IMSA - Watkins Glen / FP1 : Braun puts #60 Acura atop Watkins before rain

With confidence bolstered by a recent test at Watkins Glen International, Colin Braun set a blistering pace to lead the first practice session for Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

While Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class rival teams and manufacturers representing Cadillac and Porsche in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship focused on the centenary running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Braun and the Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06 tested May 26 at Watkins Glen International along with the Wayne Taylor with Andretti Autosport Acura team and BMW M Team RLL’s BMW Hybrid V8.

A little bit of rain in practice 1. #IMSA | @WGI pic.twitter.com/hQtryrrlCY

— #IMSA (@IMSA) June 23, 2023

Braun’s No. 60 Acura ARX-06 was fast as soon as the green flag fell for Friday afternoon’s 90-minute practice that began in overcast but dry conditions. Braun toured the 3.4-mile road course in 1 minute, 33.563 seconds on just his ninth lap. That was a robust 1.229 seconds quicker than Matt Campbell in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 before steadily increasing rain put an end to the pursuit of quick times.

“The car was really good,” Braun said. “Obviously not of ton of laps (in the dry), but enough to get a feel for it and get a little bit of a balance check. Happy with all the work HPD (Honda Performance Development) and Acura and the Meyer Shank guys have been doing. This class is so much about behind the scenes what the people can do, so obviously super happy with the job everyone’s doing and I think that shows in the speed and performance of our car.

“After the rain we were fast as well,” Braun added. “For us, it was kind of our first chance to drive it in the rain. … And man, it was pretty good.”

Other class leaders in practice were: Mikkel Jensen in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 in Le Mans Prototype 2, with a lap of 1:36.066; Garett Grist in the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 in Le Mans Prototype 3 (1:41.139); Bryan Sellers in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 in GT Daytona (1:46.457); and Daniel Serra in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 in GTD PRO (1:46.552).

WeatherTech Championship competitors hit the track early Saturday, with a practice session slated for 2.00 p.m. CET, followed by qualifying at 19:15 p.m. that streams live on Endurance-Info.com.

The standings for the first free practice session of the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen can be found HERE.