| GTP/Overall Winners and Second PlaceJordan Taylor / Louis Deletraz – No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series. RColin Braun / Tom Blomqvist – No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 THE MODERATOR: We’ll get things started with our post-race interviews. We’re joined by our second-place finishers in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz. Q. It’s been a little while since you guys have been up this far. Just talk about how good it feels. It seems like both cars obviously in the last couple of races have been on the podium, second place. Do you guys feel like you’re finally getting some momentum? JORDAN TAYLOR: Yeah, I’d say it was a very good day. The 10 car had a good day in Detroit with a second place finish. I think we’ve been off the pace, Daytona, Sebring, Long Beach.Mid-season I feel like we’ve learned a lot and kicked into gear. This weekend we felt competitive right from the get-go. We felt strong in practice 1. The race was kind of a mix-up. The strategy was kind of hard to follow for a lot of it, but once we got into the thick of it, we were a top 5 car the whole day.Track position seemed super important, so it was tough to get it. We kind of sat third, fourth, fifth most of the day. But it seemed like whoever was out front could control the race.The guys made a great call at the end, pitting Louis kind of out of sequence to put him in clean air, and we probably would have cycled up to fourth if the race had gone green, which would have been an improvement from where we were on the restart.Yeah, I think the call kind of made our race with the yellow coming out late and putting us up into second, the 10 car made it in right before the yellow to put them in third.WTR’s first double podium as a two-car team, which is cool, and obviously a good day for Cadillac having two cars on the podium. I feel like we’ve turned a corner this year with a lot of the bad luck we’ve had, and hopefully that momentum can continue the rest of the year. Q. Louis, take us through that last two laps or so with the restart, knowing where everybody was. Did you have an idea where everybody was on energy? You knew where you were. How close do you feel like you came to actually getting a win here? LOUIS DELETRAZ: I mean, as Jordan said, it was a very nice race. I think very happy with the podium and the double podium for WTR. At the end I didn’t know so much where we were at. There was a lot of things going on. But I knew I had more fuel than the cars ahead of me, and I knew I had a shot to go forward.In the end the cars had pitted, but we were quite fast. But key to the race was really the early pit stop, get us out of sequence and have some pace.So yeah, very happy with it, and big thank you to Cadillac and Wayne Taylor Racing. THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by our winners in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing, Colin Braun and Tom Blomqvist. This is the team’s 20th IMSA victory, second consecutive. The No. 93 team won at Detroit.Colin, why don’t you start us off. As I mentioned, kind of the same as those guys as far as having some momentum. The other car won at Detroit. Their other car finished second. Talk about how it feels to get back to Victory Lane here. COLIN BRAUN: Yeah, obviously great day for Acura, HRC, MSR, off the back of a great weekend in Detroit for that group, as well.Yeah, very proud of everyone. It’s been a challenging year at times. We’ve had a lot of things that haven’t quite fallen our way on the 60 that I feel like if they did fall our way, we’d have a lot of different results. So it was nice today where it fell our way.Obviously everyone did a super job. Tom did a great job at the end on the fuel save, and the guys did a really good job on the strategy, just really fine tuning in the numbers. And it was definitely stressful from my seat listening to those guys do all the math on the background.Hats off to everyone. Huge day for our group, and keep that momentum going. Q. Tom, by our telemetry you had 1 percent of energy left; how scary was that for you as you came to the checkered flag, and how concerned were you that Louis was going to get by you at the end?TOM BLOMQVIST: Not really. We know, I guess, what we’re going to have — that was part of the plan. We knew obviously we committed to that. We were going to be able to go to the end regardless of the yellow.So yeah, obviously the yellow made things a little less stressful. I could basically push the last few laps if I wanted to.I think it’s just a fantastic effort by our strategy guys to commit and give me the instruction so early on in the stints, that last stint. Ultimately that’s what won us the race today.But also, the car really came alive there for me those last couple of stints and enabled me to, I guess, have such good pace with hitting such a big fuel target, fuel number.It all kind of came together for us there at the end. It was a bit of an up-and-down race. We got towards the front, went back, and we had a knew mishaps along the way. So it was great we were able to execute at the end and get the win.So super happy for everyone on our crew on the No. 60, and again, another great win for Acura and MSR and all the guys and girls at HRC. Q. Tom, on that final restart when you were following the top two cars, when did you realize that they had gone to pit road? Your eyes must have got pretty big like Christmas came at that point. TOM BLOMQVIST: Yeah, to be honest, I was a bit lost in the last stint. I asked for a drink at the next pit stop and they told me there was only 15 minutes to go in the race. I was a little bit out of sync with what the hell was actually happening in that race.But yeah, that yellow came, and my engineer came on the radio and said we’re looking good. Obviously I didn’t have the instruction that the teammate car was going to pit just at the restart, but I wasn’t really totally sure about the 31. But kind of the vibe on the radio call from the engineer, I could tell this is looking good for us.Yeah, obviously it was very nice to see those two cars peel off there and have a nice clear track ahead of me on the last lap, so very thankful and grateful for that. Q. Colin, I heard in your mid-race interview you talked about dealing with no wiper during the heavy rain phase. I wonder if you can reiterate your story for us in here. COLIN BRAUN: Yeah, I don’t recommend that. That’s not a great plan of attack. But yeah, unfortunately something got — debris hit the wiper or something got lodged there, but I had no wiper for the whole race. With the heavy rain coming down it was really challenging when we weren’t going too fast to see. Restarts, obviously, where all the spray is coming up, I had to kind of rely on the spotter telling me what was on my left and right, and looking out the side window more than the front windshield because I could not see anything.I was definitely very glad when the rain started to come less and less and then eventually switched back to the slicks because it was definitely a big struggle there with no wiper for sure. Q. Colin and Louis, with all the full course yellows, do you find it frustrating when the race never gets in a rhythm because of all the cautions that come out? COLIN BRAUN: Yeah, I would say it was a challenge at the start just with kind of the mixed conditions. We were obviously having rain, we were on the slicks. And what’s going to happen? Is it going to keep coming? Is it going to dry?Then obviously it did come, and we had to put rain tires on and then kind of reverse that cycle back to the slick tires.A bit stressful, a bit kind of just make the right call, obviously, early in the race trying to be smart, not take too many risks and stay out of other people’s messes, as well. Kind of a challenge to get into a rhythm there the first half of the race, let’s say, but then the last stint we got a decent amount of dry running.As the track rubbered up and gained grip and the temperature came up, a lot of things were changing with the car and the balance. So had to work a lot of the tools and try to maximize what we had.But yeah, certainly a very changeable race for the first half. LOUIS DELETRAZ: For sure it was a bit frustrating to not get going and so much time under yellow, so especially it’s hot in the cars because when you don’t have speed, just the cockpit and the heat is quite hard.I’d have liked more green running, but we had a good day, and it is what it is with IMSA racing. So yeah, it’s fine. Q. For Colin, you’ve had an interesting history at this track. I’m wondering how gratifying today’s win is for you to win at Watkins Glen. COLIN BRAUN: Yeah, it’s great. Obviously this is a really cool racetrack. Love this place. Love the fan base. Been coming here for many years.Anytime you can win at any IMSA race, it’s a pretty special day. Watkins Glen is definitely an iconic one. I haven’t won this race overall, so that’s kind of neat to add to the overall race wins in IMSA.Yeah, super great day. Q. Jordan, with the conditions between the rain and the heat then, how grueling a six hours was that? Can you recall any that were — JORDAN TAYLOR: For me it was okay, I just drove in the dry. It wasn’t too bad. I was glad Louis was in there for the start. It looked horrific to run the hard tire here, and it’s hard enough to get temp in it on dry conditions. So to be in mixed conditions at the start, I think the cars were 25 seconds off the pace the first couple laps. So extremely tricky. Impressive that everyone kind of kept it on the road.But yeah, Watkins Glen always seems like it’s a tricky race with rain popping up. I think with the elevation here, someone told me years ago that when the pressure comes over the track, it kind of forces that water out of the clouds, and that’s why it always rains right up here on the hill.It’s always tricky here, but yeah, it’s part of what makes IMSA racing that special. GTD PRODan Harper/Max HesseNo. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by our GTD Pro winners, Max Hesse and Dan Harper. Q. Dan, talk about your first win here in IMSA, very tricky conditions. Just take us through that and what it took for you guys to pull it off today. DAN HARPER: Well, firstly, very happy to be here for the first time. Yeah, at the start I would say I took the start and the rain came on very quickly, and it was a bit chaotic, to be honest. I was glad when the first safety car came to calm everything down a little bit. Although it was Andrea and the Lamborghini and I that were first and second at the time, and we’d sort of got a little bit of a gap to the guys behind.Then the heavy rain came, and then it was just trying to survive, not crash until — we were debating whether it would go red flag like it did — I think it was last year. So we wanted to stay out to not lose the track position, or whether we would eventually have to pit for the rain tires.Then unfortunately I got a penalty for crossing the red light on the exit of the pit lane, and at that point I sort of thought I had blew it.Yeah, then it was on to Max to bring us back up the order, and he did a great job, also the team with the strategy. And we got fortunate with the amount of safety cars today that gave us the opportunity to come forward, and then they put me in the position to bring it home. It was a nice feeling. Q. Max, as he mentioned, you had a stop plus 60-second penalty. I imagine when that happens you think your chances of winning are not great. How surprised were you to find yourself back in position to win, and what does it mean to you to win here? MAX HESSE: Yeah, obviously it was very unfortunate because we were in a good position at that time, and we knew we had a strong race car. We were hoping to just do our laps and be there at the end, but Dan decided differently.But no, it was fine. Then obviously had a couple of strong restarts which got us back to the front. And as Dan mentioned, those restarts really helped us to come here. Got us back into P1, and the team really did a great job with all the pit stops. They were always spot on, didn’t really lose any seconds in the pit lane today. So really grateful to them.Yeah, Dan got it done in the end, so really, really proud. Q. If I recall, last October at the Indianapolis eight-hour was the first time either of you had raced in the United States. Are you surprised that you’ve picked up racing on America’s circuits so quickly?DAN HARPER: No, to be honest. Of course new circuits, new challenges. I think, to be honest, I think the GTD Pro in terms of GT racing at the moment is probably the highest level. So we knew we were in for a big challenge. But especially, at least speaking for myself, I love the challenge of a new circuit and learning a new track. I love the tracks here in America so far that I’ve been to.I think Watkins Glen has been a really cool track. It’s high speed. It takes a lot of commitment. It flows really nicely, up and downhill, so it has a bit of everything, and it suits the M4, which helped us today.MAX HESSE: Not much more to add. We both grew up together on the Nordschleife, on the Nürburgring. So we’re used to those kind of tracks.But I have to, yeah, really say that this has been the greatest track so far for this reason. I really enjoyed it. It gives great racing.And obviously, as I said before, those safety car restarts, they were helping, as well, because always going back from zero with the cold tires was a challenge. But our car was handling that really, really well today.Yeah, really looking forward to the next tracks. As has been mentioned, the only track we know from now on is Indy, so multiple tracks to learn. Q. Was it weird to be here instead of the Nürburgring for the 24? MAX HESSE: Yes and no. Obviously we’ve done this race the past five years, since we were 18, and we were able to do it. So I would have loved to be there. But honestly, this has been great. So no doubt that this was, I think, the right choice for us this year. And over there BMW won, as well. So happy days.Q. Dan, obviously it was a big day overall for BMW, both there and here.DAN HARPER: Yeah, it’s amazing. We were watching near enough from the start of the 24 Nürburgring last night, or yesterday in the afternoon, the whole way until the checkered flag now. We were keeping an eye and supporting our guys.It was weird only seeing one car competing there for BMW. But great for them. I’m so happy for them, especially Augusto, our ex-teammate. He’s been wanting to win that one for a long time, and he finally got it done. So that was fantastic, and it was great for us today, as well. GTDTom Gamble / Casper Stevenson / Zacharie RobichonNo. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO THE MODERATOR: We now have our GTD winners here, Tom Gamble, Casper Stevenson, and Zacharie Robichon. This is the 14th win for the team, first since Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2024 in the GTD class with the No. 27 team. Q. Zach, since you started from the pole position, take us through that first stint. It was pretty wild in here. I could only imagine what it looked like from your seat. ZACHARIE ROBICHON: Yeah, the first two hours were possibly the craziest two hours I’ve ever had in a race car, which, when you feel like your car is fast, is usually not a good thing because you kind of want everything to be calm.But it made it very exciting. And I must say that, especially at the beginning, the first 20, 30 minutes when there was sprinkling and everything was changing, felt like everybody was relatively calm; and then after that, everybody kind of lost their heads a little bit.But it was very exciting, and it was a true endurance race that survival puts you in a position to win. And I think after the first two hours, many of the cars that just didn’t have any incidents were in it for a legitimate shot at victory. It made it a true sort of endurance race in a compact six-hour package. Q. Casper, you’re now just 60 points out of the lead, but more importantly first win in IMSA. Tell us about both of those things. CASPER STEVENSON: Yeah, I’m really happy with the championship position at the moment. And to get my first win is sick. I want to experience it again. Q. Take us through a little bit of your stint in the car. Any adventures while you were at the wheel?CASPER STEVENSON: Yeah, it was pretty good. I had a little contact with the Ferrari, and that lost us a few positions. But then I made some positions back up. Just fuel saving when I got behind cars that were not easy to pass, and it meant that when Tom got in, he was kind of in that front pack, and then he picked them off like a pro. Q. Tom, obviously the 12 car pulled off the road late, but do you think you could have run them down anyway? TOM GAMBLE: Yeah, it was obviously a bit of a crazy race. I think before the yellow came out at the end, it was looking a bit better because I had just got past the Rexy pro car. So I was hunting him down, and then the yellow came out, and obviously he got put back in front. So made my life a little bit more difficult.Yeah. And then the that last two laps were just — I think my heart was about 190 BPM for the last two laps. When I saw the Lexus, I think it had run out of fuel. It was a good feeling. Unfortunate for them. But really incredible to get my first win in IMSA. Feels like a long time coming. Incredible job by these two boys and also the Heart of Racing gave us a really fast car today.I think when it was looking like second at the end, I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to pay them back with a win with the car they gave us. Onwards and up. I think had a very strong start to the season, and yeah, keep the momentum up now, and yeah, keep winning. Q. Zacharie, in the big crash at Turn 9, how close do you feel you were to none of this happening at all? How close were you to disaster? ZACHARIE ROBICHON: Very?Honestly, I was telling the guys after I got out of the car, I don’t think I’ve ever hit the brake pedal so hard in my life. It was a matter of inches.The P2 car that was right in front of us, quite literally I was standing on the brake for all I could (indiscernible) hit the brake, I’m definitely in him, but luckily he kind of rolled off. Yeah, we definitely got lucky on that one. LMP2Paul Di Resta / Rasmus Lindh / Daniel GoldburgNo. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07 THE MODERATOR: Now we have our LMP2 winners, Paul Di Resta, Rasmus Lindh and Daniel Goldburg. Q. Dan, start us off. When you won Daytona, it was different circumstances. How big was it to get one on the road here in front of everybody today? DANIEL GOLDBURG: Yeah, it was pretty big. All of us doing our job and the team doing their job and us getting to celebrate as a team together in pit lane and in the podium properly, definitely feels good. Q. Rasmus, it was obviously changing conditions, very difficult from wet to then hot. Tell us about that and what it means to you to win at Watkins Glen International. RASMUS LINDH: Yeah, it started to rain in the beginning with Dan. So I went out, it was starting to dry. But yeah, we finished here in LMP3 before, me and Dan, third, so it feels great, especially with this crew. Yeah, amazing. Q. Paul, can you take us through that closing sequence, especially some battles with the No. 99 and some others? Just talk about that and your win here. PAUL DI RESTA: Nice to get it done. I think on the back of a big break and a difficult end to Sebring, it was job done. We’ve come here, it’s been a difficult weekend, actually, but we re-baselined ourselves this morning, went with something that we trusted and knew, and credit to have that structure there behind us.I think everybody did their job. We had one hiccup in a pit stop, a wheel nut which put us back in the queue, but we fought our way through steadily and controlled it at the end.Very nice to get it done. More importantly, I think it just sets us up to go into a busy time. Dan has obviously got the race in Canada, which I won’t be joining him, but momentum is on sight. Hopefully he’ll go there and win and then on to Road America and try and do what we can there.But it’s nice to enjoy events like this on the back of everybody tired on the back of Le Mans. Tough conditions, and Sunday nights are a bit sweeter when they’re like that. Q. Can you talk about maybe putting Le Mans in the rear view mirror in a good way here? PAUL DI RESTA: Definitely. Le Mans was not easy on my side. I made a small driving error, but equally as a team, we struggled there. To come here and United to be able to give me a car that can fight, that can pass, I managed to make some good moves. I had to make some good moves to get our car forward. Those moves were clinical and crucial to get to the front.And fortunately we finished it off. It’s nice. It’s always a lottery here. I never quite understand with all the yellows and how they work, and sometimes how unlucky you can be, but today it worked. Q. Dan, as he referenced, next race is CTMP. You go in there as the championship leader. How do you guys attack it and how do you preserve that? DANIEL GOLDBURG: Just like every race, I think we put our head into it and focus. I think we’ll be announcing my co-driver there in the coming weeks here, and I’ve got a great driver that will be there with me. We’ll give it everything, try to maintain the lead we have. Q. Daniel, that first stint, was that the toughest conditions you’ve ever driven in as a professional racing driver? DANIEL GOLDBURG: It’s up there. It was a lot going on. At one point just keeping the car on the track and the heavy downpour on slicks under yellow was a challenge in and of itself. It reminded me last year when a lot of people went off. Two restarts in mixed conditions, and on the slicks in the beginning with the rain coming down, it was a lot thrown at me, and I was really happy to pull it off, basically. Q. Would you have preferred that they were red or opened up the pit lane so people could switch to wet tires quicker, or would you have left it the same? DANIEL GOLDBURG: As a driver, we just take what they throw at us. I don’t really have an opinion on how they run the race there. I just tackled the conditions they threw at us and felt good that I took it well. THE MODERATOR: One change for this year, you can pit for wets as an emergency service. You can’t go from wets to dries, but you can go from dries to wets if you need them.FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
