At the halfway mark of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, Earl Bamber’s #31 Whelen Cadillac still dominates the front of the field on Watkins Glen’s 3.4‑mile, 11‑turn natural‑terrain track.
Halfway Dominance
Bamber, who inherited the pole advantage from teammate Jack Aitken, extends his lead over Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s #93 Kaku Ohta by six seconds. Johnny Edgar holds the top spot in LMP2, while Ben Barnicoat has taken the lead in GTD Pro. Dudu Barrichello remains ahead in the GTD class.
Early Incident Cluster
The race began abruptly when Sheena Monk spun the #16 Ford Mustang GT3 at Turn 6 on the formation lap but recovered without damage. A short run behind the lead saw a false‑start penalty applied to Antonio Fuoco’s #21 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo for mis‑spotted entry. Roughly 14 minutes into the race, a spin by LMP2’s Jon Field in the #37 Comptech caused a caution, followed by a left‑rear hub fault in Graham Doyle’s #45 Lamborghini Huracan that dropped him a lap.
Pit Strategy and Caution Rules
The first caution also opened the door for early pit stops. Aitken’s crew swapped to Frederik Vesti, while Felipe Nasr chose to stay out, briefly taking the lead in the Porsche 963. In GTD, Robert Megennis of Triarsi Competizione temporarily led the class; later, Orey Fidani (#13 Autosport) gained the top spot during a safety‑car pause.
Class Leaders Shift
Another warning in the third quarter rattled the field after a contact between Colin Braun’s #60 Acura ARX‑06 and Roman De Angelis’ #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie. The collision sent Haggi Hedman’s #81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R into the wall, and Nasr entered the pits for fuel, allowing Vesti and Laurens Vanthoor to swap positions. Following a 4:54‑minute rest, Vesti re‑established the top GTP position, while the GTD title changed hands again between Zacharie Robichon and the team’s other entrants.
Aftermath and Next Phase
With four hours and 31 minutes remaining, Bamber, Vesti, and Kaku Ohta vied for control. A full‑course caution during Manthey Racing’s “Grello” incident forced another stop; Bamber reclaimed the #31 Cadillac, and Ohta took the drive‑through from Renger van der Zande. The green‑flag run that followed kept Bamber ahead until 3:42 minutes to go, where Jordan Taylor vaulted into third. Further lap‑thrown from Kaylen Frederick’s hard‑tire loss left the LMP2 field shuffling, with Manuel Espirito Santo staying front‑court.
As Bamber stretched his lead to over 3.6 seconds nearing the midpoint, Espirito Santo maintained a 1.2‑second advantage in LMP, and the battle between Barnicoat and Frederic Vervisch remained tight in GTD Pro. After Bamber’s pit exchange, Edgar would take the LMP2 flag. The race remains poised for a late‑stage recharge, with Bamber’s Cadillac still the class to beat.
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