I just returned from a very busy and warm Watkins Glen International, where it was that time of year for the annual IMSA Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen. Despite plenty of pop-up thunderstorms, we managed to stay dry (mostly) for our on-track activities. I was excited to be racing Michelin Pilot Challenge with Brandon Kidd in the Automatic Racing Aston Martin GT4. At the same time, I was working with the JDX racing team and Elias De La Torre in Carrera Cup.
Starting off the weekend with a track walk really helps set the tone for structuring a plan of attack for the event.
Race time!
We certainly had our fair share of challenges in Michelin Pilot Challenge, with electrical gremlins that persisted throughout the weekend. It really hindered our ability to show the car and team’s true performance potential. We had an early exit from the two-hour contest on Saturday, which was sincerely disappointing after so much effort had been put into setting us up for a successful weekend.
It was exciting having CVSTOS watches on board this weekend!
I hope I get another opportunity to be behind the wheel in Michelin Pilot Challenge again this year. IMSA is my favorite racing out there, and it also felt like a homecoming to rejoin David Russell and Automatic Racing since I have driven with that team off and on, going all the way back to 2007!
Shifting gears to Carrera Cup, Elias De La Torre has done a terrific job keeping his points streak alive this season thanks to solid results so far this year. This weekend at Watkins Glen was no different. He qualified inside the top 10 for both races, and he had tremendous race starts to put himself in contention for a great finish both times. He came away with a best of 8th in race two.
It’s funny how expectations evolve as Elias continues to gain experience: last year, a top-10 qualifying and race result would have been a season-best performance, whereas this year, it’s become a benchmark to beat each weekend. Elias continues to develop and evolve during his second season in the series.
Elias had a solid weekend in Carrera Cup.
The weekend was also the JDX team’s third win of the season, and a well-deserved victory for Alex Sedgwick as he fights for the series championship.
I always love going to Watkins Glen. It’s one of my favorite race tracks on the calendar, and I’ll be excited to return there in a couple of short weeks for Sprint Challenge with some good friends and clients, including the Goldcrest racing team.