CORE autosport Wraps Up Successful Watkins Glen Test

A number of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams have utilized the nearly one-month break between Circuit of The Americas and next week’s Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix as an opportunity to make final preparations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But even those IMSA teams not fielding cars in the 24-hour endurance classic have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming slate of WeatherTech Championship races, including the next round of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.

One of those teams is CORE autosport, who recently tested at Watkins Glen International in preparation for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on July 2.

CORE autosport knows a thing or two about what it takes to win Patrón Endurance Cup races, scoring wins in the Rolex 24 At Daytona (2014), Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida (2014, 2016) and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen (2014). The team also won the Patrón Endurance Cup title in 2014.

But that success all came in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class, where the team was a stalwart dating back to the American Le Mans Series, winning five consecutive class championships between 2011-2015. This season, however, CORE autosport made the move to the GT Daytona (GTD) class with its new No. 54 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

While much of the early part of the season has seen the team getting acclimated to the new car, the test at Watkins Glen represented a chance to turn more laps outside of a race weekend.

“The test was a great opportunity to get our Porsche 911 GT3 R on track at Watkins Glen for the first time ever,” said Colin Braun, who has been with CORE since 2012. “We had great weather both days and [co-driver] Jon (Bennett) and I were able to turn a ton of laps.”

Among those also testing at Watkins Glen were GT Le Mans (GTLM) teams Porsche GT Team and BMW Team RLL, the GTD points-leading No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG Mercedes AMG GT3 and the No. 43 Keating Motorsports Multimatic-Riley LM P2 car to be shared at Le Mans by WeatherTech Championship regulars Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Ricky Taylor.

For CORE autosport, the test at Watkins Glen was about focusing on the second half of the WeatherTech Championship season and positioning itself for a strong finish to its debut season in the GTD class.

“The Six Hours of The Glen really kicks off the second half of the IMSA season,” added Braun. “We want to make sure we arrive with a strong setup so we can hopefully get a good finish and create some positive momentum going into that second half.”

Before they head to Watkins Glen, CORE autosport competes in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic on Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Mich. on June 3. The race can be seen live on FS2 beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET.