CASEY AND LONG WIN AT WATKINS GLEN

Sales and Wittmer Take Runner-Up Spot in Gruelling Four-Hour Race

WATKINS GLEN, NY – Britt Casy Jr. and Tom Long edged out a victory over team-mates Rodrigo Sales and Kuno Wittmer at the picturesque upstate-New York Watkins Glen Interational, closing the gap in what is becoming a titanic battle for the Toronto-based Compass Racing stable.

Pierre Kleinubing put the No. 75 APR LLC / AlphaClone / Brooklyn Tailors / Race Day Foundation Audi RS 3 LMS he shares with Roy Block on pole with a blistering time ahead of Casey in his No. 77 TRUMPF / Cushman Wakefield / Oscar Mike / Race Day Foundation  Audi and Wittmer in the No. 74 Pfaff Automotive / Audi Sport / Race Day Foundation car. Paul Holton qualified his No. 76 Misahara Jewelry / McLaren / Pfaff Automotive / Race Day Foundation McLaren 570S GT4 in 14th in the GS class.Holton took the first stint, handing over to Matt Plumb and then returning to the wheel for the final hour with the car in a solid fourth place. Unfortunately, despite strong pace, excellent stops by the crew and within site of the podium, the car developed a fuel pick-up issue and fell down the order.The battle for the TCR lead, however, began with the very first lap, where Kleinubing was caught up in a messy wreck caused by a couple of back-marker GS cars. This brought out a full-course caution and sent the No. 75 back to the garage where the crew quickly repaired the damage and got the car back out and into the fray.Despite in-car temperatures of 150-degrees Farehneit, Casey and Wittmer battled with the other leading TCR cars, with Wittmer handing off to Sales, and Casey passing his car to Long.Four-hour races allow for different fuel, tire and driver strategies, and whilst No. 77 elected to do a single driver change, No. 74 saw Sales hand the car back to Wittmer for the closing stages. With final pit stops out of the way, it was a drag to the finish, hammer-and-tongs, with the No. 12 and 54 cars between the leading No. 77 and No. 74. With just a few laps to go, Wittmer took advantage of the heated battle of the two cars ahead to make it by, and holding them off for a dramtic one-two Compass Racing finish.The result move Long and Casey to just six points behind Wittmer and Sales, who lead the standings. Kleinubing and Block are in fifth place.