It is time for the final race of the day and of the weekend here at Virginia International Raceway. Race two of Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS for the GT3 cars. Heaven on earth, is how the late, great actor and racer, Paul Newman, described Virginia International Raceway and it has been like this since opening it's doors in 1957. We are set for round eight of the GT World Challenge America of the season. Race two of the weekend. 17 GT3 cars will start. The top seven cars represent all seven brands represented in GT3. Again, turns three to five, you are never in a straight line. Do not overslow the car. The curbs are two parts. There's bare concrete teeth, and the molars are the curbing itself. Ride the bumps to achieve lap time. Oak Tree is still here as a corner. We lost the tree in 2012. Will there be a new oak tree? Maybe, someday.
But also watch for The Rollercoaster and for turn 11, in fourth gear, shifting down to second. This is an uphill corner at 130 miles an hour, an extended braking zone. Line the car up with the curb as if you cross over the curb, the left front tire will be olverloaded. Watch out for the marbles, the spent rubber, because that will send you skating into the barriers. Bathurst has The Dipper, Laguna Seca has The Corkscrew, and we have The Rollercoaster here at VIR. Again, this is like a runaway train, like the gates on a downhill slalom skiing course before you finish the lap through Hog Pen. Again, 17 cars and drivers will tackle this 17-turn, 3.27-mile circuit.
We are honored to have the Halifax County drumline from Halifax County High School adding to the atmosphere down on the starting grid. Robby Foley is on pole in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3. There are key places, the exit of turn five and out of the final turn exiting onto the frontstretch. The top 11 drivers are separated by less than half a second. So many fast cars. The BMW is good on one lap pace and on the long tun. Consistency will be the deal as Robby Foley starts the car and Vincent Barletta does the second stint today. The two of them have done many races together and Barletta had a solid race this morning in GT America competition as well.
Colin Braun will be nipping at Foley's heels. They won at Le Mans the weekend before this race happened. Inside the top ten there is one and only one Pro car in the form of the Racer's Edge Acura NSX GT3 of Ashton Harrison and Mario Farnbacher, starting third while the second Pro car is 11th, the Bimmerworld BMW #94 of Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull. A stirring rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner, and the presentation of Old Glory by the Dan River High School Junior ROTC Color Guard. It is go time.
Daniel Morad's off course excursion yesterday that we saw, was because Morad had the radio cable hit him in the eye in the car! Oof! Morad and Kenton Koch won yesterday. Can they back it up today? Ashton Harrison tells us that tire issues from yesterday are likely to be sorted out on the left rear. Harrison and Mario Farnbacher are starting in a great spot. Racer's Edge are really strong and so they will be a contender today. In Pro-Am we have quite a few contenders including Neil Verhagen and Samantha Tan in the #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3. Samantha Tan was second with Rinaldi Racing at Paul Ricard in France a few weekends before this race happened. If you have not read about that one or seen the video, go back and check it out. Trust me.
Derek DeBoer and Aston Martin are really set up as the mechanics mount the Pirelli tires right out of the tire ovens and the drivers are climbing aboard. The outside polesitter is the #04 CrowdStrike by Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. He was the LMP2 class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. George Kurtz got to drive the Mercedes Formula 1 car at Circuit of the Americas. He also ran it at Silverstone in England. He ran at COTA around a year or so ago. George Kurtz is always driving a race car when he is not doing business related things.
George Kurtz and Colin Braun have been longtime co-drivers. The Pro-Am category is incredibly competitive for that class and for the overall. SRO and the fans benefit from it. Charlie Luck and Wright Motorsports, both of their cars, struggled. Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen as well as Adam Adelson and Elliot Skeer. Neil Verhagen will start the #38 Samantha Tan Racing BMW M4 GT3. Kenton Koch, yesterday's overall race winner, who will be driving in the second half of today's race. A win is possible for these boys at TR3.
They have strategy tools in the shed, ready to go. A wonderful performance for the first race in the Pro class for the team. Ziad Ghandour on a family vacation and could not be here for the VIR races. The engines have fired and we are getting ready to race for the second time of asking at VIR this weekend in the second half of the season with the championship coming into focus. RS1 have won every first race of the weekend until yesterday. Stevan McAleer will start the race today before handing off to Eric Filgueiras for the second half. They were home and hosed yesterday after the troubles for the #93 Acura, the Racer's Edge car.
DXDT had trouble in qualifying after Scott Smithson went off the road at Hog Pen and they will be playing catch up. 90 minutes with the pit window smack dab in the middle of the race. This is a gorgeous, special racetrack as we get set to go. Trenton Estep and Seth Lucas in the #53 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R, they are set to go and they are knocking on the door of a victory. Will they get there today? Seth Lucas and his team raced the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen for the IMSA championship the weekend after this race happened. Mark Kvamme is the team owner, the team boss. Valentin Hasse-Clot is another contender alongside Derek DeBoer in the #007 Aston Martin Vantage for The Racer's Group, a legendary team.
Safety car lights off. The field forms up and Robby Foley punches it and it's go! Foley to the lead from the off. Braun in second and Jan Heylen is ahead of Mario Farnbacher currently. Neal Verhagen in fifth and under pressure. ROWE U.S.A.'s Ken Mooney waved the green flag as Alesandro Balzan is applying the blowtorch to Stevan McAleer already and Bill Auberlen is also flying up the climbing esses, through South Bend and into Oak Tree. Wait for the tires to come in as they scream down Madison Avenue for the first time. Neil Verhagen not sure where to go to pass Mario Farnbacher.
Farnbacher looking to poke his nose into the scrap with Jan Heylen. Racer's Edge had some unscheduled stops yesterday and not the race they wanted. Robby Foley doing what he came to do, a second ahead of Colin Braun and Jan Heylen before Mario Farnbacher leading the Pro class. Corey Lewis in the #91 DXDT Racing Mercedes has moved up from ninth to sixth. Valentin Hasse-Clot is going for it. Corey Lewis and Jeff Burton are going to be on the attack as well after that woe for the sister car at DXDT. This is a home track for DXDT who are based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mario Farnbacher is now under all sorts of pressure, look, from Neil Verhagen.
Side by side and Farnbacher has to give it up. These cars are from different classes based on driver ratings. Pro-Am cars running first through fourth. Bill Auberlen has moved up to ninth place after starting 11th and is closing on Mario Farnbacher. Farnbacher took it deep into the corner after Madison Avenue and then Verhagen managed to make a pass right in the turn. Verhagen has not raced stateside since running open wheel cars and Verhagen goes wide in turn 11! He just touched the curb and Farnbacher is wide, too. Corey Lewis passes.
Farnbacher now sixth and Bill Auberlen is closing fast. Poor old Farnbacher is in a spot of bother for sure. The Acura NSX GT3 does not have the pace of some of the other GT3 cars in this race as VHC and Ryan Dalziel are closing up. Aston Martin and Ferrari. This is the #33 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Triarsi Competizione. Dalziel sharing with Justin Wetherill. Bill Auberlen lurking behind in another BMW M4 GT3. Auberlen up on the wheel, locked in on the wheel. If you get wide and try to steer it is like someone pulling the rug out from under your feet.
All GT3 cars but differentiated by driver rating. Pro, Pro-Am, and Am. All Pro-Am lineups currently have their professional drivers behind the wheel. Into The Horseshoe they go. Auberlen tries Wetherill. Discretion is the better part of valor as Daniel Morad is languishing in 12th spot. Eric Filgueiras did a solid job in yesterday's race. Everything went swimmingly the first few races for RS1 in their first GT3 races and now they have had to search and dig, trying to solve the riddle. Someone drops wheels into The Rollercoaster. Auberlen builds up a head of steam, but Dalziel has none of it, the Scotsman slamming the door in his face.
Through Hog Pen they go to complete another lap on this circuit in southern Virginia across the North Carolina border. Dalziel comes back at Auberlen who washes out with the ABS and has to regroup. There was a moment there where it looked like poor old Auberlen would have been vulnerable to Elliot Skeer making a move but Skeer holds station. We have only been racing for ten minutes as they thunder through The Snake and into the climbing esses. Colin Braun is finding lap time trying to reel in Robby Foley and Verhagen is 2/10ths quicker. Each of the top 11 cars turned their fastest laps of the motor race last time by.
Foley is a guest and not a full-season entry here in this motor race. Uh oh. Corey Lewis is slowing down aboard the #91 DXDT Racng Burton Lumber Mercedes! Lewis has pulled off the road. A cut down left rear Pirelli tire and he is a long way from home as well. This could produce a Full Course Yellow. Corey Lewis has had to stop the car in a dangerous place which will erase the gaps built up. Can Corey Lewis trundle to the lane or find a safe haven in the runoff? A devastating turn of events for the Burton/Lewis team as the safety car is dispatched.
Full Course Yellow. Full Course Yellow, now. Corey Lewis out of the car, disgusted. Game over. They are on the verge of a performance breakthrough. But it will not happen today unfortunately. There will be a fascinating stint with the Am drivers get behind the wheel. We will see drivers like George Kurtz, Charlie Luck, Elliot Skeer, Vincent Barletta, Samantha Tan, Derek DeBoer... quite a list. The left rear suspension has broken on the #91 DXDT Mercedes. Jeff Burton says the team at DXDT are busting their butts to stay in the game. Lewis said he got hit in turn one. It happens when you are trying to go fast.
Don't quit. There are more races to come and there is more to prove to everyone. Jeff Burton and Corey Lewis still believe they will have a podium. Lewis is extremely confident in Burton's ability and is totally positive. Burton is very determined, and they will keep digging. Results will come with drivers like Bryan Sellers and Scott Smithson and team managers and brain trust like Stefan Pfeifer, team owner/boss David Askew, and Simon Morley along with the other two drivers, Bryan Sellers and Scott Smithson.
Mario Farnbacher continues leading the Pro class over Bill Auberlen and those two cars, the Racer's Edge Acura and Bimmerworld BMW respectively, will be taken over in the race's second half by Ashton Harrison and Chandler Hull. Ashton Harrison will have a long road ahead, but she will withstand the pressure for sure after winning race two at Circuit of the Americas last time out. As suspected, broken left rear suspension on the #91 Mercedes which is now on the back of the flatbed being hauled away back to the garage. We are set to go back to green. Safety car lights off.
Jan Heylen scrapping with Colin Braun for second in Pro-Am. These two drivers are both feisty and will begin pushing. Tune on the sway bars to get the handling into a sweet spot. Green flag again and Robby Foley zooms into the lead once more. He has put daylight between himself and Colin Braun who has Jan Heylen crawling all over him into turn three at NASCAR Bend. We have seen Braun and Heylen have some epic duels in Fanatec GT World Challenge America these last couple of seasons. Everyone keeping things in order. Robby Foley got the jump.
Pit stop window opens in 19 minutes. With the Pro drivers starting, they will go deep into the pit window as Balzan wriggles his way through Oak Tree and goes wide with Trenton Estep behind, the San Antonio, Texas, driver in the #53 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R, down three gears, plunging down the hill through Hog Pen. Racer Mark Kvamme runs MDK Motorsports founded for motorcycle racing but expanding into sports cars as well. Kevin and Jan Magnussen have driven for them. ST Racing for many years based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, now running out of California as Neil Verhagen runs CrowdStrike Fastest lap at 1:45.550.
John Edwards, his wife is having a baby, and has chosen to take time off. Neil Verhagen, 22 years old, from Richfield, Connecticut, now living in Mooresville, North Carolina. He won championships, one of them in 2019 in British Formula 3 open wheel racing and in 2020 switched full-time to sports cars. He has had many laps at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Auberlen haranguing Ryan Dalziel and Valentin Hasse-Clot runs wide and Dalziel can't make a move offline into that no man's land with little or no grip. They fly under the bridge another time.
Bryan Sellers is buried in 16th place but keeping pace with everyone else before Scott Smithson finishes out the race. Poor old Sellers has top notch GT3 global drivers ahead of him. Spencer Pumpelly, Alessandro Balzan, and Adam Christodoulou among them. Neil Verhagen doing battle with Jan Heylen, a fearless competitor. The new 992 model Porsche 911 GT3R has struggles with grip and power and Wright Motorsports continue trying to solve those riddles. Meanwhile, there is a huge battle between a bunch of cars, separated between four and seven tenths of a second.
Auberlen is not making inroads on Ryan Dalziel, and it is hard to believe Mario Farnbacher is back peddling with not even 30 minutes on the board yet. Auberlen makes the pass for seventh overall and is now pushing Valentin Hasse-Clot in order to chase Mario Farnbacher. Auberlen turning in late and is not close enough to VHC in the Left Hook. VHC took a very shallow entry into the turn as they thunder under the bridge, flat out at 155 miles an hour. A wonderful soundtrack to GT3 racing as every car sounds different. Same for GT4. Poor old Daniel Morad, yesterday's winner, even though he has gained three places, he is still buried down the order.
He cannot pass Elliot Skeer, two cars not in the same class. Daniel Morad won yesterday but is carving his way through as Bill Auberlen passes VHC, Valentin Hasse-Clot. Auberlen needs to chase down Mario Farnbacher so that Chandler Hull, his co-driver, can chase Ashton Harrison. At RS1, they are waiting things out to see what the Pro class leaders will do. No secret that the Porsche has been struggling here at VIR, but Eric Filgueiras has the confidence while Morad passes by Skeer. He still has the rear end stability. We know Kenton Koch has pace as well.
TR3 normally in Pro-Am, Kenton Koch drafted in and they won in the Pro class in their debut yesterday and they could very well break out the broom and sweep. Samantha Tan had a podium here yesterday and she also stood on the podium in the GT World Challenge Europe Paul Ricard 1,000 Kilometers in the south of France that we covered for you here on the blog a good while ago. Pardon me for repeating myself, but if you have not gone back and read about or watched that race, please do. I think you will enjoy it.
Neil Verhagen is throwing everything he has at Jan Heylen and Jan Heylen is absorbing the blows. This is truly a ten round boxing match between these two blokes. Heylen is going to keep digging before handing the car off to Charlie Luck, his co-driver. Charlie Luck is Jan Heylen's father-in-law, and he will be scrapping with the likes of George Kurtz and others. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there as this race took place on Father's Day. Foley leads Braun by a second and a half and the BMW is closing down Madison Avenue. Verhagen muscles his way through, and Jan Heylen says, "oh no you don't, sunbeam" and takes the spot away! The Belgian takes the spot from the American.
Verhagen is pouring on the steam and is now right on the back door of Jan Heylen in the Porsche. The BMW has less drag than the Porsche. Heylen using every trick in the bag. Bill Auberlen clear of the traffic uncorking his personal fastest lap at 1:46.637! Six tenths of a second faster than Mario Farnbacher. But, over these last few laps, Mario Farnbacher's gap over the rest of the Pro field has ballooned to four plus seconds. We are closing in on the mandatory pit stop window in seven minutes' time. Auberlen must erase a buffer of 4.1 seconds. He is riding the curbs perfectly.
Farnbacher, 1:46.8 and Auberlen, new personal best lap time at 1:46.5. Samantha Tan getting in the zone and readying to take over from Neil Verhagen. Jan Heylen continues to give Neil Verhagen an ice cream headache. He can't get by. Foley is leading overall and leads Colin Braun by 1.3 seconds. Both drivers are extremely consistent lap on lap. The Am drivers might just decide this race. Drivers such as Vincent Barletta and George Kurtz. Verhagen holds Heylen on the opposite side of the road and did not roll as much apex speed, demoting Heylen for the final step of the Pro-Am podium.
Neil Verhagen is pushing the bye bye button, sprinting away. Samantha Tan waiting for her stint to begin so she can keep up the fight. Right behind, Mario Farnbacher, the Pro class leader who has Bill Auberlen on his six. Meanwhile, we return to this other massive battle. VHC, Valentin Hasse-Clot is the cork in the bottle and behind him the cola is building up the pressure, building up the foam. It just has not had the Mentos candy dropped into it yet.
Hasse-Clot, Morad, Skeer, McAleer, Estep. This is a five-car battle. Aston Martin, Mercedes, Porsche, Porsche, Porsche. Trenton Estep in the meantime, at the wheel of the #53 MDK Motorsports Porsche is doing everything in his power to pass the Ferrari, the #21 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 in the hands of the rapid Italian, Alessandro Balzan. Poor old Morad is losing time to Auberlen hand over fist. He is stymied and wants to break free and get moving. Morad now is being harried and under duress from Elliott Skeer.
Daniel Morad has gained four places. Estep has dropped a couple of spots to Balzan and to Adam Christodoulou. Morad's performance has plateaued a wee bit. In 2017 driving a Mercedes for CRP went head to head with Jeroen Bleekemolen. Morad won the race over Bleekemolen that day. Through NASCAR Bend they go. In a 1966 Trans Am race here at VIR, fabled NASCAR drivers who entered the race like Richard Petty, David Pearson, and Wendell Scott, just could not get through that particular turn. Hence the moniker of the corner, NASCAR Bend.
Attention, NASCAR. The Gen 7 car is clearly intended to road race. Maybe bring the Cup Series to VIR for a road course contest in the future. We need footage of Wendell Scott, David Pearson, and Richard Petty racing here at VIR. Ah. Adam Christodoulou and Alessandro Balzan both made their move and poor old Trenton Estep got absolutely mugged there. Morad is back on the attack, stretching the rubber band over Elliott Skeer. Adam Christodoulou flashing the lights at Stevan McAleeer. Morad has finally had enough of VHC's hijinx and makes his move.
From 13th on the grid to eighth overall and closing on the top two in Pro, Farnbacher and Auberlen. That was beautifully judged in the squiggle coming to turn three, to NASCAR Bend. Leading the overall, the gap has come down to under a second. Foley is being harried by Braun slowly but steadily. I think George Kurtz will be in a strong place. The oit window is open so they have nine minutes to work with for the driver and tire changes as well as fuel. RS1 makes the call and so does MDK. They are in the lane. This is the undercut, fresh Pirelli P Zeros, hammer time for Eric Filgueiras.
Minimal tire degradation on the Pirelli's here at VIR. This is a scuffed set of Pirelli's but can Filgueiras pull a Michael Schumacher and start uncorking fast lap after fast lap on a changed set of tires? Maybe not on the scrubbed boots. 65 seconds is the delta you must have in the lane including service. There was a holdup on the MDK pit stop. Criminy. Seth Lucas is flying Plummet Airways down the order. Oy! TR3 Mercedes to the lane with Morad to hand off to Kenton Koch. TR3 still in the fight. You know Kenton Koch will challenge drivers like Ashton Harrison and Chandler Hull.
A flawless stop for TR3. Foley is impeccable and pushing hard. He laid a massive lap down in qualifying. Kenton Koch is serviced and sent and is now going to push, push, push, going ahead of the RS1 Porsche. At MDK, something cost the stop to run long, and they will need a safety car scramble to get back in the fight. Valentin Hasse-Clot, the rapid Frenchman, has the speed, but is struggling with a recalcitrant race car. The Aston seems to be handling like a pig at this stage. The car is just not working as Alessandro Balzan is now in the lane to hand off to Manny Franco.
Halfway home. Balzan is a multiple champion at the GT3 level, and I think in other GT classes, especially in Ferrari's. VHC drifted wide and Adam Christodoulou could very well have taken the spot away and he did. Not only that, but Spencer Pumpelly also passes in the #16 ACI Motorsports Porsche. This motor race is putting the cat among the pigeons. Derek DeBoer will have a mountain to climb in the second half as we have passed the halfway mark at 45 minutes. Hasse-Clot slides wide and Christodolou needs no second invitation.
Pumpelly also says, "thanks, mate." Hasse-Clot and now Derek DeBoer, they are suffering with the dreaded tire degradation. It happens. Tires wear out through a stint. Bill Auberlen brings the #94 Bimmerworld BMW M4 GT3 into the pits to hand off to Chandler Hull. Derek DeBoer swapping into the Aston Martin. Kenton Koch beginning to push to uncork a lap time. Koch has a head of steam as Hull is back on track. 1:46.1 for Kenton Koch and the gap is now growing, I think. Overall leader is in. Vincent Barletta will take over from Robby Foley.
Vincent Barletta does have experience with a GT3 car. He has had an opportunity to race the old BMW M6 GT3 which, would you believe, is now eligible for vintage racing, but now, this is a whole new level. In vintage racing, you are not pushing the car to the limit. You are being more courteous, having fun, showcasing the old cars for the drivers and fans to enjoy and just enjoying them. Here, this is real, full metal motor racing in the GT3 ranks in SRO America. Justin Wetherill is now taking over from Ryan Dalziel in the #33 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3.
Vincent Barletta is about to come back on track in a good place but this out of the frying pan and into the fire type stuff. These drivers know that. They know what to expect. Never tell a racing driver they don't know what they are doing. They can see the big picture. Believe me. Watch the overcut with Colin Braun in the #04 Riley Motorsports CrowdStrike Mercedes. I think the car stumbled as Barletta was attempting to accelerate out of the lane. Oy. That's not expected. Braun could very well be ahead of the #096 BMW and Chandler Hull is the presumptive second place Pro entry behind Mario Farnbacher.
This is going to be a squeaker, and everyone is running Harry Flatters. Translation? Flat out. Now, Colin Braun is in the lane and Riley Motorsports has it all to do to execute on this stop. George Kurtz should be able to make a clean getaway. Turner Motorsports will be kicking themselves because their stop was multiple seconds slow! Jeez! Samantha Tan will finish out in the #38 ST Racing BMW. Charlie Luck finishing the race for the #45 Wright Motorsports team and George Kurtz is down and away and should grab the lead. He does indeed with Tan second and Luck third. Where is the Turner BMW? Barletta has now dropped to fourth behind Ashton Harrison. Oh dear.
Check that. Barletta has passed Harrison. George Kurtz is on a streak after winning in class at Le Mans and winning race one yesterday. He could double up and get an overall win. He struggled with the balance in his GT America Mercedes but not in this example. Poor old Seth Lucas is trying to find the speed working through the Am drivers in the Pro-Am lineups and Derek DeBoer has a massive wriggle in the Aston Martin right in front of him! Lucas too, he was arms and elbows trying to keep that Porsche 911 GT3R on the blacktop! Mama Mia!
Lucas feathers the throttle and now, DeBoer is trying to pass Scott Smithson. Bryan Sellers did a wonderful job in the opening stint for DXDT in the #08 Mercedes. Ashton Harrison has her hands full trying to pass Vin Barletta. Chandler Hull closing in a big hurry. 37 minutes on the board. Harrison cannot waste time and Kenton Koch is monstering Chandler Hull just the same. Now we wait and here it is. Hull vs. Koch. That BMW should punch a massive hole in the air but has the power to motor down the straightaway. Ashton Harrison tried and tried down Madison Avenue but no dice.
Through Hog Pen they go and Harrison has to be going bonkers trying to get by Barletta. How hard do you push an out of class car? Poor Harrison, she lost two and a half seconds. She has to manage the gap. Eric Filgueiras is ninth overall and fourth in Pro chasing down Adam Adelson for eighth. Samantha Tan is applying the blowtorch to George Kurtz. Kurtz has to be feeling the heat. George Kurtz has to get his head down, now. CrowdStrike with Riley Motorsports vs. ST Racing. ST Racing and Wright Motorsports could (emphasis, could) have the Sword of Damocles hanging over them insofar as pit stop time infringement penalties.
If it is a post-race penalty it is a matter of seconds. 1.14 second added to the race time of #28. They were a handful of tenths under the 65 second delta. Short pit stop as other cars are being observed by the stewards. The #38 BMW of Samantha Tan gets half a second and Charlie Luck, less than half a second. These are microscopic penalties. George Kurtz has to maintain the gap as he cannot be on someone's six and let the other penalties come into play. 32 minutes to go.
Kurtz leads Samantha Tan by 8/10ths of a second with Charlie Luck third. Ashton Harrison turns in a 1:48 dead lap time. Samantha Tan going for it and Neil Verhagen, who finished his stint, set the Crowdstrike Fastest Lap. Passing is so difficult here at VIR except into turn one. Between 14 and 16 there is a plausible spot to pass. The track looks wider than it is and it is very dirty offline. It ix extremely hot and the exhaust from the car ahead will come into the front of the BMW, the fresh air intake. The Porsche has rear-mounted exhaust, and the Mercedes has it on the side.
Chandler Hull has gone around Vincent Barletta, but Kenton Koch has been stymied. Samantha Tan has caught George Kurtz. Tan tries to pass and Kurtz is defensive as Tan crosses over. She has the pace, trimming the lead by half a second a lap. Charlie Luck could make inroads on these two. Kenton Koch has indeed moved around Vincent Barletta. Under half an hour to go and Bimmerworld will cop a drive through penalty for a pit lane speed violation! Oh man! That is horrid! That will cost Chandler Hull 20 plus seconds, and he will fly Plummet Airways down the order but this manna from heaven for Racer's Edge.
This will buy the Acura team some time as Pedro Torres has brought the #16 ACI Motorsports Porsche to the pit lane. Harrison leads Pro and runs fourth overall. Kenton Koch has to get the hammer down, now. He is six seconds behind Harrison. Chandler Hull taking the penalty. George Kurtz has regrouped and is now eking out a margin on Samantha Tan. Tan is reeling him in. The BMW has the edge on straightaway speed over the Mercedes. Don't fall into the trap of being in the same cadence as the car in front of you. Manage the gap. VIR was a terrible race for ST Racing last year after a huge crash here and the team refocused except for the Indianapolis 8 Hours and in GT World Challenge Europe.
Samantha Tan could very well have a chance to give her a confidence boost. Kurtz though, is a savvy competitor. Tan has won her class at the 24 Hours of Dubai, a 6 Hour race in Abu Dhabi. But in sprint racing, not yet. Barletta way off the road in turn 11! Egad! Barletta way off wide in the fuzz without getting into the tires. Kurtz has answered Tan's challenge rebuilding the margin back to 4/10ths of a second and Samantha Tan might just be on his doorstep again soon. Ashton Harrison leading Pro in the Acura, but Kenton Koch in the Mercedes is the villain of the peace.
Here's a lap time comparison for you. 1:48.3 for Harrison vs. 1:46.5 for Koch! Holy cow! Apples and oranges! Harrison is doing all she can to respond. She has to be thinking championship while Kenton Koch does not. Remember that he is a full-time contender in GT4 competition. Filgueiras and McAleer are looking at a Pro-Am class podium. #93 could gain ten points but if they lose the lead to Koch, it will be only three points and now Koch goes off the road and back on, letting the car have it's head. Kurtz going easy through Oak Tree. Give it some speed with the weight on the nose and now Samantha Tan is again within striking distance.
Virginia International Raceway is a track all about finding rhythm. Ashton Harrison being caught hand over by fist by Koch. Koch to the inside and Harrison gets loose and loses the Pro class lead. Why push? He has a speed advantage, and he was right on her six. From 13th on the grid to the lead in Pro and fourth in the overall, Koch stuffing it down the inside. How close is Eric Filgueiras? He is ten seconds down. He might not have the pace. George Kurtz was not expecting to fight a rear guard action under duress from Samantha Tan who has been the quicker car the last two laps.
Maybe Tan's performance has plateaued, but she still has the advantage down the straightaway, down Madison Avenue. Towards the Roller-coaster, Kurtz leads by 4/10ths of a second, modulating the throttle and keeping the weight on the nose of the car. Scott Smithson and Anthony Bartone are scrapping for 12th and 13th as well. Kurtz ahead of Samantha Tan by 4/10ths of a second. Kenton Koch runs fourth overall leading the Pro class. He is 16 seconds back of the lead cutting lap times a second or so quicker. He could very well catch Charlie Luck but might not have enough in the locker for Kurtz and Tan.
We could see Kurtz and Braun having their fourth win and third overall. The Pro class in GTWC America is required to carry one Silver graded driver which is different from other GT3 championships sanctioned by SRO. Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer are sixth overall and fourth in class after yesterday when Adelson had two races cut short by mechanical troubles here in Fanatec GT World Challenge America and in GT America. Conquest Racing are using a new chassis and Alessandro Balzan likes it better than the last one. Race cars can have nuances that make it come to life compared to a different one.
Seth Lucas running right behind Scott Smithson and the MDK team had a long pit stop that took them out of contention. They need seat time in a GT3 car. Scott Smithson is doing a great job with Anthony Bartone running just ahead. This is 12th, 13th, and 14th into the Horseshoe. Steering that Porsche has been a hard deal. They are learning, building a notebook on the car. It is a building year for MDK Motorsports. This is a relatively new team with five podiums. The lead has stabilized at half a second with Kurtz and tan dueling ahead of Charlie Luck and Kenton Koch is motoring as well. Koch is the only driver in the 1:46 range. Kenton Koch has two seconds in hand. Here are some lap times.
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