The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship returns after a month-long hiatus at one of America’s storied venues. The cars, drivers and teams are set to embark on the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen. A full field in all four classes are ready for the third round of the Michelin Endurance Cup. What can we expect in the picturesque Finger Lakes region of New York this weekend?

GTD: Roller Coaster Season

It’s crazy to believe that the GTD class has not been in action for almost two months. But just as crazy was the fuel mileage in play last time out at Laguna Seca. Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) prevailed for a much-needed win and look to bring their winning ways to New York with them. Unfortunately, the endurance races are not very kind to this team. In the last twelve endurance races, their best finish has been fifth. Furthermore, they only have two other top-10 finishes in that span. With half of the season being endurance races, consistency in the longer races will be key. A great run at Watkins Glen would definitely help.

 

Even with only a 110-point lead, Heart of Racing is far and away ahead of the pack

Strength-to-Strength

Conversely, Heart of Racing appears to have both sprint and endurance races well figured out. Another podium at Laguna Seca padded Dudu Barichello’s point lead to over 100 over his competitors. But as close as he has gotten, you have to believe the Brazilian is hungry for a win. Watkins Glen may be just the place to get the first, well-deserved, taste of IMSA success. Heart of Racing come to the Glen as defending GTD winners in this race. Barichello has shown he is very quick to adapt to race tracks he is new to.

But more crucially, they have shown the pace and consistency that you need to win a championship in this class. A win is big and would be welcomed. But with the depth of this class – at 20 cars this weekend boosted by the Endurance Cup – a strong result in the top-5 has to be the goal. Heart of Racing will look at the bigger picture. They have won championships before so they know what to do. But when in the heat of the moment, you never know what can or will happen.

Bad Day or Bad Days

Allow me to come back to the depth of field for a moment. Because to me, it is making it a little hard to see who can challenge Heart of Racing down the stretch. Here’s why. Eight full-time teams have scored podiums this season. But none of them, beyond Heart of Racing, has done so more than once. And if you have multiple top-5 finishes, chances are you multiple finishes outside the top-10 to match.

That’s just how competitive this class is. You have Bronzes out here having a good time while remaining competitive. You have Silvers using the class as a proving ground. Then you have the experienced veterans who can lay it all on the line. Not to mention there is Balance of Performance (BoP) for the cars.

When the checkered flag flies at Watkins Glen on Sunday, we will be halfway through the season for the GT classes. Can Turner, Winward, Inception, Vasser Sullivan or Conquest step up to push Heart of Racing in the second half? A podium or a top-5 Sunday will work wonders.

The Interlopers

As I touched on briefly, there are some added entries for this weekend’s race since Watkins Glen is part of the Michelin Endurance Cup. Ferrari will get an added boost with AF Corse USA and Triarsi rejoining the paddock while Porsche sees 1st Phorm Manthey return hoping to improve on their Daytona and Sebring performances.

After missing Sebring, Magnus Racing is back after coming oh so close in the Rolex 24. Team owner John Potter and Spencer Pumpelly will be joined by Mario Farnbacher, filling in for Nicki Thiim who has commitments at Spa. Lone Star Mercedes returns after a pair of solid finishes at Daytona and Sebring while RS1 looks to gain confidence after a solid tenth at Sebring.

The Three-Driver Effect

In GTD, all teams are required to have three drivers for the endurance races. This will be an adjustment for Albert Costa. Last year, he ran the full GTD PRO season with DragonSpeed. GTD PRO tend to stay with just the two drivers for the six-hour races. For Costa, that was a new experience. “I never did a six-hour race with only two drivers before,” he remarked. “(Last year) was intense to be honest. We had issues with the AC and we ran out of water. When I finished my first double stint, I was like ‘Guys, it’s gonna be difficult.'”

Despite having to share the car with an extra driver this year, Costa remains positive. “I’m gonna drive a little bit less this year than last year, but it’s also nice. I’m gonna be fresher. It’s gonna be a little bit easier…it’s always a balance.”

Costa is the Gold-rated pro driver with a pair of Silvers. Sharing the No. 34 Conquest Ferrari with Costa is Italian Lorenzo Patrese – who also raced with Costa at Laguna Seca – and fellow Spainard Fran Rueda, making his IMSA debut. Most teams will be like Conquest, running two silvers with a Gold or Platinum. There are seven teams in GTD that will run with a Bronze driver in their lineup. In either scenario, IMSA regulations state for Watkins Glen all drivers must meet the minimum drive time of ninety minutes. The driver strategy will be heavy on the pit boxes come Sunday afternoon.

GTD PRO: Keeping Things Tight

When talking GTD PRO, we could not be in between two events that are absolute extremes. We are going from the shortest race of the year on tight city streets to an endurance race on a fast, flowing natural course. A wild ending in Detroit was a blessing for some while others are looking back in regret. “The defensive move was purely an instinctive one,” said Nicky Catsburg on his late-race tangle with Aaron Telitz. “As soon as I did it, I was like, ‘Oh my God, why did you do that?’ Because two corners after, I knew I was going to get a penalty.”

The penalty cost Corvette a 1-2 finish as a well a nice points cushion for Catsburg and teammate Tommy Milner. Instead, the top four in GTD PRO come to Watkins Glen separated by only 31 points! Yes there is a long way to go in the season, but if the No. 4 lose this championship, how big will that Detroit penalty loom in the rearview?

Conversely, Catsburg – fresh off a second class win at Le Mans – is a big fan of Watkins Glen. “I immediately think about how cool the track is. A super nice high-speed flowing track with loads of grip. The track is amazing and I cannot wait to get back.” And The Glen has been kind to Corvette. While they haven’t won, they have podiumed here the last three years. While Catsburg and Milner would like the win, a clean day would be just as welcomed.

The Endurance Experts

When it comes to the Michelin Endurance Cup (MEC), Paul Miller Racing seems to have this “season within a season” well figured out. They have won the MEC the last two seasons in GTD PRO. Going into Watkins Glen, they lead the Endurance Cup by six over Manthey and Corvette Racing. It begs the question…what is Paul Miller doing right?

According to Neil Verhagen, it’s their unique strategy. “It’s kind of a shift in the middle of the race. If we see that we don’t have maybe the ultimate pace to go and win the race, then, we shift the focus and we try to just grab as many points inside the race as possible. I think we’re one of the few teams that actually do shift the focus and try and grab as many points as possible at the checkpoints.”

But with he and teammate Connor de Philippi also coming to the Glen second in the season long standings, Verhagen says bigger goals are in mind. “This year for sure the goal, and especially with our championship standings at this point is to focus on the actual championship that we’re still trying to still win. We’re trying to show that we’re not just Endurance Cup champions, and that we have the material and the means to go and win an actual IMSA championship.”

Figuring Something Out?

Multimatic Motorsport’s No. 65 team has quietly found their way into the conversation. After an uncompetitive 36 Hours of Florida, the team won at Laguna Seca before surviving the late race chaos to score a second podium on the bounce. Christopher Mies and Fred Vervisch have managed to keep their nose clean, which is a big element of racing. Surely they have stepped up when the occasion calls for it and they have capitalized.

The speed for the Mustang Evo is solid and they are hovering up in the top-5 in practice and qualifying. Sometimes in IMSA solid speed is all you need. The fastest car doesn’t always win but Multimatic has shown on multiple occasions it is about being in the right place at the right time. There still is ground to make up, but if they stay consistent they will be contenders.

 

Manthey looks to pick up right where they left off in Sebring

Grello (and Ferrari) is Back

With this being the third round of the MEC, that means Manthey is back in GTD PRO with their beloved “Grello” 911 GT3R. Due to the Spa 24 Hours clash, there will be some new pilots at the wheel. Dutchman Loek Hartog will make his IMSA debut this weekend. Also filling in will be Michael Christensen, making his first appearance since Petit Le Mans. Klaus Bachler is the only member of their Sebring-winning lineup at Watkins Glen, but that will not lower the expectations. These are two men who knows Porsches very well and should be on pace right away. Don’t expect Manthey to miss a step.

Along with Manthey, Ferrari also returns to GTD PRO. Risi Competizione and Triarsi Competizione are back with their MEC entries. As with most of the category, with Manthey being the sole exception, they will use two-driver lineups for the Six Hour. Risi will utilize Daniel Serra and Davide Rigon in No. 62 while Triarsi enlists Ricardo Agostini and James Calado for the No. 033.

Balance of Performance Update

Lastly, let’s discuss that beautiful BoP.

NOTE: We are run the comparisons based on the Laguna Seca adjustments, since this was the race for GTD.

Weight

There is not much to report with weight breaks. Porsche comes with a 1kg weight break compared to Laguna while Mercedes and Aston Martin will be the same weight. Corvette (+13kg) and the Lamborghini Huracan (+11kg) have the biggest weight gains.

Power

Aston Martin (+1.7% Stage 1 and +2.9% Stage 2), Corvette (+0.9% Stage 1 and +1.1% Stage 2) and Mercedes (+2.9% Stage 1 and +3.4% Stage 2) will see gains in both power stages. Ferrari (-1.2% and -2.1%) will lose power in both stages. BMW will see a small increase in Stage 1 (+0.2%) while taking a decrease in Stage 2 (-1.7%). Porsche (+4.3%) and McLaren (+3.7%) will see a significant boost in Stage 2, with Porsche hitting max Stage 2 power.

Energy

Lastly, everyone will see stint energy increases for the extended race distance. Lexus (+68 MJ) and Mercedes (+66 MJ) are seeing the biggest increase swings.

This completes the preview for the GT classes. The prototype preview for Watkins Glen will be available Thursday.

Headline Photo: GT field at Turn 1 in 2024 Photo Courtesy: IMSA/Facebook