An American trilogy – Part 1 - photographing the Sahlen’s Six Hours at Watkins Glen

Report and Images by David Harbey

Watkins Glen International racetrack in New York state is steeped in history. The nearby public roads staged the first Watkins Glen Grand Prix in 1948 before a permanent (now 3.45 mile, 11 turns) track was created in undulating countryside a few miles from the town in 1956. It was the home of the US F1 Grand Prix from 1961 to 1980 and regularly hosted IndyCar and NASCAR races as well as the Six Hours for sportscars.

As a classic American parkland track it has long been on my bucket list. When the chance to watch racing at the Glen AND Road America AND Mid-Ohio on consecutive weekends emerged, air tickets were booked, accommodation purchased, and car hire arranged without delay. More on the latter two to follow. For this weekend, it is Six Hours of IMSA sportscars (prototypes plus GTs) plus a two hour Michelin Pilot Challenge (MPC) race including the KMW Motorsports Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

We purchased weekend tickets plus Premier Infield Parking affording specific parking above Turn 2 and freedom to drive to other areas. We were not, however, allowed to park in the Jack Daniels Club parking area; a polite, but firm, note warned that unless removed the car “would be towed”. The weather was hot and humid in the high 80s, hotter than normal for the time of year we were told. The undulating nature of the track (less obvious on the tv screen) took its toll of our jet-lagged bodies as we walked around 12 miles over the three days. You can get a sense of the track from this graphic.

This simplified track map shows the comer numbers / names.

Friday was practice and MPC qualifying so we arrived early in the afternoon to get a sense of the place. What was immediately apparent was the distinctive light blue armco around the track and, in some locations, high (even higher than Silverstone !) fencing primarily, it seems, to keep contain bits of wayward NASCARs.

The inside of Turn 1 and 2 however had merely a waist high fence; hurrah ! One thing to bear in mind though is, a little like Sebring, that at some locations there is armco between the fence and the track leading to some novel shots. A small step would solve this, but we saw few people with them; indeed, there seemed to be relatively few spectator photographers at what is, overall, a rather photogenic venue.

IMSA practice was followed by the first of two races for the new Mustang. Having seen both GT3 and GT4 versions racing, I was keen to see (and hear) them race. Prepare for disappointment. It seems that one-make racing series and safety cars go hand in hand – they weren’t the only culprits either over the weekend – step forward Porsches and Lamborghinis.

I am intrigued – racers pay a lot of money to take part in these series and so often seem to want to win the race on the first lap; still, they get to walk round in race suits all day – bitter, moi ? No, just frustrated that we, the paying spectator, get poor value for our hard earned sometimes. To add some science, there was just 48% green flag running in the six one make series races vs 52% yellow flag running … So, here’s some shots at the Inner Loop  - under Safety Car.

The Michelin Pilot Challenge has classes for GT4 and TCR cars. With a mix of Pros and Ams, the racing is typically close and feisty. Like IMSA, the races are streamed on the IMSA website / app with no adverts and Radio Le Mans commentators. As a proud owner of a Giulietta, there is only one team to support – the KMW Motorsports run TCR spec car in evocative black and gold, which happens to be designed by ex-pat Brit, and creator of many a fine motorsport livery, Andy Blackmore.

I have written articles for the Alfa Romeo Owners Club magazine featuring the KMW Giulietta before and will do so again from this race. Hopes were high for the Alfa; they had won this race in 2023 and finished 2^nd last time out at Mid-Ohio. Will Tally is new to the team this year, having raced a Honda previously and qualified 9^th. With the likelihood of safety car periods, the team needs to keep a keen eye on strategy – staying on the lead lap and making the required pit stop to change to Tim Lewis at the optimal moment.

Saturday dawned bright and promised yet more sunshine. We found a cool spot under the trees at Pit Lane In for IMSA practice. As a self-avowed fan of blurry wheels, I started at 1/200^th second shutter speed and went slower, much slower. There’s many less keepers and the resulting shots are somewhat marmite … you love it or hate it !

Prior to lunch the Porsche Carrera Cup had their second race – you can guess what happened. We were trying out the Sir Jackie Steward Grandstand; it’s huge with no shade but affords a great view of the run from Turn 9, though 10 and into the final corner Turn 11. It would be great to see battling Porsches through … oh, wait, a huge crash at Turn 1, Lap 1 meant half the race ran under safety car. Fortunately, the only damage was limited to cars and bank balances. Here’s the Porsches – under Safety Car …

A great feature of IMSA races is the pitlane or grid walk. For the MPC race 40 minutes were allocated to allow the public to see the cars and drivers up close and personal. I got the chance to say hello to KMW team manager Louis Milone again (and get the promise of a 2024 team hat !) whilst Will Tally happily posed for this snapper.

For the start, I was shooting as the field exited the final turn for the blast down to Turn 1, but where was the Alfa ? There had been a coming together with a Honda on the parade lap and an immediate return to paddock was required to sort out the rear left suspension. The good news was that if a repair could be made, the car could get out and try to get at least some points for the championship challenge even if a repeat of the 2023 win at the Glen was not going to happen.

Louis Milone led the charge to replace the rear suspension getting his hands dirty while Will Tally and Tim Lewis looked on. They re-joined the race a dozen laps down, but Lewis was setting excellent lap times and apparently preferred the slightly re-aligned rear suspension ! They are seen here charging up from Turn 2 to the Turn 3 Esses and up to Turn 9.

Our exploration of the Glen continued on the inside of Turn 9; yes, another spot where a step would have been useful.

We finished the day back at Turn 11.

Sunday morning promised slightly cooler temperature and a possible shower or two during the afternoon. First though, the pit lane walk which was a rather busier affair than for the MPC the day before. The extremely large pit straight grandstand can be seen dominating the skyline !

A return to Pit In for the start allowed for some more panning.

It was then time to head to the Boot – the name given for obvious reasons for the section from Turn 6 to Turn 9 which NASCAR does not use. These shots are of the run from the Heel of the Boot at Turn 8.

There’s a shot from above from Turn 7 to Turn 8, again a step would be useful to clear the armco. As we reached the Toe of the Boot, the promised drizzle started, and the wind increased speed markedly. There’s a good shot of the cars exiting the Toe but the cloudy sky and angle of the windscreens white’s out, especially on the Lamborghini.

There is a tunnel that took us through to the inside of the corner at the Toe where various angles are possible.

Returning towards the Heel, there is a good shot of the cars coming though Turn 8. So far so good, then the heavens really did open, and it fair lashed it down – at least it was warmish rain. This was so heavy that the track was flooded in parts and the red flag was shown to stop the race.

We sheltered in the tunnel under the track between Turn 8 and 9  before working our way back to the paddock to see what would ensue. We checked out the pit terrace grandstand, but this seemed to give little or no view of the track of pitlane – it may be that the configuration of pitlane is different for NASCAR to IMSA. As the re-start was being announced, we were making our way back to Turn 2 and the car. This allowed for us to finish the weekend where we had begun at Turn 1. The sun even deigned to join us for a while

As I write this, a couple of days after the race, the weather has returned to warm rather than baking late June temperatures. Would I come back ? Yes, there’s enough places to shoot from clear of the fencing and having a small step would be a definite advantage to get a clean shot of the cars in other locations. Kit wise, I used the 70-200mm zoom most of the time with occasional use of a teleconverter to give me a little more reach. The MPC pit lane walk saw a rare outing for my 28-70mm zoom.

Next stop – Wisconsin – for the TransAm race weekend at Road America aka Elkhart Lake …