Every of the previous two seasons has seen Paul Miller Racing win the endurance crown, together with 2024 with Neil Verhagen. And heading into this 12 months’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, the third of 5 endurance rounds, Verhagen and co-driver Connor de Phillippi have the staff on the high as soon as extra.
Concerning the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, nevertheless, the 25-year-old Connecticut native and De Phillippi, who share the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, sits second within the GTD Professional class, 18 factors behind Nicky Catburg and Tommy Milner of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.
“Notoriously over the previous couple of years, Paul Miller Racing has all the time been very aggressive within the Endurance Cup,” Verhagen stated. “It’s one thing that we all the time appear to have a superb technique to maximise the factors. I believe it is type of a shift in the midst of the race.
“If we see that we do not have possibly the final word tempo to go and win the race, then, we shift the main target and we attempt to simply seize as many factors contained in the race as potential. I believe we’re one of many few groups that truly do shift the main target and attempt to seize as many factors as potential on the checkpoints.
“This 12 months for positive the purpose, and particularly with our championship standings at this level is to concentrate on the precise championship that we’re nonetheless making an attempt to nonetheless win. The previous two years, Paul Miller Racing has been Endurance Cup champions. So, clearly, , we all know what to do and learn how to win an Endurance Cup championship. However we’re making an attempt to point out that we’re not simply Endurance Cup champions, and that we have now the fabric and the means to go and win an precise IMSA championship.”
#1 Paul Miller Racing: Neil Verhagen, Connor De Phillippi, #65 Ford Racing: Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch, #77 AO Racing: Nick Tandy, Harry King
Photograph by: Artwork Fleischmann
Verhagen, a two-time race winner in IMSA, will probably be hoping to enhance on his efficiency at Watkins Glen Worldwide. In two earlier begins on the 11-turn, 3.4-mile pure terrain street course, he solely has a greatest end of seventh.
“The very first thing that we have to work on is bettering the Watkins Glen outcome, as a result of P7 is, as the most effective outcome there, is unideal,” Verhagen stated.
“I believe final 12 months the staff executed a terrific job, sadly. I believe it was with the final hour to go, for us at the least on the #1 automotive, we had a minimal tire strain challenge that pressured us to do a drive-through on the simply within the final phases of the race. In order that took a double podium place away for the staff. “So clearly, for Connor and myself, it’s going to attempt to be executing a really clear race and clearly making an attempt to repeat what the staff was capable of do with Max (Hesse) and Dan (Harper) final 12 months.”
Verhagen additionally absolutely understands the expertise of his rivals at Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, who took the total season title final 12 months with Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims.
“Battling with Nicky and the No. 4 crew, clearly we have been battling all 12 months, they usually know learn how to win championships right here in IMSA. They’re the defending staff champion. The #3 automotive received the championship final 12 months, however , clearly the staff typically is aware of learn how to win too.”
Watch: The Rolex 24 at Daytona: Precision, Perfection, and The Street To Victory (IMSA Endurance Racing)
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