Virginia International Raceway – Page 3

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

Thomas declared MX-5 Cup winner after wild finish at VIR

Reigning Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires Champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) was declared the round 12 race winner after an incident on the final lap led to a post-race penalty. He extended his points …

It was difficult to keep up with the number of lead changes during the 45-minute race. There was never a clear leader — instead, a pack of 11 cars broke away from the field, running nose-to-tail.

At the front of the train, Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) and Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports) traded the lead several times, with Max Opalski (No. 2 Copeland Motorsports), Nate Cicero (No. 83 McCumbee McAleer Racing) and Jeansonne taking their turns at the front as well.

With 10 minutes to go, the pack of 11 dwindled to a pack of seven. Michael Carter (No. 19 Saito Motorsports) and Thomas were waiting in the wings for anyone to make a wrong move.

Based on Saturday’s finish, most expected the move for the win to happen in the final turn, but this time it happened several turns before. Carter, who was in fifth, bumped into the back of Jeansonne in the Rollercoaster and caused a chain reaction of hits up to the leader. This knocked Wagner, Zilisch and Opalski into the grass.

As Jeansonne scrambled to stay on track, Carter and Thomas sailed past. Jeansonne pulled it together just in time to hold off Cicero and crossed the line in third.

Race officials deemed Carter to be the instigator of the madness and handed him a drive-through penalty post-race, which effectively removed him from the podium and gave the win to Thomas.

“It was a hard-fought battle at the front,” Thomas said. “The leaders were getting pretty dicey and I was hanging out, saving tires and waiting for the end. I ended up being in the right place at the right time. There was some contact at the end and I came across the line in second.”

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The win extends Thomas’ lead in the MX-5 Cup point standings with only two more rounds to go. His nearest rival for the 2023 title and the $250,000 prize that comes with it, is teammate Jeansonne, who finished second.

“That was an interesting race,” Jeansonne said. “Both of these races have been the hottest of the year. We had a strong backup car that we were able to put on pole yesterday. I ran toward the front all day and I tried to be smart and pick my spots and think about what I wanted to do for the last couple of laps. When I was told we were coming to the white flag, I knew I had to go for it. I got a push from behind going into Rollercoaster on the last lap. It moved a lot of people out of the way and shuffled things up. It was an interesting finish, but I’m really proud of the team and all the hard work they put in this weekend, so coming away with a good finish is awesome.”

The podium was a relief for Jeansonne who had mechanical issues that ended his race early on Saturday.

“We’ve had a few bad-luck races, so it felt really good to stand on the podium again. It gives us a fighting chance going into the finale at Road Atlanta for the $250,000 prize.”

MX-5 Cup rookies have their eyes on an $80,000 prize for Rookie of the Year. With a win on Saturday and a third-place finish on Sunday, Cicero strengthens his lead in the rookie points.

“We led a couple of laps, which is great,” Cicero said. “I was having quite a bit of fun. It was really tricky with the car overheating as soon as you tried to push anyone. The weekend was a nine out of ten; a great weekend. I love this place and to get these solid results, I’ll take that, but there’s always more to learn.”

Just like Saturday, Opalski barely missed the podium on Sunday, finishing fourth.

Rookie Thomas Annunziata (No. 10 Hixon Motor Sports) completed the top five and stays within striking distance of Cicero for the Rookie of the Year title.

Both races are available to view on the RACER YouTube page.

As expected, the 2023 MX-5 Cup Championship will come down to the final two races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, October 11-13. Both races will be streamed live on RACER.com.

Garg, Seldorff win IMSA VP Challenge race one at VIR

Bijoy Garg continued to build momentum Saturday at VIRginia International Raceway in his quest to become the first ever Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class champion in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. Garg (No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320) …

Garg (No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320) dominated the first of two 45-minute VP Racing Challenge races this weekend in sweltering conditions at the historic road course on the Virginia/North Carolina border to extend his lead over Dan Goldburg (No. 73 JDC Motorsport Duqueine D08) in the LMP3 standings to 40 points.

After securing the pole position on Friday, Garg led from start to finish Saturday to earn his third consecutive LMP3 class race win, and fifth on the 2023 season. His margin of victory Saturday was a staggering 31.665s.

“Wow, I didn’t know that!” said Garg when informed of the comfortable gap he built. “I think we’ve always had the pace this weekend, and that confidence really helped me throughout the race. I was able to get through traffic a lot better and it was really well-executed from the whole team. I was gap managing the last 15 minutes.

“I think you’re seeing what we can really do.”

Garg, 21, from Atherton, California, also swept both races of VP SportsCar Challenge doubleheader weekends earlier this year at Sebring International Raceway and Lime Rock Park.

“We’ve always had the speed, it was just a question of putting it all together and not making any mistakes,” he said. “The car has been really good all year. Now we just need to execute and win a couple more, and we should be good.”

Goldburg scored his fourth second-place finish of the season to go along with his three wins. “One mistake and I’ll get him, but the kid is driving great,” said Goldburg. “Bijoy has really improved a lot this year. I’m giving it my all, trying to take it to him, because I really want to win it.”

Courtney Crone (No. 99 Forty7 Motorsports “Red Dragon” Duqueine D08) passed Brian Thienes (No. 77 Forte Racing Powered by USRT Ligier JS P 320) for third place with 10 minutes remaining and held him off down the stretch in the best LMP3 battle of the race.

“It was a hot one today in the Red Dragon,” remarked Crone, the 2023-24 IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient. “There wasn’t a lap where I could really rest; it was a constant battle with Brian. He was very respectful, and we both had a great race. Just super stoked.”

GSX: Seldorff records first victory in Turner BMW

Francis Selldorff (No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4) earned his first victory Saturday in GSX class competition for the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.

Selldorff, 22, led every lap of the opening race of a doubleheader weekend at VIRginia International Raceway. He withstood intense pressure from Gregory Liefooghe (No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4) throughout the second half of the 45-minute contest, ultimately winning by 0.221s.

Vin Barletta claimed third place in another Turner Motorsport BMW, 14.291s back.

The result extended Selldorff’s lead over Sebastian Carazo (No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS) from 90 to 210 points after Carazo encountered trouble and finished one lap down in 8th place on Saturday.

Selldorff, who started on the outside of the front row, was rightfully proud of his achievement.

“That was super hard, super stressful,” he said. “The track was getting greasy, and we had the (LMP3) prototypes coming through. I was just trying to get good corner exits, that’s all I could do. He was faster than me, obviously, but I knew if I just got good runs where I needed to, I’d be fine.”

The result allowed Selldorff to turn his focus to becoming the first GSX class champion in VP Racing Challenge history.

“That win was huge, and now it’s just trying to be consistent with three races to go,” Selldorff noted. “That was just awesome, really cool.”

Liefooghe, who boasts two wins and two second place finishes in his four VP Racing Challenge starts in 2023, claimed the pole position but lost several places on the opening lap. He quickly rebounded to second place, but could never force his BMW past Selldorff’s similar car.

He came closest with about three minutes remaining, only to run off course in VIR’s Climbing Esses.

“I washed out a little bit wide at the bottom,” Liefooghe said. “I thought maybe I could go around the outside of the first right hander, and it was so dirty that I had no grip and I had to straighten out the whole esses.

“I tried something, but he defended really well and drove a great race,” he added. “It was impossible to pass him. For sure I was not going to touch him. I was going to keep it as clean as possible, and we both managed to do it.”

The second VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race of the VIR weekend takes place Sunday at 11:25 a.m. ET, with live coverage streaming on Peacock and IMSA.com.

RESULTS

Vasser Sullivan Lexus, Paul Miller BMW nab IMSA poles at VIR

The current points leaders in both GTD PRO and GTD demonstrated a good part of the reason they’re at the front by taking the Motul Pole Awards for Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway. In high temperatures that produced different track conditions than the drivers had seen so far this weekend, Jack Hawksworth took the GTD PRO and overall pole for the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus squad, bringing his total pole count to 10. He would have tied Madison Snow in that statistic, but Snow added another to his total by putting the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 on the GTD pole, qualifying fourth overall.

Hawksworth’s best lap of 1m44.780s — 112.35mph around the 3.27-mile, 17-turn circuit — didn’t match the quick times from Saturday morning’s session and were well off the 1m43.356s record held by Ross Gunn, thanks to the hot weather. It was enough, though, to snatch the pole by 0.096s from Daniel Juncadella in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG.

“Can’t get better than pole, right? So that was good,” declared Hawksworth. “Mega weekend so far. It’s been brilliant and the boys have been fantastic and the car has been working really well. Heads down for tomorrow now, but very happy with it.

“The temperature outside is absurd. The track grip was a lot different than we had in practice two. It was greasy and I just tried to put a clean lap together. The guys obviously gave me a really fast car; the Lexus was working really well. Just tried not to make any mistakes. It was easy to overdrive, I think.”

For Juncadella, who was quickest in the morning session after the No. 79 suffered a fire yesterday, the results were a disappointment.

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“First, great job by the crew to get the WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 back together after what happened yesterday,” Juncadella said. “I didn’t have the smoothest qualifying session. I think Road America was better. It was so close to pole that it hurts. Third time this year I have just missed out on pole. I made a small mistake, then on the last lap I was able to get close. It’s a shame to miss out on pole by such a small margin.”

Antonio Garcia was third in the No. 3 Corvette Racing C8.R with a 1m45.133, the last PRO car before six GTD cars. Patrick Pilet (No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R) and Gunn (No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3) were 10th and 11th overall, respectively.

Snow’s 11th pole position, and second of 2023 – the only GTD driver to have more than one so far this season – came courtesy of a 1m45.225s lap to best Aaron Telitz in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 by 0.153s. Telitz’s second attempt at a flyer was hurt by running wide at the exit of Oak Tree. Loris Spinelli qualified the No. 78 Forte Racing Powered by USRT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 third with a 1m45.416s lap.

“The track was definitely slippery out there,” Snow explained. “I had two mock qually runs in the first practice, so I definitely went into qualifying knowing exactly where my brake points were and what I needed to do. [At] he beginning of qualifying, I went out on my first good lap and immediately went wide in [Turn] 1 and realized, ‘OK, I’m going to need to reevaluate what I’m doing out here.’ Just accept the track for what it was, and it was slippery. Super hot, but that is what it is. It was about not making mistakes and just putting a lap together.”

Mike Skeen (No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3) and Patrick Gallagher (No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) completed the top five in GTD. Gallagher had been near the top of the time sheets in the two previous practice sessions, but an off-course excursion during qualifying likely scuttled his chances for pole.

Up Next: A 20 minute warmup at 8:15 a.m. ET ahead of a 2:10 p.m. race start.

RESULTS

Cicero breaks through for first Mazda MX-5 Cup win at VIR

The latest Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Shootout winner, Nate Cicero (No. 83 McCumbee McAleer Racing), proved the judges made the right choice by earning his debut win at VIRginia International Raceway on Saturday. The rookie beat reigning series champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) to the line in a photo finish of 0.057s.

Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports), who is Cicero’s predecessor when it comes to winning the MX-5 Cup Shootout, controlled most of the 45-minute race. Starting from outside the front row, Zilisch took the lead almost immediately and headed a 10-car train for the first third of the race. He traded the top spot with Max Opalski (No. 3 Copeland Motorsports) and Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) briefly, but always took the lead back.

The first and only full-course caution of the race came out near the 15-minute mark when Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports) needed assistance removing himself from the Turn 17 tires. He was able to continue once pulled free but came to a stop and retired shortly thereafter.

The DNF is a blow to Rollan’s championship hopes and he wasn’t the only title contender to suffer on Saturday. Shortly before the yellow, Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 Spark Performance) begin to fall down the order with mechanical issues, eventually falling to 23rd by the end of the race. And during the yellow, Wagner came onto pitlane with a car issue that the team tried to fix on pit lane but had to send him back out before he went a lap down. He would eventually finish 17th.

This left Thomas, the 2022 series champion and current point leader, as the sole championship contender still in contention for a podium.

As time ran out, the lead pack of five became a pack of four, when Robert Noaker (No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing) got crossed up in the famous Oak Tree turn.

When the white flag came out, Opalski made his move for the lead on the back straight and brought Thomas and Cicero with him. The quartet fanned out exiting the final turn and drag raced each other to the line. Zilisch ran out of room and chose to bump Cicero, which just may have been the boost the rookie needed to take the win by 0.057s over Thomas.

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“I got my first podium here last year, in Spec MX-5,” Cicero said. “This place has a good flow; I love this place. I managed to stay with the group and get it at the end. I saw Max [Opalski] had a bad exit out of the last corner after we got Connor [Zilisch] on the back straight away and I thought we could actually win this. I got down to the inside and we went three-wide. Connor actually gave me a nice push.”

After a tough race weekend at VIR last year, Thomas more than made up for it by going from sixth on the grid to second at the finish.

“It was definitely not the start of the race that I wanted, but I kind of just settled in,” Thomas said. “My spotters and crew chief were keeping me updated on what people were doing. I stayed patient and got the car in a good position at the end and it was a drag race to the finish line. I think Opalsky kind of set Zilisch up in Oak Tree and then the drafts on the straights here are so big, so we went by him. I didn’t expect to get a run to go three-wide, but I did, and it paid off.”

Zilisch beat Opalski for the final podium spot by 0.033-second.

“At first, I was kind of waiting for them to get impatient with the temperatures, especially with how hot it was,” Zilisch said of his time at the front. “I feel like as I race in this series more and more, I have gained experience in how to control the race and make it really hard for them to get by me. I wanted to stay out front and control the race and that’s what I did. I made one mistake on the last lap and that’s all it took. I had a really fast car; it was just driver error that cost myself the race.

“We have a few things that we can work on to make things a little easier on me. I didn’t block Opalsky along the back straightaway like I needed to and he was able to get by me, which made it easy on him. Tomorrow I will know what to do differently.”

Opalski had the lead exiting the final corner but was fourth by the time he got to the finish line. Noaker completed the top five.

Sunday’s round 12 race will begin at 10:25 a.m. ET and be streamed live on RACER.com. Zilisch is provisionally slated to start from pole.

Vasser Sullivan Lexus sets early pace in IMSA GT Challenge at VIR

Vasser Sullivan Lexus, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD PRO points leaders, asserted their intent to extend that lead by posting fast times in the first practice session for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway. This weekend’s round features the GTD PRO and GTD classes only, with Ben Barnicoat claiming the top time overall with a 1m45.201s lap in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3, an average of 111.9mph around the 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course.

Barnicoat’s teammate Jack Hawksworth had held the top time in GTD PRO in the No. 14 before Barnicoat, in his second race weekend at the track, bettered his co-driver’s time. It was a clear step forward for the team after they struggled at VIR last season.

“I’m not going to lie and say it was a good track for me last year because it wasn’t,” Barnicoat said before the start of the weekend’s activities. “I knew that and we’ve been working hard away from the track. We’ve got great simulators and tools…to work with and use to help us improve. We’ve done a lot of simulator running, probably moreso for this event than we have any other event this year, along with our offline tools, and we feel like we’ve made really good gains there to help push us forward. I feel like going back to the track for a second time should should help me a lot to take another step. Can’t say too much, or give away too many details, but we’re feeling much more confident heading back.”

The top time of the session was held briefly by Patrick Gallagher in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. His 1m45.234 (111.86mph) was only 0.033s off Barnicoat’s best to lead the GTD field. With conditions likely close to what they will be for qualifying Saturday, the Turner crew sent Gallagher out on fresh sticker Michelins to see what he could do, and he rewarded them with the second-quickest overall time.

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“The Turner guys have it working good,” said Gallagher. “We still have a little work to do – qualifying is always quicker than these practice sessions, but the Turner guys have done a great job and they got this working good and we’ll keep rubbing on it. Hopefully we progress with everyone else and have a shot at pole.”

GTD cars took the next three spots on the time sheet, Aaron Telitz in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus falling 0.160s short of the best time in the class. Philip Ellis took third in GTD with a 1m45.422s lap for defending VIR winners Winward Raacing in the No. 57 Mercedes AMG. Frederik Schandorff (No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S Evo) and Bryan Sellers (No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3) completed the GTD top five.

After the No. 12 Lexus, the rest of the GTD PRO runners were sprinkled throughout the field. The No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, winners here last year with Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell, was second in GTD PRO and sixth overall in the hands of Patrick Pilet, whose best lap was 1m45.895s. Antonio Garcia was third, ninth overall, for Corvette Racing with a 1m46.023s in the No. 3 C8.R.

With only a few off-track excursions, there were no red-flag interruptions of the 90-minute session. The most serious incident came at the very end, when the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG caught fire in the pits. Daniel Juncadella was already part way out of the car, ready to hand over to Jules Gounon, when the fire started. It was extinguished quickly, but the extent of the damage is unknown.

All cars in the event (19) turned laps during the session. The entry list originally included 20, but Andretti Autosport withdrew the No. 94 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for Jarett Andretti and Gabby Chaves.

Up Next: 1h45m split practice session beginning at 10:20 a.m. ET.

RESULTS