Watkins Glen International (iRacing)

From SimRacingWiki
Watkins Glen International
WatkinsGlen logo.png
Information
Location Watkins Glen, New York
Country Us.png USA
Configurations
Cup Course
2.45 mi
3.94 km
Boot Course
3.4 mi
5.47 km
Classic Boot Course
3.4 mi
5.47 km
Classic
2.45 mi
3.94 km


Information

Just south of Seneca Lake, amid the rolling vineyards and woodlands in Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region, sits a shrine of American motorsport. Watkins Glen International is more than just a race track. It is the birthplace of post-war road racing in North America, a worthy test of some of the best drivers to ever sit in a race car.

Today, “The Glen” hosts the NASCAR and top flight professional and amateur sports car races as well as a major vintage race meet.

Over the years The Glen has been lengthened once and continually upgraded. Four different configurations of the track are available to iRacing members, and a lap around today’s Grand Prix circuit still incorporates much of the original layout. The first turn is known as “The 90,” a right-hander and a good place to pass. Then it’s up toward “The Esses,” a series of three fast, sweeping apexes leading onto the back straight. The cars reach their top speed here, before hard braking for the “Bus Stop” chicane at the end of the straight. Here, the track deviates from its original circuit for “The Boot,” a hammerhead-shaped up-and-downhill section of track added in 1971. Turn 9, where The Boot rejoins the original circuit, is another fairly quick lefthander, tricky because it’s off camber, followed by the even quicker Turn 10, an almost flat-out left-hander. The last corner (Turn 11) is another fast right-hander that leads out onto the front straight. The Glen’s “Cup” configuration takes competitors through a sweeping downhill turn at the end of the backstraightaway and along a short straight to the final left, right combination (Turns 10 and 11 in the Grand Prix configuration) leading back to the pit straightaway.

Racing first came to The Glen in 1948 in the form of the Watkins Glen Grand Prix, an SCCA-sanctioned event that ran on a six and a half mile course over the back roads of the town. The success of that event eventually led to the construction of a permanent track, the resulting product a little more than a third in length of the original street course. In 1957, the track hosted its first race, a NASCAR Grand National Series™ event won by Buck Baker over Fireball Roberts. The following year, Formula Libre showed up, and, not long after that, Watkins Glen hit the big time.

In 1961, Formula One came to the little town by the lake, bringing with it some of the most legendary names in motor sports. For the next two decades, the home of the U.S. Grand Prix was Watkins Glen. The early eighties saw some tough times for The Glen. Formula One held its last race there in 1980, but the track would recover soon enough. In 1986, NASCAR returned to The Glen triggering the track’s renaissance.

Configurations

Race Results

iRacing World Championship Grand Prix Series

Season Pole position Fastest lap Race Winner Broadcast
Driver Team
2010 Fi.png Greger Huttu Fi.png Greger Huttu Fi.png Greger Huttu Team Redline
Fi.png Greger Huttu Fi.png Greger Huttu Fi.png Greger Huttu Team Redline
2011 Fi.png Greger Huttu Fi.png Jesse Nieminen Fi.png Greger Huttu Team Redline
2012 Fi.png Greger Huttu Fi.png Greger Huttu Fi.png Greger Huttu Team Redline
2013 Br.png Hugo Luis Fi.png Greger Huttu Fi.png Greger Huttu Team Redline YoutubeButton.png
2014 It.png Enzo Bonito Fi.png Greger Huttu Fi.png Greger Huttu Team Redline
2015 Fi.png Greger Huttu De.png Martin Krönke Fi.png Greger Huttu Team Redline YoutubeButton.png
2016 Us.png Mitchell deJong De.png Martin Krönke Fi.png Greger Huttu Team Redline YoutubeButton.png
2018 Us.png Mitchell deJong Us.png Mitchell deJong Fi.png Greger Huttu Team Redline FANATEC YoutubeButton.png

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series

Season Pole position Race Winner Broadcast
Driver Team
2014 Us.png Michael Conti Us.png Michael Conti JScho Motorsports YoutubeButton.png
2015 Us.png Nick Ottinger Us.png Nick Ottinger Gale Force Racing YoutubeButton.png
2016 Us.png Nick Ottinger Us.png PJ Stergios ineX Racing YoutubeButton.png
2021 Us.png Graham A. Bowlin Us.png Graham A. Bowlin Stewart-Haas eSports YoutubeButton.png
2022 Us.png Bobby Zalenski Us.png Mitchell deJong 23XI Racing YoutubeButton.png

Porsche Esports Supercup

Season Pole position Race Fastest lap Race Winner Broadcast
Driver Team
2019 Gb.png Sebastian Job Sprint Fr.png Jeremy Bouteloup Gb.png Kevin Ellis Jr Apex Racing Team YoutubeButton.png
Main Dk.png Marcus Jensen Au.png Jarrad Filsell Apex Racing Team

Force Dynamics Dallara iRacing Grand Prix Championship

Season Pole position Fastest lap Race Winner Broadcast
Driver Team
2021 Nl.png Maarten van Loozenoord It.png Michele Costantini Nl.png Maarten van Loozenoord Predator Simracing YoutubeButton.png