IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP: SAHLEN'S SIX HOURS OF THE GLEN

June 23, 2024

Dane Cameron

Felipe Nasr

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll welcome up our GTP winners here. We're joined by our winners here overall in the GTP class at the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, the No. 7 Porsche motorsport Porsche 963, Felipe Nasr and Dane Cameron.

Dane, this is his 17th victory in IMSA championship competition. His second win here at Watkins Glen International. Felipe, this is his 10th IMSA championship race victory. First win in the Watkins Glen Six Hours.

Felipe, obviously you brought it home there. Take us through the last restart, the traffic that you had to manage to get this win.

FELIPE NASR: Yeah, was pretty wild out there, I have to say, with this mixed conditions. Always makes our life a lot harder to read the track grip. I knew I was going to have one chance. That one chance came right at the restart. All I did was to work my tires and brake as hard as I could just to get temperature and everything.

I could see as soon as we got the get-go in the last corner, I could see the car ahead of me struggle. I said, Man, I'm going for it. I made the move. It was all about managing the traffic ahead because the difference of speed is so high between the cars and the classes, it's just really having the right time and the right place, making the right smart moves.

I'm very happy we did it. I'm very happy we made today an incredible day just because at points in the race we were back, then forward again. It was difficult to read what was the potential of the car.

What I like was that everybody did an incredible work to keep us calm and wise decisions. Dane did amazing work, as well, when he stayed out on slicks when the track was still drying.

Yeah, everything came together. Very pleased to get another victory here at Watkins Glen.

THE MODERATOR: Dane, five podiums in six races this year. Obviously second win. Talk about the strength of this team this season, how it feels.

DANE CAMERON: Yeah, for sure it's been a great year so far. Very, very consistent. I think that's really been the focus for the 7 car. It's just really executing at every opportunity.

We really felt like in Detroit we had one get away from us a little bit because we had quite fast cars, a bit unlucky. We also kind of overachieved at some of the other rounds, Sebring, Long Beach, where we weren't really that great.

That's really what it takes to win this championship. I think Felipe and I know that now from being here a number of times, getting the championship a few times. I think we really believe in that formula and we're committed to it.

Executing every weekend, every lap, every pass, you have to kind of judge with that a little bit in mind, to be honest. Really striking when it counts. Felipe was great there at the restart at the end. We made good calls through the middle where it was pretty tough, kind of going back and forth on what it was going to do, is it going to rain. That was a tough period.

As a team, the group has been really strong. For sure must also acknowledge the 6 car, which was really strong today. It's obviously difficult with these now capacity grids and the pit lanes and all that stuff, pitting the cars together where we're tripping over each other a little bit, to be honest. We tried to keep out of each other's way, and I think that rolled us forward and them backward a little bit. I would be remiss not to acknowledge that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Felipe, do you think the conditions were right to bring out the red flag at the time?

FELIPE NASR: Yeah, I think so, 'cuz there was so much water. You could barely stay within 60 KPH. You could see the cars ahead planing. I think it was the right call.

Since it's warm, it didn't take long for the track to dry. At that point it was critical.

Q. Is this good redemption for you after the disappointment at Le Mans last week?

FELIPE NASR: It's always good to be back winning, right? I'll take it. Good medicine, like my friend here says (smiling).

Q. Dane, the first rain shower happened, you were on a different strategy than everybody else, you came in, got slicks, then it starts to rain, it seemed like you were really out of luck, but it turned out to be a good thing in the end. Is that how you see it? Was that a key moment in the race?

DANE CAMERON: I think surviving these moments are key moments. This decision probably got us forward a little bit because obviously we were a little bit on the back foot at the start of the race, lost a little bit on the first pit cycle there. It definitely rolled us forward, which was good.

Really, they're hard moments because you're trying to make a good decision, but the easy decisions take rain tires, that's a safe one, but maybe that's not the ultimate best one. Here it's really hard because coming here for years and years, it's difficult to get heavy, really, really heavy. Obviously with the orientation of the track, the way the weather comes, you typically only get it on one portion.

In the moment honestly it felt like we were a bit unlucky. Felt like we kind of got it wrong. Seemed okay, little bits of rain. Then suddenly the downpour came on the fronts. I thought we were a bit in the shits, we missed it. And then it went yellow, and suddenly it's going to be dry, we're going tore fine here. We were a little bit off sequence, that took a little bit to unravel.

Ultimately, if you can get through those moments without losing too much time without pitting, it's always a little bit better. The weather here is so unpredictable, I think we saw Thursday, Friday the same sort of thing where I think Thursday was no rain expected, it rained like hell for a few hours, and Friday we thought we were going to get rain and it kind of broke up and went around the place.

Really hard calls to make. At least from the radio, it sounded like there were a few people who were sure it was going to rain, took the rain tires, and it didn't work out for them.

But it's been hot. The track surface has been hot. That buys you time until you get the really heavy rain.

They're tough moments and you just have to keep it on the track because you know it's only the midway point in the race. This isn't the winning decision at this point, so to speak. We got through that moment, got to the front and Felipe executed at the end.

Q. Another angle at the redemption question. Last year the 6 car won here. Is this a race that Porsche had circled on the calendar saying we know we can be competitive and win here?

DANE CAMERON: I wasn't here in IMSA last year. Obviously that was a difficult moment. I guess you can say Tech is probably still to come. Hopefully that doesn't happen again (smiling).

But I think this stretch of summer races for sure, at least from a distance, looked like it was really strong for the car on this hardest compound tire from Michelin. I remember watching and the boys were really strong all throughout the summer.

For sure we're looking ahead to these three races, Watkins, Indy and Elkhart, as three races that were really important to try to win one or two of 'em because it should suit us, I think, for whatever reason, on this tire. Our car seems to go maybe slightly better.

For sure I think the 6 car guys are motivated to right that wrong. For us we knew it was an opportunity to capitalize and get a win over this summer stretch.

It was really critical I think to us. Average finish is great over the course of the year, but if you're finishing third every time, your competitors are ahead of you, it's not ultimately going to get you the championship. We really needed to get this win.

Hopefully we'll take some more if we can get 'em. This one is a really nice shot to padding the points. Just that gap in what you get from first to second really makes a difference to getting away.

Every time we won the championship, when you get to Road Atlanta, it's nice to have a little bit of breathing room. That's such a chaotic race. That's really the focus, if at all possible.

Q. Felipe, off the red flag, we had the caution. The extra time for the track and the car changed your decision to go for it like you did off the final restart?

FELIPE NASR: If I would change anything, you mean, or just my view on that?

Q. I think we had nine more minutes on the track. Were you going to go for it anyway that first time, or did you rethink it once that caution came out?

FELIPE NASR: Yeah, I mean, I was really focused. As soon as we got the race about to restart, all cars were behind the safety car, I could see the track was drying pretty quick. With the track temperature being so high, the water simply just go away very quick.

I knew was going to be one chance when you have those kind of restarts. All cars, all together. Having the chance to make a move right at the restart was the best opportunity I had in the race. I took it.

Looking back, it was the right thing to do. I'm glad we walking away here with the victory. The 40 car was always quick, I would say all race long. Somehow in the restart they weren't that strong. I took that opportunity, was time to bring it home.

Yeah, that's all from my side really.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.