With roughly one hour of the race remaining, a yellow phase saw the whole field group together again, making for an exciting finish. In the GTLM class, the two MOTUL BMW M8 GTEs were hunting down the leading Corvettes. Edwards pulled off a brave overtaking manoeuvre to take second place, which he held to finish runner-up behind the victorious #3 Corvette. De Phillippi got the upper hand over the second Corvette shortly before the flag and finished third to join his team-mates on the podium.

Turner Motorsport took victory thanks to a perfectly-timed final pit stop. The final yellow phase came shortly after Auberlen had taken over at the wheel. As a result, the #96 BMW M6 GT3 found itself at the head of the GTD field. Auberlen set about extending his lead, which he defended comfortably through to the finish. The win sees Auberlen and Foley maintain their overall lead in the GTD class of the IMSA series.

“That was really close in the end. I gave it everything and managed to overtake one Corvette. I was also able to put pressure on the other, but it managed to find a bit more speed when I was right behind it. So second place it is. The battle was fun, but the result is a little bittersweet. However, to be honest, at the halfway point of the race I did not think we had any chance at all against the Corvettes.”

“A flawless race from the entire team was rewarded with two podiums. Unfortunately, it was not quite enough for the win. The Corvette had a little more speed than we did, so we made the most of what was possible for us. An awesome job from the team.”

“We have every reason to celebrate. Our two podiums and the class win for Turner Motorsport are fantastic results for BMW M Motorsport. BMW Team RLL did a perfect job. We leave Watkins Glen with a smile on our face.”

“Third place for us and two cars on the podium – that is a good result for BMW M Motorsport, even if I would obviously have preferred to win. Unfortunately, our opponents were very quick, but we got the most out of our strategy. I fought hard for the podium at the end, and basically passed the #4 Corvette on the last lap. These are important points for us in the overall standings.”

“I am pleased that the team was rewarded for its fantastic performance with two podium finishes. We obviously wanted to win, but we were just lacking a little pace. We were able to compensate for this disadvantage in the traffic. In the end, however, I think second and third place were the best we could have hoped for.”

“The race was hectic but a lot of fun. It was fantastic to drive alongside Connor and Bruno for BMW Team RLL and to celebrate two podiums. I can hardly wait to return for ‘Petit Le Mans’.”

“Today was simply our day. We were actually no longer in our planned fuelling rhythm after a problem during refuelling. However, the yellow phase began exactly at the moment in which we had come in for our final stop. We came out, and all the GTD cars in front of us still had to come into the pits. That put me in front and I just had to keep it clean through to the finish. It worked out superbly.”