As Promised, the Watkins Glen Sprint Race Provided the Unexpected ‘Again’

By David Phillips
IMSA Wire Service
 
 
 What was that I said about expecting a mixture of something completely different and déjà vu all over again in last week’s “What to Watch for” in the IMSA WeatherTech 240 at The Glen? Indeed, three of the five classes of Friday evening’s race saw different winners from those who graced the top spot of the podium in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on June 27.
 
But there was also a palpable sense of déjà vu in that – as in the Six Hours – the Fickle Hand of Fate threw the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship field a curveball (or was that a knuckleball?). Rather than the full-course yellow that shuffled the deck in the Six Hours, a red flag necessitated by lightning in the immediate vicinity of Watkins Glen International brought the WeatherTech 240 to a standstill and led to a late-race free-for-all among the Daytona Prototype international (DPi), Le Mans Prototype 2 and 3 (LMP2 and LMP3), GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) competitors. 
 
Only A Matter of Time
 
It was only a matter of time before the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R. and a Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 won their respective classes (DPi and GTD). Although both teams were still looking for their first wins of the 2021 campaign on Friday, the cars, teams and drivers were too good to be shut out of victory lane for long.
 
After all, the Whelen Engineering entry finished a total of 0.941 seconds away from winning both the Acura Sports Car Challenge Presented by the TLX Type S at Mid-Ohio and the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Detroit’s Belle Isle, while the Nos. 12 and 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexuses, with four GTD victories between them last year, appeared on their way to a win in the Sahlen’s Six Hours before that late full-course yellow.
 
Sure enough, the Whelen Engineering team made all the right moves on Friday, pitting Pipo Derani for fuel and tires early in the race. Although that dropped them down the DPi order, on the final round of stops the Whelen Caddy needed only fuel (no fresh tires), boosting Felipe Nasr into a lead he managed to hold over a charging Renger van der Zande, who restarted the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi in fifth spot.
 
Meanwhile, the Vasser Sullivan Lexus GT3s finished 1-2 in the WeatherTech 240, with Jack Hawksworth mounting a charge of his own, blowing past teammate Zach Veach and the No. 39 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 on the final restart (ironically, following a caution for a chunk of bodywork torn loose from the No. 14 Lexus) to take the win.
 
Although they were the first wins of the 2021 wins for both teams, don’t be surprised if the No. 31 Cadillac or the No. 14 Lexus (or, for that matter, the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus) return to victory lane this season.
 
Glen Doubles
 
Corvette Racing and Riley Motorsports each scored a double at Watkins Glen, winning their respective classes (GTLM and LMP3) in both the Sahlen’s Six Hours and the WeatherTech 240. For added emphasis, both teams backed up their Six Hour wins with 1-2 finishes on Friday.
 
Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette Racing C8.R) outdueled teammate Tommy Milner (No. 4 Corvette) on the final restart to grab a lead he maintained to the checkered flag, giving Garcia and co-driver Jordan Taylor a clean sweep at The Glen, with two wins and two pole positions in as many weekends. Likewise, Riley Motorsports enjoyed a 1-2 finish with Felipe Fraga taking the win in the No. 74 Ligier JS P320 he shared with Gar Robinson over the No. 91 Riley Motorsports Ligier of Dylan Murry and Jim Cox. In contrast to Corvette Racing, the Riley Motorsports entries did not shine in qualifying (starting sixth and seventh in the Six Hours and fourth and fifth in the WeatherTech 240). However, the Riley entries had the pace when it counted most.
 
Turnabout Is Fair Play
 
Having been bested by the No. 11 WIN Autosport ORECA LMP2 07 for the LMP2 class win by little more than a second in the Sahlen’s Six Hours, the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA returned the favor with interest on Friday. PR1’s Ben Keating and Mikkel Jensen led WIN’s Tristan Nunez and Steven Thomas home by more than 21 seconds.
 
The victory – the second in four LMP2 races this season – keeps Keating, Jensen and PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports atop the driver and team standings. Nunez, Thomas and WIN Autosport are second in a rivalry that shows every sign of going to the final round of the 2021 season, the Motul Petit Le Mans in November at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. 
Adam Sinclair