While Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams are relaxing before the 12 week grind to Homestead, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship returns to VIRginia International Raceway for the final GT-only round of the season. 25 cars between the GT Le Mans and GT Daytona classes.
In GT Le Mans, the biggest change of note is the return of Risi Competizione to the paddock with Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander back behind the wheel of the No. 62 Ferrari. The team has not raced in the series since Circuit of the Americas back in May. The team’s crash at Le Mans did not cause the break. Instead, Risi Competizione wanted to regroup.
GT Daytona has one driver change of note. Patrick Long is back in the No. 28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche, replacing Michael de Quesada. Long has one previous start in the No. 28 in 2017. That was Lime Rock, where Long partnered with full-time racer Daniel Morad to finish third in class.
The other changes that came into effect at Road America will remain in effect. As a result, Robert Alon will continue to drive the No. 14 Lexus with Sage Karam while Jack Hawksworth teams with Scott Pruett in the No. 15. Also of note, WeatherTech Racing will once again use a Porsche 911 GT3 R instead of their Mercedes. The reasoning is due to absolutely no changes being made to benefit the Mercedes in the latest Balance of Performance adjustments.
Finally, Lone Star Racing is once again entered with their No. 80 Mercedes for Dan Knox and Mike Skeen. The team was entered at Road America, but did not race due to overheating issues.
Entry List: Michelin GT Challenge at VIR
| Class | Team | Drivers | Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| GT Le Mans | 3 - Corvette Racing | Antonio Garcia Jan Magnussen | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R |
| GT Le Mans | 4 - Corvette Racing | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R |
| GT Daytona | 14 - 3GT Racing | Robert Alon Sage Karam | Lexus RCF GT3 |
| GT Daytona | 15 - 3GT Racing | Jack Hawksworth Scott Pruett | Lexus RCF GT3 |
| GT Daytona | 16 - Change Racing | Corey Lewis Jeroen Mul | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 |
| GT Le Mans | 24 - BMW Team RLL | John Edwards Martin Tomczyk | BMW M6 GTLM |
| GT Le Mans | 25 - BMW Team RLL | Bill Auberlen Alexander Sims | BMW M6 GTLM |
| GT Daytona | 28 - Alegra Motorsports | Patrick Long Daniel Morad | Porsche 911 GT3 R |
| GT Daytona | 33 - Riley Motorsports | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| GT Daytona | 48 - Paul Miller Racing | Bryan Sellers Madison Snow | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 |
| GT Daytona | 50 - WeatherTech Racing | Gunnar Jeannette Cooper MacNeil | Porsche 911 GT3 R |
| GT Daytona | 54 - CORE autosport | Jon Bennett Colin Braun | Porsche 911 GT3 R |
| GT Daytona | 57 - Stevenson Motorsports | Lawson Aschenbach Andrew Davis | Audi R8 LMS GT3 |
| GT Le Mans | 62 - Risi Competizione | Giancarlo Fisichella Toni Vilander | Ferrari 488 GTE |
| GT Daytona | 63 - Scuderia Corsa | Alessandro Balzan Christina Nielsen | Ferrari 488 GT3 |
| GT Le Mans | 66 - Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Joey Hand Dirk Müller | Ford GT |
| GT Le Mans | 67 - Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook | Ford GT |
| GT Daytona | 73 - Park Place Motorsports | Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Lindsey | Porsche 911 GT3 R |
| GT Daytona | 75 - SunEnergy1 Racing | Kenny Habul Tristan Vautier | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| GT Daytona | 80 - Lone Star Racing | Dan Knox Mike Skeen | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| GT Daytona | 86 - Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | Oswaldo Negri Jr. Jeff Segal | Acura NSX GT3 |
| GT Daytona | 93 - Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | Andy Lally Katherine Legge | Acura NSX GT3 |
| GT Daytona | 96 - Turner Motorsport | Jens Klingmann Jesse Krohn | BMW M6 GT3 |
| GT Le Mans | 911 - Porsche GT Team | Patrick Pilet Dirk Werner | Porsche 911 RSR |
| GT Le Mans | 912 - Porsche GT Team | Gianmaria Bruni Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 911 RSR |
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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