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RLL Team McLaren
Pre-Race Notes
Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen – Watkins Glen International
Round 5 of 10 in the 2026 WeatherTech Sports Car Championship – GTD PRO Class
DATE: Friday – Sunday, June 26-28, 2026
PRACTICE / QUALIFYING BROADCASTS: Practice: Live on IMSA.com on Friday from 11:25 – 12:55 p.m. ET and on Saturday from 10:05 – 11:50 a.m. ET / Live on IMSA.com on Saturday from 4:00 – 4:15 p.m. ET
RACE BROADCAST: All races can be streamed live in their entirety on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports App with authentication or Peacock Premium. Coverage of the race begins at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday. International viewers can watch the full race live on the IMSA YouTube channel.
TRACK LAYOUT: 2.45-mile, 11-turn temporary road course
RACE LENGTH: 6 hours
2025 GTD PRO WINNER: Dan Harper and Max Hesse in a BMW M4 GT3
2025 GTD PRO POLESITTER: Andrea Caldarelli (1:44.595)
RLL’S TOP START / FINISH AT WATKINS GLEN: IMSA: 2 POLES – 2014 by Priaulx and 2022 by De Phillippe – GTLM class / 2 WINS – 2017 by Auberlen/Sims and 2023 by De Philippi/Yelloly (RLL’s first GTP win); INDYCAR: 3rd – Hunter-Reay (2008) / 1 win: 1st – Hunter-Reay (2008)
NOTES & QUOTES:
RLL TEAM MCLAREN AT WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen will be the fifth event in program history for RLL Team McLaren. Full season drivers Max Esterson and Nikita Johnson are both looking forward to returning to the track after testing there Monday, June 15. The RLL Team McLaren program is a multi-year collaboration with McLaren Automotive that saw the team’s return to IMSA’s GTD PRO class in 2026 with the McLaren GT3 EVO. The team qualified a promising second fastest at their debut at Daytona but finished 12th in the GTD PRO class after an electronics issue hindered the outcome. Qualifier Macdonald ran a double stint to open the race but once he turned the car over to Vips approaching the three-hour mark of the race, the team was forced to go to the garage due to a tire pressure monitoring system failure they had been unable to correct in the pits. The team gathered important experience in the race and took the checkered flag in 12th place.
MAX ESTERSON ON HIS RACING DEBUT AT WGI
“My first experience of Watkins Glen was a few weeks ago at our test. I have done a lot of laps around there on iRacing over the last 10 years, but it was nice to finally drive the real thing. iRacing’s scan of the track is really spot on. I was able to come up to speed pretty quickly, although I was a bit surprised by how much grip the surface has.
“For my first time at the circuit, I think the test went well. I was really happy with the balance of the car, and I think we have a good place to start from for the race weekend. It’s great to have the extra track time ahead of the race which should allow us to fine tune things during the two practice sessions this weekend. I love the Bus Stop and Turn 10. The Bus Stop is high speed and you’re jumping over curbs while Turn 10 is also very high speed but super smooth and requires a lot of precision. I hope we have the pace to fight in the front half of the GTD PRO field this weekend and can have a smooth race and battle for a good result in the last few hours.”
NIKITA JOHNSON ON TESTING AT WGI AND THE UPCOMING RACE
“The test at Watkins Glen went very well. I had no prior experience driving on the track so it was great to get on track before the race weekend. I enjoyed testing at Watkins Glen last week. I feel like we made good steps with the car at the test. It’s very beneficial to get on a new track before the race weekend because most of the drivers have been racing here the last few years.
“My favorite part about Watkins Glen is the bus-stop but it’s also one of the more trickier parts of the track with having to commit a lot of speed on the entry, and also getting the track position right. It is amazing but also tricky. My expectation for the weekend is to get a podium. I’m excited for it and confident with the car.”
MCLAREN’S SPORTS CAR HISTORY
McLaren made its mark in sports car racing in 1995 with the F1 GTR, writing history by winning that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Returning to sports car racing in 2012 with the championship-winning 12C GT3, McLaren continues to be a force on the international GT scene. The current GT3 EVO has proven to be very successful, winning races in FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Challenge Europe series and other regional and domestic series.
RLL’S SPORTS CAR HISTORY
RLL, founded in 1992 and known for its success across both open-wheel and sports car racing, has a rich history in sports car competition. The team first entered sports car racing in 2007, fielding a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR in the American Le Mans Series GT2 class with drivers Tommy Milner and Ralf Kelleners and finished fourth in the 12-race championship, highlighted by multiple podiums. The following year, the team campaigned an Aston Martin DB9 in select SCCA World Challenge events, earning a pole and runner-up finish at Road Atlanta.
From 2009 to 2025, RLL partnered with BMW Motorsport in a successful 17-year collaboration that delivered numerous race wins and championships across multiple GT platforms and culminated with a race and pole-winning program in the GTP class from 2023-2025. The team previously competed in IMSA’s GTD PRO class under the BMW M Team RLL banner in 2022 while simultaneously preparing for their two-car factory GTP program debut in 2023. During that period, RLL secured pole position at Watkins Glen and GTD PRO podium finishes at Laguna Seca and Petit Le Mans.
