Watkins Glen: Ian Baas race report

Baas and White Finish Where They Start In Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., June 9 - After six hours of grueling competition, Ian Baas of Noblesville, Ind., and Mark White of Waunakee, Wis., finished in the same position they started - 14th - in the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen Rolex Series race at Watkins Glen International Saturday.

Under perfect weather conditions at the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course, the pair kept Bob Miller's At Speed Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup car going throughout the six-hour race. They both drove consistently, and on lap 44 Baas was able to record a lap that was even faster than the 1:56.925 he ran in qualifying. The team's fastest lap of the race was Baas' 1:56.059 on lap 44, at an average of 105.464 miles per hour.

Baas drove the first hour and 45 minutes of the race, White handled things in the middle, and Baas drove the last hour and 20 minutes of the race in the blue No. 28, which advertised Celette and Duraform. Team owner Miller ended up not driving in this event, which was broadcast live on SPEED. White ended up doing more laps than was planned when Baas didn't feel well after his first stint, but Baas toughed it out and he was in the car at the end.

The start of the race had everyone in the At Speed Motorsports' pits cheering. Baas started 14th, but he vaulted to fourth in the first few minutes due to great driving, team strategy and pit work.

There is a Grand-Am rule that at least one pit stop must be made within the first 45 minutes of competition, and the team decided to get that out of the way under a full-course caution at the start after Patrick Long and Scott Pruett got into the gravel in the Bus Stop in separate incidents. Baas had already moved up several positions due to his great start, but he bolstered that by a few more when the crew got him out of the pits faster than some of his rivals, and he returned to the fray in fourth place.

For most of the race the car ran anywhere from 17th to eighth in class.

Baas didn't have any contact with anyone during his stints, but White was pushed off the track by David Donohue's Daytona Prototype at the 4-hour-and-25-minute mark to bring out a full-course caution. Baas did have to deal with an oil leak during the last 45 minutes of the race.

-credit: ianbaasracing.com