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
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