Porsche GT Team aims to continue its success streak at Watkins Glen

After clinching three wins in a row, the Porsche GT Team travels as the leaders to round five of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Watkins Glen. At the upcoming six-hour race in the US State of New York, the works team has now set its sights on the next victory.

Two ca. 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR tackle the fiercely contested GTLM class. Like the races at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta, this long-distance classic close to the Canadian border counts towards the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

As for the first two races of the season as well as Le Mans, the two factory cars will be decked out in a livery reminiscent of the legendary North American customer team, Brumos Racing. In the GTD class, the customer teams Pfaff Motorsports, Black Swan Racing and Park Place Motorsports each field a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The winners of the Sebring race, Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain), share the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR. The pair currently ranks third in the drivers’ classification. Their works driver colleagues in the No. 912 sister car, Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), are leading the championship after winning the races at Long Beach and Mid-Ohio.

Earl Bamber (NZ), Laurens Vanthoor (B)

“The IMSA season now enters the decisive phase,” commented Bamber. “We now have a lot of races coming one after the other in short succession. We are determined to hold on to our championship lead. Laurens and I have recently enjoyed a really good run. We want to continue this at Watkins Glen. The track there is incredibly fast and a great challenge for drivers. I’m certain that we’ll be strong there with our Porsche 911 RSR.”

The racetrack with the name Watkins Glen International, often called “The Glen”, has a long and illustrious history. The first race was held in 1948 in dense forest around Seneca Lake after a motorsport-mad law student won the support of the local Chamber of Commerce. The result was a 10.6-kilometre circuit that has been extensively modified and modernised in recent decades. From 1961 to 1980, Watkins Glen hosted Formula One. The current circuit length is 5.472 kilometres. For this year’s race, a new spectator area has been built.

The race takes off on Sunday, 29 June, at 9:45am local time (3:45pm CEST) and can be viewed live outside the USA and Canada on www.imsa.com.

Related Stories

Join in the conversation!


Comments