Steps forward for Madeline Stewart at Watkins Glen despite unfortunate penalty
- RACERS
- Jun 30
- 4 min read
While the outright result at Watkins Glen fell short of the pace the team had been capable of due to an unfortunate penalty, Madeline Stewart saw the chequered flag in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for the first time since the season opener, in what undoubtedly felt like a step in the right direction.
Madeline Stewart arrived at Watkins Glen hoping the fifth round of the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season would finally break the streak of misfortunes. The New Zealander had enjoyed an encouraging championship debut at Daytona, where she and her CSM teammate recovered from early contact to secure an impressive ninth-place finish in the GS class, immediately demonstrating their potential against one of the strongest GT4 fields in North America.
However, the following rounds had been marked by extraordinary bad luck. A retirement at Sebring was followed by the disappointment of not even taking the start at Laguna Seca because of a technical issue, before another retirement at Mid-Ohio prevented the team from capitalizing on another promising weekend. Arriving at Watkins Glen, Stewart and CSM were determined to finally put together a clean race and convert their pace into a more representative result.
The iconic New York circuit hosted the fifth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season in support of the prestigious Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, with another highly competitive GS field assembling for the two-hour contest.
Stewart was joined by Jonathan Browne aboard the #3 CSM Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS, with practice kicking off under wet conditions, presenting another challenge for teams. Despite the difficult weather, the CSM pairing showed encouraging pace before the circuit dried for the second practice session later in the day. Browne set a best lap of 1:54.8 to place the #3 entry 16th fastest in the GS field in FP2, suggesting the CSM Porsche had enough speed to challenge around the top ten, with Stewart also setting a promising 1:56.263.
Qualifying on Friday afternoon confirmed that potential; Browne produced a lap of 1:54.591, placing the #3 Porsche eighth on the GS grid in another tightly contested session. It represented one of the team's strongest qualifying performances of the season and provided a good opportunity to fight inside the top ten from the outset of Saturday's race.
The two-hour contest got underway under warm, sunny conditions on Saturday afternoon. Starting eighth on the grid, Browne immediately settled into the lead group.
After negotiating the opening corners cleanly, he completed the first lap in ninth position before briefly dropping to tenth as the field settled into its rhythm.
The Irish driver nevertheless maintained consistently competitive pace, battling for the top ten throughout the opening stint.
Early incidents in the GS field created additional opportunities; a spin involving Uretsky during a battle with the CarBahn BMW at the Inner Loop unfolded directly ahead of Browne - showing excellent awareness, he successfully avoided the spinning car and immediately reclaimed tenth position without sustaining any damage.
Throughout the opening 45 minutes Browne continued circulating consistently, keeping the Porsche close to the leading group, as the race approached the driver-change window. Browne eventually brought the #3 Porsche to pit lane from tenth position on lap 21.
Following a clean service, Madeline Stewart climbed aboard to begin her stint. After such an unfortunate run of results over the previous rounds, Watkins Glen finally appeared to offer the New Zealander an opportunity to complete a clean race and continue building valuable mileage in the championship.
Madeline's hopes, however, suffered a blow almost immediately after taking over the #3 CSM Porsche.
Shortly after the driver change, race control issued the team a drive-through penalty after determining that the fire extinguisher had not been properly manned during the pit stop.
Forced to serve the penalty under green-flag conditions, Stewart's chances of fighting for another top-ten finish were undone as the #3 Porsche dropped down the order. Despite the setback, Stewart remained composed and focused on rebuilding the race.
Rejoining in 21st position, she concentrated on settling into a rhythm around one of North America's fastest road course circuits while continuing to gain valuable mileage.
As the race progressed, Stewart fell behind Kenny Murillo's Mercedes-AMG GT4 as well as Patrick Foley, slipping to 24th position.
However, every lap represented valuable experience for Stewart. As the race entered its final half hour, differing fuel strategies once again shuffled the order. While many of the GS contenders made their final splash-and-dash fuel stops, Stewart remained out longer, briefly climbing as high as 13th overall as the strategy cycle played out.
Eventually Stewart brought the Porsche to pit lane on lap 46 with approximately 27 minutes remaining for the team's final fuel stop. Jonathan Browne climbed back aboard to complete the final stint.
Following the final round of pit stops, the #3 Porsche rejoined in 22nd position, with Browne tasked with bringing the car safely to the finish.
Multiple incidents elsewhere in the field, including some mechanical failures and differing fuel strategies - and eventually a Full Course Yellow following Bill Auberlen's losing a wheel - compressed the GS field once more.
Browne continued circulating cleanly despite the interruptions, maintaining a steady pace as the race headed toward its conclusion. The final restart with only 4 minutes remaining provided little opportunity to gain further ground before another caution was required after a kerb became dislodged at the Bus Stop chicane.
The race therefore finished behind the Full Course Yellow: Browne and Stewart crossed the finish line in 23rd position in the GS class. While the outright result fell short of the pace the team had been capable of for circumstances outside of their control, Stewart at least saw the chequered flag for the first time since the season opener, in what undoubtedly felt like a step in the right direction.
Simply completing another full race distance allowed Stewart to continue rebuilding valuable race mileage after several interrupted weekends.
With another weekend now behind her, Stewart will look to carry the positives into the next round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on 10–12 July, hoping to finally break the streak of misfortunes into the second half of the season.
