TATIANA SURGES TO BEST IMSA FINISH IN WILD WATKINS GLEN RACE

Tatiana Calderón took her best-ever IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup finish as she and her Gradient Racing team scored big points in a wild Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen.

Sharing the No. 66 Ford Mustang GT3 with her regular co-drivers Till Bechtolsheimer and Joey Hand, Tatiana finished sixth in the GT Daytona (GTD) class in an incident-packed race marked by changing weather conditions and multiple full-course yellows.

It marks the Colombian’s first top-10 finish in IMSA competition as well as by far Gradient’s best result so far in its first season using Ford machinery.

Bechtolsheimer took the start of the race from 17th on the grid after a tough qualifying session, but some strong early pace and a rapid first pit stop put the Gradient Mustang inside the top 10, with a sudden rain shower in the first hour quickly drying out.

Around one hour, 35 minutes into the race, it was Tatiana’s turn to climb aboard the cockpit. She completed a total of 64 laps across three stints at a consistent pace, despite losing time during her second pit stop with a nose change, before handing the baton to Hand for the closing two hours of the race.

The pace steadily increased as the race approached its closing stages, with the final full-course yellow of the race being called with just 11 minutes left on the clock. Hand took the final restart in ninth and was able to capitalize on issues for cars ahead – including the GTD class-leading Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus – meaning Hand took the checkered flag in sixth place.

After a tough start to the weekend, the result comes as a major morale boost to the entire Gradient team, while Tatiana can also look back with satisfaction on a strong weekend that demonstrated the progression she has made at the wheel of the Mustang.

Tatiana Calderón: “It was a difficult race that had just about everything – first rain, then a lot of heat and sun, and so many yellow flags. It was a case of surviving, and finishing P6 is like a victory for us, to be honest. At the beginning of the weekend we were struggling to find pace during practice, but we managed to turn it around in time for the race and we were much closer. We should be proud that we made no mistakes, and that the team did a great job with the strategy and the pit stops. Personally I was happy to get more time in the car, because every time I am driving I feel I am adapting better to the Mustang and getting quicker. We are happy with the result but equally we know there’s also a lot of work still to be done to prepare for the final two rounds at Indianapolis and Road Atlanta.”

The penultimate round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup season will take place at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 21.