The 2018 Oak Tree Grand Prix 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 August 19, 2018. The race was the tenth round of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017. [1] It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2018 Oak Tree Grand Prix was the tenth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and was the seventh round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. [2] The race was held at the ten-turn 3.270 mi (5.263 km) Virginia International Raceway on August 19, 2018. [1] 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. [2]
After the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase 2 weeks earlier, Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 241 points, ahead Antonio García and Jan Magnussen with 237 points, and Joey Hand and Dirk Müller with 232 points. [3] With 250 points, the GTD Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with an eighteen-point advantage over Katherine Legge with 232 points. [3] Ford and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships. [3]
On August 13, 2018, IMSA issued the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event. [4] In GTD, the Ferrari 488 GT3 received a reduction in turbo boost and a fuel capacity reduction of 2 liters. No changes were made in GTLM.
A total of 18 cars took part in the event split across 2 classes. 8 cars were entered in GTLM, and 10 in GTD. [5] In GTD, Park Place Motorsports and Squadra Corse Garage Italia were absent. Gunnar Jeannette substituted for Alessandro Pier Guidi in the Scuderia Corsa #63 entry due to a clash with the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Silverstone. Mario Farnbacher substituted for Álvaro Parente returned to the Meyer Shank Racing #86 entry.
There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third on Saturday morning lasted an hour. [6]
The first practice session took place at 11:45 am ET on Friday and ended with Richard Westbrook topping the charts for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, with a lap time of 1:42.627. [7]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Richard Westbrook | 1:42.627 | _ |
| 2 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Earl Bamber | 1:42.761 | +0.134 |
| 3 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Joey Hand | 1:42.793 | +0.166 |
| Source: [8] | ||||||
The second practice session took place at 4:25 pm ET on Friday and ended with Antonio García topping the charts for Corvette Racing, with a lap time of 1:41.743. [9]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Antonio García | 1:41.743 | _ |
| 2 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe | 1:42.262 | +0.519 |
| 3 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Tommy Milner | 1:42.351 | +0.608 |
| Source: [10] | ||||||
The third and final practice session took place at 8:35 am ET on Saturday and ended with Tommy Milner topping the charts for Corvette Racing, with a lap time of 1:41.205. [11]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Tommy Milner | 1:41.205 | _ |
| 2 | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL | Connor De Phillippi | 1:41.448 | +0.243 |
| 3 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Earl Bamber | 1:41.512 | +0.307 |
| Source: [12] | ||||||
Saturday afternoon's 40-minute qualifying session was divided into two groups. [6] Both categories had 15-minute individual sessions, and regulations stipulated teams to nominate a single driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order with the grid arranged to put the GTLM cars ahead of all GTD entries. [13]
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
By finishing second place in the race, García and Magnussen took the lead of the GTLM Drivers' Championship. [16] The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 275 points, 13 points ahead of Legge. [16] Ford and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Corvette Racing took the lead of the GTLM Teams' Championship. Paul Miller Racing kept their advantage in the GTD Teams' Championship with two rounds remaining. [16]
Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.
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