Watkins Glen International once again proved itself a cathedral of endurance racing, hosting Round 8 of the 2025 VSCA SportsCar Championship on Saturday. The 3.40-mile, 11-turn circuit in upstate New York played host to the third round of the VSCA Endurance Cup, where a clean, calculated, and commanding performance by Off in the Esses Racing earned them a crucial win in GT AM class.
Canadian duo Patrick Boilard and William Keim piloted the #83 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO to victory, leading a disciplined and tactically sharp campaign across the six-hour affair. Boilard had already set the tone in qualifying, securing pole position with a blistering 1:43.819. Despite minor setbacks in traffic, the team never relinquished control for long and navigated the only full-course yellow with precision. Their winning margin of 19.673 seconds underscored a largely dominant run.
Their triumph not only vaults them back atop the GT AM championship standings with 2,326 points but also solidifies their lead in the Endurance Cup, where they now hold an eight-point advantage.
Mustang Charges but Falls Short
Vulture Motorsports impressed yet again with both of their Ford Mustang GT3 entries finishing in the top ten. The #64 car of Thomas E. Fisher and Gary Brown delivered a particularly noteworthy performance. After starting ninth and suffering a costly early-race incident when Brown collided with another GT PRO competitor in Turn 1, the car was handed a 30-second post-race penalty. Despite that, the duo stormed through the field, gaining seven positions to finish second overall.
Though frustrated by the early incident and its psychological toll, Brown managed to stabilize and contribute to one of the fastest average lap times of the race. Their second-place finish, even after the penalty, keeps them just 65 points behind the championship leaders and secures second place in the Endurance Cup standings heading into the summer break.
Their sister car, the #65 Vulture Motorspots Ford Mustang driven by Shreyas Venkataraju and series newcomer Patrick Reed, rounded out the top ten, finishing P10 after being caught in an unavoidable collision mid-race.
Wastegate’s Worn Tires Cost Them
For Wastegate Racing, the Six Hours of the Glen offered both promise and heartbreak. Drivers Will Robertson and Tamer Elbaga showed podium pace throughout, with the #34 Corvette Z06 GT3.R climbing to the front by mid-race. However, tire wear caught the team off guard in the closing stages. A spin in Turn 9 and minor damage forced them into a revised pit strategy.
Opting for an additional fuel stop and tire management, the team managed to hang on for a bittersweet third-place finish. The podium marks a solid points haul, but given their late-race lead and pace advantage earlier in the event, the result came with a sense of what could have been.
Mid-Pack Mayhem and Race Control Activity
Despite just one full-course yellow —lasting 27 minutes — there was no shortage of incidents requiring Race Control review. The opening hour was especially chaotic. Christopher Limprecht in the #515 Porsche served a drive-through penalty for forcing a three-wide into Turn 1 at the green flag. He later lost control in Turn 1, triggering a chain-reaction collision with a GT PRO entry right behind, though no further penalties were issued.
The #64 Mustang’s early collision, which resulted in car #554 spinning into the wall, was among several on-track tangles. Notably, the #33 Wastegate Racing Chevrolet Corvette suffered a heavy hit from an LMP2 entry attempting a low-percentage move into Turn 5, and the #29 Acura received a warning for squeezing another car off track at Turn 11. A late incident involving the #312, #74, and #94—after a self-spin in Turn 9—created confusion, but Race Control ruled no action was necessary.
Despite the on-track drama, the field managed to stay very competitive overall, with most of the GT AM competitors finishing on the lead lap.
Strong Performances Across the Top Ten
The top ten featured a variety of teams showcasing depth and resilience across the GT AM field. Behind the podium, Team Vortex’s #29 Acura NSX GT3 finished fourth with veteran duo John T. Jones and Daniel Avery overcoming a mid-race warning to stay competitive.
Fifth went to the #515 Wolf Motorsport Simracing Porsche of Limprecht and Timo Fugel, who recovered strongly despite their early penalty. Sixth-place honors were taken by Real Pixel Motorsport’s #312 Acura, driven by Wolfgang Wildenauer and Ronald Gross, even after being involved in the Turn 9 incident late in the race.
KTD Competición’s all-Spanish trio in the #13 McLaren overcame a spin after contact early on to secure seventh, while SWF Motorsports’ #94 Porsche claimed eighth with a consistent, if quiet, performance throughout the race.
The #18 Gowin Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, which led an impressive 100 laps —the most of any car in class — faded late following an incident with a GT PRO class car in the fourth hour of the race, but still finished ninth. Despite not capitalizing fully on their front-running pace, the result adds valuable points to their campaign.
Post-Race Reactions
William Keim, #83 Off in the Esses Racing McLaren: "The setup for the car felt great. We really dialed it in for qualifying and the race. Winning at this track is a dream come true. There’s no other track like it and the support from the fans that come down from Canada is something special."
"I have to hand the pace we had to my Pat. His pace was blistering throughout the race. I’m just glad I kept it on the track for the most part. We couldn’t have had a more perfect race. We had our few mishaps, but we remained clean in traffic and had our heads down throughout the race."
"There is nothing better to be leading the championship before the long summer break. That gives us so much time to reset and come back even harder to increase our lead. The team is thrilled with how we’ve been performing and we really hope to keep our pace up and the lead in the championship."
Patrick Boilard, #83 Off in the Esses Racing McLaren: "Like William said; the car was great for us; a huge win at a special place. The Glen is a pin on the calendar for Off in the Esses. We love it here; whether that's in the car or track side."
"Definitely, this is a unique achievement for us and a feather in the cap for myself and the team. I don't know if there's such thing as a perfect weekend but it's races like these that make the effort worth it."
"It's a great position for us leading into the summer break. We'll have to keep our foot on the gas with the strength of this field and keep grinding away to better our position in the Sprint Cup."
Gary Brown, #64 Vulture Motorsports Ford: "Yeah, we did struggle a bit today. I really struggled. Not sure if it was the intense heat of the track or just a lack of confidence after my early incident. I had a technical malfunction in the car at the beginning of the race when we had the contact and about a minute of repairs."
"I just needed a while after that to settle in and turn consistent laps. We figured we would get a penalty post-race and we tried to build a gap to second to account for that, but we just could not keep it up. So, good on the guys at Off the Esses. I love that there is a battle for the championship lead, so I am looking forward to the next race. What keeps us in the race here is our consistency. Over the six hours, we had the fastest average lap time of the GT AM field. So we just need to keep it up and the wins will come."
"Actually, I love the new tires, and I think it really improves the car handling. Yes, it take a couple of laps to really get the tires up to speed but then they seem to handle much more intuitively. So, the new tires were not a negative for me."
"My daughter is getting ready to have twin baby girls so I will be focused on my family a lot this summer. So I am looking forward to the break. I will of course find time to get laps in at Indy in the simulator and get ready for the next race as well. I hope everyone has a great summer."
Tamer Elbaga, #34 Wastegate Racing Chevrolet: "It was a great race for us with some highs and lows over six hours. We had some attrition and some solid clean racing. Then we were in a clear P1 with less than 2 hours to go. But unfortunately we struggled with the end of stint tires a bit. That caught us out and we had that spin in T9, picked up some damage there."
"Originally we planned to run one driver swap pit and a splash and go at the end. We had to make a strategic decision to make one more stop work with fuel save, knowing we had one lap over the next car. It's a bit bitter sweet, knowing we could have won, but I'm happy for Wastegate Racing that we were able to finish on the podium."
"Honestly, we thought the tires would be even more problematic than they were. We were deliberate in ensuring we did more careful straight-line braking for a couple of laps but overall I'd say we managed to get up to speed with no issues."
Will Robertson, #34 Wastegate Racing Chevrolet: "It was an excellent race for the team; getting a lot of points to help us in the overall championship. Starting sixth wasn't ideal based on the lead up to the race. To be honest, I expected to be higher up in GT AM class. But, you know, it's a long race and I had confidence in our race pace. Once the green flag dropped, we ended up instantly in a fight. Our pace proved to be our advantage, so we just tried to stay out of trouble."
"We noticed that a bunch of cars ran into trouble. We found the cars we were fighting with were for the podium steps. When we took the lead, we struggled a bit with pace on the old tires, so we took an early pit stop to undercut the other cars."
"I think that would have given us a good run to the top step in hindsight, with the others later having issues. But yeah, unfortunately I made a mistake on my end coming out of the T9. That cost us a chance at the win. So yeah, P3 feels a bit bittersweet. It's nice to have a podium, but it's hard not to get the win."
"I found the new tires suited my driving style, personally. I think my undercut showed performance on cold tires when you get it just right. At the end of the day, it's the same for everyone. It's on us to make the best of it. It's a lot easier to push on these new tires now. Before, I always felt like I was driving to a delta in the hotter temps to protect the tires over a stint."
Championship Picture Heading into Summer Break
The win at Watkins Glen sends Off in the Esses into the summer break atop both the GT AM Championship and the Endurance Cup standings. With three races remaining, the battle is far from over. Vulture Motorsports remains within striking distance in both competitions, and the #94 Porsche from SWF Motorsports holds on to third in the season-long title hunt.
The next round—the Six Hours at The Brickyard—promises another endurance test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on August 30. With just three rounds left, every position, pit stop, and penalty will be crucial in shaping the outcome of the 2025 championship.
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