Nicklas Nielsen reflected on “a good couple of weeks” after winning overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans followed by his first IMSA LMP2 victory at Watkins Glen.
Along with Lilou Wadoux – who became the first female winner since Katherine Legge (Laguna Seca 2018) – and Louis Perez Companc, the #88 Richard Mille AF Corse Oreca 07 trio took the LMP2 class win at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Six Hours of the Glen.
Nielsen said in a post-race press conference: “Yeah, I’m obviously very, very happy. I mean, it’s been a good week, a good couple of weeks I would say.
“Yeah, I’m happy to make my maiden win in IMSA, as well. Super competitive championship.
“… Obviously with the contact and then the fire in the car in [12H] Sebring, that didn’t really help us. But I’m really happy to bounce back here.
“Coming with a fresh victory from Le Mans obviously makes this even better.
“I think Lilou [Wadoux] said that Luis [Perez Companc] and I did a fantastic job, but she did a mega job as well.
“She was on track in very difficult conditions, and she managed that very well.
“I think it’s fully deserved that she finally got her victory, as well, here.”
Last Sunday’s Watkins Glen six-hour race was the third on the Endurance Cup calendar, and wet weather conditions played a significant part in surviving the final hour.
In a field of 13 LMP2s, two of the #88’s rivals were out early on. This included the sole Ligier JS P217 run by Sean Creech Motorsport retired early after a collision into a barrier, and the #18 Era Motorsport Oreca 07 team who won both the Daytona 24 and Sebring 12 Hours.
After Perez Companc completed his 1-hour and 30-minute minimum drive-time during the start of the race, Wadoux took to the wheel running second at the three-hour point when there was a brief rain shower, but she navigated the situation on slicks as the track dried out again.
Prior to the red flag declared in the final hour, for heavy rain, Nielsen had just pitted the #88 for wet tyres as one of the teams opting for the grooved compound over the slicks.
The red flag came abruptly after a safety car period when several cars went off the circuit, aquaplaning on the slick compound as conditions became treacherous.
On the restart, prototypes and GTs were each given an opportunity to pit given that parc ferme rules applied during the red flag, which prompted almost all of the LMP2 field to refuel and, where applicable, switch to slicks.
The #88 crew were rewarded with a good pit stop to give Nielsen a comfortable gap in the LMP2 lead which he held to the end.
