6 Hours of Watkins Glen
The 6- hour race at Watkins Glen (current name: Sahlen 's Six Hours of The Glen ) is a sports car race, which has been held since 1948. The race takes place on the course of Watkins Glen, New York and is currently in the calendar of the United SportsCar Championship.
History
The current 6 -hour race goes back to the Grand Prix Watkins Glen, which was held on a street circuit around Watkins Glen (New York) from the Sports Car Club of America ( SCCA ) in 1948. During the first race was held over 50 miles, it was the second year already twice the distance. After an accident in the race of the year 1952 twelve injured spectators and were killed, the layout of the course moved to other roads in the region. But this should only be a temporary arrangement since 1956 finds the race on a permanent circular route instead.
As part of the United States Road Racing Championship, which was also discharged from the SCCA, the event from the year 1963 changed gradually to a long distance race. Once under the new standard roof, a 300km race was held in the first year, the audience could see from 1964 to 1968, a 200 mile race. Parallel to the Grand Prix 1968 held for the first time a 6 -hour race as part of the World Sportscar Championship. Jackie Ickx and Lucien Bianchi in a Ford GT40 won this race. The World Cup was up to and including 1981 in Watkins Glen, before the circuit operator was forced to declare bankruptcy.
Thus began the race from two years before the IMSA GT Championship again fought out a long distance race on the course in 1984. The IMSA established the 3-Stunden/500km-Format in Watkins Glen, a few years even two races per year were held, the second under the title New York 500 Only in 1996 did the 6 -hour race as part of the IMSA GT Championship back in the annual calendar of the race track operator, in 1998, the host for the newly formed United States Road Racing Championship. Since this championship was discontinued after one and a half years, a constant partner could be found again as the host until the year 2000. The Grand-Am, the 6- hour race added as part of his Grand-Am Sports Car Series in his calendar and there remained the again popular expectant event up to and including the year 2013. According to the union of the Grand Am with the American Le Mans Series is the race from 2014 held as part of the United SportsCar Championship.