmen van der Helm finished fifth, ahead of the Ganassi Caddy, while the #10 Acura went off at Turn 9 in the closing hour and retired in the pits.

#04: Crowdstrike Racing by APR, ORECA LMP2 07, LMP2: George Kurtz, Ben Hanley, Nolan Siegel (Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images)

Crowdstrike wins LMP2, Riley tops P3

LMP2 was a fierce duel as usual, with the Crowdstrike Racing machine of George Kurtz/Ben Hanley/Nolan Siegel beating Era Motorsport (sharing with Indy NXT star Christian Rasmussen and Dwight Merriman) and the PR1 Mathiasen entry of Ben Keating/Paul-Loup Chatin/Alex Quinn).

In LMP3, Felipe Fraga (sharing the #74 Riley entry with Gar Robinson and Josh Burdon) traded paint in a battle for the lead with Garret Grist (AWA, partnered by Dakota Dickerson and Dylan Murry, the latter a late sub after Ari Balogh’s qualifying crash) across the closing hours. Fraga just came out on top.

#12: Vasser Sullivan, Lexus RC F GT3, GTD: Aaron Telitz, Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson, #14: Vasser Sullivan, Lexus RC F GT3, GTD PRO: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat (Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images)

Lexus claims GTD double

In GTD, Loris Spinelli (Forte Racing) led an early Lamborghini 1-2 ahead of Jordan Pepper’s Iron Lynx entry. Daniel Serra’s Risi Ferrari ran third, ahead of the Lexus duo of Aaron Telitz and Jack Hawksworth, with the #14 methodically working its way through the order to the head of the field after Ben Barnicoat took over.

Iron Dames spent a spell in the lead of Pro-Am GTD after a brilliant stint from Doriane Pin, but the Lamborghini was black-flagged due to being below the minimum tyre pressure requirement, a fate that also befell other frontrunners including the Risi Ferrari and Forte Lambo.

With two hours remaining, Pro Barnicoat headed Parker Thompson (sharing the sister #12 Lexus with Telitz and Frankie Montecalvo).

But there was disaster for the Hawksworth/Barnicoat car, as it was pinged for speeding in its final pitstop. That handed the overall GTD win to Telitz, while the Corvette of Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor inherited the GTD Pro lead, bouncing back from a drive-through penalty when a tyre was left behind in a pitstop, and it was hit along the pitlane by an Aston Martin.

But a charging Hawksworth pulled off a late lunge to pass Garcia in The Boot, bringing Serra’s Ferrari past him too.

Hawksworth just held off Serra in the closing laps to ensure a double Lexus victory.

IMSA Watkins Glen 6 Hours - race results

Cla		Class	Num	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Time
1		GTP	6	Nick Tandy Mathieu Jaminet	Porsche 963	201
2		GTP	25	Connor de Phillippi Nick Yelloly	BMW M Hybrid V8	201	2.120
3		GTP	31	Pipo Derani Alexander Sims Jack Aitken	Cadillac V-Series.R	201	14.198
4		GTP	60	Tom Blomqvist Colin Braun	Acura ARX-06	201	22.541
5		GTP	5	Tijmen van der Helm Mike Rockenfeller	Porsche 963	199	2 laps
6		GTP	01	Sébastien Bourdais Renger van der Zande	Cadillac V-Series.R	197	4 laps
7		LMP2	04	George Kurtz Ben Hanley Nolan Siegel	ORECA LMP2 07	196	5 laps
8		LMP2	18	Dwight Merriman Ryan Dalziel Christian Rasmussen	ORECA LMP2 07	196	5 laps
9		LMP2	52	Ben Keating Paul-Loup Chatin Alex Quinn	ORECA LMP2 07	196	5 laps
10		LMP2	35	John Falb Giedo van der Garde Josh Pierson	ORECA LMP2 07	195	6 laps
11		LMP2	8	Salih Yoluc Kyffin Simpson Will Stevens	ORECA LMP2 07	195	6 laps
12		LMP2	88	Luis Perez Companc Lilou Wadoux Nicklas Nielsen	ORECA LMP2 07	193	8 laps
13		LMP3	74	Gar Robinson Felipe Fraga Josh Burdon	Ligier JS P320	189	12 laps
14		LMP3	30	Ari Balogh Garett Grist Dakota Dickerson	Ligier JS P320	189	12 laps
15		LMP3	17	Anthony Mantella Wayne Boyd Nicolás Varrone	Duqueine D08	189	12 laps
16		LMP3	36	Jarett Andretti Gabby Chaves Glenn van	Ligier JS P320	188	13 laps
17		LMP3	13	Orey Fidani Matthew Bell Lars Kern	Duqueine D08	188	13 laps
18		LMP3	4	Seth Lucas Tonis Kasemets Trenton Estep	Ligier JS P320	187	14 laps
19		LMP3	33	Joao Barbosa Nicolas Pino Lance Willsey	Ligier JS P320	187	14 laps
20		LMP3	54	Jason Rabe Andrew Pinkerton Stevan McAleer	Ligier JS P320	185	16 laps
21		GTD	12	Frankie Montecalvo Aaron Telitz Parker Thompson	Lexus RC F GT3	183	18 laps
22		GTD PRO	14	Jack Hawksworth Ben Barnicoat	Lexus RC F GT3	183	18 laps
23		GTD PRO	62	Daniel Serra Davide Rigon	Ferrari 296 GT3	183	18 laps
24		GTD PRO	3	Antonio Garcia Jordan Taylor	Corvette C8.R GTD	183	18 laps
25		GTD PRO	79	Daniel Juncadella Jules Gounon	Mercedes AMG GT3	183	18 laps
26		GTD	1	Bryan Sellers Madison Snow Corey Lewis	BMW M4 GT3	183	18 laps
27		GTD	16	Ryan Hardwick Zacharie Robichon Jan Heylen	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	183	18 laps
28		GTD PRO	023	Ross Gunn Alex Riberas	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	183	18 laps
29		GTD	66	Sheena Monk Katherine Legge Marc Miller	Acura NSX GT3	183	18 laps
30		GTD PRO	9	Klaus Bachler Patrick Pilet	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	183	18 laps
31		GTD	27	Roman De Angelis Marco Sorensen Ian James	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	183	18 laps
32		GTD	23	Onofrio Triarsi Charles Scardina Alessio Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3	183	18 laps
33		GTD	78	Mikhail Goikhberg Loris Spinelli Patrick Liddy	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	183	18 laps
34		GTD	93	Ashton Harrison Danny Formal Kyle Marcelli	Acura NSX GT3	183	18 laps
35		GTD	44	John Potter Andy Lally Spencer Pumpelly	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	183	18 laps
36		GTD	92	David Brule Alec Udell Julien Andlauer	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	183	18 laps
37		LMP3	85	Till Bechtolsheimer Daniel Goldburg Rasmus Lindh	Duqueine D08	182	19 laps
38		GTD	77	Alan Brynjolfsson Trent Hindman Maxwell Root	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	182	19 laps
39		GTD	32	Mike Skeen Mikael Grenier Kenton Koch	Mercedes AMG GT3	182	19 laps
40		LMP2	11	Thomas Steven Mikkel Jensen Scott Huffaker	ORECA LMP2 07	182	19 laps
41		GTD	96	Patrick Gallagher Robby Foley Michael Dinan	BMW M4 GT3	182	19 laps
42		GTD	80	PJ Hyett Seb Priaulx Gunnar Jeannette	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	182	19 laps
43		GTD	70	Brendan Iribe Frederik Schandorff Ollie Millroy	McLaren 720S GT3 EVO	182	19 laps
44		GTD	83	Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting Doriane Pin	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	182	19 laps
45		GTD	91	Alan Metni Kay van Berlo Jaxon Evans	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	181	20 laps
46		GTD PRO	95	Bill Auberlen Chandler Hull John Edwards	BMW M4 GT3	179	22 laps
47		GTP	10	Ricky Taylor Filipe Albuquerque Louis Deletraz	Acura ARX-06	176	25 laps
48		GTD	47	Roberto Lacorte Giorgio Sernagiotto Antonio Fuoco	Ferrari 296 GT3	158	43 laps
49		GTD PRO	61	Simon Mann Miguel Molina Ulysse De Pauw	Ferrari 296 GT3	134	67 laps
50		LMP3	38	Christopher Allen Connor Bloum Alex Kirby	Ligier JS P320	109	92 laps
51		GTD PRO	63	Andrea Caldarelli Jordan Lee Pepper	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	108	93 laps
52		GTD	42	Jaden Conwright Luke Berkeley Rob Ferriol	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	105	96 laps
53		GTP	7	Matt Campbell Felipe Nasr	Porsche 963	100	101 laps
54		LMP2	20	Dennis Andersen Ed Jones Anders Fjordbach	ORECA LMP2 07	60	141 laps
55		GTD	57	Russell Ward Raffaele Marciello Indy Dontje	Mercedes AMG GT3	32	169 laps
56		LMP2	51	Eric Lux Devlin DeFrancesco Pietro Fittipaldi	ORECA LMP2 07	7	194 laps
57		GTP	24	Philipp Eng Augusto Farfus	BMW M Hybrid V8	0
View full results