| Practice Punctuates a Week Where Many Return from Le Mans June 20, 2025By John OreoviczIMSA Wire Service |
| Practice Results WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Fresh off sweeping the front row in qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Cadillac V-Series.R continued to demonstrate its single-lap pace Friday at Watkins Glen International. Jack Aitken (No. 31 Cadillac Whelen) led the first 90-minute practice for Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, the sixth race weekend of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Aitken lapped the undulating 3.4-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen course in 1 minute, 34.584 seconds for an average speed of 129.408 miles per hour to lead the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class. Entries from Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian were second and third fastest, with Renger van der Zande in the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 (1:34.662/129.302 mph) leading teammate Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 (1:34.979/128.870 mph). The top seven GTP machines lapped within a second of Aitken’s benchmark on a breezy day with ambient temperatures in the mid-70s, although the track temperatures heated up significantly over the course of the day. A heat wave is forecast to roll into New York’s Finger Lakes region over the next 36 hours, taking the thermometer into the 90s by Sunday. With that heat comes the potential for inclement conditions like the thunderstorm that caused the 2024 Sahlen’s Six Hours to be red-flagged for 41 minutes mid-race. “We know these conditions are good to our car and we’ve generally had a strong car at Watkins Glen in the past, but the track hasn’t been good for us,” said Aitken, who along with co-driver Earl Bamber are seeking their first podium finish of the season. They’re joined at Watkins Glen by Frederik Vesti for this round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. “It wasn’t too difficult to put the car on track and be in the window straight away,” Aitken added. “It’s feeling really nice, and hopefully it stays that way. We do have all kinds of weather coming through, though, so we’re going to have to adapt.” GTP championship points leaders Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr (No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963) were fourth fastest Friday, while the No. 40 and 10 Cadillacs from Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing rounded out the top six. Lone Star Racing, a team solely competing in the Michelin Endurance Cup races, led all GT class entries in practice on Friday. Scott Andrews drove Lone Star’s No. 80 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class to a quick lap of 1:45.867 (115.616 mph) that just ended ahead of the fastest GTD PRO contender Andrea Caldarelli in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan EVO2’s best clocking of 1:45.912 (115.567 mph). Felipe Fraga (No. 74 Riley ORECA LMP2 07) set the pace in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class with a lap of 1:35.798/127.768 mph that was barely a second off the leading GTP effort. Paul Di Resta (No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07) was second in class as four cars broke the 1-minute, 36-second barrier, including Dane Cameron in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 that took the LMP2 Pro/Am class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with PJ Hyett and Louis Deletraz. Deletraz is also in action at Watkins Glen, but in his full-time ride – the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing GTP Cadillac he shares with Jordan Taylor. Deletraz was fifth fastest Friday but still buzzing from his Le Mans victory. “I grew up around Le Mans when my father (Jean-Denis) was racing, so I’ve been there a few times and very close to winning,” he said. “I finished second (in the LMP2 class) the last three years, so to finally check that box takes that pressure off my head and it’s a fantastic feeling.” More Le Mans Memories |
| A total of 60 drivers who competed last weekend in Le Mans are also in the Sahlen’s Six Hours’ field. Not everybody earned a winner’s trophy like Deletraz, but most were able to bring home a happy memory. “The race itself was really hard, and we were quite disappointed in the result,” said Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor. “One thing that stands out is the way the team changed an engine during Free Practice 3 in an hour and 40 minutes, which is amazing. To see them do that was really impressive. “Nobody in Europe knows Wayne Taylor Racing, and for the guys to be able to flex their muscles and show what they’re able to do – and to see the reception they got – was really cool.” “My Le Mans was tough this year,” said Colin Braun who teams with Blomqvist in the No. 60 Acura GTP in the WeatherTech Championship and was part of the lineup in the No. 24 Nielsen Racing LMP2 Pro/Am entry. “Nothing really went our way and we had a rough slog of it. But the people on the team were fantastic. When you have a good group of people, you’re working hard, and none of us are really ‘Sour Sallies.’ The chefs – the meals we had were definitely a highlight. It’s fun even when the results aren’t there.” Philipp Eng, who co-drives the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW Hybrid V8 with Dries Vanthoor in the WeatherTech Championship, was a reserve driver for BMW at Le Mans. But he still thoroughly enjoyed the experience. “I did many garage tours with VIPs and a lot of media activities,” Eng related. “My highlight was to follow the race from, let’s say, ‘the second row.’ I was in the engineering room listening to the intercom and I followed the whole race without any sleep. I was really into it, as if I was driving. “To hear all the communication in the background about strategy between the race engineers and the performance engineers really opened my eyes on how big the operation is,” he continued. “As a driver, you’re always so isolated in your race car. You sometimes don’t understand some decisions that are being made. I will not complain anymore now, because it’s very, very exciting what’s going on in the background.” The WeatherTech Championship wasn’t the only action on track Friday. Jenson Altzman (No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing with AEROSPORT Ford Mustang GT4, Grand Sport, GS) and LP Montour (No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR, Touring Car, TCR) won poles for Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge LP Building Solutions 120. Additionally, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and Porsche Carrera Cup North America ran their first races of the weekend. The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen runs from Noon to 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 22. The first three hours will be broadcast on NBC, while Peacock carries the action flag-to-flag with coverage extended to 6:30. International fans can watch via IMSA.tv and IMSA’s Official YouTube Channel. |
