Brumos comes up short in bid for repeat win at Watkins Glen

#59 Brumos Racing Porsche GT3: Andrew Davis, Leh Keen

Photo by: Adriano Manocchia

Jacksonville, FL: Watkins Glen has long been a sentimental favorite of Brumos Racing, and through the years, the team has always looked forward to making a return visit. This year was no exception, as Brumos marked the anniversary of their first win of 2011 at the Glen. As the weekend progressed, all of the pieces seemed in place for another trip to Victory Lane. The team delivered a good car for Andrew Davis and Leh Keen, who both drove flawless stints, keeping the #59 Brumos Porsche out of trouble and combining to lead the race for 13 laps. The car ended the 6 hour race without mechanical issues and the crew delivered their fastest pit stops ever. However, as Keen led in the closing minutes, it became apparent that the #59 would not make it to the checkered flag without an additional stop for fuel. Forced to pit under green, Keen lost several positions but battled back to close out the race in 6th place, putting Brumos in the top five in team points standings and in the top three for the Endurance championship.

While Keen had hoped for a better finish, he focused on the positives, saying, “We had a good car – we were basically the fastest Porsche in the field all weekend. We had the fastest Porsche in the race and the highest- finishing Porsche, so we are proud of that. We didn’t quite nail it on strategy today and that cost us track position at the end, but all in all, the team did a great job. The pit stops were some of the fastest we have seen, and put us out of the pits ahead of several other teams. It was a struggle just to get into the car and get ready and put it in gear before the guys were finished, they were so fast today! The car was quick throughout the entire race and we led a lot of laps, but this time it just didn’t work out at the end. I think about last year and how well it went for us with the win, and this year it just didn’t, but that’s racing, so we will hope for some better luck at Indy.”

Andrew Davis acknowledged that a six hour race is more about survival than speed, but took the #59 from a starting position of 8th to running up front with the leaders. “The car was solid over the course of the practice days and had good speed,” he noted. “Although we weren’t the quickest car on track, Brumos is one of the strongest teams, so we just kept the car out of trouble, ran our pace, and hoped the race would come to us in the end. We were really in contention, but the way the fuel loads went, things didn’t fall our way. A yellow we needed at the end went green a bit earlier than expected, so it just wasn’t in the cards. Our guys did an awesome job and the pit stops were just phenomenal. We are firing on all cylinders at Brumos Racing – luck just wasn’t on our side this time. We got some good points overall and for the Endurance competition, so we will do some testing to prepare for Indy and then head there for the final NAEC competition. Brumos will be ready to race.”

The 6th place finish at Watkins Glen brought Brumos to 5th place in Team Championship.

Source: Brumos Racing