Winning Is Special at One of the Most Beautiful Yet Demanding Tracks AnywhereAugust 22, 2024By David PhillipsIMSA Wire Service
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – VIRginia International Raceway may not be the longest track on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar, it’s not the fastest nor is it the oldest (although a fellow named Carroll Shelby won its inaugural event in 1957). But there are those who would argue its lush, rolling, meticulously landscaped setting makes it the most beautiful. More to the point, few who have driven it in competition would argue VIR is anything short of uniquely demanding.Take the Climbing Esses which, according to noted auto racing authority Wikipedia “consist of an initial left, uphill (Turn 7), followed by a right which crests at the apex then dropping slightly into a left which again crests at the apex dropping slightly and then up into the final right (Turn 9). The complexity and difficulty of this section is multiplied by the incredible entry speed because of a straight section leading to the Climbing Esses. This is followed by a cresting blind left turn (Turn 10), ‘South Bend’ that finishes in a steep downward slope. Another signature section is the ‘Roller Coaster’ (Turn 14) which is a scaled-down, mirror image of the famed Corkscrew at (WeatherTech Raceway) Laguna Seca.”And we haven’t even begun to talk about VIR’s NASCAR Bend, Snake, Horseshoe, Oak Tree Curve or the Hog Pen.“VIR is one of the old-school American tracks,” says Robby Foley, driver of the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. “It’s high speed with pretty high commitment but also technical. VIR definitely keeps you busy. Your car has to be really dialed in to different types of corners: high speed, low speed. You need a specific kind of balance to be quick. I love the sector that leads into the esses (Snake) and the upper (Climbing) Esses; super technical, then you get into some faster corners. For me, the track has everything and I like the way it races.”Where better to display – and challenge – the capabilities and talents of the cars, drivers and teams competing in the WeatherTech Championship’s GT Daytona (GTD) and GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) classes, to say nothing of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin and Historic Sportscar Racing’s debut of the HSR NASCAR Classic presented by Petty’s Garage series that are all on the weekend agenda?‘Vettes on a RollCorvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports comes to VIR on a roll. On the heels of a dominating 1-2 finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the yellow ‘Vettes recorded an impressive encore at Road America. There, Nicky Catsburg captured the Motul Pole Award in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R with teammate Alexander Sims just behind in the No. 3 to complete a ‘Vette sweep of the GTD PRO front row. Although the race did not go Corvette’s way, such was not the case at VIR last year as Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor piloted the No. 3 Corvette C8.R GTD to the win. Now after spending the winter and initial races of the ’24 season developing the Z06 GT3.R, the team comes to VIR in search of a second straight win (and Corvette’s 14th victory at the track). “The car has been good since Sebring,” says Garcia. “(At) Daytona we had some issues, but Sebring was where we really had the base and the strategy didn’t go our way there. That’s part of racing but from that point on the car has been very, very competitive and it was a shame we couldn’t convert that to a win. But we have a way more balanced car that works all around in this class, we don’t have to use crazy setups like we did last year just to keep our position. That’s made it a bit easier. … I will expect we have another chance for the win.”
Gunn-ing for GTD PRO Points
A third-place finish at Road America enabled the Heart of Racing Team’s No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo and Ross Gunn to close the gap to the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R and Laurin Heinrich in the GTD PRO team and driver championship standings to 76 points. Meanwhile, Porsche enjoys an 88-point lead over Aston Martin in the quest for GTD PRO manufacturer honors. In other words, with three rounds remaining in 2024, all three GTD Pro titles are still up for grabs. Barring a catastrophic race or two for AO Racing, it will likely take a couple visits to the podium by the Heart of Racing to overhaul the current points leaders. As luck – make that skill – would have it, Gunn figures to start at the sharp end of the field this weekend. After all, he has the unique honor of holding the VIR track record in both GTD PRO and GTD, having set the GTD standard in 2021 qualifying before taking pole in GTD PRO with another record-setting lap in 2022. However, Gunn has yet to turn that blistering qualifying pace into a VIR victory. On the other hand, he and co-driver Alex Riberas have three podium finishes in the team’s last four starts, including a win in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
In Search of a ‘W’
Although the championship hardware may be practically, if not mathematically, out of reach for some teams, a win or two in the final rounds of the season would go a long way to making the 2024 season a success. With the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 taking the lion’s share of the GTD wins (four of seven), there’s no shortage of GTD teams looking to break into the win column for the first time this year. Chief among those are the No. 32 Korthoff/ Preston Motorsports Mercedes (third place in the championship), the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 (fourth in points) and the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 (fifth).Alternately, GTD PRO has seen six winners in seven events. On the outside looking in, then, are a number of teams that are no strangers to race wins, including the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW (2023 GTD champs), the No. 4 Corvette and the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo (although in fairness, this is Pfaff’s first season with the McLaren). And speaking of first seasons, Ford Multimatic Motorsports is still looking for win numero uno for either the No. 64 or No. 65 Mustang GT3 in their debut campaign.Will the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR produce a new winner (or two) this weekend? Find out by catching all the action on the USA Network, Peacock, IMSA.tv and IMSA Radio. |
