Philip Ellis gained the lead with 18 minutes on the clock and drove to a triumph in the LP Building Solutions 120 at The Glen on Saturday, June 27 at Watkins Glen International.
Ellis, a native of Munich, Germany, teamed with Texas native Bryce Ward, 68, to capture the timed 2-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT GT4.
The victory on the 3.4-mile Schuyler County road course was the team’s fourth in the series and first since 2023 at Indianapolis.
Nate Cicero and Robert Noaker, co-drivers of the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang, finished second both overall and in the 43-car field’s top Grand Sport class. Third place went to the No. 60 Kohr Motorsports team of Evan Slater and Mike Skeen in a Ford Mustang.
Jeff Westphal led comfortably after inheriting the top spot when Hugh Plumb made his team’s final scheduled pit stop with 40 minutes left. Westphal’s shot at the win in the No. 39 BMW he co-drove with Sean McAlister disappeared when the car’s rear left tire was punctured after appearing to strike a curb.
That gave Ellis, 33, a lead he held until taking the checkered flag under caution after Luca Mars lost a tire going through the Inner Loop.
A few minutes earlier, a full-course caution came out with just over 12 minutes remaining when Caleb Bacon’s car stopped on the track. Ellis pulled away off the restart with five minutes left.
“I think it comes down to teamwork,” Ward said. “Having Philip as a co-driver this weekend helped me so much during the practice we did. The 39 car jumped us in the pit stops. Ours were great, but theirs were better as they needed less fuel with a fuel advantage.
“I was sad to see them go out. But the racing gods were in our favor today.”
Tim Lewis Jr. and Rocco Pasquarella took first in the Touring Car class in the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TRM Engineering Honda Civic.
Historic pole for Hannah Grisham
Earlier in the day, Hannah Grisham became the second woman in Michelin Pilot Challenge history to claim an overall pole position. Valerie Limoges’ pole at Homestead in 2007 was the first by a woman in the series.
Grisham’s time of 1 minute, 53.839 seconds (107.887 mph) broke the series’ previous track record of 1:54.077 set by Devin Jones in 2019.
Grisham maintained the lead during her 20-lap stint to open the race. She teamed with Hannah Greenemeier to finish sixth in the No. 26 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin.
Aitken nabs pole in delayed Six Hours qualifying
Qualifying for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race was pushed back until the end of the day as workers made repairs to the track after curbing was damaged in the Inner Loop during the Michelin Pilot Challenge race.
Jack Aitken took the overall pole position with a top lap of 1:31.284. Aitken is teamed with Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac.
The 54-car race will include four different classes led by the 11 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars.
Tom Blomqvist, defending race winner with Colin Braun in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura, qualified second with a top lap of 1:31.481.
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for a 12:10 p.m. start Sunday, June 28. It will be televised live on Peacock.
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Ellis, Ward team for Michelin win at WGI; Aitken takes Six Hours pole
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
