Corvette and Pfaff Motorsports achieved success at the end of 2h40 ‘of the Michelin GT Challenge, a race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship which was staged on the beautiful VIRginia International Raceway only for Gran Turismo cars.
In the GTLM Class comes the third triumph in a row for the official C8.R of Tommy Milner / Nick Tandy, while in the GTD there is the final leg of Zach Robichon / Laurens Vanthoor with the legendary Porsche in ‘plaid’ livery.
GTLM: # 4 drops the trio
In the Chevrolet house the duo Tandy / Milner drops the trio, at the start they exchanged positions with the C8.R # 3 ‘twin’ of Antonio Garcia / Jordan Taylor.
The two US cars immediately gave the impression of dictating the law as usual, even if Tandy found himself forced to catch up at some point when he lost time for a contact with Kévin Estre’s Porsche 911 RSR-19 # 79. (WeatherTech Racing).
Milner had signed the Pole Position in Qualifying by beating his colleague Taylor by just 3 thousandths, then in the race he recovered – with the two C8.Rs on a different pit-stop strategy in the early stages – and at the end stretches over his teammates passing through under the checkered flag with over 17 “of margin.
Estre’s Porsche is also on the podium of the GTEs, which paired with Cooper MacNeil tried to exploit that slightest opportunity to undermine the two Corvettes, but once again in vain.
# 79: WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR – 19, GTLM: Cooper MacNeil, Kevin Estre
Photo by: Art Fleischmann
GTD: Pfaff coup, De Angelis / Gunn Sprint Champions
As previously said, in the GTD Class it is Pfaff Motorsports to place the bang with Robichon / Vanthoor. The 911 GT3-R # 9 had started from 13th position on the grid due to penalties, but with great patience it got back on top.
At the start it was the usual BMW M6 # 96 of Turner Motorsport that took the lead, but in the final Bill Auberlen / Robby Foley had an accident with Garcia’s Corvette that made him lose all hope of success, given that in the collision at the Turn 1 a tire has been punctured.
Among other things, Vanthoor / Robichon also made the most of the Safety Car period that was faced when the Acura # 66 of Gradient Racing crashed into the barriers of turn 14 and got stuck under the tire wall (Mario Farnbacher, however, came out unscathed from the bang).
With BMW having to drive around slowly to regain the pits, the last 10 ‘were of great attention for Vanthoor / Robichon, who ultimately beat Madison Snow / Bryan Sellers’ (Paul Miller Racing) Lamborghini Huracán # 1. fight for the podium right from the start.
And the very last step is conquered in a breathtaking last lap by the Lexus RC F GT3 # 14 of Vasser Sullivan Racing. Jack Hawksworth, who took the place of his colleague Aaron Telitz, didn’t miss the opportunity and when he saw Patrick Long’s Porsche # 16 in front of him, he studied it for a long time, and then slipped it in with a rather hard move that he relegated the boy from Wright Motorsports and his colleague Trent Hindman to fourth place.
Immediately behind there is the Aston Martin Vantage # 23 of Ross Gunn / Roman De Angelis, who in the aforementioned episode did not get too enticed, accepting a Top5 which for the couple of the Heart Of Racing means Sprint Cup 2021 title. on the bulletin board.
Sesti we have their mates Ian James / Alex Riberas (# 27), with the Audi R8 LMS of Richard Heistand / Jeff Westphal (CarBahn with Peregrine Racing) and the Mercedes-AMG # 28 of Daniel Morad / Michael De Quesada (Alegra Motorsports ) in seventh and eighth place with a little bitterness aiming for something more.
The Top10 is completed by the Lamborghini # 19 of Misha Goikhberg / Franck Perera (GRT) and the Porsche # 88 of Rob Ferriol / Katherine Legge (Team Hardpoint).
# 9: PFAFF Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R, GTD: Zacharie Robichon, Laurens Vanthoor
Photo by: Art Fleischmann