| Last Sprint Race of 2025 WeatherTech Championship Season Serves as GT-Only Showcase August 13, 2025By Tony DiZinnoIMSA Wire Service |
| Entry List (Click Here) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The sprint race season for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship concludes with the annual GT-only showcase, the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway. With both Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class championship battles intensifying, there’s a lot on the line for the race that features only FIA GT3-homologated cars. The top three entries in GTD PRO are covered by 97 points and the top three in GTD by 117 points, so there’s potential for big movement. Interestingly, two GT class winners of the Motul SportsCar Grand Prix at Road America head into VIR looking for back-to-back wins both this season and also at VIR. Madison Snow (No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO) and Kenton Koch (No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3) won in GTD PRO and GTD at Road America and won in GTD PRO and GTD at VIR last season, although Koch’s win last year was with a different team and manufacturer. As the last standard-length race of the season, some drivers will be competing in their final race of the season. Both DXDT Racing and Gradient Racing have fielded separate IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup lineups, so this marks the last scheduled starts of the 2025 season for Robert Wickens in the No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R and Jenson Altzman and Robert Megennis in the No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3. Here’s what else you need to know for the upcoming race weekend featuring 23 cars – 10 in GTD PRO and 13 in GTD: Fast FactsMichelin GT Challenge at VIRVIRginia International Raceway – Alton, Virginia Aug. 22-24, 2025 Race Day/Time: Sunday, Aug. 24, 2:10 p.m. ETUSA Network Coverage: LIVE – 2-5 p.m. ETPeacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 2 p.m. (available outside the U.S. on IMSA.tv and IMSA Official YouTube channel)Live Qualifying Stream: Saturday, Aug. 24, 4:50 p.m. (on Peacock in the U.S., globally on IMSA.tv and IMSA Official YouTube channel)IMSA Radio: Select sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins at noon Sunday, Aug. 24 (XM 206, Web/App 996)Circuit Type: 3.27-mile, 17-turn road courseClasses Competing: GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), GT Daytona (GTD)Race Length: Two hours, 40 minutes Track Social Media: X: @virnowInstagram: @virnowFacebook: @virnowEvent Hashtags: #IMSA, #MichelinVIR WeatherTech Championship Track RecordsGTD PRO: Madison Snow, BMW M4 GT3, 1:43.206 / 114.062 mph, August 2024GTD: Ross Gunn, Aston Martin Vantage GT3, 1:43.356 / 113.897 mph, October 2021 2024 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR WinnersGTD PRO: Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 GTD: Mikael Grenier/Kenton Koch, No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 2024 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR Motul Pole Award WinnersGTD PRO: Madison Snow, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 GTD: Giammarco Levorato, No. 55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 StorylinesGTD PRO’s Title Battle Royale: The No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R is clinging to a 30-point lead in GTD PRO over the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 with the defending champion AO Racing team in third, 97 points in arrears with its No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R.Defending Winners in More Ways Than One: Madison Snow and Kenton Koch won the most recent VIR IMSA race in two different classes. They also won the most recent IMSA race in 2025 at Road America. Can they keep their momentum alive this week? Lucky 13 on GTD Podiums: With a podium of Triarsi Competizione’s No. 021 Ferrari, Forte Racing’s No. 78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 and Conquest Racing’s No. 34 Ferrari at Road America, the number of different cars that have been on a GTD podium in 2025 is 13. That list doesn’t include series stalwarts Turner Motorsport, as well as emerging teams like DXDT Racing or Gradient Racing who have been just shy of the top three. GT Classes Front and Center: The FIA GT3-homologated spec cars covering the two GT classes take center stage in their first and only WeatherTech Championship race without prototypes this season. Who’s Hot? No. 81 Dragon Speed Ferrari 296 GT3: Three straight podiums, including their first win as a collective unit in tandem with Risi Competizione, has positioned Dragon Speed second in GTD PRO points and only 30 out of the lead. No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3: Without any GTD team being overly consistent in recent rounds, Turner’s No. 96 BMW appears closer to its first win or podium of the season. The car posted a season-best fourth at Road America and has seven top-10 finishes in as many races this year, the only car in class to do so. Who’s Good Here? Madison Snow: At one of IMSA’s hottest weather events, a driver named Snow has melted the track. Snow is a three-time Motul Pole Award winner, three-time race winner and GTD PRO track record holder at VIR. He book-ended his wins with Bryan Sellers at this track, too, with their first as a unit in 2016 and last as a pair in 2024, although that was driver and team’s first win in GTD PRO. Garcia and Milner: Along with Snow, two longtime Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports drivers have excelled in IMSA’s lone GT-only race. Antonio Garcia (four wins) and Tommy Milner (two of his three at VIR) have combined for six victories in various iterations of Corvettes since 2012. Previous Michelin GT Challenge Winners in 2025 Field (8) Antonio Garcia (4): GTLM – 2016, 2017, 2020; GTD PRO – 2023 Tommy Milner (3): GT – 2005, 2012; GTLM – 2021 Madison Snow (3): GTD – 2016, 2023; GTD PRO – 2024 Philip Ellis (1): GTD – 2022Robby Foley (1): GTD – 2020 Kenton Koch (1): GTD – 2024 Alexander Sims (1): GTLM – 2018 Russell Ward (1): GTD – 2022 Previous Michelin GT Challenge Pole Winners in 2025 Field (5)Madison Snow (3): GTD – 2016; 2023; GTD PRO – 2024Jack Hawksworth (2): GTD – 2018; GTD PRO – 2023 Tommy Milner (2): GT – 2004; GTLM – 2021 Robby Foley (1): GTD – 2021 Russell Ward (1): GTD – 2022 Previous Michelin GT Challenge Winning Teams in 2025 Field (6)Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports (6): GT – 2012; GTLM – 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021; GTD PRO – 2023 Paul Miller Racing (3): GTD – 2016, 2023; GTD PRO – 2024 Pfaff Motorsports (2): GTD – 2021; GTD PRO – 2022 Turner Motorsport (2): GTD – 2014, 2020 Wayne Taylor Racing (2): DP – 2004, 2007Winward Racing (1): GTD – 2022 Previous Michelin GT Challenge Winning Manufacturers in 2025 Field (7)Chevrolet – 13Porsche – 11BMW – 8Ferrari – 5 Lexus – 3Mercedes-AMG – 3Lamborghini – 2 |
