Wright Motorsports wins chaotic Race 1 at Watkins Glen

Tire punctures or blows were one of the deciding points of the first race of FANATEC GT World Challenge America at Watkins Glen, which added to a really bad day in the office for current leaders K-PAX Racing, put the No. 45 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R of Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen on top after a thrilling end of race.

The No. 1 K-PAX Lamborghini started with the lead while the No. 6 US Racetronics Mercedes tried to hold the field, but Michael Dinan in the No. 96 Turner BMW wasn’t too fancy of it passed the No. 6 by the power of slipstream on the first sector. A spin from the No. 88 Zelus Lamborghini brought the Safety Car after one lap, but with Jeff Burton recovering quickly, the clearing procedure took only a few minutes.

The straight line speed of the BMW M4 GT3 was a potential threat to Michele Beretta in the No. 1, and with the No. 3 K-PAX Lamborghini falling down due to a misfiring and loss of power, it would be down to the Italian’s ability alone rather than team tactics. The No. 96 wasn’t pressing that much in the second restart, but near the 30 minute mark, the No. 191 Zelus Lamborghini crashed and brought another neutralization period, giving another hope to Michael Dinan to make a move on Beretta.

Dinan took the third restart to go all-out on Beretta, but not only he failed in his move but also lost a lot of ground, with Beretta falling off pace and off the lead too as Russell Ward in the No. 33 Winward Mercedes opened a modest gap while in first place. The ruined end of stint made the No. 1 K-PAX Lamborghini lead the line that went to the pit stop early in the window, only to be halted by a stop and go penalty due to the contact with the No. 96 Turner BMW.

With the leaders of the first half having their share of bad luck, be it a penalty or pit stop time loss, the No. 6 US Racetronics Mercedes took the lead after the pit window, but Phillip Ellis in the No. 33 was keeping it a tight contest.

Tires were being the issue at Watkins Glen in the final part, which ruined the Pro-Am Cup leading race of the No. 93 Racers Edge Acura and also hit the No. 33 Winward Mercedes, leaving the No. 6 all alone en route to victory, but even them were caught by a puncture at the worst moment possible, as there was only five minutes to go.

This wheel of misfortune handed the overall lead to the No. 45 Wright Porsche, which inherited the Pro-Am Cup lead from the No. 93, and Jan Heylen had the remaining time to resist the pressure from the No. 04 Crowdstrike Mercedes, succeeding in not giving any space to Colin Braun and score the overall victory, the first of a Pro-Am Cup entry since the 2021 Indianapolis 8 Hour and the first sprint win since the 2020 Race 2 at the Circuit of the Americas.

GTWC America - Watkins Glen Race 1 results

The No. 96 Turner BMW was the only entry without a misfortune in the Pro Cup, which handed the class win for Michael Dinan and Robby Foley from third overall.

PHOTO: Wright Motorsports