Virginia International Raceway – Syndication Server

Zilisch makes history with Trans Am/TA2 sweep at VIR

17-year-old Connor Zilisch accomplished something at VIRginia International Raceway that no driver in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli has done before, winning two races in different classes in a single weekend. Zilisch started today’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series race from the pole and dominated, leading every lap and holding off 2022 champion Thomas Merrill to earn his fifth TA2 win of the season. Zilisch did the same yesterday, winning the TA race from the pole in his very first start in the class.

Zilisch led the field to green in his No. 7 Silver Hare Racing/Carter Bank Chevrolet Camaro, getting a clean start and pulling ahead of second-place starter Jade Buford (No. 48 Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers Ford Mustang) and third-place starter Brent Crews (No. 70 Franklin Road/Mobil 1/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang). After just seconds of competition, championship contender Rafa Matos in the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang experienced trouble, making contact with two competitors when they spun ahead of him in Turn 1. With severe damage to his vehicle, the Brazilian was forced to retire early, finishing 33rd. The drama continued on lap three when points leader Crews cut down a tire, sending him off the racing surface and hard into the tire barrier, bringing out the first full-course caution of the day. With crippling damage to his car, Crews was forced into the garage for nearly the entire race, but returned to the track one last time at the very end to gain a position over Matos, ultimately finishing 32nd.

Racing resumed on lap eight, and once again Zilisch took off with the lead, this time with Buford and Thomas Merrill (No. 26 Bennett/HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang) in tow. Almost immediately, Buford was tagged by another driver and spun off the track surface. He was able to continue, but lost several positions as a result. This allowed Nathan Herne (No. 29 CUBE 3/Berryman Ford Mustang) to take over the third position. Zilisch was able to work his way up to a 2.9s lead over Merrill by lap 11, but the double yellow was displayed once again for a crash, closing up the field.

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When competition resumed on lap 14, the race remained green for nine laps, and Zilisch again showed his speed by garnering a 6.8s advantage over Merrill. Merrill was being hunted by Herne, but the Australian was unable to get past Merrill before the full-course yellow. Racing resumed for the final time on lap 25, and a clean start by Zilisch allowed him to protect his lead. Merrill stalked him in the final five laps, getting closer to his Camaro’s bumper than he had all day, but it wasn’t enough. Zilisch crossed the finish line and claimed the victory, followed by Merrill and Herne. Thomas Annunziata (No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) and Dillon Machavern (No. 17 Heritage AG/UniFirst/SLR-M1 Ford Mustang) rounded out the top five. Connor Mosack (No. 8 SherryStrong/M1 Race Cars/Team SLR Chevrolet Camaro) returned to the series for the third time this season and started from the back of the field after missing yesterday’s qualifying while competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Taking the green from the 33rd position, he fought his way through the field to finish sixth, earning him the Cool Shirt Cool Move of the Race.

“Thank you to my whole entire team, Silver Hare Racing; they’ve worked so hard to give me fast cars every week that we come to the track, and it’s shown,” said Zilisch from atop the podium for the second time this weekend. “It means a lot to be able to race for this team. Maurice and Laura Hull gave me this opportunity to come out here and race. Thank you to my family for giving me this chance, and my mom and dad for always supporting me the most they can. Thank you to Carter Bank and Trust for coming on the car this weekend. They’re a local company helping us get to the track. It just means a lot to be standing here for the fifth time this year. It’s pretty special to have this good of a season and end the year the way we have. Now we go to COTA with a chance to win. We’re out of the championship hunt, but there is still a race to be won, so we will go there with that goal. I can’t ask for a much better weekend, winning both features and poles. Thank you to everyone, I’ll see you at COTA.”

The re-broadcast of Sunday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, October 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series returns to the track for the season finale at Circuit of The Americas on November 2-5.

RESULTS

Becklin, Lacey nab first FR Americas and F4 US wins at VIR

After 13 podium finishes this season, Cooper Becklin finally broke through to earn his first-career win in Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda (FR Americas) on Sunday morning. At the same track as his FR Americas debut two years ago, Becklin climbed from a fourth-place grid position to climb atop the podium after one runner-up and 12 third-place finishes this season. Callum Hedge had the opportunity to clinch the 2023 Drivers Championship title in Sunday’s race, but an on-track incident eliminated him from contention and ensured the championship battle would carry forward to the season finale at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

Becklin lined up fourth on the grid, but moved into third after Westling went off track in Turn 1. From there, he set his sights on Shehan. Right on Shehan’s gearbox as they completed the first lap, Becklin drove in deep as they entered Turn 4 on the second lap to overtake the second position. Meanwhile, Hedge had opened up more than a two-second lead.

With 19 minutes left on the clock, smoke appeared out the back of Hedge’s car as he exited Oak Tree Bend, and by the time he got to the top of the Roller Coaster, he made contact with the tire barrier. A full-course caution ensued before Hedge made his way back down pit road to the attention of his crew. With a broken front wing and rear suspension damage, it appeared that a slight off at Oak Tree caused the terminal damage that forced Hedge to retire from the event. The misfortune allowed Becklin to inherit the lead, and Shehan to move back into second.

With green flag conditions returning just a few minutes later, Becklin sailed on to the checkered flag with Shehan in tow. Westling and Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 Save 22 Ligier JS F3) once again duked it out for the third position. After contact between the two derailed their efforts in race one of the weekend, Bowlsbey came out ahead in a clean battle in today’s race to claim his first-career FR Americas podium. Westling settled for fourth and Nicole Havrda (No. 6 Valley Kitchens / Farrow / Colonial Countertops / Hardwoods / Road to Racing / Fast Time Ligier JS F3) rounded out the top five.

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After earning his first win in 39 FR Americas starts, Becklin was awarded the Omologato Perfectly Timed Move of The Race and was presented with a bespoke timepiece.

“This feels amazing,” said Becklin after climbing from the car. “We worked all season. We’ve been fast enough almost every weekend, and it’s finally worked out in our favor. We saved a set of tires, and the team worked really hard to get this car working to race pace. It worked out great, and now we’re on the top step.”

FR Americas will decide its champion next month in the season finale at Circuit of The Americas, November 2-4.

Jesse Lacey earns first-career F4 U.S. win at VIR

Jesse Lacey ran away from the field to claim his first-career win in Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda (F4 U.S.) competition on Sunday morning at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR). After setting the fast lap in race two, the Australian paced the field from lights out all the way to the checkered flag.

Lacey had opened up a 3.269s gap by the completion of the first lap, while Patrick Woods-Toth found himself in an intense battle with Michael Costello (No. 19 Jay Howard Driver Development / CSU One Cure / Lucas Oil / LHP Ligier JS F4), Alex Berg (No. 08 MySim.ca / Rohde & Liesenfeld / Easy Drift / Penn Elcom Online / Dae Systems Ligier JS F4) and Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N.E. Where Transport Ligier JS F4). Costello was the first one to make it around Woods-Toth, taking the second position from the Canadian in Turn 3 on the second lap; then, just one lap later, Berg took the third position while entering Turn 1, and Hauanio moved into fourth while racing through Turn 4—all leaving Woods-Toth back in the fifth position. Just like Berg’s pass on Woods-Toth in Turn 1, he looked to make a similar move on Costello the following lap, but the two locked wheels, eliminating both drivers from contention.

As the clock ticked down, Lacey continued to pace the field while Hauanio followed in second after inheriting the position following Berg and Costello’s misfortune, but Woods-Toth was never far behind in third. As the race neared its halfway point, Woods-Toth was finally close enough to make a run at Hauanio’s New’T Racing machine. Making a run on his Hankook Tires on the inside as they raced toward Turn 1, the points leader completed the pass. The two continued to race nose to tail until Hauanio had another chance to make a run at Woods-Toth—this time in the Uphill Esses with just seven minutes left on the clock.

Overtaking second, Hauanio was starting to take a look at the leader when a late-race full-course caution slowed his forward progression. When the checkered flag waved, Lacey led the field across the line, followed by Hauanio in second and Woods-Toth in third.

“I had a good start,” said Lacey after climbing from the car. “My main goal was just to try to keep the gap and make as few mistakes as possible. It was getting quite close at the end, but I was lucky that I was able to hold them off.”

F4 U.S. will also decide its champion next month in the season finale at Circuit of The Americas, November 2-4.

FR AMERICAS RESULTS

F4 US RESULTS

Soto-Schirripa wins two F4 US races in a row at VIR

Augie Soto-Schirripa earned his second-career win in Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda (F4 U.S.), leading the field to the checkered flag at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) on Saturday morning. Wet track conditions made for a challenging first race for the Andy Scriven Memorial at the VIR SpeedTour, but Soto-Schirripa raced from his fourth-place grid position to take the lead after a restart on lap five and never looked back.

Rain plagued the morning as much of the field fought reduced visibility due to spray. A full-course caution led to a restart on lap five, allowing Soto-Schirripa to make a run at the lead. Applying pressure, Soto-Schirripa capitalized when Costello went wide through the Horseshoe and drove off into the grass. Meanwhile, a rough restart for Patrick Woods-Toth moved him from third all the way back to the eighth position.

With the race back under green-flag conditions, battles ensued throughout the field. Alex Berg (No. 08 MySim.ca / Rohde & Liesenfeld / Easy Drift / Penn Elcom Online / Dae Systems Ligier JS F4), Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) and Luciano Martinez (No. 91 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F3) all had strong restarts to inherit the second, third and fourth positions, respectively. Martinez, however, was looking for even more forward progress, first overtaking Sherlock before setting his sights on Berg. A touch of the rumble strips by Sherlock sent the No. 31 spinning in Snake, while Woods-Toth quietly slid into fourth, overtaking both Sherlock and Daniel Cará (No. 10 Tenuta Foppa & Ambrosi Ligier JS F4) within a matter of seconds. While they jockeyed for the fourth position, Martinez and Berg were racing side-by-side for second through the Uphill Esses. Tight racing in close quarters resulted in Martinez spinning through the grass while Berg continued forward. The full-course caution was once again displayed, slowing the field and causing the clock to run out while under safety.

Soto-Schirripa took the win, followed by Berg in second and Woods-Toth completed the podium in third.

“The team gave me a great car,” said Soto-Schirripa in Winner’s Circle. “I felt confident with what I had, and knew that the key to this was to be consistent and to be smooth and to not get crazy. Even if you lost a little bit of time on some parts of the track, it was better to keep it on four wheels. We did that and we took home the W. I’m really happy.”

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Soto-Schirripa continued his perfect day at VIR, going two-for-two in F4 U.S. competition. In his third F4 U.S. race weekend, the 23-year-old has now secured three wins and four podiums in just eight starts.

Woods-Toth lead early, followed by Berg and Soto-Schirripa for nearly the first half of the race. Berg attempted a pass for the lead entering Turn 1 with 17 minutes left on the clock, but contact left him spinning through the grass and removed him from contention for the win. With Berg out of the picture, Soto-Schirripa picked up a half second to close within 0.3s of Woods-Toth before the full-course caution was displayed.

With just two minutes left on the clock, the race restarted, leading to a one-lap shootout to the checkered flag. Woods-Toth rolled off first with Soto-Schirripa filling his mirrors. Staying tight on his gearbox, Soto-Schirripa made one last run at the lead, drafting down the backstretch and completing the pass as they entered the Roller Coaster for the last time. With a clean pass, Soto-Schirripa sailed away to his second victory of the day in the Andy Scriven Memorial at the VIR SpeedTour.

As they crossed the line, Soto-Schirripa led Woods-Toth and Daniel Cará (No. 10 Tenuta Foppa & Ambrosi Ligier JS F4). Michael Costello (No. 19 Jay Howard Driver Development / CSU One Cure / Lucas Oil / LHP Ligier JS F4) and Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N.E Where Transport Ligier JS F4) rounded out the top five.

“Oh, wow,” Soto-Schirripa exclaimed as he got out the car. “I had to be patient; I knew the last lap was when to make it happen. I didn’t send it in Turn 1, knowing that he was going to block. So, I tried to keep everyone behind me, knowing that my main goal was [Woods-Toth]. We got it done. I’m super happy for me, for the team—we put together a great car. We went out on used tires. It’s awesome—we’re dialed in. I thought I loved Mid-Ohio, but I think I love VIR more now.”

A series of post-race stewards’ decisions resulted in a 30s penalty for Woods-Toth, as well as a 10s penalty for Costello. The appeal period remains open until 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, October 8, after which any appeals will be heard and final results will be determined.

F4 U.S. will be back on track Sunday to contest their final race of the weekend. Lights out for race three is scheduled for 9:35 a.m. ET. For updates, follow the F4 U.S. on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or use the Race Monitor app for live timing and scoring. The race will be live streamed on the SpeedTour TV YouTube Channel.

RACE ONE RESULTS

RACE TWO RESULTS

Hedge wins first two FR Americas races at VIR

Callum Hedge went from a spin to a win in a thrilling opening race of the weekend for Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda (FR Americas) at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR). The New Zealander is in a heated battle for the championship title with Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport teammate Ryan Shehan, and the two kept the drama set to “high” from start to finish in race one of the Andy Scriven Memorial at the VIR SpeedTour weekend.

Drama on the initial start happened between Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 Save 22 Ligier JS F3) and Oliver Westling (No. 1 JENSEN Ligier JS F3). Bowlsbey rolled off the grid in third with Westling a row behind him in sixth, but by the time they made it to Turn 1, the two were side by side. Westling looked to pull ahead of Bowlsbey, but misjudged his clearance and the two made contact with their Hankook tires. Still in a heated battle, Bowlsbey stayed immediately on Westling’s gearbox until the two once again made contact in Turn 4 and Westling got turned around.

Shehan stayed tight on Hedge’s gearbox, patiently waiting for an opportunity to take the lead. Filling Hedge’s mirrors, the gap between the top two remained less than half a second apart for the first 12 minutes of the race. Shehan finally got his shot at the point position as Hedge locked up entering Oak Tree and spun through the grass. The mistake took Shehan from 0.2s behind the leader to nearly a 7s advantage. However, just as quickly as Shehan gained his advantage, it was all erased when a full-course caution slowed the field.

With just over 12 minutes left on the clock, Shehan led the field to green as the race resumed. Despite pressure from Hedge, Shehan initially pulled ahead in his No. 66 machine, but an off in Oak Tree dropped him to third in the running order, as Hedge inherited the lead. Left to fight his way back through the field, Shehan pulled tight on Bowlsbey’s gearbox and was able to overtake the position with a pass on the backstretch with just under seven minutes left on the clock.

Another full-course caution with just five minutes to go meant a one-lap shootout to the finish. Hedge held off the competition through one final restart to lead the field to the checkered flag. As they crossed the line, Hedge led Shehan, followed by Bowlsbey in third and Becklin in fourth.

A post-race Stewards Decision stemming from the lap-one incident between Bowlsbey and Westling led to a 30s penalty, which dropped Bowlsbey from third to eighth in the official results.

“It’s probably safe to say that I didn’t deserve to win today,” Hedge explained on the podium. “I haven’t made too many mistakes this year. I was going to go for fastest lap that lap, but I went a couple meters too deep, got halfway through the corner and realized I was facing backwards.”

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Hedge earned his 11th FR Americas victory at VIR on Saturday afternoon. Holding the point position from lights to checkers, the New Zealander extended his points lead, allowing him to possibly clinch the 2023 Championship title in Sunday’s race.

Oliver Westling (No. 1 JENSEN Ligier JS F3) had a great jump from his fifth-place starting position to move into third by the time the field reached the first corner. Third-place starter Cooper Becklin (No. 19 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) remained close behind, waiting for an opportunity to move back into the final podium position. With 10 minutes remaining on the clock, Becklin was able to make his way back around Westling and cruised on to the checkered flag.

After 30-minutes of green flag racing, Hedge led Shehan and Becklin to the checkered flag.

“This afternoon we made a few changes; had a few issues to fix in between the races,” explained Hedge. “We had a crack in the valve housing that we had to fix up during the break. The car felt really good from lap one. I finally made a good start—which was nice—and I never really looked back. I just want to say a big thank you to the Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport for the good car, and the people that make it happen for me—Giltrap Group, Tony Quinn Foundation and Tasman Motorsports Group.”

FR Americas will contest one more round this weekend with lights out for race three scheduled at 11:50 a.m. ET Sunday. It will stream live on the SpeedTour TV YouTube Channel. Fans can follow @FRAmericas on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates, and use the Race Monitor app for live timing and scoring.

RACE ONE RESULTS

RACE TWO RESULTS

Zilisch sweeps poles at VIR with fastest time in TA2 after TA win

Practice and qualifying are complete for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series at VIRginia International Raceway. After earning the Motul Pole Award in TA Friday and winning the race Saturday in his first-career TA class start, Connor Zilisch backed up his speed by winning the TA2 pole, sweeping the weekend’s qualifying sessions. If he were to win the race tomorrow, he would be the first in Trans Am history to win both of the weekend’s races.

“This sport is a game of momentum, and when stuff starts going well, like it has been for this TA2 program the last five or six races, you build on that,” said Zilisch. “Bottom line is, we’ve had fast cars lately. To come to Silver Hare Racing’s home track, get the TA win and then back that up with a TA2 pole means a lot to me and all the guys as well. They supported me in my TA race, so to come back here to this TA2 car and give them my all in qualifying is important. Hopefully we’ll be able to seal the deal tomorrow, sweep the weekend and close off this home race on a positive note. We’ve got the best starting spot in the house, and all I have to do is execute from here.”

The race will be contested Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast live on MAVTV and can be streamed live here.

The re-broadcast of the Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, October 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

RESULTS

Zilisch wins first time out in Trans Am at VIR as champions crowned

Connor Zilisch dominated the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA class event at VIRginia International Raceway, leading from start to finish in the all green-flag race and crossing the line with a 46s advantage over second place. At 17 years old, Zilisch became the youngest driver to win a TA race in his first-career start in the class. Behind him, with a third-place finish, Chris Dyson clinched his third-consecutive championship in the class, becoming only the third driver in series history to win three or more back-to-back titles.

After winning the Motul Pole Award handily in Friday’s qualifying session, Zilisch led the field to green in his No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel/Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro. The young driver was unchallenged on the start, immediately pulling ahead of his competitors to secure his lead. It took only three laps for Zilisch to pull out to an 11s lead over second place, and that gap only grew as the race remained green for its duration. When he crossed the finish line after 30 laps, Zilisch was 46s ahead of his closest rival.

While Zilisch checked out, the race behind him was heated. Justin Marks, who started second in his No. 99 Trackhouse/Jockey Chevrolet Camaro, had impressive speed, but went off course early in the first lap and dropped down to eighth. Third-place starter Martin Ragginger (No. 17 Top Liner/CP Tech Chevrolet Camaro) and fourth-place starter Dyson (No. 16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang) wrestled for position, with Dyson taking over second by the conclusion of lap one. Ragginger rode Dyson’s bumper until lap 15, when Ragginger used traffic to make a pass on the champion. By this time, Marks had elbowed his way up to fourth and began to stalk Dyson, finally working his way around him on lap 23. Ragginger, Marks and Dyson ran nose to tail in that order for the for the next several laps of the race, But Dyson reclaimed the third position and a podium finish just before the checkered flag waved. Marks was forced to settle for the fourth position, and Tomy Drissi in the No. 8 Lucas Oil Ford Mustang rounded out the top five.

“This is my first weekend driving a TA car with all this power, and it was the most fun I’ve ever had in a race car,” said Zilisch in GYM WEED Winners Circle. “Coming out here with Franklin Road Apparel, Ken Thwaits, Showtime Motorsports and my TA2 team, Silver Hare Racing, and being given the opportunity to do this is really special to me. To have a really good weekend in my first showing is even better. Getting to drive these fast cars and getting to win is a two-for-one, and I’m happy. Thank you to the entire crew. They worked really hard to get me comfortable quickly and get me up to speed in these cars. It’s a lot different for me coming here and racing both cars and having to switch back and forth, but both of my teams have done a good job making sure I’m where I need to be. I can’t thank them all enough.”

Dyson was lauded on the podium for earning his third-consecutive TA championship, a feat only achieved by two other drivers in series history.

“What a season,” said Dyson. “This year never felt comfortable from the beginning. It’s been a hard slog. We’ve had great results and the team has worked so hard. We’ve been changing cars and running around getting engines sorted out all year. I have to hand it to all the guys. It was just so great, because there were times when we really had to pull together this year. I also have to thank Matt Brabham for coming in and pitching in early on. He did a super job for us. This is just amazing. I’m thankful for my great partnership with GYM WEED and the Picketts. I’m so grateful that I’ve got my family here; it’s wonderful having them here. The GYM WEED car is on the podium and we’re three-time champions. It hasn’t quite set in yet. I’m sure when it does, it’s going to be pretty special.”

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Before Dyson, only two drivers in Trans Am history had won three or more consecutive titles: Ernie Francis Jr. with four in a row (2017-2020), and Tommy Kendall with three in a row (1995-1997).

It was an exciting race for the XGT class, with tight competition between Danny Lowry in the No. 43 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Mercedes AMG GT3 and Ricky Sanders in the No. 18 BridgeHaul/Bennett Family of Companies Audi R8 LMS battling from green flag to checkers. For a majority of the event, the two were running within half a second of each other. While Lowry never gave up the lead, Sanders was always close at hand. Shannon Herford in the No. 51 NAPM Inc. Porsche 911 GT3R had a solid showing in his first-career Trans Am event, but was forced to retire early due to bodywork issues. At the wave of the checkered flag, Lowry claimed his first championship in the Trans Am series.

“It feels pretty good today,” said Lowry. “A couple years ago, we were debating about coming out here to Trans Am and we were like, ‘Do we really belong out here with these high-quality drivers?’ We came out and we were welcomed in with open arms; it’s been a big family since then. It’s been a lot of fun and racing here has been really good for us. We’re looking forward to next season. I would really like to thank Shannon [Herford] for coming racing with us today. It’s been great to have him. He qualified really fast. I knew he was going to be tough during the race, and, of course, so was my buddy Ricky [Sanders] here. He and I are always going at it, so we had a lot of fun out there today. VIR is wonderful to race and Trans Am is fantastic.

Lee Saunders in the No. 84 LandSearch LLC Dodge Viper checked out on his SGT competitors early in the race, leading from start to finish. For most of the race, last year’s SGT champion, Milton Grant in the No. 55 Springhill Suites/Sentry Self Storage Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup, held the second spot, but on lap 26 he was passed by Richard Forsythe in the No. 58 Sambuca Restaurant/GSpeed Chevrolet Corvette. Forsythe earned his second podium finish in only two-career starts, and Saunders clinched his third-career SGT championship.

“It feels good to win this race and win this championship,” said Saunders. “I just want to start off by thanking God for this beautiful day and this beautiful track and for keeping us safe. I want to thank my wife for putting up with this, my kids for coming, KSR, Kevin Smith, my crew chief, Drew and Eddie. Those guys do a fantastic prep job. It’s 95 percent crew chief and 5 percent driver.”

Chris Coffey in the No. 97 Norwood Auto Italia/Traffic Grafix Maserati MC GT4 led from flag to flag in the GT class. Coffey started first in class and maintained an impressive lead over Michael Attaway in the No. 91 Bennett/BridgeHaul/Pitboxes.com Audi R8, who clinched the 2023 GT championship after starting today’s race.

“Today was great,” said Coffey. “The track was great and the car didn’t really fall off at any point. I want to thank David Rice and Jack, my truck driver and crew chief, and Colin Cohen, who is the person who makes all this possible for me.”

Four champions were crowned following Satrurday’s race:

TA – Chris Dyson

XGT – Danny Lowry

SGT – Lee Saunders

GT – Michael Attaway

The replay of Saturday’s race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, October 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The Trans Am Series TA/XGT/SGT/GT classes return to the track for the season finale at Circuit of The Americas on November 2-5.

RESULTS

Hedge, Costello grab FR Americas and F4 US poles at VIR

Callum Hedge will once again lead the field off the starting grid after securing the pole for race one of the Andy Scriven Memorial at the VIR SpeedTour weekend. Hedge (No. 17 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) has been the class of the field in Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda (FR Americas) competition this season, with nine wins in just 12 races. With a lap time of 1m45.986s, Hedge bettered his teammate Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) by just 0.223s , as the two remain in a heated battle for the championship title.

Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 Save 22 Ligier JS F3) had to rebuild his car after an accident in the closing laps of the series’ last outing at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Back and better than ever, the 19-year-old laid down the third-quickest time of the session.

The series’ sole practice session took place on Friday morning, with Shehan leading the field, proving that he wasn’t giving up on his championship hopes anytime soon. With a 1m45.274s lap, he held a 0.07s advantage over Hedge. Meanwhile, Cooper Becklin (No. 19 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) was third in that session, followed by Bowlsbey and Oliver Westling (No. 1 JENSEN Ligier JS F3).

Lights out for FR Americas’ first race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday morning.

Michael Costello secured the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda (F4 U.S.) pole for race one of the Andy Scriven Memorial at the VIR SpeedTour. Currently in a heated battle for the championship title, Costello (No. 19 Jay Howard Driver Development / CSU One Cure / Lucas Oil / LHP Ligier JS F4) edged out his championship rival to secure the top spot on the leaderboard with a 1m57.134s lap. Current points leader, Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4), was second, just 0.419s behind Costello.

After securing his first podium finish at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) during the series’ last outing, Bacon Zelenka (No. 45 Bacon Racing Ligier JS F4) was third. Mid-Ohio winner Augie Soto-Schirripa (No. 24 International Motorsport Ligier JS F4) was fourth, followed by NOLA winner Carl Bennett (No. 9 Gonella Racing Ligier JS F4) in fifth.

Woods-Toth led the sole practice session for on Friday morning. Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4)—a first-time winner at NJMP—was second on the speed charts, followed by Daniel Cará (No. 10 Tenuta Foppa & Ambrosi Ligier JS F4) in third and Alex Berg (No. 08 MySim.ca/Rohde & Liesenfeld/Easy Drift/Penn Elcom Online/Dae Systems) in fourth. Costello was fifth in that session.

Race one action at 8:40 a.m. ET on Saturday morning, with a live stream available on the SpeedTourTV YouTube page. Live timing and scoring for both FR Americas and F4 U.S. will be available via the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates from the Andy Scriven Memorial at the VIR SpeedTour will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter throughout the weekend.

FR AMERICAS STARTING GRID

F4 US STARTING GRID

Zilisch again earns first career pole in first start – this time in TA at VIR

Connor Zilisch earned the Motul Pole Award in his first-career TA class start in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at VIRginia International Raceway, laying down a lap time of 1m41.692s in the No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel/Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Zilisch achieved a similar feat two years ago, surprising the garage when he won the pole in his Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers TA2 Series debut at the same Virginia road course.

“[Running in TA] has been a super enjoyable experience,” said Zilisch. “I’m very fortunate that Maurice and Laura Hull, Ken Thwaits and GM got together to give me this opportunity to race this car at VIR. It’s one of my favorite tracks, and to come here and just kind of dominate so far this weekend is special. We were the fastest car in every session other than the first test. Every session, I’m getting more acclimated to the car, figuring it out and understanding what I need from the car. I feel like we’ve got a really good baseline going into the race tomorrow. We’re going to make a few adjustments to hopefully make it better on race runs and give me a little more confidence going into the race, but I think we have a really good piece going into tomorrow.”

The TA/XGT/SGT/GT race will be contested on Saturday, October 7 at 11:45 a.m. ET. The race will be broadcast live on MAVTV and streamed live here. The TV broadcast replay of the race will air on MAVTV on Thursday, October 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

RESULTS

2023 Mazda MX-5 Cup: VIR (Rounds 11 & 12) – Race Highlights

RACER.com has teamed up with the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup series to offer livestream coverage of each 2023 race. In case you missed the live action of Rounds 11 and 12 at VIRginia International Raceway watch highlights of them below: Round 11: Round …

Round 11:

Round 12:

Tune in Thursday, October 12 from 5:45PM – 6:30PM ET for Round 13 and Friday, October 13 from 10:30AM – 11:15AM ET for Round 14 season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on RACER.com or RACER.tv.

For more information on Mazda MX-5 Cup visit: mx-5cup.com

Corvette Racing wins again at VIR, PMR closes in on IMSA GTD title

Vasser Sullivan Racing and Corvette Racing looked pretty evenly matched on pace in GTD PRO, so it was pit stop strategy and execution on which the Michelin GT Challenge for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ultimately turned to the favor of the No. 3 C8.R and delivered victory at VIRginia International Raceway to Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia. The boost to their championship hopes was small, however, as Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth finished second in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 and carry a 144-point lead into the final two races.

GTD, on the other hand, was another flag-to-flag romp for Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, Snow taking a 12.187s victory over a fuel-saving Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. In the process, the team set a record of five wins in GTD during a season, and all but clinched the Sprint Cup Championship, which would make them the first team to score back-to-back Sprint Cups.

“It’s amazing. It’s really wonderful,” said team owner Paul Miller. “I’ve just given everybody a hug on the team. It’s an unbelievable record. We’ve never won anything like that. We’ve never won more than one or two races in a season, so it’s crazy!”

Sellers and PMR even had the No. BMW in the overall lead after the first round of pit stops, but eventually the two leading GTD PRO cars would get back to the front, with Snow and Sellers finishing third overall.

In a race interrupted by only two cautions, and neither coming at a time when it would have any real effect on strategy, the first indication that maybe this wasn’t going to be a cruise for the polesitting No. 14 Lexus came after the first round of pit stops. Taylor took over the No. 3 C8.R from Garcia, dispatched Jules Gounon in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG rather quickly and immediately started knocking out fast laps. While Barnicoat would eventually take the fast lap back, it was an indication that Taylor had the bit between his teeth and intended to close the GTD PRO points gap to the Vasser Sullivan team.

Taylor’s first attack came as Barnicoat saw an opening to get by overall leader Bryan Sellers in Oak Tree. The move slowed Sellers enough for Taylor to also scoot past, but it also left Barnicoat vulnerable due to a lower corner exit speed. Taylor got alongside, had the inside line for Turn 14, but Barnicoat held the braking just a bit later and maintained the lead.

“I didn’t have a ton of confidence going there,” Taylor explained. “I think a lap before I braked kind of late and had a bunch of ABS interaction and almost hit the back of him. That lap I was going to be offline, so I wasn’t 100 percent confident that I would make the corner had I braked when he did on the inside. And yeah, he kind of did the exact same thing to me the last year when I had a similar run, so I knew he was going to go deep. At that point in the race, I knew had we got track position, it who would have transformed the race for us, but I also didn’t want to throw it away.”

Taylor would have to wait for the second round of pit stops to take the point. Corvette Racing brought Taylor in first, with just under an hour to go. The undercut strategy was compounded by the No. 14 Lexus stalling as Barnicoat was leaving the pits. He got it going quickly, and emerged from the pits ahead of Taylor; but Taylor was at full speed, and passed Barnicoat easily going into Turn 1. Barnicoat slid wide on cold tires, giving Taylor more of a buffer. Barnicoat kept the gap around 2s to Taylor until the end, but could never really close and attack, finishing second by 2.068s. It was a nice comeback from what was almost a sure win in the previous race at Road America, ruined by a penalty for insufficient fueling time.

“Pretty much that whole race I was pushing, even on the first cycle, just to close the gap to the Lexus and to see if we could make them make a mistake,” explained Taylor. “So when the [second] yellow came out, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen – those guys restarted really strong. The guys made an amazing call to kind of shortfill, get us out front track position-wise and then it was just down to saving fuel, managing tires and maintaining the gap. I was counting down the laps from about 25 to go, so I was very happy to see that checkered flag.”

The earlier stop left Taylor needing to save fuel, and he was denied his requested post-victory burnout because the team didn’t believe he had a sufficient supply to roast the rear tires and still get back to the pits.

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“It was amazing,” declared Taylor, whom his teammate compared to a Swiss watch. “That’s down to Corvette Racing, calling that strategy, getting us that track position. And then when they told me that fuel number, I was definitely worried. But the car was so good in fuel save mode, it actually helped me save the tires.”

The victory was the 115th for Corvette, 29th for Garcia and the 33rd for Taylor in IMSA competition as Taylor enters his final two races for the team. Next year he moves back to Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport to drive the team’s second Acura ARX-06 GTP car with Louis Deletraz. For Garcia, who moved the Corvette into second during the first stint, consistency was key to victory.

“Yesterday, we tried to do something different in qualifying, because everybody seemed to be so close,” he explained. “So that probably gave us some indication on how to set up for today and the car was pretty good. So I’m glad that during the first stint the car was where it needed to be. I was able to close to second. The Lexus was very, very strong today. So in a way we we kind of managed to stay in contention. We just had to be there and put pressure and at some point somebody will make a mistake, and it wasn’t us. Then Jordan worked really, really good for the rest of the race. Another great example of pure consistency and very, very well executed.”

Klaus Bachler and Patrick Pilet in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports was a distant third in GTD PRO. Their run was aided by a strategy that had the No. 9 topping off fuel during the second full-course caution, leading to a shorter second stop. But what really secured the podium for them was Bachler having a bit of contact with the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG driven by Jules Gounon a little past the halfway mark of the race. The Porsche suffered minor damage, but the Mercedes needed a long stop to get bodywork back in a position so that the car could continue.

For Paul Miller Motorsports, the dream season continues. Snow put the No. 1 BMW on pole in yesterday’s qualifying, and never faced a serious challenge during the first stint. Sellers took over the car for the middle portion of the race, and because PMR was one of the first teams to pit and thus took less fuel, Sellers had the overall lead with PRO cars giving him a buffer behind. A slight bobble in Oak Tree let Barnicoat in the Lexus and Taylor in the Corvette get through, but the No. 1 never faced any real threat from another GTD car, either while Sellers was in the car or when Snow took it back over.

“If there was a secret, I definitely wouldn’t be trying to give it out,” said Snow of the team’s success this year. “But it’s really the team. We just worked really well together. We’re always trying to improve, we’re always helping each other out. But having grown as a co-driver really makes that possible. And Brian doesn’t get nearly enough credit for

how hard he works and how hard he brings the whole team together, but also car setup and strategy and everything else.”

But Snow was the driving force behind the victory today, countered Sellers.

“What [Madison] has stepped up and done this year has been has been unbelievable,” he said. “Like today, he, pardon my language, but he really saved my ass today. I didn’t feel well all weekend and I had to tell him last night, ‘Listen, if I don’t get better, I’m going to need you.’ You just have that trust in him all the time.”

The best opportunity for any team to stop the PMR juggernaut was Inception Racing. Frederik Schandorff was charging in the No. 70 McLaren 720S and had the car up to second. But during the final round of pit stops, a wheel nut rolled under the car and a mechanic reached under to retrieve it. Doing any work under the car during refueling is violation of IMSA rules, and the team was handed a drive-through penalty. Schandorff got the car back up to seventh, but a far cry from what might have been possible.

It was a BMW one-two on the GTD podium as Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher finished second in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport M4 GT3. Gallagher was saving fuel during his first stint, and like PMR, Turner brought both the No. 96 and the No. 97 M4 of Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull into the pits after only 50 minutes, 15 of which had been run under yellow. The shorter fill time helped propel the No. 96 from sixth to third, and eventually into second as Frankie Montecalvo in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 faded.

It was nearly a full BMW podium, until Philip Ellis pushed the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG into third past Auberlen in the No. 97. The BMWs were clearly strong at VIR.

“I think it’s a combination of things,” said Sellers when asked why the BMWs were so good here. “The BMW was obviously fantastic today and Madison did a great job. You know, I think one of the things that fits it the most is the high-speed nature of the track. There are a lot of places where it’s small and tight and the cars struggles, but here at VIR, where it’s wide and sprawling, it really stretches its legs so we’re super happy to be a part of it.”

For third-place finisher Winward, it was a nice change for last year’s winners Ellis and Russell Ward. The team has had its struggles this season, so a podium was quite welcome.

The two caution periods were both caused by single-car crashes, the first coming only 10 minutes into the race when David Brule crashed the No. 92 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 911 GT3 R in The Snake. The second occurred when Misha Goikhberg, attempting to get the No. 78 Forte Racing Powered by USRT Lamborghini Huracán back to the pits after a malfunctioning ABS system had sent him off course in Turn 1, lost the car under braking for Turn 14 and buried the Lamborghini in the tire wall. Neither driver was injured in their respective incidents.

RESULTS