2021 GT Challenge at VIR

The 2021 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The race was held at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on October 9, 2021. The race was the eleventh round of the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the eighth round of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.

Track map of VIR

Background
Virginia International Raceway, where the race was held.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in September 2020. It was the eighth consecutive year it was part of the IMSA SCC.[1] The 2021 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was the eleventh of twelve sports car races of 2021 by IMSA, and it was the eighth round held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[2] The race was held at the seventeen-turn 3.270 mi (5.263 km) Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. As in previous years, the event was also the second GT-only round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship season, in which only the GTLM and GTD classes were scheduled to compete.[3]

Originally scheduled to run on August 22, 2021, the race was set to clash with the 24 Hours of Le Mans after the event was postponed from its original date in June to August.[4] As a result, IMSA rescheduled the event to October 9, 2021, and moved Petit Le Mans to November 13, 2021.[3][5]

On September 30, 2021, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event.[6] In GTD, the Lexus RC F GT3 received a 10 kilogram weight break. No changes were made in GTLM.

Before the race, Antonio García and Jordan Taylor led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 2917 points, 160 points ahead of Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy followed by Cooper MacNeil in third.[7] With 2570 points, the GTD Drivers' Championship was led by Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor, ahead of Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers.[7] Chevrolet and Porsche were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Corvette Racing and Pfaff Motorsports each led their own Teams' Championships.[7]

Entries
Further information: 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship § Entries

A total of 18 cars took part in the event, split across 2 classes. 3 cars were entered in GTLM, and 15 in GTD.[8] In GTLM, Kévin Estre would be joining Cooper MacNeil in the #79 WeatherTech Racing entry. GTD saw various changes after the previous round, as Alegra Motorsports would return after skipping the previous 3 rounds.[9] Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports also returned for the first time since the Road America race with Mike Skeen partnering Guy Cosmo.[10] Compass Racing withdrew from the event in order to focus on the Indianapolis 8 Hours.[11] Mario Farnbacher subbed for Marc Miller, who was injured, in the Gradient Racing #66. [12]

Practice

There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, both on Friday. The first session lasted one hour on Friday morning while the second session on Friday afternoon lasted 75 minutes.[13]

Practice 1

The first practice session took place at 8:00 am ET on Friday and ended with Kévin Estre topping the charts for WeatherTech Racing, with a lap time of 1:41.124, ahead of Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Corvette.[14] The GTD class was topped by the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 of Bill Auberlen with a time of 1:44.391. Franck Perera in the No. 19 Lamborghini was second fastest followed by Ross Gunn in the No. 23 Aston Martin.[15]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 79 WeatherTech Racing Kévin Estre 1:41.124 _
2 GTLM 4 Corvette Racing Nick Tandy 1:41.921 +0.797
3 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Antonio García 1:41.969 +0.845
Sources:[16][17]

Practice 2

The second and final practice session took place at 11:55 am ET on Friday and ended with Kévin Estre topping the charts for WeatherTech Racing, with a lap time of 1:41.124. Tommy Milner's No. 4 Corvette was second fastest followed by Jordan Taylor in the No. 3 Corvette.[18] The GTD class was topped by the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth with a time of 1:44.407, ahead of Ross Gunn in the No. 23 Aston Martin.[19]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 79 WeatherTech Racing Kévin Estre 1:40.838 _
2 GTLM 4 Corvette Racing Tommy Milner 1:41.200 +0.362
3 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Jordan Taylor 1:41.313 +0.475
Sources:[20][21]


Qualifying

Qualifying results

Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United States Tommy Milner 1:40.263 _ 1‡
2 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing United States Jordan Taylor 1:40.266 +0.003 2
3 GTLM 79 United States WeatherTech Racing United States Cooper MacNeil 1:41.445 +1.182 3
4 GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Robby Foley 1:43.809 +3.546 4‡
5 GTD 1 United States Paul Miller Racing United States Madison Snow 1:44.045 +3.782 5
6 GTD 16 United States Wright Motorsports United States Trent Hindman 1:44.145 +3.882 6
7 GTD 23 United States Heart Of Racing Team Canada Roman De Angelis 1:44.161 +3.898 7
8 GTD 39 United States CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing United States Richard Heistand 1:44.230 +3.967 8
9 GTD 14 United States Vasser Sullivan Racing United States Aaron Telitz 1:44.358 +4.095 9
10 GTD 9 Canada Pfaff Motorsports Canada Zacharie Robichon 1:44.423 +4.160 10
11 GTD 12 United States Vasser Sullivan Racing United States Frankie Montecalvo 1:44.447 +4.184 11
12 GTD 28 United States Alegra Motorsports United States Michael de Quesada 1:44.712 +4.449 12
13 GTD 32 United States Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports United States Guy Cosmo 1:44.790 +4.527 13
14 GTD 27 United States Heart Of Racing Team United Kingdom Ian James 1:45.274 +5.011 14
15 GTD 66 United States Gradient Racing United Kingdom Till Bechtolsheimer 1:45.662 +5.399 15
16 GTD 19 Austria GRT Grasser Racing Team Canada Misha Goikhberg 1:45.699 +5.436 16
17 GTD 88 United States Team Hardpoint United States Rob Ferriol 1:46.416 +6.153 17
18 GTD 44 United States Magnus Racing with Archangel Motorsports United States John Potter 1:46.959 +6.696 18
Sources:[22][23]

Race

Post-race

The result kept Antonio García and Jordan Taylor atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship.[24] With 2938 points, Robichon and Vanthoor's victory allowed them to increase their advantage over Sellers and Snow in the GTD Drivers' Championship. Long advanced from fifth to fourth while Auberlen and Foley dropped from fourth to fifth.[24] Chevrolet and Porsche continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Corvette Racing and Pfaff Motorsports kept their respective advantages in the their respective of Teams' Championships with one round remaining in the season.[24]

Race results

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United States Tommy Milner
United Kingdom Nick Tandy		 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R 87 2:40:45.036‡
Chevrolet 5.5L V8
2 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing Spain Antonio García
United States Jordan Taylor		 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R 87 +17.852
Chevrolet 5.5L V8
3 GTLM 79 United States WeatherTech Racing United States Cooper MacNeil
France Kévin Estre		 Porsche 911 RSR-19 87 +38.655
Porsche 4.2L Flat-6
4 GTD 9 Canada Pfaff Motorsports Canada Zacharie Robichon
Belgium Laurens Vanthoor		 Porsche 911 GT3 R 85 +2 Laps‡
Porsche 4.0L Flat-6
5 GTD 1 United States Paul Miller Racing United States Bryan Sellers
United States Madison Snow		 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 85 +2 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2L V10
6 GTD 14 United States Vasser Sullivan Racing United States Aaron Telitz
United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth		 Lexus RC F GT3 85 +2 Laps
Lexus 5.0L V8
7 GTD 16 United States Wright Motorsports United States Trent Hindman
United States Patrick Long		 Porsche 911 GT3 R 85 +2 Laps
Porsche 4.0L Flat-6
8 GTD 23 United States Heart of Racing Team Canada Roman De Angelis
United Kingdom Ross Gunn		 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 85 +2 Laps
Mercedes-Benz M177 4.0 L Turbo V8
9 GTD 27 United States Heart of Racing Team United Kingdom Ian James
Spain Alex Riberas		 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 85 +2 Laps
Mercedes-Benz M177 4.0 L Turbo V8
10 GTD 39 United States CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing United States Richard Heistand
United States Jeff Westphal		 Audi R8 LMS Evo 85 +2 Laps
Audi 5.2L V10
11 GTD 28 United States Alegra Motorsports Canada Daniel Morad
United States Michael de Quesada		 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 85 +2 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2L V8
12 GTD 19 Austria GRT Grasser Racing Team Canada Misha Goikhberg
France Franck Perera		 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 85 +2 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2L V10
13 GTD 88 United States Team Hardpoint United States Rob Ferriol
United Kingdom Katherine Legge		 Porsche 911 GT3 R 85 +2 Laps
Porsche 4.0L Flat-6
14 GTD 32 United States Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports United States Guy Cosmo
United States Mike Skeen		 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 84 +3 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2L V8
15 GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Bill Auberlen
United States Robby Foley		 BMW M6 GT3 84 +3 Laps
BMW 4.4L Turbo V8
16 GTD 12 United States Vasser Sullivan Racing United States Frankie Montecalvo
United States Zach Veach		 Lexus RC F GT3 83 +4 Laps
Lexus 5.0L V8
17 GTD 44 United States Magnus Racing with Archangel Motorsports United States John Potter
United States Andy Lally		 Acura NSX GT3 Evo 72 Did Not Finish
Acura 3.5L Turbo V6
18 GTD 66 United States Gradient Racing United Kingdom Till Bechtolsheimer
United States Mario Farnbacher		 Acura NSX GT3 Evo 39 Did Not Finish
Acura 3.5L Turbo V6
Source:[25]

Standings after the race
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.


References
  1. Pruett, Marshall (September 9, 2020). "IMSA reveals 2021 WeatherTech Championship calendar". racer.com. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  2. "2021 WeatherTech Championship Schedule Published". dailysportscar.com. September 9, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  3. Lloyd, Daniel (March 4, 2021). "VIR, Petit Dates Changed in Response to Le Mans Clash". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  4. Lloyd, Daniel (March 4, 2021). "24H Le Mans Postponed to August". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  5. Allaway, Phil (March 4, 2021). "IMSA Postpones VIR, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Weekends to Avoid Le Mans Clash". frontstretch.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  6. Dagys, John (September 30, 2021). "Lexus RC F GT3 Gets Weight Break for VIR". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  7. "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. September 29, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  8. Dagys, John (September 29, 2021). "Estre Rejoins WeatherTech Racing; 18 Entries for VIR". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  9. Dagys, John (September 23, 2021). "Alegra Mercedes Set for Return at VIR". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  10. Dagys, John (September 21, 2021). "Skeen Joins Gilbert Korthoff Mercedes Entry for VIR". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  11. Dagys, John (September 29, 2021). "Compass to Forgo Sprint Cup Finale at VIR; Focus on Indy 8H". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  12. Dagys, John (September 28, 2021). "Farnbacher to Fill in for Injured Miller at VIR". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  13. "2021 IMSA Official Schedule and SR VIR 092921 V1" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  14. Kish, Ryan (October 8, 2021). "Estre dominates opening VIR IMSA GT practice". racer.com. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  15. Dagys, John (October 8, 2021). "Estre, Auberlen Pace Opening Practice at VIR". sportscar365.com. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  16. "03_Results_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. October 8, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  17. "06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. October 8, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  18. Malsher-Lopez, David (October 8, 2021). "VIR IMSA: Estre stays top, Hawksworth's Lexus leads GTD". motorsport.com. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  19. Kish, Ryan (October 8, 2021). "Estre, Porsche stay ahead in second VIR practice". racer.com. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  20. "03_Results_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. October 8, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  21. "06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. October 8, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  22. "03_Results_Qualifying-GTD-Points-GTLM-Position-and-Points.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  23. "03_Results_Qualifying-GTD-Position.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  24. "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. October 12, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  25. "03_Results_Race_Unofficial.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
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