No. 14 Dallara, No. 84 Porsche with Podium at Watkins Glen
Saturday’s Round 6 of the 2022 VSCA SportsCar Championship took place at Watkins Glen and offered a thriller of a race with Fischer Motorsport storming to two podium finishes.
Niclas Pedersen and Jason Birnie piloted the No. 14 Dallara P217 Prototype to a third-place finish, after struggling and temporarily falling back one lap earlier in the race.
On top of that, Pedersen battled a severe case of the flu that caused him to lose lots of fluids. Still, the Danish driver finished his stints without issue and together with Birnie put together the strongest race for the P2 Prototype team yet this season.
The team started from tenth place on the grid after Pedersen posted a lap time of 1:32.175 in VSCA GRID Pole Qualifying.
The early stages of the race saw Pedersen pick up several positions and by lap 16 the No. 14 Dallara was running in sixth position.
On lap 86 Jason Birnie was running in third position with pressure from two other P2 Prototype opponents directly behind and lost control on the exit of turn nine, resulting in a spin with contact to the barriers.
 |
|
© 2022 VSCAracing.com / Benjamin Fischer
The No. 85 Porsche suffered a DNF at Watkins Glen after Nelson Eberth lost control and crashed at the outer loop corner
|
The San José, California native had to bring in the car for repairs. Through an incredible job by the pit box crew, the team was able to continue just a few minutes later, now running one lap down. But through another caution period later in the race, the team got back to the lead lap.
On lap 122 Birnie came in for the final driver swap pit stop of the day and Pedersen took over the steering wheel again. Through a smart strategy, the Aarhus, Denmark native rallied all the way up to second position by lap 153 and the team was starting to think, if fighting for the win may be possible.
The No. 14 Dallara team lost one position during the final pit stop for fuel on lap 170, just about a half hour before the finish and then had to settle for third.
“I’m feeling absolutely dreadful. I really need to get some rest now. But getting this finish is fantastic for us. I’m very happy about it. It was a tough race. I can’t really say much more. I’m just glad it’s over.”, an exhausted and visibly ill Niclas Pedersen said after the race.
The No. 84 Porsche with Manuel Mayer and Jay Van Meppelen rounded out the good day for Fischer Motorsport, with taking third place in the GT3 class.
Mayer started the race and was able to gain a few positions, as the Porsche 911 GT3 R showed very good pace, but the team dropped back during pit stops under the first caution on lap 24.
But Mayer, continuing a strong race, was able to make up the lost ground and then some, before handing over the car to team-mate Jay Van Meppelen for the two stints in the middle of the six-hour race.
Van Meppelen put together a flawless and very consistent double stint, taking the lead before the pit stop on lap 122 when the Canadian got out of the car to see Mayer climb back behind the steering wheel for the rest of the race.
Mayer was not quite able to hold the lead at the end of the race as championship leaders No. 6 Porsche of Torque Freak Racing passed Mayer for first place on lap 156, with just about a half hour remaining in the race.
Six laps later, the Teisendorf, Germany native had to surrender one more position to the No. 67 Porsche of Kinetic Racing.
But even though the race did not yield a win, it was a breakthrough performance for the No. 84 Porsche team in a season that proved to be very difficult so far. Marking the first podium finish in VSCA, the third place felt very good for the entire team.
 |
|
© 2022 VSCAracing.com / Benjamin Fischer
Manuel Mayer and Jay Van Meppelen earned the No. 84 Porsche team's season-best result at Watkins Glen - a third place on the podium
|
“It means so much to all of us, especially Jay and me. We were working really hard to improve. It’s great to finally see the results come through. Jay has done a phenomenal job today. Everybody on the team has been sharp and on point. I’m very happy with our run today.”, Mayer said.
The sister car No. 85 Porsche 911 GT3 R with drivers Stephen Nobes, Nelson Eberth and David Leman crashed early in the race and did not finish the event, after Eberth lost control in the outer loop corner and suffered a hard impact into the Armco guardrail, completely destroying the car.
The Surheim, Germany native said: “I’m super disappointed, obviously. I really came here fully motivated and hoping to put together a good run for the team. “
“I had some oversteer in the outer loop corner and overcorrected and then it all happened so quickly and I was in the barrier. I’m super sorry for the entire team. This is not how I wanted this race to go, obviously.”, Eberth continued.
The retirement of the team on lap 50 also meant that new team driver David Leman never got to make his debut for the team.
In the VSCA SportsCar Championship, the No. 14 Dallara P217 team now moves up four spots into seventh place, 350 points behind the P2 championship leaders.
In GT3, the No. 84 Porsche team is in fourth, 440 points behind three-time race winners Torque Freak Racing and the No. 6 Porsche team. With three races remaining it will be difficult to play a role in the championship fight, but a third-place season result is still very much possible.
The No. 85 Porsche sits in 23rd place in the official championship standings, losing seven spots after the DNF at Watkins Glen.
Related Links