Watkins Glen Paddock Report

Words: Steve Johnson

This is a first for me, reporting on a race weekend in near-real time. My wife and I are at Watkins Glen International just outside the quaint village of Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes region of New York state for the IMSA race weekend. Of prime interest for fans of Audi motorsports is the Touring Car Racing (TCR) class of the Michelin Pilot Challenge race that will take place tomorrow, Saturday, June 21, 2025. There will be six Audi RS 3 LMS competing in the TCR class.

This morning when we walked through the paddock and saw the three teams preparing their racecars for their second practice session that was set to start just after 10:00 AM. Precision Racing LA have the #7 and #37 cars, Baker Racing have the #52 and #56 cars, and Rockwell Auto Developments/Rumcastle Racing by Speed Syndicate have the #10 and #31 cars. At the end of the 60-minute session Sam Baker in the #52 Audi was second fastest and Celso Neto in the #7 Audi was third fastest. All teams seemed to have a trouble-free practice.

The 15-minute qualifying session for the TCR class began at shortly after 4:00 PM. Again, the numbers 7 and 52 cars ran strong. The numbers 31 and 56 cars also improved their fastest lap times from the morning practice session. As time expired for qualifying, the final results saw the #7 Audi with Celso Neto setting the second fastest time and the #52 Audi with Sam Baker setting the third fastest time. Luke Rumburg put the #31 car in sixth place and Dean Baker was ninth fastest in the #56 car. With four Audis in the top nine grid spots in promises to be an exciting 120-minute race. Tune in to watch the race, streaming on Peacock and on the IMSA YouTube channel, at 11:45 AM Saturday.