It is time now for the first race of the weekend for the GT3 cars, as SRO GT World Challenge America makes a triumphant return to action after the summer break for the 24 Hours of Spa. If you have been following national and world news, you will know of the security breach and technical issues facing Microsoft and web security provider, CrowdStrike, which Riley Motorsports CrowdStrike team driver, George Kurtz, he is the CEO of that company. So, due to this worldwide outage of the web security system for such things as Cloud storage and so on, he and co-driver Colin Braun have been forced to withdraw from the pair of races in GT World Challenge America at VIR this weekend, leaving the door open for the competition to get a slice of the pie.
This is the mid-point of the year, the fourth of seven races as we join Kyle Heyer, Calvin Fish, and Amanda Busick. Paul Newman, actor and racer called VIR "heaven on earth". The battles are raging in points in the Pro and Pro-Am classes. Wright Motorsports Porsche leads ST Racing in Pro. In Pro-Am it is a BMW battle between ST Racing and Turner Motorsports. Here's our track preview with Neil Verhagen as we touch 160 miles an hour in a GT3 car. Hard on the brakes into turn one. Maximize corner entry, stay in the middle of the road on exit.
Compliancy over the curbs is very important. Touch the brakes and use the curbs through Left Hook, into The Snake. Then we go up through the climbing esses. It is flat out in a GT3 car. Stay to the right side of the road and watch the curbing so you don't head off into the grass. Turn 11, Oak Tree corner, look out for the exit. This is a very important exit down Madison Avenue at 160+ miles an hour before tipping into The Rollerocaster and into Hog Pen. It is like being a slalom skiier and hitting the gates. Skiing, bobsledding, auto racing, they are all about speed.
Hello and welcome to VIR as we join Kyle Heyer, and Calvin Fish in the booth, and Amanda Busick in the pit lane. Right now we are watching the weather. Rain is still a threat. It is sunny and dry now. But, will the rain come during this first race of the weekend heading for the halfway mark of the season. This is round seven and tomorrow is round eight before we have Road America, Barber Motorsports Park, and Indianapolis left after this. The Pirelli tires are being mounted and the drivers are getting suited and booted.
Rain could be the great equalizer and Alec Udell has made mention of that. We saw racing action for SRO GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup at Hockenheim in Germany. We are going to have all the GTWC Europe sprint races in video form for you, later in the year, after their season concludes. Tommy Milner at DXDT Racing Corvette thinks the weather will be a big deal in this race with more threatening clouds around us here in Alton, Virginia. No mistakes is the team's strategy. Alec Udell and Tommy Milner teaming up. Tire degradation will be part of the picture. His first professional GT race was here at VIR in 2004 and he got a pole here in IMSA GT competition as well and is now participating as well in SRO America.
Watch out for the rivers and the puddles. Phillip Ellis will start the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG sharing with Jeff Burton. Bryan Sellers had an espresso to drink, so he is getting set to go and the cars are being formed up on the pre-grid before we fire the engines. There are patches of blue sky. We are still waiting to see if Justin Rothberg's GT America race win from earlier this afternoon, will be official. We'll keep you updated. Elias Sabo is strapping into the #8 Flying Lizard Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo he is sharing with Andy Lee. We have a dozen GT3 cars and the engines fire up.
Again, right now it is dry. The big factor will be tire degradation. It is cooler than what we have seen earlier in the week for ambient and track temperatures, both. There will be the pit window and the driver changes about halfway through the race. Trouble for the #50 Aaron Povoledo driven Mercedes-AMG GT3, the Chouest Povoledo Racing Mercedes with a tech problem. They were bullish about their chances and the electronics are being worked on but he will be demoted to caboose on the field. Maybe those showers we saw earlier in the day messed up the electronics.
This is a fast, old-school circuit that is not so forgiving to mistakes. New electronics boxes or test meters diagnosing the trouble. Watch the water. That grass is going to be sodden from the earlier rain. I don't think the #50 Mercedes will make the start and might go a lap down. So, they are digging into a hole, scrambling with the electronic systems situation. The team says the car is not starting. The lights work but the motor won't crank. The battery is OK but something is wrong. Such a shame for Chouest Povoledo Racing. Hopefully they can get out there. Safety Car lights off, as the field goes into Noah's Ark formation. Everyone is formed up.
Green flag waving by Jonathan Eckhart, Riva brand manager. Ellis cleanly into turn one as Bill Auberlen wriggles his way into second. Oh! A nudge between Alec Udell and Spencer Pumpelly. Udell has Luca Mars right on his six. Argy bargy on the opening lap as Philip Ellis leads in Pro-Am while Bill Auberlen leads the Pro class. Into South Bend and Oak Tree for the first time. Tires coming up to pressure down Madison Avenue for the first time. Alec Udell up to third. Philip Ellis has the lead of the motor race. Lap one complete in this 90-minute motor race. In Pro-Am, it is Samantha Tan leading Justin Rothberg.
There is some dive planes that fell off the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, the #63 of Alec Udell who has a good gap over Spencer Pumpelly. Elias Sabo is now moving forward in the #8 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo and Kyle Washington is right behind him, sharing with Tom Sargent in the #32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3R (992), a brand-new race car. Down they go through The Rollercoaster and into the final turn at Hog Pen. Kyle Washington has to be on the money with the new Porsche that he is still getting used to. GMG Racing owned by Kyle Washington and James Sofronas have a new 28,000 square foot race shop at The Thermal Club in Thermal, California.
Esses Racing with their Mercedes-AMG GT3 #19 with Will Hardemann and Adam Carroll, who has had his eyes opened by VIR racing here for the first time as Luca Mars in the #93 Racer's Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 is chasing down Spencer Pumpelly in the #85 RS1 Porsche 911 GT3R. Be careful not to overshoot turn 11, Oak Tree corner now running down Madison Avenue at full chat. Tommy Milner and Alec Udell swept the weekend at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, back in May. The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R is finding it's sweet spot in several GT3 based championships.
We have known Alec Udell has speed and is now in a top-level team. Oh dear! Scott Smithson in the sister #08 DXDT Corvette rattles over the grass in turn ten and spins out on the outside of the corner, there, look. Yikes! I think all four wheels were off the ground! Egad! Philip Ellis sets fastest lap of the motor race thus far at 1:46.893. He is off in the grass and can't move the car. If he is there much longer the Full Course Yellow will need to be deployed. It appears he is stuck. Oy yoy yoy! Ellis leading Auberlen and right now, Will Hardemann is still in hot pursuit of Justijn Rothberg as we see the Full Course Yellow. Scott Smithson will need to be rescued, sharing the #08 DXDT Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R with Bryan Sellers.
The Wright Motorsports Porsche is not having the best weekend of racing as they are battling with the #28 ST Racing BMW as the #08 Corvette is being pulled out of the grass. The Chouest Povoledo Racing Mercedes will be undergoing a test session during the rest of this race, and they are still stuck in the pit lane as the #08 Corvette recovers, but two laps down. On hot tires, a flick spin will stall the car. I wonder if he burned out the clutch. The clutch is fine. He was just stuck in the mud. We have been racing now for 14-15 minutes give or take. Varun Choksey says the yellow does not help ST Racing but they will push.
Now we are back to green, and Philip Ellis shoots out of a cannon. Auberlen and Udell are racing for second. Smithson off the road again, straight into the tire barriers at Left Hook! Sheesh! Feast and famine for the DXDT Corvette's currently. RS1 returning to the Pro class battle with Spencer Pumpelly and Trent Hindman in the #85 Porsche 911 GT3R, who swept the weekend at Sebring. Another safety car scramble. Spencer Pumpelly won races in GT3 and GT4 north of the border in Canada last weekend for a different championship. Now, we have another restart, the acceleration zone is down through Hog Pen with the green flag later down the straightaway.
Auberlen must focus on stymying Alec Udell. Could Scott Smithson be dealing with a technical issue. I think the ABS isn't working properly. Maybe a sensor has been torn off the system. it is rare to see a GT3 car with the tires completely locked up. Onto the flatbed it goes. At Regulator Racing, their strategy is being ruined and so it is too at the #28 team for ST Racing BMW with Bill Auberlen and Varun Choksey. We have been under yellow for a good while. These yellow flags will save the tire degradation. A tire is like a piece of cheese being grated as it rolls over the track surface. Picking up the tire debris is like making a snowball in the wintertime.
Bryan Sellers says that a harmless spin can toss false readings to the wheel speed sensor which completely glitches the ABS and makes it go on the blink. Scott Smithson was in a tough position with zero ABS at all. Bryan Sellers will be coaching Scott Smithson for the rest of the race. The DXDT team with car #08 might have some work to do. It is a tough situation, not to worry about for Scott Smithson. For the previous two years he was driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3. The braking issues will be ringing alarm bells. If the wheel is going backwards, the computer goes haywire and that is what happened.
Average speeds between 83-84 miles an hour under yellow and we will crank up the speed under green. The faster Pro drivers will be maximizing their stint length. Safety Car lights off. Bill Auberlen can now motor away from Alec Udell and Spencer Pumpelly too, in the Porsche, will be up on the wheel. Green flag! We are back to racing. Pumpelly moving around trying to clean the Pirelli tires. Luca Mars shoring up the center of the turn against Spencer Pumpelly into the oval-like corner of NASCAR Bend.
Auberlen shoring up a big lead for Varun Choksey to use. The tires are in great shape as they race into South Bend corner. Up through the climbing esses they go and down Madison Avenue. Crest the hill and watch the braking zone into the climbing esses. Then they go through Hog Pen and onto the front straightaway. The GT3 cars are very aero dependent. Adam Adelson is following behind Pumpelly and Mars. Adam Adelson will be aware of the points championship, and he'll be wanting to make a move or hoping his co-driver Elliott Skeer will do the same at the later half of the race. Later in the year, the Corvette might pick up steam. They need to play catch up for the time being.
Ellis pulling ahead of Auberlen and Udell and Udell is keeping Auberlen honest. Luca Mars glued to the tail of Spencer Pumpelly. Watch the puddle on corner exit. The car won't be too loaded at that point on the road. Mid-engined V6 Acura turbo vs. naturally aspirated flat six Porsche moving the motor further and further forward to the middle of the car to center the weight balance. They are pretty even in the draft down Madison Avenue and into Hog Pen. Under an hour to go. 58 minutes left on the board as Adam Adelson has a ringside seat for this battle between Mars and Pumpelly. Will Hardemann in the #19 Esses Racing Mercedes lost a wheel and did so right into the pit lane. It is three wheels on me wagon for Will Hardemann.
Sabo is off the road in Left Hook, and it is such slippery grass over there. Blimey! So, we've seen a couple cars off the road in the wet grass. RS1 ahead of Racer's Edge Motorsports and now, Adam Adelson is closing up. Spencer Pumpelly is the cork in the bottle but he has so much more experience than Luca Mars. Luca Mars has also been racing a Ford Mustang GT4 in another championship, in the Michelin Pilot Challenge in IMSA. Where is the flattest line to crawl my way back on the road? Sabo hit the puddle and went for a spin before spearing right across the race track! Holy cow! It is our third Full Course Yellow.
Philip Ellis will be fuming! The strategy for Regulator Racing is coming apart, crumpling like the paper it was written on. We are almost to halfway and the pit window may or may not be adjusted. We'll need to see. There is no hard timeline for a maximum drive time like last year;. The fastest laps are in the range from the high 1:46s to the low 1:48s. Robby Foley, the birthday boy, he is trying to give himself a victory as a present and of course, Justin Rothberg won that fast and furious rainy GT America race we saw a wee while ago.
Each team has a maximum drive time of 50 minutes. On the pit lane is line to line from pit in to pit out including the stop and the driver change, is 65 seconds. You can pit as early as 51:05 on the clock. Will the pit lane stay open? We are now going back to green, and the pits are effectively open. No takers yet? Well, we are back underway, and Phillip Ellis is going for it. In 30 seconds, this window is going to open. Ellis must be in the pit lane by the 50 minutes to go mark. Auberlen will do the same, but these strategies have been turned upside down with the rash of yellows we have seen. Ellis will need this for race two tomorrow but not today.
This race has been turned on it's ear. Pit stop time now. Most drivers are coming in. Tommy Milner, Zach Veach, Elliott Skeer, and Neil Verhagen, among the co-drivers taking over the cars. ST Racing doing a tire change, fuel, and a driver change. Neil Verhagen taking over. Elliott Skeer is in. No panic necessary. Porsche #120 has passed Acura #93. If the field is compressed and you have a penalty it is a throwaway. Now, the #85 RS1 Porsche is in the lane with Spencer Pumpelly handing over to Trent Hindman. We are close to halfway as Elliott Skeer will have a fight on his hands. This is getting spicy. Hot peppers, anyone? Well, we'll see. Take a drink of water, too. Verhagen nearly squeezes Luca Mars in the Acura!
He has Robby Foley right on his six and all of these chaps are bearing down on Ellis who will hand over to Jeff Burton. It will get feisty. The Turner Motorsports BMW has had more pace than the example of the M4 GT3 from ST Racing as the Wright Porsche passes the RS1 Porsche but they short pitted and it is under review by the stewards. It is a multiple of ten and no jokers this year. 1:46.671, new fastest lap for Tommy Milner. He is putting the hammer down looking for a hat trick of three Pro class victories. Zach Veach has both Neil Verhagen and Robby Foley right behind him. DXDT and Corvette are putting themselves in the right place on execution.
Auberlen and Ellis have three minutes and change before they must be in pit lane, down through The Rollercoaster and into Hog Pen. Verhagen trying to make his move on Foley! Rival BMW teams and Foley goes off the road and slides into the wall in NASCAR Bend! The BMW brass will be having a collective heart attack! They were trying to coexist, but Robby Foley had no place to go! All of the gaps are at zero. This is our fourth Full Course Yellow which squishes and compacts Regulator Racing's strategy from a cube into a square. The safety car has to hustle. This is going to be a tight squeeze and we are into the second half of this race.
Ellis and Auberlen lead the way. Andy Lee is not a factor and is two laps down. Robby Foley is out of the car, not the birthday gift he wanted. How much damage do they have? They have a spare car the winning GT America BMW M4 GT3 for Justin Rothberg. The #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes is in with Jeff Burton getting in the car, refueling and getting new Pirelli P Zero tires. Same for ST Racing with Bill Auberlen handing off to Varun Choksey. In Pro-Am, Neil Verhagen is leading the class. They are the points leaders and the Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 is going to take a hit before tomorrow's second and final race of the weekend.
It looks like Robby Foley got underneath Neil Verhagen through turn two. Lights still on, on the safety car with 36 minutes to go. Race two should have a completely different feel. As head back to green it will be Tommy Milner in the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R vs. Elliott Skeer in the Porsche 911 GT3R (992). Corvette ahead. Skeer, Hindman, and Veach the top three in the Pro class. Tom Sargent in the #32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3R (992) has been very quick running with Kyle Washington. Adam Carroll and Will Hardemann are a lap down but still fourth in Pro-Am. They'd like to leapfrog the leaders and get another Full Course Yellow.
But this is the hand they've been dealt. Just enjoy the track and learn what you can for tomorrow. What happened to the wheel? How did it fall off before it was replaced? There will be a one second time penalty for the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche. Elliott Skeer will be doing all he can to catch Tommy Milner. Half an hour to go. We are into the final third of this race. Trent Hindman will be chasing down both Elliott Skeer and Tommy Milner. Watch the Pro-Am lead battle for fifth overall too, between Sargent and Verhagen. Ellis has won Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Spa this year. This has been in several championships of course.
Tomorrow is a new day. An ice cream would certainly help. Again, the grass is still soaking wet, but the track surface is as dry as it's been all day. Neil Verhagen ran wide, forces him offline, tagged Robby Foley and he was off for Mr. Toad's wild ride. It was recovered. Neil Verhagen says it was a racing incident. Justin Rothberg and Robby Foley are both fine but hopefully they will be in the race for race two tomorrow. Varun Choksey in the lane for a quick stop, playing it safe, looking at the right side for a loose wheel and replacing the right rear tire. Sometimes tire pickup gets onto the tire and makes a driver feel very weird, like the wheel is broken or the tire is out of kilter.
It was indeed a loose right rear tire. Points as they stand now sees a 34-point swing between Wright Motorsports and Turner Motorsports, 140 points to 106 points. Robby Foley believes this incident was not a racing deal. He was hit to the right once, driving him to the right into the grass. He believes he was driven straight off the road. He says, "I don't see it as a racing incident at all." He feels fine but is obviously upset. It is an unwritten rule to not take out your fellow driver for the same brand. Neil Verhagen was in the grass, keeping his foot in it, he ended up on the other side pushing into Foley. It was not egregious, but it was definitely a racing incident.
Under 20 minutes of racing to go. Time to sharpen up the old elbows for a flat-out sprint to the finish! Bryan Sellers and the #08 DXDT Corvette is back out testing for the race tomorrow. Tommy Milner leading Elliott Skeer, Trent Hindman, and Zach Veach followed by Neil Verhagen, Tom Sargent, and Jeff Burton. Green flag! 18 minutes plus to go. Trent Hindman is being pressed by Zach Veach, squirming coming through the corner. Neil Verhagen is leading Pro-Am by a car length or two over the #32 GMG Porsche 911 GT3R, Tom Sargent at the wheel of it.
ST Racing and Neil Verhagen are pinged with a drive through penalty for incident responsibility for the Robby Foley shunt. Foley called it and knew it was more than a racing incident so Verhagen will pay with a drive through. Oh dear. Varun Choksey is off the road in the grass and was at driver's left in The Snake or the climbing esses. Maybe he can continue. A piece of bodywork flying from somewhere and now, the fifth safety car period of this race. This motor race has been riddled with safety cars. So, Neil Verhagen gets a bit of a reptrieve. In this replay, Bryan Sellers chasing Jeff Burton through Left Hook, and the #91 of Jeff Burton spins and it cut down the tire on the #28 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3!
For the #91 this is the terrible, no good, very bad day. Zach Veach is in a good spot for the restart. The only other car on the lead lap in Pro-Am was the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes and there is something wrong with the #28 ST Racing BW which had a tire go down and shredded the front end after the contact. They are out of this race and are going to be making repairs for race two tomorrow. Don't risk suspension and engine damage from the cut down tire which has enormous destructive power like a chainsaw. You are basically throwing many, many, many 100-dollar bills in the trash.
This will be a qualifying session to the very end with just over 12 minutes of racing remaining. A warning for blocking on the restart for the #85 RS1 Porsche of Trent Hindman. So, he may have been blocoking or weaving to distract Elliott Skeer. A block is moving in reaction to a trailing car vs. being proactive about it and defending. We should go green again next time by. We have had five Full Course Yellows. How will this restart go? Let the safety car get ahead and go ahead and try tucking your competition up like a kipper.
Ten minutes to go. The podium battle between Zach Veach and Tom Sargent will have a magnifying glass over it as well. Headed up towards The Rollercoaster, as Tommy Milner and DXDT are going for three wins on the bounce. Green flag. Eight and a half minutes to go. A battle for position between the lapped Pro-Am #8 Aston Martin and #19 Mercedes. Racer's Edge, Acura, and Zach Veach are flying. Verhagen has dispatched Bryan Sellers. He was quite a way back on the restart. He still has a chance. Sargent will wonder, where on earth is Verhagen? Zach Veach, again, is enjoying this race. He has no experience at the previous tracks we've raced at but at VIR Veach has been in a GT3 car here at this track before.
He did do a full season in North America with GT3 cars and the other series he was in raced here at VIR and at the next event venue at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The puddle still on the road messes with the grip and splashes dirty water up onto the windscreen. Tommy Milner leads by 9/10ths of a second through Oak Tree back to Elliott Skeer. Bring the car home with five minutes to go. Don't take any undue risks. Sargent scampering away from Neil Verhagen. The Hindman and Veach battle is still simmering too. Three minutes to go. Into The Rollercoaster. White flag next time by. Neil Verhagen is now reeling in Tom Sargent. Verhagen is not backing down. He has a target. No big picture thinking here. Sargent slides through NASCAR Bend.
The BMW, looming large, in the background, look. Look out! Neil Verhagen is all over Tom Sargent like a cheap suit! Be proactive choosing the line. Side by side. Sargent later on the brakes. Sargent slams the door in his face. White flag. Final lap of VIR race one for GT World Challenge America. Is Sargent vulnerable in another section of the course? He is ticking all the boxes. Nowhere to go through the esses as they scream towards Oak Tree and will be flooring it down Madison Avenue! Yikes! Sargent slides the Porsche sending it! Egad! Madison Avenue for the final time. Verhagen did not have the grunt to get past. Through the Rollercoaster for the last time. Tommy Milner and DXDT Racing win number three! They best Wright Motorsports.
In Pro-Am it is GMG Racing, Tom Sargent and Kyle Washington winning with Neil Verhagen and Samantha Tan finishing second! Holy smokes! What a race! What a race!
Overall/Pro: #63 Udell/Milner DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Pro-Am: #32 Washington/Sargent GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3R (992)
Cue the dance music for the race results. Another victory for DXDT Racing and Corvette! A second race coming up tomorrow. Join us then. We still have Pirelli GT4 America coming up for their first of two races of the weekend, in a wee while. Stay tuned, everybody. Plenty more racing from SRO America for you to enjoy on this Saturday afternoon.
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