GT class cars, have a long tradition, of racing, at Virginia International Raceway in Danville, Virginia. This is a track that was on the sports car racing radar from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s, and then, fell off the radar for a good number of years. But now, it is indeed, back to it's former glory. The GT Le Mans and GT Daytona divisions of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, take center stage, today.
Rolling hills and green grass is part of the scenery. But, this track is very demanding. The temperature is one thing. Hot! We are live, for sports car racing. In GT Le Mans it has been Ford and Corvette going at it. Ferrari is on top in GT Daytona, with Audi and Viper, giving chase. Anything can happen, as we start, now! "If there really is a heaven on earth, it must be VIR." VIR has just been repaved. Pure dominance for Corvette #4 and Ford GT #67. The heat and humidity will be a big deal. All cooling systems need to be set. The tires also need to be at a specific temperature at 200 to 220 degrees.
The cockpit temperatures will also b measured. It's hot. W are gren for the Michelin GT Challenge! We are green! Jan Magnussen leads and here come the Ford, the Ferrari, and the BMW. Joey Hand in the Ford GT is up to second, and we almost see the BMW M6 go off the road! Run up to the esses. This ribbon of road is amazing for the GTLM cars. Magnussen is truly hooked up. TommyMilner tries Giancarlo Fisichella. But, it's close. Down though the Roller Coaster, and back uphill to Hog Pen, to complete lap one. The Ford GT gives up speed quicker than the Corvtte does.
Tommy Milner is starting to lose spots. It's slick off line as the Turner Motorsports BMW M6 is into the pit lane in GT Daytona. He's gone off the road, and neds to repair damage. Thefront splitter is damaged. Joey Hand closes on Jan Magnussen as Giancarlo Fisichella is third. Magnussen twitches. The Turner BMW goes behind tghe wall. Ryan Brisco and Richard Westbrook are way down the order. Westbriiik has to be careful. Yesterday, during the Continental Tire Challeng race, had a huge deluge of rain. n The grass outside the track is also wet. So, do your darnedest to not go off the road,
It's Tandy vs. Milner. Westbrook maybe tagged that yellow and blue BMW M6 out of Hog Pen. Bret Curtis went around, and has now had to regroup. No action from the stewards. The cars work through the Roller Coaster section of track. Dirk Werner is running well in the BMW. Madison Snow in the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini, is pushing, with Matt Bell in the Stvenson Motorsports Audi R8, is still going strong. This course is suited for Lamborghini and Audi.
VIR is an hour or so north of Greensboro, North Carolina. The track is repaved entirely. Richard Westbrook has gotten around one of his rivals. Madison Snow leads GT Daytona at the moment in a class dominated by Lamborghini and Audi this weekend. The whole GT Daytona field was two seconds quicker than the old track record with the new pavement and GT3 spec cars. Christina Nielsen is also pushing very hard with the Ferrari 458 Italia of Scuderia Corsa. Nielsen has slid to tenth in the running order. Did the Ferrari get caught in the Ford/BMW shemozzle earlier? Maybe.
Corey Lewis and Spencer Pumpelly should give the Lamhorghini, a run. The pace is really heating up. Do teams go for two or three pit stops? It'll depend on long runs in the heat. Who has tire longevity? Who has tire performance? The fuel window will also play a factor. Nick Tandy gaps Tommy Milner. He almost went off the road into the wet grass. Porsche has had a lean year in North American GT competition, as the team Porsche of Earl Bamber, wiggles a bit. Jan Magnussen has nearly a second in hand over the #67 Ford GT of Joey Hand. Tire pressures need to come up on the Corvette, and the team is also working on fuel maps, running leaner, to save fuel.
Giancarlo Fisichella runs wide ahead of Dirk Werner in the BMW M6 GT. Those blokes needed a wheel change for some reason. The #100 car of John Edwards, he lost a wheel and had to pit to change it. Don't lose a wheel at 160+ miles an hour. Three wheels on my wagon. We have not seen anything like this from the #25 BMW. But, the Ford #67 and the Corvette #4 just have had a lot more luck. Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller have had speed, won Le Mans, but they haven't had much else to show this year. In GTLM, you have three compounds on soft, medium, and hard compounds for Michelin tires.
Giancarlo Fisichella forces the issue and runs Mario Farnbacher off the line into turn one. The #100 BMW M6 GT will be penalized by the stewards for the fireman at their pit, not having his balaclava and goggles on. Watch out for the grass, because there are loose grass clippings that could clog a radiator, easily, in one of these GT racers. John Edwards and Lucas Luhr have had a fraught season thus far in the IWSC. The fuel window will be 55-57 minutes, in this two hour and 40 minute race. Jan Magnussen is leading overall in GTLM at the moment.
Dirk Werner, Giancarlo Fisichella, Nick Tandy, and Tommy Milner are liner stern, but, they are behind the leader. Tandy runs deep, and Milner takes fifth spot away. Tandy was way off line. There's a lot of grip on this track. It's like Velcro. But, if you go off on the grass, it's like getting on a skating rink. There are no paved runoffs or gravel traps at VIR. They dug down into the pavement, without changing the corners. The same blokes who repaved Watkins Glen in New York, repaved this place. Cedric Sbirazualli in the Lamborghini, off and on.
Christina Nielsen is dealing with a vibration in her Ferrari at the moment. Madison Snow still leads. There are concerns about fueling time for the Lamborghini's. Thjey had their fueling restrictor reduced by a milimeter and a half, costing them seven additional seconds in the lane. Madison Snow has seven seconds in hand in the lead. Andrew Davis, he does not have the handling he wants on his Audi. The car crashed in practice, and confidence is needed to fly through these corners. Andrew Davis, is loose. Christina Nielsen is in a similar situation, pushing herself up to a higher position.
Jan Magnussen continues to lead. But, key cars are having some issues. BMW #25 runs wide. The Corvette goes off the road, getting clag all over his tires. Thjat grill is packed with grass. Ooh! The Viper, spins off the road in GT Daytona. The #4 Corvette pits and Bryan Sellers, he is the driver going into the #48 PMR Lamborghini. Good, clean stop. Check that. Madison Snow might still be in the car. We saw Ben Keating spin into the grass, and he got it into a forward gear, and thankfully didn't crash. The #63 Ferrari is in, and they need to clear grass out. Christina Nielsen is out of the car and has to finish her stint later, as Alessandro Balzan is now at the wheel. Christina went off the road in the uphill.
Drive through penalty for the #4 Corvette for using an unspecified air hose. Antonio Garcia now takes over the sister car from Jan Magnussen. The #4 car had an air line blowing out the radiators but it was operated by a man behind pit wall. That's a no no. Hot tires, and a light fuel load. It is go time, here at VIR. Ryan Briscoe takes over the #67 and the #911 Porsche 911RSR is slightly off the road. GTD teams are doing driver changes before 50 minutes, because of fuel issues. #63 is good to go with Alessandro Balzan at the controls. Antonio Garcia is going for it on Dirk Mueller out of Hog Pen.
The Corvette's were 11 thousandths of a second apart. Robin Liddell is being pushed by the Corvette. GTLM vs. GTD. Bill Auberlen took over the #25 BMW from Dirk Werner. Joey Hand runs a 1:43.1 on his in lap of his stint. Fast lap of the race so far. Earl Bamber has caught Dirk Mueller. Down into turn one, Bamber passes Liddell. Earl Bamber is chasing the Ford GT. Antonio Garcia is going for it, and is still strong. Lamborghini #16 is off the road. The humidity is up, in Virginia. One of the Porsche's went off the road. Frenchman Frederic Makowiecki, at the wheel.
It is go time, as we watch Andy Lally, trying to attack the #97 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 of Markus Palttala. With confidence, Andy Lally can truly set a fast, consistent, pace. Lally is a street luge racer. He ran down the back straight on his street luge at 107 miles an hour. Lally will try for a street luge speed record. Spencer Pumpelly, we watch him again, sliding off the road in the Hog Pen. One other chap who has done well, is Michael Marsal, a gentleman driver, who is Markus Palttala's team mate. Marsal is taking his racing far more seriously. No driver change for the PMR #48 Lamborghini. Madison Snow is still going for it.
Ryan Briscoe runs sixth, two spots clear of Tommy Milner's Corvette. Lawson Aschenbach is catching Madison Snow. Mario Farnbacher has also come from nearly dad lastt, to third in class for Alex Job at The Heart of Racing team. The #80 SRT Viper of Mike Skeen is fifth in GTD, sharing with Dan Knox. Sadly, it's game over for the sister #96 Turner Motorsports BMW. 120 degree track temperature, with zero tire concerns. That's good news. Antonio Garcia leads Dirk Mueller at the moment. Chevrolet vs. Ford. Ryan Briscoe runs ahead of Tommy Milner at the moment. Ford hasb track position.
Only two rounds left in IWSC after this race. Plus, there are a few other races that still need to be covered here on the blog. Oh dear! An off/on for Patrtick Pilet. #912 of Earl Bamber is off the road as well. Hmmm. A sudden incident. Hit the braskes and clear the grass. Patrick Pilet is pitting now. A huge amount of grass is caught in the radiator inlet and it is cleaned out. He's lost time and dropped to eighth. Garcia, Mueller, Vilander, are the top three. The #3 Corvette of Antonio Garcia has set sail in the GTLM lead. Garcia can and has used a full rich fuel setting, to gain more speed. 1:42.9 for Dirk Mueller. Mueller sets his personal best lap time.
Joey Hand was able to pull a Michael Schumacher, and while other drivers pitted, he starting laying down really quick, blistering lap times. Will Risi Competizione lose some time based on their fuel flow restriction? Hmmm. Every make needs to take the same time frame to fill the car with fuel, despite different types of engines and different fuel capacities/consumption. Andy Lally has a lead in this race. The SRT Viper is running well,l and they could have a strong showing in the next IWSC race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, next month.
The leaders catch GTD traffic. Madison Snow pits, and Bryan Sellers takes over the car once again. Many teams have tgo be careful with their pit stops. But, trouble for Alessandro Balzan. He's got a cut tire and thankfully, he's managed to pit. Lawson Aschenbach also pits one of the Stevenson Audi R8's. Patrick Pilet races the #4 Corvette for position. #3 and #66 both in the lane for routine service. Oliver Gavin has had some tire issues. #66 could not stretch their fuel. Corvette #4 is sixth. The bad news is, the #67 Ford leads, but needs to pit. Robbin Liddell will have a drive through penalty. #66 in the pit lane, now.
Dirk Mueller is closing on Antonio Garcia. Toni Vilander in the #62 Ferrari made his last pit stop. Spencer Pumpelly in the #16 Lamborghini is slow. Earl Bamber nudges the Ford to try and get around Joey Hand. Pumpelly tries to get off the racing line, as Bryan Sellers in the #48 Lamborghini is also off the road! #16 pits. Mueller runs behind the Corvette through The Snake. Did Antonio Garcia run wide and get clag on his tires? The warm weather is making these tires handle differently, but it is good, since midway through the stint, they come into their own. Temperatures are not so bad, but the humidity is up. Campers were sunburned and looking like boiled lobsters. So, it's hot in Alton, Virginia.
Car #48 may be needing to look at their fuel situation. Earl Bamber does the bump and run through the kink and says "thank you very much", making the pass. Antonio Garcia leads Dirk Mueller right now and Giancarlo Fisichella is also up there. Turner Motorsports' race goes from bad to worse. Markus Palttala has a tire down. Their strategist, Don Salama, it's his birthday today. But, not a good present, seeing your car, being torn up, by a shredded tire. Take your medicine, and fix the problem if you can. Madison Snow leads the GT Daytona class. This is a huge swing in points, when we have only two races to go in the season.
We have just over a half hour left in this event. VIR resurfaced the speedway before in 2013, but it wasn't working. So, they decided, "let's do it right, and repave the whole track". Well, it seems that is working like a charm. Dirk Mueller is losing a little time to Antonio Garcia, who is in control and managing the gap. Garcia flies in one of these Corvette's. Car #3 is looking for their first win of the 2016 season in IWSC. Giancarlo Fisichella is some 22 seconds in-arrears of the leaders, as Alex Riberas is a lapped GTD Porsche. Antonio Garcia is a great driver, who does not make mistakes.
The #27 Lamborghini is in the lane after problems, with the sister driver at the wheel. Luca Pesiani is that driver, sharing with lead pilot, Cedric Sbirrazuioli. Jeroen Bleekemolen needs to get rid of the grass in his SRT Viper's radiator. Hit the brakes, and ditch the grass. Bleekemolen is in the pits to get the grille cleaned. Mike Rockenfeller and Marcel Fassler will run the enduro at Petit Le Mans for the season finale and Ben Keating, his team might very well stay in GTD with a new manufacturer and a new car, next year.
Mike Skeen and Alex Riberas are battling each other. Skeen has lots of laps at VIR. This is Riberas' first VIR race. We have not seen a yellow flag all day, and we could see a race with no yellows here, for two years in a row. Mike Skeen is holding off Riberas' challenge. Skeen raced here in Trans Am back in 2009, but has not forgotten the quick line around his home track. We are into the final 15 minutes of this race. Alex Riberas has gone ahead of Mike Skeen. Ooh! Riberas thumps Skeen's Viper. Alessandro Balzan gets around Mike Skeen. Fuel for the Audi's is going to be close.
Robin Liddell and company in the Stevenson Audi, they are in the catbird seat on fuel. Oliver Gavin passes Ryan Briscoe for fourth. Briscoe in the Ford, had a slight mishap. The #4 car does not have any weak spots. Skeen pits his SRT Viper. Balzan is now right behind Riberas. Spencer Pumpelly is reeling off very quick laps after having issues earlier on. Corey Lewis is his team mate. #3 has an off and holds on. We are so close to the finish, here at Virginia International Raceway. Oh no!
Corvette #4 is off the road! Oliver Gavin, is off. He got on the curb, spun through the Roller Coaster, and, ker-rash! That was a long brake pedal for sure. Gavin his driven the car back to pit lane. He's devastated and knows it was a mistake. Game over for car #4. There's fluid coming out of the car. The GTD cars get a wave around. Thre will be a shootout to the end of this race. Everyone will go full rich for these final laps and put the welly down. Lights out on the safety car, and here we go, for the race to the finish!
Safety car, in. Garcia, away! Into the first trurn, Bamber is looking for it, and turns into Fisichella who is hung up on the grass! Risi Competizione won't be happy. Final lap. We will be done, this time by. Antonio Garcia has checked out. Corvette #3 is going to win the Michelin GT Challenge! Bryan Sellers is under pressure from Lawson Aschenbach and Andy Lally in GTD. Antonio Garcia will give Corvette their fifth win of the year and the first for Garcia and Magnussen!
Jan Magnussen gets his seventh win and second at VIR. The first VIR win for Antonio Garcia. In GT Daytona, it is Lamborghini earning their first ever IMSA WeatherTech win with Paul Miller Racing, and drivers Madison Snow, and Bryan Sellers!
Overall/GT Le Mans: #3 Garcia/Magnussen Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R-
GT Daytona: #48 Sellers/Snow Lamborghini Huracan GT3
Folks, there are now two races remaining in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship for 2016. Yours truly has a couple that have not been seen or written about. Will catch up with those. But, the penultimate event of the season is the Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, coming up in less than three weeks.
Post script. Earl Bamber and Giancarlo Fisichella, have had some cool down lap argy bargy. Not good. Those two blokes will have to settle their differences now that the race is over. So long, everyone. We'll see you, in Texas.
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