The race broadcast of the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, from Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, on IMSA Radio. We join John Hindhaugh and Jeremy Shaw in the broadcast booth calling the action, and intrepid pit reporter Shea Adam, to take you through the race which of course happened, last weekend. Enjoy.
https://www.imsa.com/video/2023-michelin-gt-challenge-at-vir-race-broadcast/
More news from the FIA World Endurance Championship looking ahead to the penultimate race of the season at Fuji Speedway in Fuji, Japan, in a couple of weeks.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning #51 Ferrari 499P of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi, needs a large dose of luck if they want to stay in the title fight with two races left in 2023.
All the post-race news from Virginia International Raceway.
Recapping VP Sports Car Challenge from VIR.
Reports from Super GT at Suzuka and Le Mans Cup at Aragon plus other racing action...
https://sportscar365.com/features/roundup/weekly-racing-roundup-8-28-23/
Virginia International Raceway, in Alton, Virginia. Since 1957, this legendary racecourse has played host to sports car racing of all sorts, even though it did (for a time) lay dormant as farmland for almost 30 years from 1974 to 2003. The first ever IMSA sanctioned race, was here as well. 20 years later, this track is back in business and has reclaimed its place as one of the premier venues for road racing and sports car racing in this country. Today, it is the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship and specifically, the GT classes of GT Daytona Pro and GT Daytona, for GT3 spec race cars, set to do battle for victory. It is the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR! It's live, and it's next!
A total of 19 cars will be starting this event. Five in GTD Pro and 14 in GTD regular. I ought to mention, the first IMSA race here when the series debuted back in 1969 under the guidance of the late, great John Bishop, was not for sports cars but it was a Formula Vee open wheel car race from what I can remember. Will have to reference the IMSA 50th Anniversary book that was published in 2019, to check for sure. VIR, as Paul Newman said, "is heaven on earth". It is an incredible circuit as the GT cars come out to play. The late, great racing journalist Chris Economaki also had fine things to say about this place.
No prototypes to get in the way. It is all about GT racing on this Sunday afternoon. What a gorgeous day. 84 degrees with a touch of humidity at 16%. We have two hours and 40 minutes of racing coming up. In GT Daytona Pro, Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat lead by a mere 169 points over challengers from Corvette Racing, WeatherTech Racing Mercedes, and Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. Vasser Sullivan have scored their third 2023 pole position. At Mosport Park, it was their first non-podium of the year. They were forced to focus.
James "Sully" Sullivan said to the team "do ordinary, extraordinarily well." The magic number in GT Daytona is one. Paul Miller Racing and their BMW M4 GT3 has been the dominant car in 2023. The Sellers/Snow duo have won half the races already this year. Four wins in eight races. They swept Road America and have momentum, going to the pole as the cars are on track for their recon laps, their formation laps. We have Brian Till and Calvin Fish calling the action topside and Hannah Newhouse and Matt Yocum reporting from the pit lane.
A massive crowd of spectators here ready to see this race happen. A major hurdle is this racetrack. You cannot rest on your laurels at this place. If you make a mistake, your day may be over, finding the grass, and the barriers. The drivers are signing contracts for next year, at this time. Job security is what the drivers are looking for as we are on our last warmup lap. Safety car lights out. The cooler temperatures will be a big help. It was hot and slick in qualifying yesterday. We have a reprieve in the weather, but the track is not cutting anyone any breaks this afternoon.
Desperation may be setting in for some drivers. The field is formed up. We've got a green flag. Go! Bibendum waves the green. Hawksworth takes the inside and chops the Mercedes. Madison Snow wants by Antonio Garcia. Daniel Juncadella is chasing Jack Hawksworth. Don't hang back too much. Argy bargy and dust flying through The Snake. The only difference between the classes is red highlights for Pro and green for regular. The cars are all GT3 spec, and you will just have different driver ratings. Jack Hawksworth has rocketed away from everyone else as Daniel Juncadella has Antonio Garcia right on his six.
Corvette Racing have not had the season they wanted in the final season of the factory Corvette program. Hawksworth and Barnicoat are doing what they've done all season and they have only had one non-podium effort which came in the summer of 2022, over a year ago. Up through The Snake they go. Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth come from the same part of England, and both have heavy British accents and can understand each other. You need a good exit off Oak Tree, and it is a key corner on the track. There was an actual oak tree there years ago, but it was taken out. The poor tree I think withered away. Through Hog Pen, the final turn. Maintain the balance on the Michelin tires.
They are durable but they will need to last through a stint. The Lexus RC F GT3 is the oldest car in the field but they have a huge notebook of information to set the car up compared to all the newer GT3 cars. On Friday, the Mercedes caught fire, a flash fire disconnecting the fuel rig and hit the exhaust and the red-hot brake rotors. It buffed out and the car was fine. Daniel Juncadella has Garcia making a move. So, Juncadella gives it up to his fellow Spaniard. Oh dear! We have a massive accident, and it is the #92 Kelly Moss Racing Porsche! If you get it wrong, you are in big, big trouble.
Full Course Yellow. Where did that happen? It looks like part of the climbing esses, The Snake. It is in The Snake, in turn five. The safety crews are on site with damage on the wall. At the top of the picture, he gets wide and clobbers the tires and got slightly airborne, spinning to a stop. David Brule out of the car. VIR has bitten. The Snake, has bitten, big style. David Brule and Alec Udell, they are out. Game over. A massive crowd of fans here today to see great racing. If you are going to win today at VIR, keep it between Heaven's gates. Watch your temperatures for the cockpit and the engines and brakes as well. Undercut potential, when the tires lost their edge, come in early and use tire performance to leapfrog the competition.
David Brule's smashed Porsche being loaded onto the rollback truck, and he climbed into the safety vehicle and will be taken for a checkup at the medical center. This race has been going on for eight years and racer's, families, and car clubs come here. Car & Driver magazine has held their "lightning lap" challenge here since 2006. The Michelin tires on these race cars are the same ones used for track days and vintage racing as well. Sheena Monk and Katherine Legge have had quite the season so far in the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3. Leaning into the uncomfortable things you have to do adjusting to a new car, is what she has done.
The Acura's are good on the side of tire degradation, and they have been much more focused on getting Sheena Monk up to speed rather than focusing on setups. Patrick Pilet and Pfaff Motorsports have had just one win this year compared to winning five races including here at VIR. They are telling Patrick Pilet to play the long game and save fuel. Pilet sharing with Klaus Bachler and he has been coasting into the brake zones to save fuel. We still have work going on, on the tire barriers. But we'll be back to green soon, fans. Don't worry.
We are set to go back to green. If you pitted now, you can make it to the end on one more stop if you hit the lane now. Punch it. Jack Hawksworth leads. No one is taking to the lane yet. Antonio Garcia in the #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R is building tire temperature as Loris Spinelli too, is up on the wheel with some argy bargy between he and Mike Skeen in the #32 Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. Patrick Pilet is pushing hard. Jack Hawksworth looks great currently and has eked out a lead. Meanwhile, Madison Snow is challenging Daniel Juncadella. I am not fighting you for position but I don't need you in between me and my rival.
Aaron Telitz in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 is behind, sharing with Frankie Montecalvo. Loris Spinelli sharing with Misha Goikhberg in the #78 U.S. Racetronics Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Teams can have flexibility with their driver ratings being equally matched. The cars are very evenly matched. Five brands in the top five. This is true in both classes, and all are running very close together. Lexus, Corvette, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Porsche, BMW, and others. Nine OEM's are involved in the championship this year.
Have suspension compliance to eat up the pavement through the esses and use every inch of the curbs but don't drop a wheel off the back side of the curb, carving the corner into Madison Avenue. Watch out for the gray area with the clag, the marbles on the side of the road. Telitz, Spinelli, and Skeen in their own battles. Different sizes, shapes, and sounds of these GT3 cars making power and speed in different ways but racing very close together. Ross Gunn scored track records here at VIR in recent years. Balance of Performance has taken power away from the Aston martin's who have won the last two rounds of the championship.
Patrick Pilet chasing the second GTD class Heart of Racing Aston Martin. #23, the Pro car is Alex Riberas and Ross Gunn and #27 is Roman De Angelis and Marco Sorensen. Patrick Pilet is chasing Roman De Angelis followed by the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3, Patrick Gallagher at the wheel of it, sharing with BMW factory driver, Robby Foley. Strategies at play to go for a win here at VIR. The competition is hot. A battle royal among these GT cars. Daniel Juncadella ahead of Madison Snow, a scrap between GTD Pro and GTD. Juncadella still chasing Garcia.
This course is just over three and a quarter miles, 17 corners. Built on 1,300 acres of land. Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood won the first IMSA sports car race here in 1971 in a Porsche 914/6. Robby Foley is confident. Daniel Juncadella, for he and Jules Gounon, it has been feast or famine. There is still fire extinguisher residue in the cockpit of the car, like cleaning your toaster or your oven at home. He ran across the grass and inches it back onto the road, feeling the pressure and Madison Snow says, "I gotta get out of here!" Don't be a part of someone else's bad day.
Madison Snow taking his time, not being harried by Aaron Telitz in the #12 Lexus RC F GT3. Minimal changes in track temperatures will drive you nuts because the car will handle completely differently as far as the grip and how the tire sticks to the pavement. It happens everywhere in all forms of racing. Next up in mid-September, IMSA will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hello to "Roxy", the pink dinosaur because "Rexy" her brother, is going to Japan for the FIA World Endurance Championship. Roxy might appear only once.
Sebastian Priaulx never knew he would drive a hot pink car, much less a pink dinosaur. P.J. Hyett's daughter designed "Roxy". Madison Snow has cleared Daniel Juncadella and Juncadella now knows not to fight. This sector, hit the gates like a slalom skier. The road falls away and there is huge elevation change. Madison Snow and Paul Miller Racing are making history, four wins in eight races. Holy mackerel. We have been racing now for almost an hour. This all-GT race is going by at a tremendous clip.
Misha Goikhberg now at the wheel of the #78 Lamborghini and they came to the pit lane but had some trouble. Maybe there was a mechanical issue or had trouble with his drive time. Paul Miller Racing in the from the lead of the mtoor race in GT Daytona, and now, will do a driver change with Bryan Sellers. Will he double stint? Will he single stint and hand back over to Madison Snow later? More and more cars in the lane. Turner Motorsports #97 in. Chandler Hull handing over to Bill Auberlen and Patrick Gallagher handing to Robby Foley. Katherine Legge takes over the Gradient Racing Acura from Sheena Monk, car #66.
Auberlen touches Legge and gains a place over Legge. He caught Katherine Legge napping. The #78 car, the Lamborghini lost power and had to power cycle. They are looking at the data on the team but Misha Goikhberg has his head down and eyes forward. He was struggling with his safety belts as well. Korthoff Motorsports now in the lane with the #32 Mercedes-AMG GT3. Mike Skeen handing off to Mikael Grenier. Last year, it was Stevan McAleer and Mike Skeen sharing this race car. Turner Motorsports have gained on the undercut in the #96 car over the Heart of Racing Aston Martin. Inception Racing want better results than they have been getting. They have had two runner-up finishes.
Brendon Iribe sharing with Fredrik Schandorff, the Danish driver. Aaron Telitz brings the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 to the lane for fuel, tires, and a driver change to Frankie Montecalvo. Full fuel load is 40 seconds. Less time for a splash and dash which is why the driver change is so frantic and hurried. If you make a mistake, put it behind you and focus forward. Bryan Sellers leading GT Daytona in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 three seconds to the good over Frankie Montecalvo.
Pit stop time for the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin as Alex Riberas replaces Ross Gunn. Penalty for the sister car, failure to adhere to the minimum fuel flow time or fuel flow rate. The equipment, the fueling rig does the monitoring and the stewards check the numbers. A drive through penalty under green will cost 21 seconds. 17 drivers have not driven a GT Daytona car here at VIR. It is a major jump between a GT4 car and a GT3 car. Corvette #3 in the lane, staying focused on winning before they have their new GT3 car coming next year.
Lexus waiting for Jack Hawksworth to come to the lane and respond to the Corvette. Fredrik Schandorff now chasing Klaus Bachler. McLaren 720S GT3 vs. Porsche 911 GT3R (992). Schandorff forces the issue through turn three as Bachler slams the door in his face! Hawksworth to the pit lane, crawling down to the very end of the lane. Driver change, to Ben Barnicoat. New tires, and fuel in the tank. The car is down off the air jacks, and they are away. Schandorff around Pilet. Jordan Taylor now in the Corvette reeling in Ben Barnicoat. More action still to come and trust me, you will want to stay tuned.
A GT Daytona car is leading overall. Bryan Sellers is driving the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. They are putting the knowledge of this car to great use. Goikhberg off in the grass at turn one. Easy to do, and similar to turns 11 and 12 on the other side of the circuit. This place takes massive commitment. All grass runoff. Keep it between heaven's gates. GT3 cars have antilock brakes and poor old Misha Goikhberg locked up. They had power problems on the car, and the antilock brakes are not working on the Lamborghini. The air intakes are packed up with grass. The grass cannot be mowed if it rains just like your lawn at home.
A heavy impact in turn 14. I think it is the same car, the #78 Lamborghini. Poor old Misha Goikhberg has stuffed it into the tires. Full Course Yellow. We are under Full Course Yellow. In replay, screech! Bang! The front brakes are busted. The car will not turn. The antilock brakes are not working and are totally on the fritz. So, we will be under Full Course Yellow for a wee while. We have seen raindrops in the last few minutes. We could get showers or something before the end of the motor race this afternoon. We shall see what the radat looks like.
Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, hosted the Mazda MX5 Cup for a test with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chad McCumbee, Bobby Labonte, and Martinsville Speedway President, Clay Campbell. We have seen other drivers like James Hinchcliffe and Parker Kligerman in a Mazda MX5 as well. A couple NBC motorsports personalities. Sheena Monk tells us that the heat is staggering, like opening your oven while wearing a snowsuit. Keep the ice handy. It is so hard to work and drive these cars in the heat. The rain could play into the hands of the Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22. The brollies are up. The umbrellas are for sun and rain alike.
Keeping your core cool, this is the opposite of a radiator, pumping cold water through a driver's body to keep their core temperature down. Lexus has had a great race thus far with a car on rails. Thunderstorms are in the area and we'll have to see if we can race in the wet. There are some small showers and bigger ones 60 miles to the southwest. Extensive and expensive damage to the #78 Lamborghini. Michelin rain tires are at the ready, but the tread blocks dissipate the water and are a much softer compound and cannot work at all in the dry. Some spectators including young racing fans, catching a nap. No time to snooze now as we still have more racing to do.
Green flag. We are racing again. Misha Goikhberg checked and released from the infield care center. Great news. No injuries. The orange #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 is moving up and fast. Robby Foley is being chased by Fredrik Schandorff. Foley was on pole in a similar M4 GT3 in SRO competition here at VIR earlier in the summer. Kay van Berlo going side by side with Marco Sorensen. Kellymoss Porsche 911 GT3R vs. Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The young Dutchman will get his elbows out. Sebastian Priaulx in "Roxy" the bright pink dinosaur Porsche. He has Jules Gounon in the #79 WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 next up.
We are halfway home. An hour and 20 minutes in, and an hour and 20 minutes left. Barnicoat going to the inside. Jordan Taylor is pushing and wedges his way between the Lexus and the BMW and side by side with Ben Barnicoat and then Barnicoat chops Taylor's nose off through The Rollercoaster and into Hog Pen. The #3 Corvette team wants to go out on a high. Jordan Taylor will be moving along back to GTP with his dad's team and the Acura GTP team for 2024. Jordan Taylor is a very experienced driver and knows he has an outside shot at the championship in the last couple races. But the Lexus team could still clinch the GT Daytona Pro championship today.
We'll have to see what is going to happen. For Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth, they are playing defense. Corvette was going to pit and take left side tires but they did an audible. The driver can give the team feedback on what to do. Tire rub and bodywork damage on the left rear of the #79 WeatherTech Mercedes. He got clipped by the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche of Klaus Bachler! Bang. Michelin tires are durable but not when they are being sliced into by carbon fiber bodywork, like a razorblade. The stewards are looking at the contact between those two cars. It is not into the sidewall but into the meat, the tread of the tire and it might scythe down to the cords.
Bachler's Porsche has right front corner damage to the fender. No further action after that shemozzle. Mmm hmmm. I am not sure I fully agree with that decision. At least IMSA does make consistent calls in this case. Jordan Taylor is doing all he can to catch and pass Ben Barnicoat. Corvette want to go out on top from their factory effort as Pratt & Miller will run the new GT3 Corvette as well as being in the hands of privateer teams. Klaus Bachler pitted six laps deeper into the race than the leaders did. Both of the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3's are running very well.
Two cars, one team. Patrick Gallagher and his teammates all work together. They are in the hunt, but they don't know if they have the same speed as the McLaren does. It has been a solid day for the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche. No action for a penalty from IMSA after the shemozzle. Bachler told to push by team manager Steve Bortolotti. The #91 Kelly Moss and Riley Motorsports Porsche has been running extremely well. Kay van Berlo sharing with Alan Metni. Some drivers are praying for rain in this last hour. There are showers in the area here in Fairfax County, Virginia. Next year will be even more competitive.
Up through the climbing esses, flat out to turn ten. We shall see pit stops soon. Turner Motorsport and the #96 BMW in the lane for brand new Michelin tires and more VP Racing fuel in the tank. This is their last pit stop. Robby Foley will finish the race out and Bill Auberlen will come in next time around with one hour of racing left. Bang on the fuel number. Ben Barnicoat leads the motor race currently as Aaron Telitz in the sister car is finishing it out and moving up the leaderboard. There is some risk when doing a driver change with a partial fuel load. Corvette to the lane, car #3. They followed the #14 Lexus but called an audible as we said.
Jordan Taylor will finish the race. Bill Auberlen has new tires and fuel and Katherine Legge topping up on fuel in the #66 Acura and the other car to come in for service, the #77 Volt Racing Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R of Trent Hindman and Alan Brynjolfsson. Lexus #14 now in the pit lane as well. Pit stall number one. Fuel and tires. Execution, poise, focus, have been the keys for the Lexus team but Barnicoat stalls the car and has a delay. Jordan Taylor passes, and Barnicoat pushed too hard and is out of sync. Ugh! He is revving the engine to keep it from bogging down with a rich fuel mixture and the motor stalled.
56 minutes to go. Look at those leaden skies over VIR. I wonder still if we will see raindrops. Ben Barnicoat has to manage it and level out his performance. Although Jordan Taylor is also being told to go for it now that Barnicoat has had his troubles. Corvette Racing has executed very well today. Everything has to work. A penalty for working underneath the car during refueling for the #70 Inception Racing McLaren! That is a massive mistake for a well-oiled team led by former driver Bas Leinders. Dear oh dear.
Bill Auberlen is chasing Snow, Schandorff, and Foley. Auberlen is a true veteran but has been eclipsed in a way by some of the younger drivers. He still has the passion for racing. He can still wheel a GT sports car and specifically, a BMW. Madison Snow is still leading GT Daytona. His co-driver Bryan Sellers tells us that situational awareness is the key and they have had some good, clean racing with the #3 GTD Pro class Corvette. They are still running their own race, with a lead of 200 points that can easily evaporate if something goes wrong. Sellers is not feeling well. Race every single race to do the best you can and not worry so much about points.
But Paul Miller Racing are going on this drive for five wins. After we are done at VIR, we are going to "The Brickyard", the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the hybrid powered GTP prototypes. We have not been there since 2014. Tune in on Sunday, September 17th. It'll be amazing. Carroll Shelby said, "one lap at VIR is like ten at Watkins Glen." Two great race tracks we race at in IMSA. Kerrigan Smith and company who run the circuit have done a great job with massive investment at the circuit. It is safety for the participants and the spectators alike.
Philip Ellis and Winward Racing are in the top six and have done extremely well in GT Daytona. They rolled off the trailer well. Ellis being chased by Aaron Telitz. A 5-liter V8 in the Lexus RC F GT3 and a 6.2-liter V8 in the Mercedes-AMG GT3. Lady luck has not been on the side of Winward Racing as they have not had any podiums yet this year. Jordan Taylor now leads by 2.4 seconds over Ben Barnicoat. Aaron Telitz, we will have to see what his future holds for 2024 and beyond. Some drivers are in a resume building position right now, for sure.
Klaus Bachler is trying to survive, chasing down Ben Barnicoat. The car is running OK but there's still 38 minutes on the board. It has been a head scratcher with the new 992 model Porsche 911. Porsche's run sixth, seventh, and eighth in GT Daytona. Sebastian Priaulx, Klaus Bachler, and Kay van Berlo. Katherine Legge running ahead of Fredrik Schandorff who is racing IMSA, European Le Mans Series, and SRO Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe. This is a team sport, obviously. A shoutout too to the camera operators, sweltering in the Virginia heat, and Matt Yocum and Hannah Newhouse patrolling the pit lane.
Jordan Taylor now leads Ben Barnicoat by 2.6 seconds. 35 minutes left on the board. Be smooth, be consistent. The points table in GTD Pro looks like this.
The Porsche has not performed extremely well on one particular circuit this year. Nine brands in the two classes in GT Daytona Pro and regular. Porsche have not had the consistency they wanted. The #91 Porsche has a raspier exhaust note for some reason. Something different with the muffler? Is there a problem on the car? I don't think so. Robby Foley in second is keeping Madison Snow honest with Bull Auberlen in third. BMW 1-2-3. 23 minutes of racing remaining. Auberlen trying to hang on to the two younger drivers ahead.
Jordan Taylor has a three second cushion over Ben Barnicoat. 3.1 seconds precisely. Is he saving fuel? Does Corvette need to save fuel? VIR is so deceptive because it looks wider than it is. Hard to get a mulligan today. Only two more races coming after today's event is over. Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. We are expecting a 50+ car field for Petit le Mans this year coming up in mid-October for the finale. Madison Snow leading Robby Foley by over seven seconds. Other teams in GTD are digging deeper to find ways to compete.
Years ago, Turner Motorsports were the dominant BMW team and they have been this year over Paul Miller Racing and it is a feather in the hat of the team. For Trent Hindman in the #77 Volt Racing Porsche 911 GT3R, he is chasing down Klaus Bachler, a Porsche factory driver. Hindman has won a title before here and won a GT4 championship in Michelin Pilot Challenge and have stepped up into GT3 in the WeatherTech Championship under team boss John Wright, a very experienced team manager. Everyone is in the window to get to the end with 13 minutes to go.
Madison Snow leading from the pole position in third overall. Paul Miller Racing will step up to the GT Daytona Pro class next year. Jordan Taylor has been fuel saving and I wonder if indeed Robby Foley is doing the same. He is indeed. It will be very close in these final ten minutes. Foley pitted a lap earlier than teammate Bill Auberlen. Don't push it and maybe stay content with second spot. The checkered flag is coming soon and we'll have another IMSA WeatherTech Championship race in the bag.
Fredrik Schandorff chasing Kay van Berlo for seventh spot in the GT Daytona class with five minutes left. You never want to be beaten or overtaken. Your ego gets in the way and you don't want to be passed. Schandorff has a head of steam and van Berlo is making him go the long way 'round. I think the McLaren is kinder to the Michelin tires than the Porsche as Phlip Ellis has caught Bill Auberlen. This is for third in GT Daytona. 6.2-liter V8 Mercedes, naturally aspirated, vs. 3-liter turbo V6 BMW. Some drivers want loads of information and other drivers want to do their job and tell their crew like Kimi Raikkonen did famously in a Formula 1 race saying "leave me alone. I know what I'm doing."
Kay van Berlo has Fredrik Schandorff on his six. Just what we spoke about. van Berlo making Schandorff take the high road. He will have to be forceful through turns 11 and 12. It is tough and van Berlo goes off in the dust again. Schandorff is right on him down Madison Avenue. I think Schandorff will clear the Porsche and he does. He slams the door in van Berlo's face. Two laps to go. Race Control will look at that and saw both cars made moves. The #57 Mercedes of Pjhilip Ellis dives inside of Bill Auberlen. This again is the Mercedes and BMW scrap and Ellis is totally demonic on the brakes! Unbelievable!
Bill Auberlen was a shot duck there. Jordan Taylor will have one more lap to go and a second and a half in hand over Ben Barnicoat as Barnicoat has been closing but might run out of time. White flag for Madison Snow in GT Daytona leading Robby Foley by 11 and a half seconds. Don't relax. You have to keep your foot in it. Taylor should have enough in hand and for Barnicoat, he sees it and can almost grab it but it won't be enough. We used to have 2 hour and 45 minute sprint races, but those five minutes were taken out.
Corvette win at Virginia International Raceway, closing the gap to the #14 Lexus for the GTD Pro championship and Paul Miller Racing have now scored five wins in a row in GT Daytona! They make history!
Overall/GT Daytona Pro: #3 Taylor/Garcia Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GTD
GT Daytona: #1 Snow/Sellers Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3
The next race on the calendar will be a return to the greatest racetrack in the world, "The Brickyard", the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We'll see you at Indianapolis in three weeks. For now, so long from Virginia International Raceway. For now, so long everyone. Take care.
Go for a lap of Virginia International Raceway in No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo...
https://sportscar365.com/videos/a-lap-of-vir-with-russell-ward/
Bijoy Garg sweeps weekend in VP Sports Car Challenge at Virginia International Raceway...
Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 quickest in warmup for Michelin GT Challenge...
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/schandorff-quickest-in-vir-warmup/
Welcome back, everybody, to Virginia International Raceway. Glad to have you with us on this Sunday morning. It is time now for the second and final installment of racing this weekend for the IMSA VP Sports Car Challenge. Get ready for another fast-paced 45 minutes of action, coming up, next! A cloudy morning here at Virginia International Raceway. But, the fans are here in force for a full day of racing today. Turns 1, 12, 14, and 17 really are the critical corners on this circuit, especially 14, The Rollercoaster, and 17, Hog Pen, the last corner on the track. Plenty of people camping out this weekend waking up now for more racing. In race one yesterday, we saw a flag-to-flag victory for Bijoy Garg in the LMP3 class and in GSX it was Francis Selldorff earning a hard fought victory.
Hopefully Dan Goldburg might be able to challenge today and give Bijoy Garg a run for his money. Gregory Liefooghe starts from pole today in GSX. Liefooghe is out there to have fun. We saw great racing in GSX yesterday. Brady Behrman ended up with a good finish for van der Steur Racing in the Aston Martin yesterday. Safety car lights off. A 45-minute sprint race. No scheduled pit stops and no driver changes. VIR is the closest track, the home track to JR III's shop. Bijoy Garg and Dan Goldburg start on the front row. Liefooghe and Selldorff on the front row in GSX.
Green flag. Away we go. Ligier's vs. Duqueine's. Ligier's get up to speed quicker. Brian Thienes in second already and Dan Goldburg gets swamped and is fourth now. He is behind Alex Kirby. Start under review as the GSX cars are motoring away. Francis Selldorff is now third being passed for second by Sebastian Carazzo who needs to collect points with one more race weekend at Road Atlanta during the Petit Le Mans weekend. Adam Adelson perhaps did not start this race. That is a shame. Dan Goldburg fending off Courtney Crone.
The Ligier comes alive quicker in LMP3 than the Duqueine does. Goldburg and Courtney Crone have falled behind just a bit. Crone is beginning to make up time. Goldburg is only 40 points behind Bijoy Garg in the overall championship and has a massive lead in the Bronze Cup. He is a homebuilder by trade, from Florida as they fly onto Madison Avenue. Jonathan Woolridge, the Canadian driver, who won is home race earlier in the year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Patrick Willmot is now catching up to both Sebastian Carazo and Francis Selldorff.
Sebastian Carrazo is a Porsche specialist and has been successful in the past in Porsche Carrera Cup. Selldorff is looking to the inside. Patrick Wilmot does not want to get tangled up in any shemozzle here. Selldorff is driving in a couple different championships. Only three races left this year, actually two, after this morning's race ends. Sebastian Carazzo needs good luck. There is a 120 point swing between these two drivers and Sebastian Carazzo must finish in front. Both Alex Kirby and Brian Thienes are on probation. They will race hard but cannot be too aggressive.
You have to watch yourself so you don't get benched and then you cannot run in any series sanctioned by IMSA if you are naughty and disobey the racing rules. Meanwhile, the battle is on between two Californians. Thienes makes a mistake and Alex Kirby makes the pass. Thienes has some damage on the left rear bodywork. Kirby is setting sail, motoring away as Thienes has Dan Goldburg right on his six. Courtney Crone is hanging right with these two. She is staying in the fight. Thienes now beginning to recover.
In GSX, Greg Liefooghe is eking out a gap as Patrick Willmot is pushing Sebastian Carazzo to the limit through The Rollercoaster. Split Decision Motorsports, a small team, that is punching above their weight showing good results. 1:55.296, fastest lap for Liefooghe. Bijoy Garg sets a new lap record at 1:43.309. The third-place battle in GSX is the hottest one on the track currently. Willmot and Carazzo heading through The Snake, also known as The Climbing Esses. It has been hot and some drivers are not feeling well. It is the combination of the heat and the twisty bits. Maybe there is motion sickness affecting the drivers.
Oh no! Someone is off and upside down! Oh no! It is Todd Coleman in his Aston Martin! The car is on it's roof at turn 14. He lost it on corner entry, at high speed. Let's hope he is OK. That is very scary to be upside down and wondering where you are. Full Course Yellow immediately. Full Course Yellow. 32 minutes left on the board. We don't know if he clouted the tire wall. This is very concerning. You want out, but releasing the seatbelts when you are upside down is very dangerous because you would fall on your head. You are scared to death for sure.
This was a high-speed accident. No wonder they call that section of the course, The Rollercoaster. Speed scrubbed away in the braking zone. It was not a scenario where he had a braking issue and went off at high speed onto the grass. Kudos to Kerrigan Smith and the staff here at Virginia International Raceway improving the safety of this great circuit. The new tire barrier has been put to the ultimate test. Kerrigan Smith, owner of this circuit, is a major advocate for motor racing safety. VIR is a track with consequences. If you go off the road, it is impossible to get back on for the most part. Motor racing is and always will be dangerous, but safety is still paramount.
The marshals and safety workers are taking care of Todd Coleman trying to rescue him safely and the car has to be turned back over on it's wheels. We could very well see some nasty weather this afternoon for the other races scheduled including the WeatherTech Championship GTD Pro/GTD feature later this afternoon. Bijoy Garg leads Alex Kirby in LMP3 and in GSX it is Greg Liefooghe leading Francis Selldorff. The flipped car will roll over onto an airbag to get to the driver, just like the airbags in your passenger car at home.
Todd Coleman is talking to the safety workers and he should be fine. The car is on the airbag now. Todd Coleman has undone his seatbelts and is climbing from the smashed car under his own steam. Om replay, Coleman spins backwards and makes contact with the wall. He is out of the car and will be taken to the medical center to get checked over. He also raced and had trouble in the Michelin Pilot Challenge event we brought to you yesterday. He was side by side with Vincent Barletta when that accident happened.
Coleman had passed by Angus Rogers into The Rollercoaster, in the #5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Porsche Cayman. The incident is under review by the stewards. In the offseason, as we reach the halfway mark., the Armco barrier and the banded tire wall were installed and moved. Last year, cars would have spun through the grass and come back onto the track and cars couldn't have gotten out of the way. Getting T boned would have been much, much worse. Thank God for the safety improvements here at VIR. The banding on the tires is conveyor belt material and the tire wall is able to move and absorb the energy.
There are two layers of tires and that corner is over the crest of a hill. That was a low percentage move by Vin Barletta, unfortunately. We do not know, and it does not matter who was trying to gain an advantage, but you have to make a definitive pass at the end of the backstretch. I don't think Barletta was there. He wasn't. He was frustrated and just pushed Coleman out of the way. He was obviously frustrated. Accidents happen. It was not done on purpose. Believe me. VIR is such a tough circuit to deal with. That corner is much faster than it might initially appear especially on television.
Safety car lights off. So, we are ready to go back to green. What does Alex Kirby have left in the locker to run down Bijoy Garg? Green flag. Alex Kirby has had good runs and troubles just the same. He is looking for better. Well before Hog Pen, Bijoy Garg pushes the bye bye button. He has a cushion over the aforementioned Alex Kirby. Vincent Barletta assigned to incident responsibility for Todd Coleman's crash, and he will serve a stop and hold + five seconds penalty. This indicates that incident was very serious.
Francis Selldorff is still ahead of Sebastian Carazo. These are the GSX championship rivals. Greg Liefooghe leads the motor race in class. Patrick Wilmot still running in fourth in class and looks to the inside of Carazo, but Carazo slams the door and that could very well be a block and Wilmot says, "bye bye, Mister" and then Carazo says, "oh no you don't, sunshine." The stewards will look at all this and poor old Patrick Wilmot is slowing. Race Director Todd Snyder believes time penalties are in order for rough driving, not just drive through penalties.
Beaux Barfield, Race Director for the WeatherTech Championship always says, "did you know he was there? The worst answer is no, but the 'I don't know' excuse is worse. Also, race the way you want to be raced. That is essentially, the Golden Rule. Patrick Wilmot was absolutely fuming! But, it does not matter. I see where he is coming from. But, move on to Road Atlanta for the final races of the season. That's all. In the meantime, Dan Goldburg is having a tough old time now trying to get by Brian Thienes.
In replay, Willmot sails past Carazo, and they ware wheel to wheel in turn four before Willmot gets bumped and he didn't disappear. Race like you want to be raced. But keep it clean and use your head. This is not a fully professional series like Michelin Pilot Challenge or the WeatherTech Championship. These drivers are going to school to move up the racing ladder. Sebastian Carazo is very talented and has to restrain his enthusiasm for wanting to go for it all the time, which is a fine balance. Dan Goldburg chasing Brian Thienes in LMP3. Ligier vs. Duqueine. All LMP3 cars have Nissan V8 power.
The car is on edge, all over the road, the Duqueine. The Ligier chassis looks much more comfortable. The incident has been reviewed. No action taken by the Race Director because as they went into turn four, the left-hander, the #88 was fully committed and Willmot should have expected Carazo to run wide on corner exit. By the same token, Carazo should have known the other car was there. In Michelin Pilot Challenge we had a wonderful race yesterday with all kinds of side-by-side action. Goldburg trying every trick in the book to get past Thienes. #77 tries to pull a handful of car lengths to Goldburg and poor old Dan Goldburg just can't find the answer to Thienes' riddle.
This is the battle for the Bronze Cup as well. They pass by Vincent Barletta through The Rollercoaster. Goldburg can close up in turns three and four. Six and a half minutes of racing remaining. Up to the climbing esses, Brian Thienes seems to have an advantage over Dan Goldburg. Goldburg is right on his tail. Well, well, well. Kirby is five seconds, five and a half seconds to the good over these two and Courtney Crone runs fifth. Bijoy Garg has a two second lead. Gregory Liefooghe has nearly taht amount over Francis Selldorff in GSX as well.
Up through The Snake they go. Liefooghe, Selldorff, Carazo. That is the top three in GSX. Sean Quinlan, in the sister Stephen Cameron BMW has Scott Blind and Frank DePew scrapping and now, the LMP3's are working GSX traffic and Tim Probert slams the door on Dan Goldburg! He got balked and now, Goldburg passes Thienes and then Courtney Crone takes the bait and Brian Thienes slides high and they both spin! Synchronized spinning! Good grief! Thienes is sitting in the barn now, and will resume but his podium chances are dashed.
Propbert did jot even see Goldburg. he sees Thienes but not Goldburg. Tim Probert was holding his line and not driving in a silly manner. I think Dan Goldburg misjudged that deal. Courtney Crone was not even close though. She had a lapse of judgment. They have come together a handful of times. Unnecessary contact and Dan Goldburg will still finish in third and not be able to challenge Alex Kirby in second spot. Race Control lets us know that Courtney Crone has to serve a drive through penalty or receive a time penalty.
Alex Kirby though is right on Bijoy Garg's six! Something happened and Bijoy Garg was far slower than Kirby. 1:49.1 for Garg and 1:45.9 for Kirby. White flag this time around. Garg gets balked by the BMW. Does Kirby have a head of steam? Garg blocks. White flag. Three and a quarter miles to go, one more lap. Can Kirby do the over/under? No. Time is just about to run out. Greg Liefooghe gives the overall leaders the space. Time running out. I think this race will end a lap early. Maybe not. The race, in theory, is over. Not everyone has seen it. It is completed. That was anticlimactic.
Bijoy Garg is the winner overall and in LMP3 and Greg Liefooghe is the GSX class winner.
Overall/LMP3: #3 Bijoy Garg JR III Racing Ligier JS P320 Nissan
GSX: #19 Greg Liefooghe Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82)
It is not unexpected for the officials to see that the race will be too close to call. They saw the clock had run out and threw the checkered flag. Not the way you want to do it but be fair and square. In a sport judged by thousandths of a second, do the best to be fair. So, Bijoy Garg has quite the lead before the final two races of the 2023 season at Road Atlanta, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, next month. The champagne spray and the celebrations will indeed begin. Bijoy Garg's race craft is amazing.
One weekend of racing in VP Challenge to go, at Road Atlanta. Join us there in mid-October. So long, everybody. Take care.
All the pre-race news you can use on Saturday from Virginia International Raceway before tomorrow's contest in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship for the GT3 cars of GT Daytona Pro, and GT Daytona, regular.
A recap of the massively wild Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Virginia International Raceway that we have just seen.
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/impc/liddell-wins-vir-fuel-mileage-thriller/
Jr III Racing driver takes another win in VP Racing Sports Car Challenge competition...
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/vp-racing-sportscar-challenge/garg-takes-commanding-vir-race-1-win/
Resurrected from near extinction 20 years ago, Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, plays host to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge on this Saturday afternoon, for the running of the Virginia is for Racing Lovers Grand Prix to be contested among the Grand Sport (GT4) machinery, and the TCR touring car class. Turner Motorsports are on the overall pole with their #95 BMW M4 GT4 being driven by Cameron Lawrence and Robert Megennis, while TCR class pole went to the #17 Unitronic/JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR shared by Minneapolis, Minnesota based driver Chris Miller, who is one of the co-owners of the team, alongside South African Mikey Taylor. The weather is gorgeous, but it is hot.
Brian Till and Calvin Fish reporting from the broadcast booth. When we left Road America, we thought Bryce Ward and Daniel Morad won. That was not to be. In post-race scrutineering, the fuel cell was too large, and the #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro of Frank DePew and Robin Liddell ended up winning the race. It is anyone's game in TCR, and everyone will be in total attack mode. At Bryan Herta Autosport, the #33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR of Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker will come through the field to try and win after being put to the tail end of the grid in TCR. The heat will make this two-hour race extremely challenging.
Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller on pole of course. VIR will be a crucial event and they have to capitalize and go for glory. A lot of the Michelin Pilot Challenge teams do not know anything about Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the next race takes place next month. As for Virginia International Raceway, this place was built in 1957 and it has character and challenges. Big speed into turn one, decreasing radius. The Oak Tree corner, and the corner preceding it are both a challenge, turns 11 and 12. Watch The Rollerocaster at turn 14 like a slalom skier and the final turn at Hog Pen in turn 17.
In just a handful of minutes, we are going racing. Stay tuned. Don't go anyplace. The lights are out on the Lexus safety car coming down Madison Avenue, the back straightaway, and then into The Rollercoaster. Grand Sport waiting for the green flag and away they go! TCR too, coming up for their start and they're off and running. Elbows out early in a battle as Eric Filgueiras moves around Kenny Murillo and Cameron Lawrence is eking out a gap. Chris Miller had pole in TCR by half a second. The Michelin tires are in the zone.
Meanwhile, people are getting racy already. The van der Steur Racing Aston Martin goes off and on through turn nine, dropping a massive cloud of dust on the circuit, checking up the rest of the field. Michael Lewis has now passed by Chris Miller in TCR, and they are dropping wheels through The Snake. That was a massive dust cloud! Holy mackerel! Bob Michaelian aboard the #59 KohR Motorsports Mustang GT4. Tongue in cheek, I said the tires were fine. Apparentlyu not just yet. Eric Filgueiras has caught Cameron Lawrence.
The BMW M4 GT4 is running well but Eric Filgueiras is pushing hard along with Stevan McAleer. They won an SRO GT4 title last year and this year are leading in a GT3 championship in the SRO series. There is some debris off in one of the turns there, offline. A massive battle down Madison Avenue in TCR as Ted Giovannis is ahead of the ninth-place battle in TCR. The Grand Sport cars are so much faster on the straightaway, but the TCR cars are quick in the turns.
Jenson Altzman has had a great start and now the #5 KMW TMR Alfs Romeo Giulietta TCR has spun and needed to get the car back into gear and the car was not moving. Minimize the damage, don't do anything silly, and keep on trucking. He has a cut down Michelin tire on the right front, however. I wonder if he took a hit. He got forced off the road and is going to go down a lap. The #15 Audi RS3 LMS TCR tagged him and that is what did the damage. Full Course Yellow. That was Nick Looijmans who tagged the Alfa, sharing the Rockwell Autosport Development Audi RS3 LMS TCR with Denis Dupont.
Mercifully, Roy Block has made it back to the pit lane and now the KMW TMR Alfa Romeo team goes to work changing the flat tire and it looks like they have affected the repair and will be back out but has lost oodles of time. He is being pointed past the safety car to try to make up the deficit. So, a wee bit of shemozzle early doors here at VIR in Michelin Pilot Challenge. The trucks and tractors are out cleaning the circuit. You can see a tractor with a brush on the front of it, moving the dirt back into the spot on the side of the track where it should be, not on the racing surface.
A great mix of manufacturers and cars but especially in the GT4 class, the Grand Sport class as it is named here in IMSA. BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, Aston Martin, McLaren, Ford, and Chevrolet among them. At Alfa Romeo, the tire has been taken care of but they pitted while the pit lane was closed, and they will have to serve a drive through penalty. They are coming off a win at Road America, and today, they are trying to recover from having a possible race to forget. Jenson Altzman is losing grip on this hot race track. The tarmac is scorching.
Green flag. Cameron Lawrence leading over Eric Filgueiras and Kenny Murillo is being chased by both Jenson Altzman and Rory van der Steur and he has diffuser damage on the right rear when he ran off the road trailing all the sand. The diffusers are effective on the rear grip of the car, and it is damaged. Through The Snake they climb once more. Cameron Lawrence and the BMW is putting daylight between himself and Eric Filgueiras in the Porsche Cayman. Filgueiras has found his feet with the RS1, RennSport1 team.
Jenson Altzman, 13th in the championship, sharing the car with Joey Hand, last year's winner with James Pesek a year ago. Joey Hand has been doing a lot of development with the new GT3 spec Ford Mustang that we will see in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship next year. Chad McCumbee had a scheduling conflict and have put Joey Hand in the car, he is also tutoring different drivers. He is a super sub in a way. Alfa Romeo #5, stop and hold for improperly served emergency service. He had to change the right front tire and I have no idea about the penalty unless they did a refuel.
Chris Miller has caught Michael Lewis in the TCR scrum. Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis are pushing ahead. Hyundai ran out of fuel at Road America last time out. Chris Miller, bounding over the curbs through turn two. Lewis legally blocking, taking up the racetrack, slamming the door in Miller's face. Ted Giovanis ahead in the #64 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Harry Gottsacker in one of the other factory Hyundai's is moving up on the #73 LA Honda World Honda Civic FL5 of William Tally sharing with Ryan Eversley.
Harry Gottsacker is definitely on the move here. In replay, Wilkins pushes the entry to turn four and maybe Michael Lewis was told on the radio, "let Mark by, please." Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler, eighth in class and are definitely playing catch up. Half a second is the gap in TCR while in GS it is only 3/10ths of a second. Bryan Ortiz in the #91 Hyundai Elantra N TCR for van der Steur Racing is also moving up, sharing that car with Tyler Maxson. Whoops! A quick spin for the Honda. That is either the #37 of Mike LaMarra or the #73 of William Tally.
At the top of the shop, it remains Cameron Lawrence eking out his lead to 7/10ths of a second over Eric Filgueiras in Grand Sport and this looks to be a two-horse race. Maybe a three or four horse race as we have a couple of the Honda's spinning or being pushed off the circuit. One is the nudger, the other is the nudgee. Eric Filgueiras still wants a bite of the cherry. Six manufacturers in the top six places in GS. BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, FOrd, Aston Martin, and McLaren. William Telly went off the road and had some aggro in South Bend and into Oak Tree.
I think Ted Giovannis in the Aston Martin tagged LaMarra and sent him spinning, losing the tail. LaMarra keeps on trucking with the front wheel drive car and poor old Tally was off in the weeds and Miller is off, overcooking it into turn 11! Yikes! His left front was fading, and he needed more steering input and went off into the fuzz. You come up the hill before the corner tapers off. Trouble in paradise for Nick Looijmans in the #15 Audi we talked about earlier. Lots of negative camber but all four Michelin's appear to be up. Audi #17 back underway but he gets wide through turn 11 and you just cannot get it back and off into the dust with no grip coming onto Madison Avenue and trouble too for the Turner Motorsports BMW.
It is Vincent Barletta and I wonder if there was argy bargy. He was off all by his lonesome through turn ten and... ker-runch! The rear end is damaged, the rear wing. Full Course Yellow. Oy yoy yoy. This is the second Full Course Yellow of the afternoon. Stay out and stretch it on one stop as the safety car is dispatched again and the #15 needs to be rescued and cleared from the circuit. So, the field is single file behind the safety car as we have now run this race for 35 minutes of two hours scheduled. Grand Sport pit stops commencing, the cars in the pit lane.
Both Turner Motorsports BMW's scheduled to pit. Fuel and two tires. Vincent Barletta still has straight steering as he pits but the tail is torn up a bit. Second in GS is the #28 RS1 Porsche Cayman looking for full fuel and Eric Filgueiras is doing a double stint before Stevan McAleer takes over. New tires and fuel for the #72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. Kenny Murillo I believe is staying in the car and will come back in to hand off to Christian Szymczak. Ah yes. The tail, the right rear corner of the #96 BMW M4 GT4 is a little bit crumpled. Joey Hand and the McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang team are looking to go deeper into the stint.
Cameron Lawrence has pitted and is back on track and we shall see more pit action for TCR cars in due time. Two of the Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai's are in as is the #17 Audi for Unitronic and JDC-Miller Motorsports. It looks like the three factory Hyundai's may now be running 1-2-3 but on the leaderboard, it appears the top runner is the #99, Victor Gonzalez in the #99 Hyundai Elantra N TCR he shares with Tyler Gonzalez, the VGRT team making the switch from Honda Civic's to Hyundai Elantra's.
Safety car lights out and Jenson Altzman leads the field back to green! Altzman to the lane and Alex Filsinger stays out. Play the strategy and put your second driver into the car, but you are sacrificing track position like no tomorrow. #95 and #96 in. Robby Foley will replace Vincent Barletta. Joey Hand will replace Jenson Altzman. Robert Megennis will take over from Cameron Lawrence. The #71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R is in with Frank DePew and Robin Liddell, the home team. Frank DePew is from Richmond, Virginia, the state capitol.
Robin Liddell, a Scotsman, is extremely successful and has life left in a long career. At McCumbbe McAleer Racing, it is a risk because they've lost time with topping up the fuel tank. We have been racing now for 45 minutes and so we will be at the halfway mark soon. In TCR, it is scrappy! Look at this! Tyler Maxson and others, side by side down through The Snake. The Grand Sport cars stream onto Madison Avenue as Justin Piscitell barges Kenny Murillo through Oak Tree and Cameron Lawrence wants by Eric Filgueiras. Murillo is trying to be wise and Piscitell gives him a bump.
Justin Piscitell says it is unfortunate Jeff Mosing still is hurt, but it is a homecoming because Justin Piscitell started racing with Kenny Murillo in 2009 as Daniel Morad is off the road in Hog Pen and has to get to pit lane and does so. Morad has his stint going right now having replaced co-driver Bryce Ward. Three wheels on me wagon and you are damned if you do, damned if you don't when it comes to getting back on the circuit and back to the lane. There is diffuser damage to the #72 car of Kenny Murillo.
All the aerodynamic aids do make a difference to the performance of the car. Murillo chasing Eric Filgueiras. #15 is back on track and still is in big, big trouble. He has to get it through the cutout and Nick Looijmans is stranded. Oh no! One of the Honda's off the road, and Mike LaMarra off into the tires at calamity corner at turns 11 and 12. Numerous pole positions but troubles in the race. Off early, and... bang, right into the tire barriers. I need to go deeper and make up time. If you do that, you will clonk the tire barriers.
The tire walls are like magnets. Cameron Lawrence has passed Filgueiras but is now chasing Alex Filsinger in the McLaren. That is the #69 McLaren Artura GT4 for Motorsports in Action sharing with Jesse Lazare as we go to another Full Couse Yellow which will help Joey Hand catch up with other Grand Sport cars and not stuck in traffic with still over an hour of racing left on the board this afternoon. The L.A. Honda World Honda Civic FL5 TCR is on the back of the tow truck, headed for the garage. Halfway home in this race now. One hour down and one hour to go.
Green flag! Alex Filsinger leads on the restart, and he has a great jmp but believe you me, Cameron Lawrence is pushing hard. Side by side for Owen Trinkler, a lap down and tags Cameron Lawrence into a spin! That is a terrible mistake by Owen Trinkler fighting for the lead lap. Lawrence will be furious! He will be driving angry. In replay, through turn three, I think Lawrence was focused on the McLaren and got pivoted by the Aston Martin. Onboard the #14 Ave Motorsports Toyota Supra GT4 to see the replay. Alfredo Najri of the Dominican Republic sharing with Argentine driver Julian Santero.
Pit stop time at RS1. Fuel, tires, and a driver change to Stevan McAleer. Hyundai Elantra #33 in the lane and Robert Wickens will finish the race, down and away. He was working with his trainer Jim Leo doing cardio and working in the sauna to deal with the intense heat. Drive through penalty for incident responsibility handed by the stewards to Owen Trinkler. Kenny Murillo has Daniel Morad chasing him down to get back on the lead lap. This is a fight too between the #10 Audi and the #70 Hyundai. Alex Rockwell vs. Sally McNulty and McNulty got tipped into a spin. Drive through penalty for Rockwell for incident responsibility.
OK. So, Alex Filsinger should pit soon leading Murillo by a second and a half and the #69 Motorsports In Action team will be handing the car over to Jesse Lazare. Scott Andrews in sixth has fastest lap of the race and he is two seconds quicker than Filsinger. Andrews, the Australian, sharing the #27 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 with Anton Dias Perera. Kenton Koch is chasing down Daniel Morad. Morad wants to win and that is all that matters to him. Robby Foley will be flying as well and Turner Motorsports have not had an impeccable motor racing.
Lawrence shrugged off the earlier incident, but the car might be hurt. Lawrence tells the team at Turner Motorsports he might not have a straight steering wheel. Car #72, the second Murillo Racing Mercedes is in putting Christian Szymczak in the points leading car. The #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR has had a driver change, Mark Wilkins out, and Mason Filippi in, taking over to the finish of the motor race this afternoon. Man, oh man, have we seen action around this three and a quarter mile circuit at Virginia International Raceway on this Saturday afternoon.
48 minutes of racing now remain. Well past the halfway mark. New overall leader. This is the #92 Random Vandals Racing BMW M4 GT4, Kenton Koch at the wheel of it, sharing with Paul Sparta. We have seen Koch do very well in SRO GT4 competition as of late and that is transferring over to the IMSA side of things, too. Some of these teams in the GT4 and TCR ranks do run in multiple championships. Koch to the pit lane for fuel and tires and Robby Foley follows him in. Look out for Scott Andrews. He is booking it and has the hammer down.
Robin Liddell is on the fuel window. If we see a yellow flag he might not be in need of another pit stop. Is Robin Liddell making fuel? Is there a device that produces fuel inside the car? I am just kidding. Hello, refinery, I need more petrol! Kenny Murillo feeling a bit under the weather in a hot race. He seems to be OK, but it phased him. It is hard to stay focused and do anything when you are sick, let alone drive a race car. His fiancee is fellow racer, Aurora Strauss. It has been hot, all afternoon at Virginia International Raceway but the sun is setting and there is shade, it is cooling off.
Shade on the track will help the tires but Jeff Westphal needs to hit the lane. Liddell and Andrews, as well as Joey Hand, they could be in good shape. We have seen Robin Liddell able to save fuel so well. He is a Scotsman. Is he using scotch whiskey as extra fuel? I think Scott Andrews in P3 on the road, he might have the best situation in terms of fuel. Robert Megennis in the #95 BMW has the fuel but they need a yellow to get back into contention. Cameron Lawrence is indeed composed but cannot be happy. He says it was a big surprise and he knew there was a lapped car there.
A rival driver can be aggressive but also might be not using their head. Turner Motorsports have had a promising season with the #95 car but has not come through with good luck yet. For Jeff Westphal, he is the race leader in the #39 Carbahn with Peregrine Racing Porsche Cayman sharing with Sean McAlister, with just over 35 minutes of racing remaining here in Virginia. A battle ensues between two Ford Mustang's behind the TCR Audi. Joey Hand sweeps past Mikey Taylor, the TCR class leader. Joey Hand being chased by Luca Mars. Luca Mars in the #59 KOHR Motorsports Mustang GT4 sharing with Bob Michaelian.
Taylor and Miller are second in the championship and Michael Lewis and Taylor Hagler are second. Audi #17 and Alfa Romeo #5 are all set to go on fuel mileage and Tim Lewis Jr. is uncorking fastest lap after fastest lap. He is motoring into South Bend and into Oak Tree. The TCR cars are fun especially with their cornering capability like Pac Man, gobbling up the marbles. KMW with TMR Engineering have savvy engineers on their team. Luca Mars is reeling in Joey Hand. Joey Hand and Billy Johnson had a Ford 1-2 here last year in Michelin Pilot in 2022.
Half an hour to go now. Team boss at KohR, Dean Martin, has high hopes for Luca Mars' future as a driver. Robin Liddell is faster than Jeff Westphal who must be being told that he needs to save fuel. We will not see the Chevrolet Camaro GT4 next year as the car is out of homologation and is too old. Robin Liddell now being monstered by Scott Andrews in the Lone Star Racing Mercedes. If Westphal hits the pit lane, that could mean Andrews and Liddell can pass. Everyone will push until that Porsche Cayman coughs.
Are Scott Andrews and Anton Dias Perera ready to drink the champagne? We'll find out here very soon. Westphal now leads Andrews by 20 seconds with just over 20 minutes of racing left. Can Westphal make it to the end on fuel? If there is a late yellow, the fuel situation for Westphal and company could work out. But if there is a yellow, his tires are knackered compared to his rival, Scott Andrews, who is on fresher Michelin Pilot tires. A late yellow could help a handful of teams perhaps. Joey Hand saved fuel like crazy in 2022 and was able to win.
McCumbee McAleer Racing can make it on fuel. The #59 Ford Mustang team qualified deep in the field and we could see them finish well today after moving their shop from Detroit, Michigan, to Hollywood, Florida. Robby Foley is now sixth and he is reeling in the Ford Mustang's. We could see a huge swing in the GS championship points table befoe the next race, the penultimate event of the year. Robin Liddell and Rebel Rock Racing are looking for everything they can, racing for sheep stations here. 18 minutes to go, equals around nine laps. Can Jeff Westphal stretch the fuel? They are going to stay on the track until it splutters and then you hit the reserve tank and pit. Mat Pombo right on Robert Wickens' six.
Wickens cannot afford another cat betwene he and the sister car. Pobo drops a wheel. There's possible smoke out of the #33 Hyundai. Here are the TCR points as they run.
1. #33 Wickens/Gottsacker Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR 2,370 points
2. #17 Miller/Taylor Unitronic/JDC-Miller Motorsports Audi RS3 LMS TCR 2.360 points
3. #98 Wilkins/Filippi Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR 2,300 points
Hello, and welcome, everyone, to the "motorsports resort", Virginia International Raceway. No time for R&R (rest and relaxation), today. It is time for the other R, racing. We pick up the action with the first of two sprint races for the LMP3 and GSX, Grand Sport X, (GT4) cars of the IMSA VP Sports Car Challenge. Again, single driver sprint races lasting, 45 minutes. This is the first of two this weekend and the second is bright and early tomorrow morning. What do you do with 1,300 acres of farmland in the Virginia countryside, you build a racetrack in Alton, Virginia, north of the North Carolina border. 3.27 miles and 17 corners. VP Racing Sports Car Challenge as we join IMSA Radio with Brian Till and Jeremy Shaw.
The championship up for grabs in LMP3 with ten points between Bijoy Garg and Dan Goldburg. Four races, including this one, left in the season. We race here and then at Road Atlanta in mid-October. Bijoy Garg is a fast driver, but his race craft and technique is improving by leaps and bounds, racing both stateside and in Europe. Garg has won four races in 2023 with a slender championship lead over rival Dan Goldburg. Greg Liefooghe is on pole in the GSX class with 23 cars on the grid. Francis Selldorff is second. The cars stream through Hog Pen. Safety car in the lane.
Green flag! We are underway with a split start between the two classes. It is go time and Bijoy Garg is leading while Dan Goldburg has his hands full. That was a slow start. Oops. We have a spin in the back with Todd Coleman in one of the two Archangel Motorsports Aston Martin's. Greg Liefooghe started last but is moving up. Coleman is back on the road. In replay, he was low on the inside, stabbed the throttle and spun all by his lonesome, right behind Vincent Barletta in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4.
No harm done. Garge eking out a gap over Goldburg and the others in LMP3. Traction Control is great but you will spin if the tires are stone cold. Bijoy Garg is able to focus and keep himself in the lead now by 1.3 seconds. Racing is all about focus especially looking where you want to go. Alex Kirby passes Courtney Crone. Car #7 vs. car #99, with Canadian Jonathan Woolridge behind. I think Alex Kirby's probation has faded and he knows to be less aggressive with his driving. However, one other driver, Brian Thienes, he is on probation for today's race and tomorrow's race. Be careful.
That is the blue and red Forte Racing by U.S. Racetronics entry and Alex Kirby is in the Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier. Bijoy Garg extending his lead over Dan Goldburg. Garg and Goldburg have won all the races save for one this year with Jonathan Woolridge spoiling their party. Greg Liefooghe is just using VP Challenge to get more track time but he is the quickest, most experienced, GSX driver. Liefooght was late to the grid. Set your phone alarms before the race, boys and girls. That said, Liefooghe is carving his way back to the front.
There was a revised schedule for this weekend. Meanwhile, Brady Behrman has moved up to second in the #82 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 and Francis Selldorff leads the class by three seconds setting fastest lap of the motor race so far as we have just started this sprint. Liefooghe wants by Barletta and gets it done into turn four. He is now trying his hardest to catch the turquoise and yellow Aston Martin #44 through The Snake, Moisey Uretsky at the wheel of it. The new and old BMW M4 GT4's have slightly different Balance of Performance areas. The older car is lighter than the newer one.
Alex Kirby has gone off the road into the grass and there is all grass here. He knew he was having trouble in The Rollercoaster and now he is in pit lane. He is in trouble, off the pace. I don't want part of this shemozzle. He has damage to a dive plane on the left front but no overall bodywork damage. The runoff here at VIR is all grass. So if you go off the road, you are mowing the lawn, believe me. The cars fly onto Madison Avenue, the backstretch. Greg Liefooghe in the #19 orange and blue BMW M4 GT4 for Stephen Cameron Racing, passes the #46 Nolasport Porsche Cayman in the hands of Adam Adelson.
Sebastian Carazo now being harried by Greg Liefooghe as 4.7 seconds is now the gap that Francis Selldorff has the lead in GSX over his competition. Selldorff has no traffic while Liefooghe is slicing through traffic like the proverbial hot knife through butter. He is balking Liefooghe with 33 minutes and change left on the board. Brady Behrman is passed by Greg Liefooghe. He is now second. The deficit between Selldorff and Liefooghe is lengthy. Brady Behrman has done some track days and we have seen him running a handful of SRO races this year. He is at his home track, hailing from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is a businessman but is focusing on racing and now, Scott Blind is making his move but running off the road as well.
Blind at the wheel of the #45 Archangled Motorsports Aston Martin. Moisey Uretsky has gone off the road at the climbing esses and now has the grille packed full of grass so that motorcar is going to be a steam locomotive if he doesn't clear that grass out of the radiator. Liefooghe still 4.7 seconds down on Francis Selldorff, who is a senior at Boston College studying computer science and finance. Computer science, finance, and racing. Quite the life indeed and a lot of goals for Francis Selldorff indeed. Sebastian Carazzo has gone off the road at turn nine and back on. He is second in the points standings and cannot afford to lose points to Francis Selldorff.
It is hot, the cars are squirming around on a greasy circuit and the radius of these corners is tight. Drivers are aware of that and doing all they can to stay in the championship fight. Carazo to the pit lane to clean out the radiator on his Porsche Cayman. Patrick Willmot too, slides a wee bit in the #88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 (G82). That is the older generation car, I think. Bijoy Garg on a Saturday afternoon drive. Brian Thienes though has Courtney Crone on his six.
Through turns one and two they go as we watch Vincent Barletta and Adam Adelson scrapping in GSX. BMW vs. Porsche. Turner Motorsports vs. Nolasport, from "The Big Easy", New Orleans, Louisiana. These two blokes are behind Brady Behrman. Courtney Crone being stymied by the GSX traffic, and she is thinking, "OK, please move over." Drivers, teams, engineers, they are training for a future in the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, the big game. It is like minor league baseball and major league baseball. This is a great steppingstone series. LMP3 cars will be in this series even though they will no longer be included in the WeatherTech Championship.
Moisey Uretsky smartly using his turn signals saying, "go on and get by me if you need space", through South Bend and Oak Tree. Liefooghe is stymied in traffic and Selldorff is mmoving ahead but is well aware that Liefooghe is right behind as they fly through Hog Pen starting another lap. 11 laps now in the bag. 23 minutes left on the board. Halfway home. Greg Liefooghe has done only half the races that everyone else has. Four of eight. Make that three of eight. Even with a second place finish, Francis Selldorff will extend his points lead over Sebastian Carazzo.
Team bosses at Turner Motorsports Will Turner and Don Salama are surely telling Selldorff, stay focused and don't throw it away. Selldorff wants a win. None of the top 12 drivers in the championship have won a race yet in GSX. That's bonkers. In a very wee while we will be halfway through this event. Liefooghe has the Turner Motorsport BMW right in sight. Can he catapult by, and launch the rocket? I don't think it is a Hail Mary, send it kind of move. Greg Liefooghe is a veteran amateur driver who is also a businessman, from San Francisco, California.
Courtney Crone is making up the deficit to Brian Thienes. 3.1 seconds is the gap between them, and it has been steady for the last three or so laps. 20 minutes remaining. Crone needs more speed in the car. The ambient temperatures are climbing. It is a hot summer Saturday afternoon here in Virginia. Francis Selldorff is a sponge as he is learning and gaining information about how to be a good race car driver. In the meantime, the battle for third in LMP3 is still boiling between Crone and Thienes. Thienes is three or so seconds quicker than Crone is but Courtney Crone is reeling him in.
Courtney Crone wants it, that is for dead sure. The GSX manufacturer's cup is in stake as it is a battle between the German powerhouses, Porsche and BMW. Liefooghe is not letting Selldorff get away. I am going to keep pushing you, sunbeam. Adrian Kunzle is pointed by the GSX cars I am pretty sure. Kunzle wanted the left side of the road though, not the right side. The two BMW M4's are tied together with a piece of string. Selldorff has been lapping in the 1:56-1:57 range. Vin Barletta is flying having uncorked a 1:56.8. 1:57.57 for Selldorff and a 1:57.58 for Liefooghe! Yikes!
This is a cool scrap to watch, great fun. if Liefooghe holds station he is not letting Francis Selldorff whistle off into the distance. Racing drivers do not gift wrap wins to someone else. That's foolish thinking. You may exchange gifts for Christmas, but not in racing. Vin Barletta, we are going to see him in Michelin Pilot Challenge later this afternoon. We will have that race coming up for you and can't wait to talk about it. Selldorff maintains the lead of this motor race in GSX with the clock continuing to tick. Less than 13 minutes to go. Selldorff knows Liefooghe is back there. It is easy to drop the left side wheels off up the hill between turns 11 and 12. Those are off camber corners.
1:56.6 for Selldorff, half a second within his personal best lap. Downhill into Hog Pen they go. This is the fight up front for GSX. Gregory Liefooghe wants it. At turn two exit, he cannot get by. Liefooghe is showing the rookie how to race. Selldorff is a college student but is also learning tons about how to be a racing driver. Courtney Crone in traffic, caught Brian Thienes and made her move onto the podium. More traffic ahead. Well, well, well. Thienes was held up. Both of these drivers hailing from California. Courtney Crone is a much younger driver. It is not only where you catch traffic but how you catch it.
Don't run up on the back. Slow down and get a run so you don't get stymied and become the cork in the bottle. Selldorff continues leading GSX. The LMP3 battle works their way through Oak Tree and onto Madison Avenue. Greg Liefooghe not letting Francies Selldorff go. He looks to the inside does Liefooghe and Selldorff slams the door in his face. Only seven and a half minutes to go so that yields about four more laps. It is crunch time now as they wind up through The Snake, the climbing esses. This is the best battle on the racetrack. Bijoy Garg is leading the race overall by 23 seconds over Dan Goldburg. Brian Thienes is ahead of Courtney Crone in the LMP3 points by 90 markers.
Vin Barletta is dicing with Moisey Uretsky. But this scrap 9s not for position as e saw Brady Behrman go off the road and into turn 11 Brian Thienes also nearly throws it away. Behrman ran wide at turn ten losing bucketloads of time to Adam Adelson but has a wide gap over Angus Rogers who has passed Scott Blind who hits the pit lane with trouble. Meanwhile the GSX leaders are being reeled in by this third-place scrum in LMP3 between Courtney Crone and Brian Thienes. Liefooghe tries it but no dice. I think he went wide and got off into the gray stuff, out in the fuzz.
Two laps to go. Discretion the better part of valor when Liefooghe went off the road. No harm no foul. Hopefully he does not get grass in the radiator. No worries for Courtney Crone in the Duqueine trying to keep #77 behind her. White flag this time by. Thienes still wants a bite of the cherry. Bijoy Garg is improving his race craft and looking for his fifth win of the year and extending his points lead over Dan Goldburg, half a mnute ahead of Goldburg who has no answer to Garg's riddle. Liefooghe is coming and fast as we close in on the white flag.
Selldorff has traffic ahead, the #27 Porsche Cayman of Sebastian Carazzo. Bijoy Garg wins! He takes his fifth win of the year. It looked easy but the last lap was a bear. He did not lose concentration. Francis Selldorff remains up front in GSX as the third-place battle for LMP3 continues. Briamn Thines wants to get a run. Can he? Courtney Crone takes the final step on the podium. Through The Rollercoaster and Hog Pen for the last time. Selldorff wins his first race in his professional career!
Overall/LMP3: #3 Bijoy Garg Jr III Racing Ligie JS P320 Nissan
GSX: #95 Francis Selldorff Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 (G82)
For Selldorff, he has truly extended his points lead over Sebastian Carrazo who has had a bad race today. Tomorrow morning in race two, it will also be a great one. Join us for the second race tomorrow morning here at VIR. Why did Paul Newman call this place heaven on earth? It is a great place for fans and drivers alike. Thanks for joining us for race one. Tomorrow morning, wake up early for race two. Bye for now.
