The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) raced at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) this past weekend, in the only race in the series that features only the GTD Pro and GTD classes. It ended up being a great weekend for Paul Miller Racing, who scored the overall and GTD Pro class win, while Turner Motorsport also put in a top five performance in the GTD class.
The Paul Miller Racing team set the tone for the weekend in practice and qualifying. Madison Snow was quickest in the first practice in the #1 M4 GT3 and was the only driver to set a lap time below 1:44, with a 1:43.561. Snow bested that time in qualifying with a 1:43.206, which set a new class record at VIR. Patrick Gallagher also put in a strong GTD class qualifying effort in the #96 Turner Motorsport M4 GT3, slotting into fifth with a 1:44.392, just a half-second off the time of the pole-sitting #55 Ford Mustang GT3.
On race day, Snow controlled the race from the start, staying in first place and holding that position through his entire stint before handing it off to co-driver Bryan Sellers. Sellers ran in second for his stint behind the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, but the Paul Miller Racing team put in a great pit stop to put Snow back in front after a second pit stop. The field was bunched up with the only full-course caution of the race with 34 minutes to go, but Snow was able to retain the lead and put a gap between him and the second place Ford Mustang to take the win.
The win at VIR was the first in GTD Pro for Paul Miller Racing and their first of the year, and it seems the team has turned a corner after finishing on the podium in the last race at Road America. “The race win means so much to every person on the team,” said Bryan Sellers. “Taking on GTD Pro has been a huge challenge for everyone involved, and it’s no secret that it hasn’t been easy for us. Everyone has been working hard, and we’ve been making progress, and I think we took a massive step forward this weekend, so it’s great to see that effort rewarded.”
Turner Motorsport also put in a strong race after starting from sixth, running in the top five and getting up to fourth with Robby Foley in the car, before contact with the championship-leading Mercedes dropped Foley to fifth with ten minutes left. The Turner duo of Patrick Gallagher and Robby Foley are in second place in the GTD driver standings, but it’s going to be nearly impossible to catch the leading Winward Racing Mercedes that has scored four wins this season. “Obviously, I’d love to win every race, but a top five finish today feels like a win because this class is ultra-competitive,” said team owner Will Turner. “This is the best result we could have had with the way it shook out today with very few yellows.”
Next up for the IWSC is the 6-hour “Battle on the Bricks” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 19th-22nd, followed by the 10-hour Petit Le Mans finale at Road Atlanta on October 9th-12th. —David Haueter
[Photos courtesy LAT Images]