Driving his Le Mans LMP1 Peugeot 908, Sarasota Café Racer DAVID PORTER WINS MASTERS AT WATKINS GLEN, and remains a dominant force in Masters Endurance Legends USA competition.
David Porter doubled up on his Saturday performance at the Glen by taking another dominant Masters Endurance Legends win in the Masters Historic Race Weekend action at the Finger Lakes Festival. In the 40-minute race, the Peugeot 908 driver created a 38-second margin over his nearest rival, the Whelen Coyote Corvette DP of John Reisman.
Reisman kept well ahead of Travis Engen’s Audi R8 in third, while Jim Devenport took another P2 class win in his ORECA-Nissan 03 by claiming fourth place. Pierce Marshall grabbed fifth overall on his way to a second GT class win, leading home the James Hagan/Kyle Tilley ORECA-Nissan 03 that came all the way from the back.
Will Lin decided another P3 class battle in his favour, his Ligier-Nissan JSP3-15 finishing seventh overall ahead of Francesco Melandi’s similar car. Derek Jones was ninth in Rick Carlino’s ORECA-GM FLM09 while Marcus Jewell (Porsche 997 GT3-R) and Loren Beggs (Porsche 996 GT3 RSR) profited from Douglas Baron’s demise in the Porsche 996 GT3 RS to take second and third in the GT class.
As the second Masters grid out on track on Sunday, the Masters Endurance Legends USA field got going with Porter taking charge from the start, already opening up a big gap to the chasing Reisman and Engen, as Larry Connor’s Audi R8 was a non-starter from its front-row starting position.
After four laps, Porter’s lead over Reisman’s Coyote Corvette DP was up to 12 seconds, with Engen’s Audi R8 following Reisman closely. 22 seconds down was P2 class leader Jim Devenport in his ORECA-Nissan 03, while Pierce Marshall occupied a stunning fifth overall to once again lead the GT class in his Corvette C7.R. Next up were the two P3 Ligier JSP3-15s of Will Lin and Francesco Melandri, the two continuing their battle from Saturday, while coming from the back, the James Hagan/Kyle Tilley ORECA-Nissan 03 was up to eighth. Rounding out the top-ten after ten minutes were the Porsche GTs of Douglas Baron and Marcus Jewell.
It was no change in the top-ten at the 15-minute mark, with Reisman closing slightly on Porter in his Whelen-liveried Corvette DP while inching away from Engen. Outside the top-ten, Loren Beggs ran 11th in his 996 GT3 RSR, followed by Paul Reisman in the invitational 991 GT3-R and Derek Jones in Rick Carlino’s ORECA-GM FLM09. Trailing in 14th was the Brandon Kidd/Kurt Schultz Dallara-built Chevrolet DP, but out was Baron from tenth with a puncture.
Now, with the pit window open, Porter turned up the wick while simultaneously Reisman was the first to pit, momentarily losing second place to Engen as a result. Porter was in next, as were all the rest, Melandri the last one to come in.
When all the stops had panned out, Porter still led Reisman but by six seconds only – the Peugeot 908, however, immediately set fastest lap of the race, with a stunning 1.38.6. Engen trailed Reisman by 34 seconds, with Devenport in the leading P2 car 16 seconds further adrift. Marshall still dominated GTs in fifth, leading the two P3 Ligiers that now sandwiched the Hagan/Tilley ORECA. In ninth and tenth, Jewell and Beggs had each won a place after the demise of Baron. The Kurt Schultz/Brandon Kidd Chevy DP was the next car to retire.
On the next lap, Porter produced a 1.38.3 to blast to a 13-second lead over the Coyote Corvette, while further back Kyle Tilley got the hammer down to move past both Lin and Marshall to be fifth, but class rival Devenport was still a long way away – 23 seconds, to be precise.
At the front, Porter continued to get the diesel power down to increase his advantage to 22 seconds with five minutes still to run. The clock having ticked down, the Peugeot received the checkered flag on lap 23, winning by 38 seconds. Reisman took second, 35 seconds ahead of Engen, with Devenport maintaining fourth ahead of GT class winner Marshall and Tilley who dropped away on the final lap. In seventh, Lin doubled up on P3 wins, again beating Melandri, while Derek Jones got his ORECA FLM09 ahead of the two GT Porsches of Jewell and Beggs, the two taking second and third in the GT class.
For more information about DAVID PORTER WINS MASTERS AT WATKINS GLEN, Masters Historic Racing, and Ron Maydon, its founder & president and Sarasota Café Racer, please visit https://mastershistoricracing.com/
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