VP Racing SportsCar Challenge – Syndication Server

Jones, Lazare convert VP Challenge poles to wins in St. Pete

As it begins, so it ends as polesitters Jagger Jones and Jesse Lazare led every lap in their respective classes in race one of Saturday’s IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge doubleheader at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Jones took the Le Mans …

Jones took the Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) win by 4.637s over Steven Aghakhani, who ran a strong and consistent race in the No. 6 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320 following his victory sweep of rounds one and two at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“My first race this year in the car, and to come out with a win was awesome,” said Jones. “I was able to get a lead at the beginning and just managed that gap.

“We have one more race to go, so in about two minutes this is all going to fade out and we’re going to be focused on the next race.”

The No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier wheeled by second-place starter Jonathan Woolridge fell back to sixth at the start of race and waged a battle with Brian Thienes in the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier. Less than nine minutes into the race, Woolridge moved to the inside of Thienes as they entered Turn 13 and the two cars made contact, with Thienes limping away with a flat right-rear tire.

After starting fifth, Alex Kirby maneuvered the No. 7 Performance Tech Ligier into third but struggled getting through Grand Sport X (GSX) traffic as Jones and Aghakhani pulled away. On lap 20 of the 31-lap race, Kirby banged wheels with Cody Ware in the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing with Ave Motorsports Ligier as they exited Turn 1, resulting in a spin for Ware. Kirby continued but damage to the Ligier was apparent as he rode the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4. Ware temporarily resumed before he found himself unable to turn the wheel and crashed into the Turn 4 tire barrier. With both cars unable to continue, the first and only full-course caution of the race packed the field back up.

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Wooldridge, who had fallen back as far as eighth following the contact with Thienes, sat in fifth at the restart with 3m40s remaining. As the final laps played out, Wooldridge moved up and found his way to the podium with a third-place finish behind Jones and Aghakhani. Mirco Schultis in the No. 70 MISHUMOTORS Ligier was the P3 Bronze Cup winner, finishing fifth overall.

The restart on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street course erased the lead Lazare had built on Jackson Lee in the No. 82 van der Steur Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo. Lee pulled alongside Lazare, racing side-by-side into Turn 4. Lazare had the preferred line and was able to pull ahead, holding on to take his first win in the VP Racing Challenge.

“That yellow was kind of scary at the end because anything can happen when there’s two or three laps to go,” Lazare said. “Lee made a nice attempt on the outside and I…just held him. I’m sure it’s going to be a good battle going into the next [race] because that was a bit of foreshadowing of what could happen.”

Lazare finished 0.735s ahead of Lee with Luca Mars and the No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 finishing third. Micheal Dayton was the GSX Bronze Cup winner and fourth-place class finisher in the No. 12 Swish Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 (G82).

The second 45-minute race of the day for the VP Racing Challenge starts at 3:45 p.m. ET and will stream live on Peacock.

RESULTS

Jones, Lazare grab poles for IMSA VP Challenge at St. Pete

If Friday’s qualifying session for the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge is any indication, Saturday’s doubleheader at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – the first street course race for the series that’s entering its sophomore season – is going to …

While a rotation of drivers spent time atop the speed charts in both classes, Jagger Jones in the No. 87 FastMD Racing with Remstar Duqueine D08 will lead the field to the green flag after posting the fastest overall qualifying lap in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) class as he took the checkered flag with a time of 1m9.917s (92.681mph). Fast qualifier for the Grand Sport X (GSX) class was Jesse Lazare in the No. 21 Motorsports In Action McLaren Artura GT4 (1m17.051s, 84.100mph).

You would never guess that Jones has only two prototype race starts on his resume – those coming in the VP Racing Challenge last October at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta where he had a very strong debut – because the 21-year-old grandson of racing legend Parnelli Jones and son of five-time IMSA race winner PJ Jones races like a veteran.

“It’s been a great day for us, swept the day, but what matters is tomorrow,” said Jones who also posted the fastest laps in each of the two practice sessions on Friday. “I’m lucky to have a good amount of street course experience the last two years – also ran here the last two years (in the Indy NXT and USF2000 Championship series) – so it feels like home again, I guess.

“This track is awesome, this car is awesome; combine the two, it’s been really fun. Everyone in the series has kept me honest today and made sure I was on my toes. I think I didn’t get the pole until the last lap there; maximum push. I gave it everything I had. It’s been really fun but the main goal and focus is on tomorrow.”

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The driver who had the pole prior to the final lap of the session was Steven Aghakhani who swept both races at the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway in the No. 6 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320. Aghakhani’s lap of 1m10.499s (91.916mph) looked like it would be enough to start from the pole until he was relegated to third on the final lap, bested also by Jonathan Woolridge in the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier (1m10.389s, 92.059mph).

“Qualifying was pretty exceptional,” said Aghakhani, whose previous street course experience came in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. “Obviously, third place not being where we wanted to finish, but we’ll absolutely take what we can get. In the end the races are 45 minutes and we know exactly where we can make it up.”

Lazare also brings street course experience to the series, podiuming in his first start which came in St. Petersburg 11 years ago.

“This track, I really enjoy it so I was excited to come back here.” Lazare said. “I didn’t risk it all out there. We still have two races and we need the car in one piece. … I think [Saturday’s races are] going to be very close. It’s going to be very hot, so it’s going to be whoever can keep their concentration in the heat, stay away from those walls, and I think it’s going to be close right to the end.”

Two of the drivers looking to keep it close are second-fastest qualifier Jackson Lee in the No. 82 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 (1m17.136s, 84.007mph) who was the fastest GSX in the second practice session and Luca Mars who qualified third on the day (1m18.098s, 82.972mph) and swept the GSX class races at DIS in the No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4.

“Had a little run-in with the wall earlier this morning and we were able to move past that and get the car back fixed for practice two,” Mars said. “We’ve shown some good speed, qualified third. Still need to find a little bit more pace. … Street courses, I’m a big fan of them, so I’m excited to be here.”

The first 45-minute race for the VP Racing Challenge starts at 10:55 a.m. ET Saturday with the second race at 3:45 p.m. that afternoon. Both races stream live on Peacock.

Aghakhani, Mars take VP Challenge wins in a day of firsts at Daytona

It’s the second season for the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, but Saturday was a day of firsts at Daytona International Speedway. Steven Aghakhani made his first series start and first-ever race in a prototype memorable, taking the overall and …

It’s the second season for the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, but Saturday was a day of firsts at Daytona International Speedway.

Steven Aghakhani made his first series start and first-ever race in a prototype memorable, taking the overall and Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) class win in the season-opening 45-minute sprint race. Luca Mars charged from last on the grid to win the Grand Sport X (GSX) class in the global racing debut for the new Ford Mustang GT4.

Driving the No. 6 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320, Aghakhani started from the pole position but lost the lead on the opening lap when Alex Kirby (No. 7 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier) bolted from third place to first. Aghakhani blamed his lack of prototype experience warming up the Michelin tires for the faulty start, but he slotted in behind Kirby and hawked the leader the rest of the race.

Aghakhani bided his time until making the winning move with just more than two minutes remaining. He used an outside-inside passing maneuver around Kirby heading into the infield section of the 3.56-mile road course. The cars made side-to-side contact at the exit of Turn 2 but Aghakhani held on for the lead, crossing the finish line 1.238s ahead.

“The pass at the end was more or less the only big window that I saw show up, and I told myself it’s either this or we’re finishing second place,” Aghakhani said. “Decided to take it inside on [Turn] 1 and make it work, side by side through [Turn] 2 and somehow got past in [Turn] 3.”

It also provided quite the return to racing for Aghakhani, the former Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America driver who took the 2023 season off from the sport.

“Not doing any driving for all of (2023) and coming back to the first race of the season at Daytona in a brand-new car with a new team, and here we are winning it,” he said. “I think it’s absolutely amazing. … It’s a really good feeling, especially knowing that I still have that second nature of driving.”

Mars qualified third in GSX but his No. 59 KohR Motorsports Mustang was found underweight in technical inspection and moved to the rear of the field. Starting 20th in class, Mars quickly reached the top 10 within three laps and was running fourth when the only full-course caution occurred with 16 minutes remaining.

Mars slipped into third on the restart 10 minutes later, then into second on the penultimate lap. It set up a drag race to the checkered flag with class leader Gregory Liefooghe (No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4) from the Daytona Turn 4 banked oval through the dogleg to the finish line. Mars edged the Mustang ahead to win by 0.051s.

“Coming down to the last lap, I knew that’s when I had to make my move,” Mars said. “I just used the draft on Greg, was able to get just close enough to where I could pop out and then it was a battle to the line and the Mustang was able to beat out the BMW.”

And give the new Mustang GT4 a memorable win in its first race anywhere.

“The Ford guys have been working really hard,” he said, “And for us to get the first win for the new car, it’s just an awesome feeling.”

Aghakhani and Mars will start on their respective class poles in Sunday’s race, which streams live on Peacock at 12:20 p.m. ET.

RESULTS

Surprise win tops Garg’s VP Challenge championship year

Bijoy Garg has been dominant on the way to winning the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Championship’s Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) title in this inaugural year. But even the 21-year-old Californian admitted he was lucky to win Friday’s last race of the …

In a race with no championship ramifications once it started, Garg appeared destined to finish in third with two minutes left in the 45-minute battle at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. As races do sometimes, however, things changed quickly when both cars ahead of him encountered issues.

First it was Jagger Jones, who owned the race and was cruising toward the overall and LMP3 victory in just his second outing – until his No. 87 Remstar Racing Duqueine D08 came to a halt crossing the start/finish line with two laps to go.

That handed the lead to Dan Goldburg in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine – but not for long. As Goldburg moved to overtake the lapped No. 47 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine of Jon Brownson on the final lap, the two cars made contact and Goldburg slid into the Turn 6 gravel. By the time Goldburg returned onto the track, Garg was bearing down in the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320, successfully completed the lead pass in Turn 7 and went on to win by 0.862s.

“With one (lap) to go, I saw the yellow (local caution) out in [Turn 6] and I saw Dan,” Garg said. “I knew I had to get by him at that point. We made a little contact but just racing, in my opinion, and was able to hold on and get the win.”

It was Garg’s eighth win in 12 races and sixth straight to close the season. He only needed to start the race to lock up the LMP3 championship over Goldburg, ending the season with a 210-point advantage.

“Really proud of the whole team for the amazing job they did,” Garg said, “not just today but the whole year. It feels really good, and especially to end it off on a win. I didn’t even think it was going to be possible. I thought Jagger and Dan, with the Duqueine, I just wouldn’t be able to pass them down the straight, but I’m so glad it happened.”

Carazo completes GSX sweep but Selldorff clinches class crown

In the GSX class, Sebastian Carazo did everything he could to overtake points leader Francis Selldorff, but two wins this week weren’t enough.

Carazo jumped from third to first in class at the start on Friday and led every lap in the No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport to complete a sweep of GSX wins at Michelin Raceway. But like Garg in LMP3, all Selldorff needed to do was start Friday’s race to clinch the GSX championship in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4.

Carazo won by 3.223s ahead of Gregory Liefooghe (No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW) on Friday, with Selldorff taking third place.

“It’s an amazing feeling to bring two wins to the team on the last weekend to close out the season,” said Carazo, who finished second to Selldorff in the points battle with a class-leading seven podium finishes. “It was a great season, all in all. We had some misfortunate events but we made the best out of it. We still got second place in the championship and it’s great to put a Porsche finally on the top step (of the podium) two times.”

Selldorff, the 22-year-old from Boston, finished with just one win but reached the podium six times. He held off Carazo by 150 points for the championship.

“It’s such a relief,” Selldorff admitted. “We just had to make the green flag today and then it was all fun after that. We were consistent all year and I had an awesome car with Turner. They’re great role models for me, I really can’t thank them enough. It’s a first everything for me: first year in IMSA, first year racing, really, so it’s just been like perfect.”

A recap of the VP Racing Challenge weekend at Michelin Raceway airs at 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 22 on CNBC.

RESULTS

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

Garg, Dubets both double up in VP Challenge at Lime Rock

Bijoy Garg picked the perfect time to put together the perfect weekend in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. The 21-year-old Californian won the multi-class sprint series’ second race of the day Saturday afternoon to finish off an impressive …

Bijoy Garg picked the perfect time to put together the perfect weekend in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.

The 21-year-old Californian won the multi-class sprint series’ second race of the day Saturday afternoon to finish off an impressive sweep that included sitting on the pole position for both 45-minute competitions. The twin victories unofficially propelled Garg back into the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class championship points lead by 10 points with two rounds and four races remaining.

Piloting the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320, Garg led every lap in both races. His margin of victory in Saturday’s finale was 4.021s over Dan Goldburg, the driver of the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08 and the LMP3 points leader heading into the weekend.

“Feels amazing!” Garg said after earning his fourth win of the season and second weekend sweep following Sebring International Raceway in March. “Two-for-two today, big margin of win in both races. I’m really happy with that and we’re back in the points lead. I think we have the speed for the rest of the year, so time to go chase the championship.”

Courtney Crone (No. 99 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine) made a daring pass on Dennis Dupont (No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports America Duqueine) with 20 minutes to go to take third place and held on by less than a half-second at the finish line to secure her third podium finish of the season.

GSX class sees Dubets finish off sweep in series debut

John “JCD” Dubets, competing in the GSX class for GT4-specification cars, raced to his own weekend sweep in the No. 26 Auto Technic Racing BMW M4 GT4 (G82). Like Garg in LMP3, Dubets started from the class pole both times Saturday and led every race lap for the team based in nearby New Milford, Connecticut.

The 2022 co-champion in the ProAm class of Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, Dubets was elated with the results from his VP Racing Challenge debut.

“This is the day you dream about, right?” he said. “I think we got a track record, a pole and two wins, and it’s the (team’s) home track, so it’s a very special day. I know my team’s very proud and I’m just honored to be a part of the program. They did the work and it showed out on track. It was an absolute blast to be in that thing up front. It’s an absolute rocket ship.”

Dubets’ teammate Jake Walker finished second for the second time Saturday in the No. 24 BMW. Auto Technic Racing took five of the six podium spots in the two races, with Dubets citing “perfect execution from everybody involved” to make it happen.

“I feel like we were in sync,” he said. “Everything was in rhythm, the team was driving, there was all positive energy, didn’t ever feel stressful. I think the results were a reflection of the energy that the camp had.”

Francis Selldorff finished third in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW. Coupled with his fourth-place showing in the morning race, Selldorff took control of the GSX standings, unofficially 90 points ahead of Sebastian Carazo in the No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport.

The VP Racing Challenge returns to action Aug. 25-27 at VIRginia International Raceway.

RESULTS

Garg gets a Sunday double in VP Challenge at Sebring

After leading every lap en route to victory in Sunday morning’s first race of a Sunday doubleheader at Sebring International Raceway, Bijoy Garg had a much tougher time in this afternoon’s second 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race. …

The end result was the same, though, as Garg drove the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 back into Victory Lane. Despite starting the race from the pole position, Garg surrendered the lead to Dan Goldburg in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08 on the opening lap.

Goldburg grabbed the advantage just before the full-course caution came out due to a first-lap incident in Turn 1 involving Adrian Kunzle in the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier, Scott Neal in the No. 86 Kellymoss with Riley Ligier and Courtney Crone in the No. 99 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine. When the green flag flew again 10 minutes into the race, a three-car battle ensued at the front of the LMP3 field that included Goldburg, Garg and Antonio Serravalle in the No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports America Ligier.

Though no positions changed hands, the battle remained close among the three cars through the halfway point of the race. It was particularly close between Goldburg and Garg, who made several runs at Goldburg in traffic before finally making the decisive pass in Sebring’s famed Hairpin (Turn 7) with 15 minutes left in the race.

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“I did a pretty big dive bomb, but it worked out and none of us got damage,” said Garg.

Garg then went from hunter to hunted for the next few laps as he navigated traffic with Goldburg in his mirrors, before catching a break when Goldburg spun in Turn 7 with under 10 minutes remaining. Garg went on to win by 4.949s over Serravalle, picking up a Sebring weekend sweep for himself and his Jr III Racing teammates.

“I lost the lead off the start, but I wasn’t too worried,” Garg said. “I knew it all came down to the traffic and just finding an opportunity there, so as long as I stayed with (Goldburg), I was fine. I used some lapped cars, set a pick for him and then got it.

“From there, it’s all about the traffic management, as usual. It’s not easy going to a multi-class. I’m just really happy to come out with the win today.”

Serravalle was one of a number of series newcomers in the 30-car field at Sebring. He had a double podium day with a third-place run in the morning before his runner-up performance in the afternoon for the Muehlner squad.

Goldburg recovered from the spin to finish third for his fourth consecutive podium result to open the VP Racing Challenge season. He will depart the weekend atop both the overall LMP3 championship standings, as well as the Bronze driver standings. He has been the highest-finishing Bronze-rated driver in every race so far.

The next event for the VP Racing Challenge is scheduled for July 7-9 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge Chevrolet Grand Prix weekend.

Gregory Liefooghe started from the GSX class pole in the No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 and led every lap but the last one in Sunday morning’s first 45-minute race.

While he also started this afternoon’s race from the class pole, it appeared on the opening lap like he might come up empty on the day as he fell from first to fifth at the end of the first lap.

“The start was pretty sporty,” Liefooghe said. “There (were) two LMP3 cars that crashed right in front of me. I was on the outside, so I kind of got stuck, fell back and almost got collected, so I was really happy to survive.”

He did more than survive. Liefooghe went right to work when the race went back to green following a 10-minute full-course caution period, picking off the cars in front of him, including Luca Mars, who won this morning’s race in the No. 59 KOHR MOTORSPORTS Ford Mustang GT4 but had to make an unscheduled trip to pit lane early in race two.

“Unfortunately, Lucas broke down,” Liefooghe said. “I’m not sure what happened to him. We were looking forward to a battle with him and see how we improved our car compared to his since this morning.”

Liefooghe would not be denied in race two, especially with Mars out of the picture. He drove away from the field after taking the lead, and took the checkered flag 22.712s ahead of Sebastian Carazo, who finished second in the No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.

“It just seems like our car was really good on the high-speed stuff,” Liefooghe surmised. “(Turns) 17 and 1 (were our strong suits). It felt like we were able to brake a lot deeper than the other competitors and we kind of squeaked by in those two spots on track.”

While Liefooghe and Carazo, who also finished third this morning, had podium finishes in both of the day’s races, they were greeted by a new face on the podium at the end of race two — Patrick Wilmot came home third in the No. 88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW.

Garg takes first IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge win

It may have looked easy from the outside, but Bijoy Garg suggests his flag-to-flag victory in Sunday morning’s 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race at Sebring International Raceway was anything but. “It wasn’t easy, definitely,” said …

“It wasn’t easy, definitely,” said the driver of the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320. I feel like we had pace on all the other guys. They just got through traffic a bit better, but overall, I’m super happy with the win. Our car felt great all race.”

It looked great all race also. After starting the race from the pole position, it didn’t take long for Garg to pull away from rest of the field.

By the end of the second lap, he already held a 3.7-second lead over Dan Goldburg in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08. Garg eventually built an advantage of more than five seconds before the field caught up slightly once the leader encountered traffic.

Garg appeared to be cruising to victory until a full-course caution came out for debris from Tim Probert’s No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the race. The green flag flew once again with four and a half minutes left on the clock and Garg once again showed Goldburg and the rest of the field a clean pair of heels.

“I knew once I got a gap, I could hold it,” Garg said. “So, all I needed to do was get a good restart and I did that. Once I had the gap into (Turn) 1, I was like, ‘OK, time to go.’”

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The victory was Garg’s first in the series. He crossed the stripe 3.479s ahead of Goldburg, who saw his two-race series win streak snapped but he continues to lead the VP Racing Challenge LMP3 class points leader. Goldburg was also the highest-finishing Bronze-rated driver, enabling him to continue leading the Bronze driver point standings as well.

Antonio Serravalle rounded out the top three in the No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports America Duqueine. Lance Willsey — a 2022 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring winner in the LMP3 class — finished fourth on Sunday morning in the No. 30 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier ahead of Brian Thienes in the No. 77 Forte Racing Powered by USRT Ligier. Thienes had worked his way up from fifth on the starting grid to third on the opening lap, but an off-course excursion later in the race moved him back down the order.

RESULTS

Mars takes GSX win in last-lap thriller
While the LMP3 class polesitter managed to go flag-to-flag en route to the victory, Gregory Liefooghe’s efforts to do the same in the GSX class came up one lap short.

Buoyed in part by the late-race full-course caution, 17-year-old Luca Mars managed to reel in Liefooghe’s No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 over the closing laps. And just after taking the white flag, Mars knew it was time to make his move in his No. 59 KOHR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4.

“It was a long race there,” Mars explained. “Lapped traffic kind of separated me and Greg a little bit, but I had him coming into (Turn) 1. I had a run, so I set up and got a little over-under. I was able to stick my nose in so he couldn’t fully block. I just kind of put my car in there where he couldn’t get down and squeeze me. I just got around the corner, he went a little wide, and that was it.

“I still needed to defend him a little bit, but I came through Tower Corner, Turn 13, and I saw I had a gap, and I knew I was really good through the 14-15-16 complex, so I went through there, put my head down and knew I had a big gap coming down into 17, so I was pretty confident in the win coming down there.”

Mars’ margin of victory was a scant 0.292 seconds over Liefooghe. It was his first win, coming in his first VP Racing Challenge start ahead of this afternoon’s second race of the Sunday doubleheader.

“It’s a new series,” said Mars, who was one of many additions to a field that swelled to from 24 cars at Daytona to 30 this weekend. “It’s an awesome series. I’m super glad to be here this weekend. I had a great time out there. It was a long race, and I’m super looking forward to racing later today.”

After leading both practice sessions, taking the pole position, and leading all but the final lap, Liefooghe took second in his series debut. Sebastian Carazo claimed the final spot on the podium with a third-place run aboard the No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.

Moisey Uretsky made it four different manufacturers in the top-four GSX positions, coming home fourth in the No. 44 Accelerating Performance Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Francis Selldorff filled out the top five in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4.

The second and final 45-minute race of the day for the VP Racing Challenge takes the green flag at 1:30pm ET. Live Timing & Scoring is available on IMSA.com.

Garg takes second consecutive VP Challenge pole at Sebring

Bijoy Garg is two-for-two in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge qualifying. After claiming the pole position for the series debut in January at Daytona, Garg made the most of Saturday afternoon’s abbreviated qualifying session at Sebring …

Bijoy Garg is two-for-two in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge qualifying.

After claiming the pole position for the series debut in January at Daytona, Garg made the most of Saturday afternoon’s abbreviated qualifying session at Sebring International Raceway, putting the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 at the head of a spectacular 30-car field for both of Sunday’s 45-minute races.

Garg’s best lap was 1m56.854s (115.221mph) to claim the pole for race one Sunday morning and his second-fastest lap of 1m57.099s (114.980mph) was quick enough to put him on pole for race two Sunday afternoon. The LMP3 field had a substantially reduced qualifying session due to a red flag midway through when the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier of Adrian Kunzle stopped on course in Turn 10.

“Definitely a really good lap and a really good car by the team,” Garg said. “Jr III Racing did a fantastic job just getting this car ready and ensuring that we’re in the position to get pole. It was a bit of a stressful qualy, obviously, with two timed laps, basically, at speed. Just hard to get in a rhythm, but glad we could still get it.”

Joining Garg on the front row for both races will be Dan Goldburg in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08 with an overall best qualifying lap of 1m57.415s (114.671mph). Goldburg heads into Sunday’s races as the LMP3 class points leaders after sweeping both races of the season-opening doubleheader at Daytona.

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Goldburg is 60 points ahead of Brian Thienes, who qualified fifth in the No. 77 Forte Racing Powered by USRT Ligier, and 140 points in front of Garg. Canadian racer Antonio Serravalle qualified third in the No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports America Duqueine at 1m58.351s (113.764mph) ahead of Courtney Crone in the No. 99 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine at 1m59.014s (113.130mph).

In the GSX class, Gregory Liefooghe placed the No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 on the class pole position for both races with a best lap of 2m10.285s (103.343mph) and a second-best lap of 2m10.325s (103.311mph) in the 15-minute qualifying session. Liefooghe was fast throughout Saturday, leading both practice sessions prior to qualifying as well.

“We were way off in Daytona,” Liefooghe said. “We’ve done a little bit of testing since then, and it seems we were starting to be in the window of that car. Steve Cameron’s always tuning on the car and giving us the best car possible, and Sebring is one of my favorite tracks, so it seems to have all clicked together.”

Joining Liefooghe on the GSX front row will be Luca Mars, who celebrated his 17th birthday earlier this week. Mars posted a best lap of 2m11.001s (102.778mph) in the No. 59 KOHR MOTORSPORTS Ford Mustang GT4. Francis Selldorff rounded out the top three in GSX with a best lap of 2m11.103 (102.698mph) in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4.

After taking victories in both races at Daytona, GSX points leader Billy Griffin qualified 18th in class on Saturday in the No. 14 KOHR MOTORSPORTS Mustang GT4.

Sunday’s doubleheader kicks off with race one taking the green flag at 8 a.m ET. The second 45-minute race of the day goes green at 1:30 p.m. ET. Live Timing & Scoring data from both races is available on IMSA.com.