SAHLEN’S SIX HOURS: Biggest Field in Eight Years Coming to The Glen

The Race at the Historic New York Road Course Also Serves as the Third Round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup

By Mark Robinson

Entry List (Click here)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The largest field for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen since 2014 is set to take to the Watkins Glen International road course next week for the next stop of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Forty-nine cars are entered for the six-hour race on June 26 that serves as the seventh event of the 2022 WeatherTech Championship season and third round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. All five classes will be in competition together for the first time since the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts in March.

Here’s what you need to know heading into the pivotal race weekend at the historic natural terrain circuit:

Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, New York

June 23-26, 2022

Fast Facts

Race Day/Time:  Sunday, June 26 – 10:40 a.m. ET

USA Network Coverage: LIVE – 2-5 p.m.

Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 10:40 a.m. on Peacock (in the U.S.) and IMSA.com/TVLive (outside the U.S.)

IMSA.com/TVLive Live Qualifying Stream: Saturday, June 25 – 1:15 p.m.

IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Sunday, June 26 at 10:30 a.m. (XM 207, SiriusXM Web/App 992)

Circuit Type: 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course

Classes Competing: Daytona Prototype international (DPi), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)

Race Length: 6 hours

Track Social Media:

Event Hashtags:  #IMSA, #Sahlens6HRS

WeatherTech Championship Track Records

Qualifying:

DPi:  Oliver Jarvis, Mazda DPi, 1:29.639 / 136.547 mph, June 2019

LMP2:  Gabriel Aubry, ORECA LMP2 07, 1:31.735 / 133.427 mph, June 2019

LMP3:  Austin McCusker, Ligier JS P320, 1:40.404 / 121.907 mph, June 2021

GTD PRO:  new class in 2022

GTD:  Jack Hawksworth, Lexus RC F GT3, 1:44.499 / 117.130 mph, July 2018

2021 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen Winners

DPi:  Jonathan Bomarito/Harry Tincknell/Oliver Jarvis, No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda DPi

LMP2:  Steven Thomas/Tristan Nunez/Thomas Merrill, No. 11 WIN Autosport ORECA LMP2 07

LMP3:  Gar Robinson/Felipe Fraga/Scott Andrews, No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS P320

GTD PRO:  new class in 2022

GTD:  Bill Auberlen/Robby Foley/Aidan Read, No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3

Storylines

  • Band’s Back Together: The five classes of the WeatherTech Championship – DPi, LMP2, LMP3, GTD PRO and GTD – will race together for the first time in more than three months. With the largest car count at Watkins Glen in eight years, it will make for exciting racing and traffic management throughout the field.
  • Tight Points Battles Throughout: All five classes feature close competition at the top of their respective standings. The largest margin for any leader is just 50 points (the difference between a first- and third-place race finish) and the narrowest margin is but nine points. It means that all the class championships remain wide open and puts a premium on qualifying and finishing well at The Glen and succeeding races.
  • Michelin Endurance Cup Resumes: The Sahlen’s Six Hours marks the third of four events making up the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, where drivers and teams rack up points at designated junctures of each endurance race separate from the season championship. Points at Watkins Glen (five for being in first place in class, four points for second place, three points for third and two points for all others) will be awarded at the halfway mark and conclusion of the six-hour race. The competition in the Michelin Endurance Cup is extremely close in all classes, with no team or driver leading by more than four points.
  • Return of the Prancing Horse: Ferrari is back on the grid as the famed Italian marque continues its Michelin Endurance Cup quest in both the GTD PRO and GTD classes. The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 that finished second in the Rolex 24 At Daytona to open the season in January returns in GTD PRO, while the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari that won the GTD class at Sebring in March is back as well.

Who’s Hot?

  • No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura: While they haven’t won a race since the season-opening Rolex 24, Oliver Jarvis, Tom Blomqvist and the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-05 have been the most consistent of late, with second-place finishes in the last three races. It’s allowed them to retake the DPi season points lead, 10 better than Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura.
  • Ben Keating: The versatile Texan is fresh off winning at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE Am class on June 12. Keating also won the last WeatherTech Championship race he was in, at Sebring in March. He and co-drivers Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker are piloting the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 in just the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races this season and are a threat to come out on top again at The Glen.

Who’s Good Here?

  • Auberlen, Barbosa and Lally: Three veteran drivers – Bill Auberlen, Joao Barbosa and Andy Lally – have each won the Sahlen’s Six Hours four times. Auberlen’s first win at The Glen came two decades ago and he won in GTD last year. Barbosa’s four wins have all come in the past decade in the top prototype class; he’ll be driving the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport LMP3 this year. The most recent of Lally’s four victories came five years ago in the same GTD class in which he’ll drive this year.
  • Bomarito Aims for Threepeat: Jonathan Bomarito is riding a two-race win streak in the six-hour race heading into the 2022 edition. He was a member of the Mazda DPi team that won in 2019 and ’21, and he will go for a third straight triumph this year in the No. 11 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports LMP2.

Previous Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen Winners in 2022 Field (25)

Bill Auberlen (4): GT – 2002, 2004; GTLM – 2017; GTD – 2021

Joao Barbosa (4): DP – 2012, 2013; P – 2016, 2017

Andy Lally (4): SGS – 2004; GT – 2007, 2010; GTD – 2017

Richard Westbrook (3): P – 2014, 2015; GTLM – 2016

Jonathan Bomarito (2): DPi – 2019, 2021

John Edwards (2): GT – 2012, 2013

Antonio Garcia (2): GTLM – 2014, 2021

Spencer Pumpelly (2): GT – 2007, 2010

Renger van der Zande (2): PC – 2015, 2016

Filipe Albuquerque (1): P – 2017

Jonathan Bennett (1): PC – 2014

Colin Braun (1): PC – 2014

Mario Farnbacher (1): GTD – 2019

Robby Foley (1): GTD – 2021

Felipe Fraga (1): LMP3 – 2021

Oliver Jarvis (1): DPi – 2021

Katherine Legge (1): GTD – 2017

Dirk Mueller (1): GTLM – 2018

Olivier Pla (1): DPi – 2019

Gar Robinson (1): LMP3 – 2021

Bryan Sellers (1): GTLM – 2015

Jordan Taylor (1): GTLM – 2021

Ricky Taylor (1): DP – 2011

Steven Thomas (1): LMP2 – 2021

Don Yount (1): GTD – 2018

Previous Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen Pole Winners in 2022 Field (16)

Bill Auberlen (3): GTS-3 – 1997; GT3 – 1998; GT – 2004

Colin Braun (2): PC – 2014; P – 2018

Antonio Garcia (2): GTLM – 2019, 2021

Andy Lally (2): GT – 2005; GTD – 2017

Jordan Taylor (2): GT – 2011, 2012

Ricky Taylor (2): DP – 2011; DPi – 2021

Richard Westbrook (2): GTLM – 2016, 2018

Joao Barbosa (1): GT – 2002

Pipo Derani (1): P – 2017

Mario Farnbacher (1): GTD – 2016

Jack Hawksworth (1): GTD – 2018

Trent Hindman (1): GTD – 2019

Oliver Jarvis (1): DPi – 2019

Kyle Kirkwood (1): GTD – 2021

Steven Thomas (1): LMP2 – 2021

Renger van der Zande (1): PC – 2016

Previous Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen Winning Teams in 2022 Field (12)

Chip Ganassi Racing (6): DP – 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010; GTLM – 2016, 2018

Action Express Racing (4): DP – 2012, 2013; P – 2016, 2017

Turner Motorsport (3): GTD – 2014, 2018, 2021

Corvette Racing (2): GTLM – 2014, 2021

Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian (2): GTD – 2017, 2019

Riley Motorsports (2): GTD – 2015; LMP3 – 2021

BMW Team RLL (1): GTLM – 2017

CORE autosport (1): PC – 2014

JDC-Miller MotorSports (1): P – 2018

Performance Tech Motorsports (1): PC – 2017

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports (1): LMP2 – 2019

Wayne Taylor Racing (1): DP – 2011

Previous Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen Winning Manufacturers in 2022 Field (7)

Porsche – 53

Chevrolet – 18

BMW – 9

Ferrari – 8

Lexus – 3

Acura – 2

Cadillac – 1

Leave a Reply