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IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR

23rd - 25th August 2024

Event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews

The traditional venue of Virginia International Raceway hosts the final sprint round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship season. Since ALMS and Grand-Am championships merged into one championship the race at VIR is only for GT cars and GT cars are running for overall victory.

IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 001IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 002

After 7 rounds the GTD PRO championship is led by #77 AO Racing Porsche with two wins and two additional podiums. The GTD championship is led by #57 Winward Racing. 

Qualifying

Madison Snow was the best in qualifying in his #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. With the time 1:43.206 he managed to beat the qualifying lap record and finish 0.140s ahead of Antonio Garcia in the #3 Corvette and the two Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustangs GT3 with Harry Tincknell ahead of Joey Hand. Fifth overall and in GTD PRO went to the second Corvette #4 with Tommy Milner at the wheel.

In the GTD the pole position went to the #55 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 driven by Giammarco Levorato giving the new GT3 challenger from Ford its first pole position in major competition. His time of 1:43.900 was enough to put the car into 6th place overall beating some high profile GTD PRO drivers in the process. He was followed by Kenton Koch in the #32 Mercedes and Eliott Skeer in the #120 Porsche.

IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 003IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 004IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 005IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 006

The top 10 of combined qualifying results are below:

1.  GTD PRO   #1 Paul Miller Racing - BMW M4 GT3 ........................................................................ 1:43.206 
2.  GTD PRO   #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports - Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R ............................. + 0.140 s
3.  GTD PRO   #64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports - Ford Mustang GT3 ........................................................ + 0.424 s
4.  GTD PRO   #65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports - Ford Mustang GT3 ........................................................ + 0.523 s
5.  GTD PRO   #4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports - Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R ............................. + 0.539 s
6.  GTD       #55 Proton Competition - Ford Mustang GT3 ................................................................. + 0.694 s
7.  GTD       #32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports - Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo ................................................... + 0.900 s
8.  GTD       #120 Wright Motorsports - Porsche 911 GT3 R ............................................................... + 0.912 s
9.  GTD PRO   #14 VasserSullivan - Lexus RC-F GT3 ....................................................................... + 0.971 s
10. GTD PRO   #9 Pfaff Motorsports - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo ............................................................... + 1.091 s
IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 007IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 008IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 009IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 010IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 011IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 012

Race

IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 013IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 014

At the start of the race Madison Snow in the #1 BMW took lead with Corvette #3 slipping behind the #64 Ford. The trio was followed by the #4 Corvette and the other factory Ford #65. In GTD #32 Mercedes inherited the lead from the #55 Ford, who dropped to third by lap one, behind Porsche #120. The #120 didn't stay in this position for a long time as Eliott Skeer went out of the track in Oak Tree corner and lost multiple positions. In the meantime Jack Hawksworth in the #14 Lexus was getting through the GTD field to get to the rear of GTD PROs. 

IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 015IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 016

The race settled into a rhythm with almost no overtakes. That was until Levorato in the #55 Ford made the same mistake as Skeer a few laps ago, losing second place in GTD and falling to 5th position. The #27 Aston Martin of Zacharie Robichon was in second with #120 Porsche in 3rd. Around that time the #65 Ford of Joey Hand overtook #4 Corvette for 4th position on the back straight when Milner had a bad exit out of . Multiple GTD PRO cars pitted with 2 hours to go, the first one of them being #77 Porsche "Roxy". He was joined by #23 Aston Martin and #14 Lexus. Laurin Heinrich in the #77 first overtook the #23 driven by Ross Gunn on the pit exit. After that he crashed out the #14 Lexus, overtaking him in the process, but receiving a penalty for the incident.

The first GTD pit stops were started by #32 with most cars switching from their amateur drivers to pros. The #32 with Kenton Koch held the lead with #27, #55, #120 and #96 closely behind.

The GTD PRO pit stops followed soon with #23 emerging at the head of the field (thanks to its early pit stop), ahead of #1, both Fords, #14 Lexus, #9 McLaren and Corvettes close behind. The #3 Corvette stopped for a while without drive, but continued while #65 Ford had to serve a drive through for a short refueling time. The Corvette stopped soon at the back straights again, but got going again, losing more time in the process. The problems would result in a trip behind the wall for repairs. The running order in GTD PRO with 1 hour to go was #23, #1, #64, #14, #4 and #9. The #3 Corvette rejoined after repairs 15 laps behind the leader.

With 1 hour remaining the leaders in GTD PRO came into the pits. The #4 Corvette lost time after it wasn't able to start after the mechanics finished working on the car. The #1 BMW managed to overcut the #23 Aston Martin and emerged in the lead of the race after all pit stops were completed. Similarly to Ford during the first pit stops, #23 received a drive through penalty for shorter refueling time, losing its second place. The order after pit stops was this: #1, #64, #23, #77, #65 and #9.

In GTD pit stops followed soon and after them the #32 Mercedes held the lead in front of #27, #55, #96 and #70. Soon after #70 McLaren lost some time before white smoke appeared ffrom the back of the car. Frederik Schandorff managed to stop the car in the pit lane on the back straight with smoke coming out of the car and emergency crew attended the car immediately. Full course yellow was called as soon as the smoke from the car was visible and all the gaps and advantages were negated. Overall the standings were as follows: #1, #64, #23, #65, GTD leading #32, #9 and #27.

At the restart Madison Snow in the #1 drove off with #64 Ford behind. For 3rd place though #65 Ford unsuccessfully challenged the #23 Aston Martin into turn 1, settling into fourth instead. Other notable battles included #77 battling #14 for 6th place or battles for the top spots in GTD. Corey Lewis drove off in the #55 while battling #27 for second place in the Oak Tree corner, but lost only one position. Just a lap later he drove off in T6 and ended up in ninth. Hawksworth in #14 pushed off the #77 who tried to overtake him around the outside in turn 2. This gave #78 Lamborghini the opportunity to overtake the #77. Parker Thomson went wide in the Oak Tree corner and into the barriers on the penultimate lap, taking damage to the rear of the car.

At the finish #1 dominated the weekend and won their first race since VIR in 2023. They were followed by very promising outing for #64 Ford (first podium for Ford Mustang GT3), #23 Aston Martin and #65 Ford. Fifth overall, in the GTD class #32 won the race ahead of #27 Aston Martin and since the restart hard charging #78 Lamborghini. The combined top 10 results are below.

IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 017IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 018IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 019IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 020IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 021IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 022IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 023IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 024IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 025IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 026IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 027IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 028

Race results:

1.  GTD PRO   #1 Paul Miller Racing - BMW M4 GT3 ....................................................................... 86 laps
2.  GTD PRO   #64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports - Ford Mustang GT3 ....................................................... + 3.368 s
3.  GTD PRO   #23 Heart of Racing Team - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo .............................................. + 4.199 s 
4.  GTD PRO   #65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports - Ford Mustang GT3 ....................................................... + 11.688 s
5.  GTD       #32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports - Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo .................................................. + 16.103 s
6.  GTD PRO   #9 Pfaff Motorsports - McLaren 720S GT3 Evo .............................................................. + 16.404 s
7.  GTD       #27 Heart of Racing Team - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo .............................................. + 17.000 s 
8.  GTD PRO   #14 VasserSullivan - Lexus RC-F GT3 ...................................................................... + 18.620 s
9.  GTD       #78 Forte Racing - Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 .......................................................... + 19.086 s
10. GTD PRO   #77 AO Racing - Porsche 911 GT3 R ........................................................................ + 19.754 s
IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 029IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 030IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 031IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 032IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 033IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 034IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 035IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 036IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 037IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 038IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 039IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 040IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 041IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 042

Championship standings

The sprint part of the season is over and only two Michelin Endurance Cup races remain - the new endurance race at Indianapolis and traditional 10 hour race at Road Atlanta - Petit Le Mans. With two rounds remaining the championship standings looks like this:

IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 043IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 044

GTD PRO

1. #77 AO Racing - Porsche 911 GT3 R ................................................................................... 2519 points
2. #23 Heart of Racing Team - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo ......................................................... 2502 points (-17)
3. #1 Paul Miller Racing - BMW M4 GT3 .................................................................................. 2408 points (-111)
4. #14 VasserSullivan - Lexus RC-F GT3 ................................................................................. 2358 points (-161)
5. #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports - Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R ....................................... 2318 points (-201)
IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 045IMSA 2024 - Michelin GT Challenge at VIR (event report by Štěpán Koutník, photos by Michael O. Crews) - picture number 046

GTD

1.  #57 Winward Racing - Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo .......................................................................... 2698 points 
2.  #96 Turner Motorsports - BMW M4 GT3 ................................................................................ 2414 points (-284)
3.  #32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports - Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo ............................................................ 2178 points (-520)
4.  #34 Conquest Racing - Ferrari 296 GT3 .............................................................................. 2050 points (-648)
5.  #27 Heart of Racing Team - Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo ........................................................ 2024 points (-674)