The Six Hours of Watkins Glen came down to a 16-minute sprint race, with Ferrari charging from fourth to take a second-place finish in an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race marked by remarkable swings in the weather.
Five Ferrari teams experienced the ups and downs of endurance competition, but at the checkered flag it was Conquest Racing – the lone Ferrari team running the full IMSA schedule – on the second step of the GTD podium.
Albert Costa, Manny Franco and Cedric Sbirrazzouli shared the No. 34 Ferrari 296 GTD that was running 14th with two hours, 34-minutes remaining. That’s when Costa took over, going with slick tires after a downpour had led off. Only 12 minutes later, another sudden deluge struck that dashed the chances of two other Ferrari teams. Costa continued, waited through a 40-minute red flag and then held his own in the final sprint to the checkered flag.
“It was super great, no mistakes, and our guys did a fantastic pit stop to put us in the fight,” Costa said. “I so proud to be a member of this team, because they did better work all week. We learned from our mistakes in the past races, and this is the result of hard work and determination.
“When I saw who was winning, I was jealous because my car was so good I thought I could win,” Costa admitted. “I wanted to go for it, but they wanted to keep the car in one piece. There was a thin dry line, and it would have been very risky and easy to make a mistake. So I just took it home, keeping us in a good position for the championship.”
Running in his first pro race at the Glen, Franco was pleased with his best result of the season.
“The car actually felt so much better from practice through qualifying,” Franco said. “We made a few changes before the race and the car felt so much better. The cool temperatures helped with the changes, as it balanced out the car. It was the most enjoyable car I’ve driven this entire weekend. This is my first time here with the GT3 car – I did Ferrari Challenge here two years ago. It’s a lot to handle mentally – the traffic comes flying at you. I had a blast out there. We were picking and choosing our times to pit to switch tires. It was challenging, but it worked out for us with no major issues.”
Bachelart made the move to IMSA this season with the Ferrari 296, and opened the season with a podium finish in the Daytona 24 Hours.
“Our guys did a really good job in a very nerve-wracking race,” Bachelart said. “There was so much going on, and we had good luck with the strategy. This confirms what we did at Daytona, and we’re very happy.
While Conquest celebrated, it was late-race heartbreak for the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 of factory pilots Daniel Serra and Davide Rigon.
Serra started the race on the GTD Pro pole, but the team was caught out several times in the guessing game between slick and dry tires. Serra led through his opening stint, but fell to fifth on his first pit stop. Serra quickly got back to second before turning the car over to Rigon. Back to second as the halfway point approached, Rigon switched to rain tires when precipitation arrived as the race went to caution due to an incident.
Rigon was running third on slicks with one hour, 40-minutes remaining when he drove into another sudden downpour. He slid off under caution, brushed the wall and broke a rear toe-link. He drove back to the pits and went directly behind the wall, out of the event.
AF Corse had last weekend’s Le Mans winner Miguel Molina finishing seventh in GTD in the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by Simon Mann and Francois Heriau. Mann was second at the midway point. He pitted to turn the car over to Molina with two hours remaining during a switch from wet to slick tires.
Molina was then caught out in the downpour that saw him spin and get caught at the lip of a gravel trap. Unable to move until he got a push by the safety team, he lost a lap before rejoining the event. He used a wave-by to regain the lead lap, and was seventh at the checkered flag.
Onofrio Triarsi qualified second in the No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari of Central Florida / David SW Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari 296 GT3 co-driven by factory driver Alessio Rovera and Charlie Scardina. Triarsi held second for the opening half-hour before an unscheduled green-flag pit stop. He turned the car over to Scardina, but a mechanical black flag for an unapproved tire change cost the team a lap – a deficit they could not overcome despite pushing for the remaining five-plus hours. Triarsi took the checkered flag in 13th.
One minute after Triarsi’s early stop, Roberto Lacorte in the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 was bumped by an LMP2 car entering Turn 8. Lacorte tagged the wall – causing heavy damage – and spun into a gravel trap. He was unhurt, but the blue Ferrari was eliminated before recent 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Antonio Fuoco and Giorgio Sernagiotto had an opportunity to drive.
Conquest Racing is set to return for the next WeatherTech Championship race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on July 14. The four other Ferrari teams are also expected for the next race for the IMSA Endurance Cup, set for Sept. 22 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.