Time sheets between Practice 1 and 2 at Watkins Glen International may not tell the full story for Porsche Carrera Cup North America, as the sessions were split between dry and damp conditions.
Overall, Janne Stiak (ACI Motorsports) was the quickest Porsche 911 Cup (Type 992.2) with Pirelli P Zero DHG tires around the track on Thursday in the Mobil Pro class. In his first outing at The Glen, the German driver’s time of 1:48.038 was thinner than a piece of paper over Jared Thomas (JTR Motorsports Engineering), just .001 seconds behind.
The top five were separated by only .041 of a second – equivalent to just over the width of a Porsche 911 Cup car.
Championship leader Tyler Maxson (TOPP Racing) was third fastest in the morning, but first in the wet afternoon session. Maxson is chased by Aaron Jeannsone (Kellymoss) and Callum Hedge (JDX Racing) for the title at The Glen, which marks the halfway point of the season.
“Through my go-karting career and junior career, we always raced during the winter,” said Hedge who hails from New Zealand. “So pretty much every time we went to the racetrack, it would rain… I’m really grateful to have that experience because it was cool today to go out there and I was really looking forward to driving this track in the rain.
“You can be really creative with where you go on the track and there’s a lot of different ways the car and the track can work. I had a blast.”
In the Solairus Aviation Pro-Am Class, Patrick Mulcahy (ACI Motorsports) remains dominant by posting the top time of 1:50.028. Mulcahy is the championship leader following five wins in as many races, and Josh Conley (Kellymoss) chases him in second this weekend at the 3.4-mile circuit.
Rob Walker (JTR Motorsports Engineering) is inching closer to the Solairus Aviation Masters Class title lead by running quickest on Friday morning at 1:49.055. The veteran landed on the podium at Watkins Glen last year, and sits third in the championship behind leader Marco Cirone (ACI Motorsports) and Scott Blind (Ruckus Racing).
“Mostly, I was working on the bus stop and trying to get comfortable,” said Walker. “But I found some pace in the Esses, actually. I’m just trying to get reacquainted with the track, even though we tested here a couple of weeks ago. I love this place, so I’m going out there to try and have fun.”
Blind ran the third fastest time of the day behind John Goetz (Kellymoss).
The Watkins Glen weekend for Carrera Cup continues Friday with qualifying at 8:30am ET, followed by Race 1 later in the day at 3pm Race 2 concludes the weekend on Saturday at 9:05am.
All Porsche Carrera Cup North America races stream live – and are available to watch anytime – on the Porsche Motorsport North America YouTube channel. Stay up-to-date on all the latest news by following Porsche Motorsport North America on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and Twitter, and by subscribing to the newsletter.
RESULTS.
Practice 1
Mobil Pro Class:
- Janne Stiak, #40
- Jared Thomas, #96
- Tyler Maxson, #77
Solairus Aviation Pro-Am Class:
- Patrick Mulcahy, #54
- Josh Conley, #29
Solairus Aviation Masters Class:
- Rob Walker, #53
- John Goetz, #57
- Scott Blind, #45
Practice 2
Mobil Pro Class:
- Tyler Maxson, #77
- Callum Hedge, #9
- Nikita Lastochkin, #3
Solairus Aviation Pro-Am Class:
- Patrick Mulcahy, #54
- Josh Conley, #29
Solairus Aviation Masters Class:
- Alain Scalzo, #26
- Richard Edge, #18
- Scott Blind, #45
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