A sudden downpour with 1h46m left in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen sent several cars flying off track, causing a long yellow flag that turned red as water overwhelmed the track and lightning was reported in the area. The clock is still ticking, and the sun began to show itself with 1h5m remaining.
“You could see nothing, and then you could also see nothing,” laughed Ricky Taylor during the red flag. “It was just so much water, even at 80mph you could start aquaplaning.”
The sudden rain sent several cars off track, and beached several, including the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R and the No. 21 GTD-class AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. The top two LMP2 cars went off, including the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA in the hands of Hunter MNcElrea that slid into the Turn 1 tires.
A more serious accident for Loris Spinelli in the GTD class No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 has ended the race for that team.
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The stoppage saw the two WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06s at the front, the No. 40 leading the No. 10, and the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 in third. The Two Porsche Penske Motorsports 963s found themselves stuck in the crowded pit lane when they pitted for rains, and had to be pushed back and forth to get out. Nick Tandy in the No. 6 963 had been leading when the rain started, with the No. 7 963 in third.
The red flag makes it likely that most cars won’t need fuel to finish the race, but those that changed to rain tires before the red flag will likely need to switch to slicks sooner rather than later.