The 2022 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen was a sports car race held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on June 26, 2022. It was the seventh round of the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the third round of the 2022 Michelin Endurance Cup.[1][2] The No. 10 WTR - Konica Minolta Acura piloted by Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque took the victory in DPi.[3] In LMP2, the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports No. 52 piloted by Ben Keating, Scott Huffaker, and Mikkel Jensen took the victory, while the No. 74 Riley Motorsports entry driven by Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga, and Kay van Berlo took the victory in LMP3.[4] In GTD Pro, the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 piloted by Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas claimed victory after the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3 were penalized post-race. In GTD, the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 took the victory with Maxime Martin and Ian James.[5]
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021.[6] It was the eighth year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2022 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen was the seventh of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2022 by IMSA , and it was the third of four rounds held as part of the Michelin Endurance Cup (MEC).[7] The race was held at the eleven-turn 3.450 mi (5.552 km) Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on June 26, 2022.[8]
On June 16, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event. In DPi, the Acura ARX-05 received a 10 kilogram weight increase while the Cadillac DPi-V.R received a 15 kilogram weight break. In GTD Pro and GTD, the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 received a 10 kilogram weight increase and a fuel capacity increase of 3 liters. The Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 got a fuel capacity increase of 1 liter while the McLaren 720S GT3 got a fuel capacity reduction of 2 liters.[9]
Before the race, Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Jarvis led the DPi Drivers' Championship with 2027 points, 10 ahead of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor.[10] With 972 points, Juan Pablo Montoya and Henrik Hedman led the LMP2 Drivers' Championship by 9 points over Ryan Dalziel and Dwight Merriman followed by Steven Thomas and Jonathan Bomarito with 950 points in third.[10] In LMP3, Garett Grist and Ari Balogh led the Drivers' Championship with 688 points, 27 points clear of Jon Bennett and Colin Braun.[10] With 1345 points, GTD Pro was led by Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet with a 50 point advantage over Antonio García and Jordan Taylor.[10] In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Stevan McAleer with 1520 points; 34 points ahead of Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen.[10] Cadillac, Porsche, and BMW were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Meyer Shank Racing, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, Jr III Motorsports, Pfaff Motorsports, and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports each led their own Teams' Championships.[10]
A total of 48 cars took part in the event, split across five classes. 7 were entered in DPi, 7 in LMP2, 11 in LMP3, 7 in GT Daytona Pro, and 17 in GTD.[11][12] DPi featured the expected addition of the Ally Cadillac Racing No. 48 alongside the six full-season entries in the class. In LMP2, United Autosports were absent due to Jim McGuire having a medical procedure.[13] Sebastián Montoya joined Juan Pablo Montoya, and Hendrick Hedman in the DragonSpeed entry.[14] Racing Team Nederland returned as part of their Endurance Cup campaign. In LMP3, Kyle Marceli replaced Kuno Wittmer in the AWA entry.[15] Nolan Siegel joined Ari Balogh, and Garett Grist in the Jr III Motorsports entry.[16] In GTD Pro, Risi Competizione returned as part of their Endurance Cup campaign.[17] Kyle Kirkwood subbed Jack Hawksworth who was injured, in the Vasser Sullivan Racing No. 14.[18] In GTD, AF Corse, Cetilar Racing, Gradient Racing, Crucial Motorsports, Inception Racing, Team Hardpoint, Magnus Racing, and NTE Sport returned.[19] Winward Racing withdrew its No. 56 entry after the cars steer-by-wire technology did not meet unanimous approval by multiple manufactures competing despite IMSA approving the entry.[20]
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday; one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session on Friday afternoon ran for 90 minutes while the second session on Saturday morning lasted 105 minutes.[21]
Saturday's afternoon qualifying was broken into three sessions, with one session for the DPi and LMP2, LMP3, GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes each, and a ten minute interval between the sessions.[21] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (LMP2/LMP3/GTD) classes requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put DPis ahead of the LMP2, LMP3, GTD Pro, and GTD cars.[22]
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor retook the lead of the DPi Drivers' Championship while Blomqvist and Jarvis dropped from first to second.[25] The final results of LMP2 meant Farano took the lead of the Drivers' Championship while Hedman and Montoya dropped from first to second. Dalziel and Merriman dropped from second to fourth.[25] The final results of LMP3 meant Bennett and Braun took the lead of theDrivers' Championship while Grist and Balogh dropped from first to second. Robinson and Fraga advanced from sixth to third while Barbosa and Wilsey dropped from third to fourth.[25] The final results of GTD Pro meant Campbell and Jaminet further increased their gap to 98 points as Ben Barnicoat took over second position.[25] The result kept McAleer atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 1765 points, 5 points ahead of Hardwick and Heylen.[25] Porsche and BMW continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Acura took the lead of the DPi Manufactures' Championship.[25] PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports, Pfaff Motorsports, and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships. Wayne Taylor Racing and CORE Autosport became the leaders of their respective class Teams' Championships with five rounds remaining.[25]
Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.