The No. 60 MSR Acura driven by Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun claimed victory at the 2025 IMSA Watkins Glen 6 Hours on the thinnest margin of fuel and battery power.
The race held at the iconic Watkins Glen International featured ten full-course cautions and a constantly shifting leaderboard that kept teams and fans on edge throughout the six-hour marathon.
The build-up to the race was already charged with anticipation as Renger van der Zande shattered the GTP track record in qualifying, securing pole position for the No. 93 MSR Acura ARX-06 with a blistering lap of 1:31.558 seconds.
As the race went green, van der Zande led the 55-car field through the opening laps but the order was quickly jumbled by a remarkable charge from Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963.
Starting from tenth Nasr surged forward to seize the lead by Lap 4, overtaking both Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R and van der Zande with a bold move around the outside of Turn 9.
The early stages of the race were defined by rapidly changing weather as a sudden downpour half an hour in forced teams onto wet tyres and triggered the first of many full-course cautions.
The first three hours saw six full-course cautions, each one reshuffling the order and compressing the field, keeping the outcome wide open as the race entered its second half.
Despite the disruptions, the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 driven by Matt Campbell emerged as the leader at the halfway mark, navigating the chaos with poise and benefiting from well-timed pit stops and clean driving.
MSR’s No. 93 and No. 60 Acuras remained in contention throughout the opening stints, with van der Zande, Nick Yelloly, Kaku Ohta, Colin Braun, and Tom Blomqvist all taking turns behind the wheel and executing their stints with precision.
The Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillacs particularly the No. 40 of Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz and the No. 10 of Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque also emerged as key contenders, each navigating the chaos with measured aggression and strategic pit work.
However, the final hour of the race brought the tension to a fever pitch. With the sun now blazing over the circuit and the track drying teams faced the critical decision of whether to risk running to the finish without a final splash of fuel or to pit and surrender track position.
The decisive moment came with just ten minutes remaining when a left-rear suspension failure on the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette triggered the tenth and final full-course yellow.
With the pit lane closed and the leading GTP cars already on the edge of their fuel and hybrid battery limits, the stage was set for a dramatic sprint to the checkered flag.
When the race resumed with just three minutes left, Earl Bamber led the field in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R but his hopes were dashed as the car ran out of energy before the white flag, forcing a late pit stop and handing the advantage to Blomqvist in the No. 60 Acura.
Tom Blomqvist having expertly managed his hybrid battery and fuel consumption, surged into the lead and held off a late charge from the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac.
The No. 60 MSR Acura ARX-06 crossed the line with less than one percent battery remaining to win the 2025 IMSA Watkins Glen 6 Hours, delivering a much-needed boost to Meyer Shank Racing after enduring a challenging season so far.
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The Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillacs finished second and third, with the No. 40 of Jordan Taylor and Louis Deletraz achieving a season-best result and the No. 10 of Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque securing their second consecutive podium.
The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 which had led at the halfway point ultimately finished fourth but took over the lead in the Grand Touring Prototype championship by 12 points over the No. 7 Porsche 963 which suffered a crash.
Nick Yelloly and van der Zande finished sixth in the No. 93 Acura while the Lamborghini SC63 had its best-ever race with Romain Grosjean and Daniil Kvyat finishing seventh after leading the majority of the second hour.
Philip Eng brought the No. 24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 home in eighth ahead of the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Valkyrie after running in the top-five in the closing half-hour. Tijmen van der Helm rounded out the top ten in the No. 85 JDC Miller Porsche.
