From Phillippi: “Everyone knows who really won” at Watkins Glen

The final of the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, third round of theEndurance Cup 2022 in IMSA, was chaotic. After a one-hour red flag interruption due to a storm, the race was restarted under Safety Car with 35 minutes remaining on the clock.

As interventions on cars are not authorized under red flags in the North American endurance championship, several teams found themselves having to refuel urgently in the final moments. This was particularly the case for the leaders in GTD Pro, with the No. 62 from Risi Competizione then the No. 9 from Pfaff Motorsports, allowing the No. 4 BMW M3 GT25 from Team RLL to win thanks to an offbeat strategy.

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The joy was, however, short-lived at BMW. The trio of John Edwards, Augusto Farfus and Connor De Phillippi were penalized, as the American driver was unable to meet the new minimum driving time of 1h17 required after the race was interrupted. Around ten other cars found themselves in the same situation, mainly in the Grand Touring categories.

The red flag changed everything

“During the red flag, the race clock continued to run, while the driving time stopped”, explained John Edwards. “There was nothing else we could have done. adds his teammate Connor de Phillippi who took pole position on Saturday. The important thing is that we had a fantastic car and the team was superb. We started at the front and led for most of the race. Everyone knows who actually won. These are things that happen. When you consider where we were at Daytona, we can be very happy with the progress we've made. We now focus on the next race. »

“The red flag came with about 90 minutes to go, explains Brandon Fry, technical director of the team. John Edwards had entered the car some time before. Without the interruption, during which the race time continued to tick, but the driving time did not, John would have easily been within the initial minimum driving time of 90 minutes. However, when this was adjusted to just 1:17, despite the longer pause, it meant that John was no longer able to meet this requirement after the restart. Our strategy was solid and winning. The adjustment to the minimum driving time came too late for us to react and adapt our strategy. Yes, we are disappointed, but at the same time we are focused on the next race of the season. » From Sunday, in Bowmanville (Canada).

It is finally theAston Martin GT3 n°23 (Ross Gunn, Alex Riberas) who inherited the category victory.

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