Krohn Racing head into this weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen gunning for the win after a long overdue return to the Watkins Glen International circuit.
Since their formation in 2005, Khron have achieved multiple victories at the Glen in the DP Class of the then Grand Am series, with the pairing of Tracy Krohn and Nic Jonsson taking their first win together at the track.
This season, however, they return to Watkins Glen in the GTLM of the TUDOR Championship, with Krohn and Jonsson aiming their sights on victory after a successful outing for the team at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
“Watkins Glen is one of the most fun racetracks on the planet, as far as I am concerned,” said Krohn. “I am assuming we will be racing the full track set up and that is my favourite way to race there. There is usually a variable set of weather conditions surrounding race day. There is a lot of history with the race and the town and the fans are always terrific. “
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen is also the first time since Sebring that all four TUDOR classes have raced together, with Krohn saying his Le Mans experience has helped him deal with traffic. “Fortunately, we just finished with Le Mans so that will make it much easier,” he continued.
“Actually, this should not be an issue but for the fact that there is not much runoff area at the Glen. It has improved somewhat over the years, but the walls are still close. There will be a full field and it is a long race, so no need to try to prove anything as there will probably be a lot of yellow flags.
“The idea still remains that it is a long race and the car will be mechanically fit, so just keeping it between the white lines will go a very long way toward a podium!”
Talking about Krohn Racing’s previous experience at the Glen, race engineer Hayden Burvill commented: “We used to come to this track twice a year with Grand-Am, and through the mid 90’s I remember coming for the six-hour with IMSA.
“Getting the car to be stable on the bumps going downhill into Turn One and balanced in the downhill exit of Turn One so the car can accelerate full speed up through the esses is a constant part of any briefing and preparation. The ‘outer loop’ is a great chassis dyno. It tests the steady state balance of the chassis like no other corner on the schedule and, the ‘boot’ section of the Grand Prix circuit requires great precision from the drivers.
“The uphill exit from the toe of the boot is very tricky and being able to get to the throttle early and have the car accelerates freely in the exit leads to overtaking opportunities up to Turn Eight. On top of that you need a car with great change of direction in the chicane. Getting the F458 to do all these things in harmony is a great challenge and now that IMSA has added the extra hour of practice, I am confident we will take a competitive car to the grid.”
