International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2023.[1] It was the tenth time the IMSA SCC hosted a race at Watkins Glen. The 2024 Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen was the sixth of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2024 by IMSA.[2] The race was held at the eleven-turn 3.450 mi (5.552 km) Watkins Glen International on June 23, 2024.[2]
The entry list was revealed on June 12, 2024, and features 56 entries: 11 entries in GTP, 13 entries in LMP2, 11 entries in GTD Pro, and 21 entries in GTD.[4]
There were two practice sessions scheduled preceding the start of the race on Sunday, one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes on Friday afternoon while the second session lasted 90 minutes on Saturday morning.[8]
Qualifying
Saturday's afternoon qualifying session was broken into three sessions, with one session for the GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted 15 minutes each.[8] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am LMP2 class requiring a Bronze rated driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put GTPs ahead of the LMP2, GTD Pro, and GTD cars.[9]
Qualifying results
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and with ‡.
1 The No. 83 Iron Dames entry was moved to the back of the GTD class as per Article 40.5 of the Sporting regulations (Engine change).[9]
2 The No. 25 BMW M Team RLL entry did not participate in qualifying after Connor De Phillippi crashed the car during the second practice session.[12] By IMSA rules, the car started from the rear of the GTP class on the starting grid.
Race
Post-race
Cameron and Nasr's victory allowed them to extend their advantage to 95 points over Bourdais and van der Zande in the GTP Drivers' Championship.[13] By finishing in second-place, Burdon, Fraga, and Robinson took the lead of the LMP2 Drivers' Championship with 958 points.[13] The final results kept Heinrich and Priaulx atop the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 1632 points, 49 ahead of fourth-place finishers Barnicoat and Hawksworth, who in turn were 11 points in front of Gunn.[13] Ellis and Ward's victory allowed them to extend their advantage to 305 points over fifth-place finishers Foley and Gallagher in the GTD Drivers' Championship.[13] Porsche and Mercedes-AMG continued to top their respective Manufactures' Championships. Porsche Penske Motorsport, AO Racing, and Winward Racing kept their respective advantages in their of Teams' Championships while Riley became the leader of the LMP2 Teams' Championship with five rounds remaining.[13]