With 90 seconds to go, Marino Franchitti was sitting comfortably in second place about to enjoy his first PC class podium with Mexican teammate Rudy Junco at PR1 Mathieson Motorsports.

Then race leader and fellow Scotsman, CORE autosport’s Ryan Dalziel headed into the pits for the splash of fuel that would hand the win to Franchitti and Junco.

“The guys were just telling me, ‘The gap is 15 seconds,'” Franchitti said.

“So I started pushing and the guys said, ‘He might need fuel.’ I thought no way so I just kept pushing. Then I came over the crest of the hill and I saw him in the pits.

“Great job from the team, and it was a pleasure working with Rudy all weekend.

“Driving in the race it was really tough. The rubber felt like it was almost being picked up, and even the sealant. It was very strange. But great job to the team this weekend. This was a very fun win, an exciting time. I’m looking forward to the next race for sure.”

Like many others, Junco said the start was difficult with a greasy track due to the heat and number of cars competing on the weekend.

“Most definitely, it was very different than during the practices,” he said.

“Our setup was really good, but it took a while for it to really come in. When it did we could go really fast. The guys have been working nonstop to put this car together for today. This was a fantastic weekend. I loved working with Marino and I learned a lot today.”

Dalziel and Alex Popow finished second in CORE autosport’s No. 05 ORECA FLM09. Kyle Marcelli and Antonio Downs were third for Merchant Services Racing and its No. 8 entry.