DSC’s Daily Notebook (26/06/2023)
Ford SuperVan stars, Shute wins at Pikes Peak
Robin Shute claimed his fourth ‘King of the Mountain’ title at Pikes Peak over the weekend, in his Unlimited class Honda-powered 2018 Wolf TSC-FS. The Briton set a 8:40.080 time up the 12.42-mile mountain to top the overall times.
Shute’s nearest challenger was all-time record holder (7:57.148 from 2018) Romain Dumas, who managed to set an astonishing 8:47.682 in the all-electric Ford Performance SuperVan 4 (featured) to go second and win the Open class.
Third overall was another significant runner, a 2018 Alpine A110 GT4 Evo with Raphael Astier at the wheel, who set a 9:17.412.
In the Time Attack 1 category David Donohue took the honours with his Brumos Porsche GT2 RS Clubsport with a 9:18.053, and ended up fourth overall.
Further down the order, there was a significant moment for the Block family, as the final runner of the event was Lia Block, who completed an untimed run in tribute to her late father Ken Block driving the twin-turbo, 1,400hp Porsche “Hoonipigasus”.
Prototype Cup wins for MRS GT-Racing and DataLab
The Prototype Cup Germany series headed to the Netherlands over the weekend for races at Zandvoort Park.
The first race was won by Jan Marschalkowski and Jasper Stiksma from MRS GT-Racing, after the DataLab Duqueine of Oscar Tunjo crashed out from the lead early in the race causing a red flag. When the race restarted the MRS Ligier took the lead after a second safety car period and round of stops nine laps into the sprint after Freddie Hunt’s Reiter Engineering P3 rolled.
“I lost ground at the start, which I was then able to regain. We then came in for a relatively late driver changeover, and Jasper did an outstanding job after that. He had hardly done any laps in an LMP3 car before today, but he held onto first place without any problem. That was really good.” Prototype Cup debutant Stiksma said.
“Apart from a 90-minute test and a few laps yesterday in the free practice sessions, I have hardly any LMP3 experience – and now I am on the top step of the podium. My goal for this race was to keep the car in one piece and just gain some experience. I would even have been pleased with a place in the top ten.”
In Race 2, it was a maiden win for Xavier Lloveras and Gabriela Jílková in their van ommen racing by DataLab D08. It was a strong performance from pole from the pair, who claimed the win despite being handed a five-second penalty for a jump start and a run through the gravel.
Lloveras led the entire first stint and handed over to Jílková at the round of stops, the Czech racer emegering in the lead and pulling away in the run to the flag, the Duqueine driven by Robin Rogalski and Valentino Catalano was unable to keep up and challenge.
“I knew that they were going to add an extra five seconds to the end result, because of the false start, so it was clear to me that I had to give it everything. We had a chance of winning and I wanted to do everything I could to make it happen,” said Jílková.
In the end, she increased the lead from 5.2 seconds to 16 seconds, meaning it was a comfortable win even with the time penalty applied.
Next up on the calendar are a pair of races at the Norisring on July 7-9 in support of DTM.
Watkins Glen double win “the greatest” in VS Lexus programme history
Jack Hawksworth believes the Vasser Sullivan double win at Watkins Glen over the weekend was the greatest in the programme’s history. In the six-hour race, the team won both the GTD and GTD Pro categories, scoring the team’s 12th and 13th IMSA class wins and the team’s first victories at The Glen.
“This is an unbelievable day,” said Hawksworth, who along with Ben Barnicoat won GTD Pro in the #14 and admitted that the team had to overcome a pit speed-limiter issue en route to victory. “To win both GT categories is unreal. I’ve been with this programme a long time, and this is by far the greatest day in the program’s history. A double win for Vasser Sullivan and everyone at Lexus. The team was on absolute fire all day. It was an amazing job by the guys on the No. 12 car, and on our side, we had an amazing race.
“We had great strategy calls, pit stops, and Ben (Barnicoat) was absolutely amazing. I don’t know what happened on that final stop. Something happened with the pit lane control. We’re not sure what happened and need to investigate what went wrong. There was no pit lane control as soon as I left the box, and I went over the speed limit. I got the speeding penalty and then came out in second. At that point, I just couldn’t believe it might slip through our hands, but I managed to get a move around the Corvette to win. It’s amazing to get such a good points day.
“What an amazing day!”
BMW’s overall victory, which it inherited after the #6 Porsche failed post-race tech, was also significant. It is the first win for the German manufacturer in the modern GTP era, meaning all four marques participating in the new category have now claimed wins, just five races into the season.
Sahlen extends WGI partnership
Watkins Glen International and Sahlen Packing Company announced ahead of the IMSA race last weekend that they have extended their longstanding partnership, which will extend to 25 years.
Sahlen’s, known for Hot Dogs, is a 150-year-old family-owned company that has invested heavily in the IMSA races at The Glen over the past two decades.
“We are thrilled to announce this long-term extension with the Sahlen Packing Company, and the Sahlen family as their values and goals strongly align with the IMSA event weekend, and Watkins Glen International,” said Rob Roessel, Director of Corporate Sales, Watkins Glen International.
“The Sahlen family’s passion and enthusiasm for sports car racing and Watkins Glen is unparalleled. We thank them for their contributions over the past twenty years, and we look forward to the future.”
Images courtesy of Ford, IMSA and Prototype Cup
The post DSC’s Daily Notebook (26/06/2023) first appeared on dailysportscar.com.