This weekend, IMSA’s suite of series will be at action at VIRginia International Raceway. It will be a busy weekend on the 3.27-mile road course.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge at VIR
VIR hosts a GT-only weekend, meaning that only the GTD Pro and GTD classes will be in action. In GTD Pro, there will be 10 cars entered. There are no driver changes in the class from Road America.
With three races left to run, Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia have a 30-point lead in the standings over DragonSpeed’s Albert Costa. Garcia and Sims have done it on consistency this season as they have not won a race to this point. They do have three second-place finishes (Daytona, Detroit and Watkins Glen).
In GTD, there are 13 teams entered, the same that entered Road America. There are also no driver changes here from Road America.
Points-wise, Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis and Russell Ward have a 112-point lead over Vasser Sullivan’s Jack Hawksworth and Parker Thompson. The Heart of Racing’s Casper Stevenson is five points further back.
Ellis and Ward have two victories (Sebring and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca) and have been strong for most of the season. However, they are coming off their worst finish of the season (10th) at Road America.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge at VIR Entry List
The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR will air live Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET on USA Network
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix
For Saturday’s two-hour race for Pilot Challenge teams, there are 40 teams entered, up three from Road America.
In Grand Sport, there are 24 teams entered, up one from Road America. There is one surprising team that is not entered. That is JDC-Miller MotorSports with their Porsche that has run every race this season.
The two new entrants are Copeland Motorsports with a Toyota that will be shared by Ford Koch and an unknown second driver. This team has previously raced in the TCR class, but has never competed with GT4 equipment.
The other squad is KohR Motorsports’ No. 60 Ford Mustang. This week, Sam Paley will share the car with Nick Persing.
Driver change-wise, Bill Cain and Aaron Povoledo will be back in CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing’s second entry this week. They’ll replace Steven Wetterau and Cameron Shields, who earned a podium finish at Road America.
At Winward Racing, Daan Arrow will share the No. 57 Mercedes with Bryce Ward. Arrow, who is his making his Pilot Challenge debut, races GT3 cars in Europe.
In TCR, there are 16 teams entered, up two from Road America. Both of Baker Racing’s Audis are back in the field this weekend, but HART’s Honda is not entered.
IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix Entry List
The Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix will go green at 2:20 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. Coverage will stream live on the IMSA Official YouTube channel and on Peacock starting at 2:15 p.m. ET.
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.