Untouchable throughout the weekend, Action Express Racing’s #31 Cadillac V-Series.R dominated a dramatic Six Hours of The Glen that featured no fewer than eight caution periods.
But beyond Cadillac’s commanding performance, some teams left Watkins Glen with plenty to celebrate, while others were left with more questions than answers.
Here’s our look at the biggest winners and losers from Round 6 of the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the third round of the Michelin Endurance Cup.
Winner – Action Express Racing
Fastest in the opening practice session, pole position, victory and fastest lap: it’s hard to imagine a more complete weekend for Action Express Racing. The #31 Cadillac led 143 of the race’s 182 laps, leaving little for its rivals.
“The car was just fantastic today,” said Jack Aitken after the race. “It was a real pleasure and feels a bit surreal to keep the podium streak going.”
The victory gives the American squad back-to-back wins, strengthens its lead in the Drivers’, Teams’ and Manufacturers’ championships and extends its podium streak to eight consecutive races, a first in the GTP era.
Action Express also benefited from support within the Cadillac camp. In the closing stages, Filipe Albuquerque moved aside for Jack Aitken following team orders issued by Cadillac management, allowing the championship leader to lose as little time as possible.
At this point in the season, Action Express Racing looks more than ever like the team to beat in the title race.
Loser – Penske Motorsport
The wording is deliberate: Penske Motorsport, not Porsche Motorsport.
Should Laurin Heinrich secure the drivers’ title aboard JDC-Miller MotorSports’ #5 Porsche 963, Porsche would still celebrate a drivers’ championship. Likewise, John Church’s team contributes just as many points to Porsche’s Manufacturers’ title campaign as the factory entries. But from Roger Penske’s perspective, seeing a customer team consistently outperform the works operation can hardly be satisfying.
Many inside the paddock attribute the performance gap to a less favourable Balance of Performance for the factory-entered Porsche 963s — and it’s difficult to argue otherwise. The 2025-spec Porsche 963 is 15 kilograms lighter than the 2026 version while also enjoying 3.7 percent more power under acceleration.
Public perception, however, is rather different. Fans simply see a private team featuring two drivers bringing significant financial backing – Tijmen van der Helm and Kaylen Frederik – finishing on the podium while the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport entries could do no better than fifth and sixth.
“As expected, the race was difficult for us,” admitted Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. “We got the most out of our two factory cars under these conditions.”
By “those conditions,” he was, of course, referring to the BoP.
“In order to keep up with the pace at the front, we used more fuel,” added Kévin Estre. “That meant longer refuelling times during the pit stops. We achieved a good result given our circumstances.”
Since victories at Daytona and Sebring, Porsche Penske Motorsport has scored just one podium in four races. JDC-Miller, meanwhile, has claimed two podiums – including one victory – in its last three starts. Something clearly isn’t working.
Winner – Acura
Things could hardly have started worse. The #60 Acura ARX-06 was eliminated early after being hit under Full Course Yellow by the #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie.
“I just got hit from behind by the Aston,” explained Colin Braun.
With only one car left in the race, Acura’s hopes rested entirely on the #93. It delivered. Through flawless execution and excellent strategy, Nick Yelloly and his teammates Renger van der Zander and Kaku Ohta secured a valuable second-place finish.
“I think we maximized everything we could,” the Briton summed up.
The result allows Acura to continue closing the gap to Porsche in the Manufacturers’ standings. Cadillac may still be out of reach, but the Japanese manufacturer continues to build momentum.
Loser – BMW
The final result almost flatters BMW. Yes, the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 led 15 laps late in the race, but that owed more to an alternative strategy and a well-timed Full Course Yellow than outright pace.
“We didn’t have the pace in the race to really fight at the front,” admitted Dries Vanthoor, while Andreas Roos conceded BMW had failed to find the ideal setup.
The #24 eventually finished fourth after Sheldon van der Linde was overtaken by Laurin Heinrich in the closing laps, while the #25 slipped to ninth after suffering a puncture and serving a drive-through penalty.
While BMW M Team WRT has taken a clear step forward in the WEC this season, the M Hybrid V8 still lacks the pace to challenge IMSA’s leading GTP contenders.
Winner – Vasser Sullivan Racing
Until Sunday, the #14 Lexus RC F GT3’s best finish this season had been sixth. Even more telling, its last podium dated back to Detroit in June 2024.
Needless to say, this victory felt like a breakthrough. Jack Hawksworth praised his team’s flawless execution throughout a race made especially challenging by repeated caution periods.
The win also marked Ben Barnicoat’s return to the top step of the podium after missing much of last season through injury.
Loser – Aston Martin
On paper, Aston Martin had reasons to be optimistic. While the minimum GTP weight stands at 1,030 kg, IMSA allowed the Valkyrie to compete at 1,020 kg while retaining 100 percent of its maximum output of 520 kW.
Despite this particularly favourable Balance of Performance, the Valkyrie was still more than 1.3 seconds off the qualifying benchmark. The Heart of Racing remains unable to fight at the sharp end, highlighting that the programme still has significant ground to make up. The Evo Jokers expected this winter cannot come soon enough.
As if that wasn’t enough, Roman De Angelis’ race ended shortly after the two-hour mark when he collided with Colin Braun’s #60 Acura under Full Course Yellow, eliminating both cars.
Winner – AO Racing & Manthey Racing
Spyke is back. After finishing fifth at Daytona and sixth at Sebring, defending LMP2 champion AO Racing finally returned to Victory Lane as P.J. Hyett, Dane Cameron and Jonny Edgar guided the No. 99 Oreca 07 to its first win of the season.
“It is a bit of a déjà vu from last season,” said Hyett, delighted to finally see fortune favour his team.
The victory puts AO Racing firmly back in championship contention, although CrowdStrike Racing by APR, Inter Europol Competition and United Autosports remain major title threats.
A special mention also goes to Manthey 1st Phorm, which claimed victory in GTD just months after winning GTD Pro at Sebring. The German squad’s IMSA programme continues to impress.