SAMAX - Watkins Glen race

The No. 17 SAMAX/ Doncaster Racing Porsche survived a cold, wet Rolex Sports
Car Series race at Watkins Glen International on June 3 to finish 10th in
the GT class. Mother Nature and racing luck both played roles in the team's
result.

 

Greg Wilkins drove the first stint of the six-hour race, moving from fourth
to third in class at the green flag. He settled back to fifth before handing
off to Dave Lacey just before the end of the first hour. The team lost a lap
during a subsequent caution period because of the car's position relative to
the safety car, but Lacey held sixth in GT. Mark Wilkins took the wheel
after 2.5 hours, racing on rain tires. He encountered problems as the track
dried and the tires blistered, forcing an early pitstop to switch to dry
tires and dropping him to 10th. Lacey drove the final 55 minutes of the
race, maintaining a strong pace to finish 10th.

 

race report

 

time           driver                        action

 

start            G Wilkins

56m            Lacey in                     pit – driver change, rain tires,
fuel

1h36           Lacey                        lost lap during caution

1h39           Lacey                        pit – fuel

2h02           Lacey                        drive-through penalty for
contact

2h33           M Wilkins in               pit – driver change, rain tires,
fuel

3h31           M Wilkins                   pit – right rear rain tire , fuel

4h01           M Wilkins                   pit – dry tires, fuel

5h05           Lacey in                     pit – driver change, dry tires,
fuel

 

Dave Lacey:  "We probably had a better wet-weather car today than we had a
dry-weather car. It was one of those days where it was just in-between, it
was a crapshoot. My first stint was great! I like driving in the wet with
the slicks on; I think Canadians are particularly good at that. We were top
three in terms of times. I think the best we would have had was maybe sixth,
but we're back in 10th. That's fine, after six hours, the car's in one piece
... but I just wish it had rained more."

 

Mark Wilkins:  "That was one of the most eventful races I've ever had. We
had a tire blister issue – I'm learning, so I didn't know right off the shot
what the issue was. It felt like there was rear-wheel steering because there
was so much side-to-side movement. It was a big learning experience for me
this weekend, so it was nice they gave me all that time in the car to figure
it out, and we got going pretty quick at the end. But it was a good race
overall. It's always successful when you bring it home in one piece."