A temporary pullover of the Bus Stop curbing at Watkins Glen has shattered qualifying records and reshaped the approach to the chicane before the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
Track‑side crisis forces overnight makeover
During the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race, a curb blob dislodged at Turn 5’s entry. The fragment’s impact on a Turner Motorsports wheel forced race officials to halt the session, repair the surface, and postpone WeatherTech Championship qualifying by two hours and forty minutes. Officials elected to remove the curbs entirely for the upcoming qualifying rounds, leaving a flattened strip that operators painted overnight to preserve driver visibility.
GTD Pro pole‑setter tests the new layout
Jack Hawksworth, driving Vasser Sullivan’s #12 Lexus RC F GT3, earned the GTD Pro pole after enduring a marathon session that saw an eight‑hour pause before the school race window. He described the updated Bus Stop as “wildly different” and noted that the absence of the curb lets GT cars push closer to the guardrail, essentially “straightening” the corner into a point where the BMW‑like chassis can contact the fence line.
Hawksworth added that without the buoyant body of the Aston Martin, the GT car’s entry into the forty‑first‑gear corner at 110 mph becomes a “challenge,” yet he feels the alteration increases speed while still keeping safety in check.
LMP2 drivers spot a tactical edge
Jeremy Clarke of the #43 Inter Europol Compétition ORECA 07 seized LMP2 pole. Clarke said the disappearance of the curb “opens up the line for us,” allowing prototypes to carry more speed through the Bus Stop and creating a previously unavailable overtaking window before the brake zone. He believes the new geometry gives LMP2 teams the ability to choose a more aggressive path, potentially reducing the need for late‑race passes that wait for the carousel exit.
GTP cautious on the flattened chicane
Jack Aitken, steering the Whelen Cadillac #31 to overall pole, expressed restraint over the stripped beds. He warned that the lower‑sided clearance of prototypes means excising the curbing “has the potential to cause catastrophic underside damage.” Aitken anticipated only hesitant cutting, noting that even a small curdle “could sink the car” if bottomed out at 112 mph on the Bus Stop. He added that, while GT cars can now go farther, it’s a “bit awkward” to manage multiclasse traffic but one that the teams have handled before.
Reflection on the event rally around a single fact: the new Bus Stop will dominate strategy for the race day, requiring teams to reassess braking points and overtaking shortfalls. It is the drivers and their machines who will decide how these dramatic changes translate into green‑flag advantage.
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