Michelin Doubles Up Watkins Glen Success

• Cadillac, Corvette, Lexus Claim 1-2 Finishes at Watkins Glen 240
• Michelin Delivers Long-Lasting Performance in Wide Range of Conditions
• BMW and Honda Take Michelin Pilot Challenge Wins

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., July 2, 2021 — Following last weekend’s highly successful Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Michelin and the IMSA teams returned for an equally impressive second round of events at Watkins Glen International Raceway today.

Originally scheduled for the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the holiday weekend races were moved to Watkins Glen due to extended border restrictions. For Michelin it was a welcome opportunity to build its Watkins Glen track experience and further demonstrate its wide range of endurance performance in both wet and dry conditions.

“This is just the second season (2019) that Michelin has fitted the entire field at Watkins Glen as the official tire of IMSA. We are very pleased that our tires performed so well and enabled the teams and drivers to perform at an exceptionally high level in such a wide range of conditions,” said Tony Ménard, director of motorsport, Michelin North America.

Michelin experienced sunny, steamy hot, dry, and windy conditions on the first race weekend. The additional Thursday and Friday events brought a 45-degree variation in track temperatures, and combinations of cool dry, full wet, drying track, and evening conditions.

Confidence in Michelin’s long-lasting tire performance enabled teams to deploy a wide range of tire strategies on the fast, demanding, and highly technical 3.4-mile circuit.

“Over the past eight days we have seen cars set fast laps at the end of a stint, and a Honda win in the Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class by changing just two tires on its final pit stop. The next day, the Mazda Prototype took the overall race win in the six-hour race by changing just one tire on its final stop,” said Ménard.

This weekend a BMW won the GT Daytona class pole running the Michelin treaded wet tires in qualifying. Less than an hour later, an Acura DPi won the overall race pole and nearly matched the track record on the Michelin slick tires on a still slightly damp track.

Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac Class of Field

The Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac team took its first win of the 2021 IMSA season in the WeatherTech 240. The No. 31 Cadillac DPi piloted by Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani took the lead after a 46-minute red flag caused by severe weather. Nasr led the remaining 51 minutes, holding off the No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing DPi run by Renger van der Zande and Kevin Magnussen by 1.473 of a second. The No.10 Konica Minolta Acura DPi driven by Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque rounded out the DPi class podium.

Corvette Racing, Vasser Sullivan Lexus Take 1-2 Finishes

In GTLM, the No. 3 Corvette Racing team with drivers Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor took the win once again in Watkins Glen by 1.895 of a second over fellow Corvette Racing entry of Tommy Milner. Matt Campbell and Cooper MacNeil finished third with their WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911.

Vasser Sullivan Lexus led the way in the GTD Class as Jack Hawksworth and Aaron Telitz won by .707 seconds aboard their Lexus RC F GT3. Teammates Zach Veach and Frankie Montecalvo took second place. The No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin driven by Ross Gunn and Roman De Angelis finished third.

LMP2, LMP3 Victories Go to PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports, Riley Motorsports

PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports went to victory lane in the LMP2 class. The No. 52 ORECA 07 Gibson run by Ben Keating and Mikkel Jensen crossed the finish line 21.839 seconds ahead of the No. #11 Win Autosport driven by Tristan Nunez and Steven Thomas. Third place was taken by No. 8 Tower Motorsport with drivers John Farono and Gabriel Aubry.

Drivers Felipe Fraga and Gar Robinson led Riley Motorsports to another first-place finish at Watkins Glen in the #74 Ligier JS P320 VK in the LMP3 class. Finishing second, just 0.276 seconds behind were Riley Motorsports teammates Jim Cox and Dylan Murry in No. 91 Ligier JS P320 VK. Finishing third was the No. 54 Core Autosport team of Colin Braun and Jonathon Bennett.

Salute to Canada

Traditionally, IMSA would be in Canada this weekend racing at Canadian Tire Motorsports. Michelin highlighted the strong Canadian presence and spirit in the IMSA paddock in this Canada Day video.  Watch here.

Michelin Post-Race Notes

• The NBC Sports Network Michelin Tech Minute showed viewers how data from Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen played into strategy for the WeatherTech 240. Watch here.
• Friday’s IMSA MICHELIN® Pilot Challenge Sahlen’s 120 at the Glen was won by Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4. The TCR class saw Bryan Henderson and Robert Noaker win in the No. 84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic FK7 TCR.
• The 105-minute Prototype Challenge race was won by MLT Motorsports. Drivers Dakota Dickerson and Josh Sarchet took the checkered flag in a Ligier JS P320 with a 18.736 second lead.
• Michelin tires fitted seven different races in the eight days at Watkins Glen International spanning nearly 18 hours of racing.

Next Up: 

The 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship heads to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut. The race starts at 3:10 pm on Saturday July, 17^th. The event can be seen live with Track Pass on NBC Sports Gold or later that day on NBCSN at 5:30pm.