The 2019 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 August 25, 2019. The race was the tenth round of the 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the sixth round of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet won the race overall in the #911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR leading home a 1-2 for Porsche who clinched the GTLM manufactures championship. In GTD, the #33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports of Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen took their first win of the season. [1]
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2018. [2] It was the sixth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2019 Oak Tree Grand Prix was the tenth of twelve sports car races of 2019 by IMSA, and it was the sixth of seven rounds held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. [3] The race was held at the seventeen-turn 3.270 mi (5.263 km) Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on August 25, 2019. [4] As in previous years, it would be the second of two GT-only rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, in which only the GTLM and GTD classes competed. [5]
On August 15, 2019, IMSA released a technical bulletin regarding the Balance of Performance for the race. In GT Le Mans, The Ford GT received a 5 kilogram weight increase, and gained 10 horsepower. The BMW M8 GTE received a 6.5 horsepower reduction and fuel capacity reduction of 1 liter. In GTD, the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo and Ferrari 488 GT3 were given weight reductions of 20 and 10 kilograms respectively, while the McLaren 720S GT3 got a fuel capacity reduction of 4 liters. [6]
Before the race, Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 248 points, 14 points ahead of Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy in second followed by Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook with 230 points in third. [7] In GTD, Mario Farnbacher and Trent Hindman led the Drivers' Championship with 209 points; the duo held a thirty-six point advantage over Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley in second. [7] Porsche an Acura were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche GT Team and Meyer Shank Racing each led their own Teams' Championships. [7]
A total of 21 cars took part in the event split across two classes. 8 cars were entered in GTLM, and 13 in GTD. In GTD, Scott Hargrove returned to Pfaff Motorsports after Dennis Olsen and Matt Campbell filled in the previous two rounds. [8] Due to a scheduling conflict for Christina Nielsen, who was at Suzuka International Racing Course for the Suzuka 10 Hours, was replaced by Alice Powell. [9] Starworks Motorsport withdrew from the event following continued performance issues with its Audi R8 after competing at Road America. [10] No changes happened in GTLM.
Laurens Vanthoor took overall pole for the event, while Zacharie Robichon was quickest in GTD. [11]
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GTLM | 912 | Porsche GT Team | Laurens Vanthoor | 1.40.630 | _ | 1 ‡ |
2 | GTLM | 3 | Corvette Racing | Jan Magnussen | 1.40.708 | +0.078 | 2 |
3 | GTLM | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Ryan Briscoe | 1.40.786 | +0.156 | 3 |
4 | GTLM | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Racing | Joey Hand | 1.40.956 | +0.326 | 4 |
5 | GTLM | 4 | Corvette Racing | Oliver Gavin | 1.41.578 | +0.948 | 5 |
6 | GTLM | 911 | Porsche GT Team | Nick Tandy | 1.41.615 | +0.985 | 6 |
7 | GTLM | 24 | BMW Team RLL | John Edwards | 1.41.703 | +1.073 | 7 |
8 | GTLM | 25 | BMW Team RLL | Connor De Phillippi | 1.41.772 | +1.772 | 8 |
9 | GTD | 9 | Pfaff Motorsports | Zacharie Robichon | 1.45.826 | +5.196 | 9‡ |
10 | GTD | 12 | AIM Vasser Sullivan | Frankie Montecalvo | 1.46.150 | +5.520 | 10 |
11 | GTD | 14 | AIM Vasser Sullivan | Richard Heistand | 1.46.524 | +5.894 | 11 |
12 | GTD | 86 | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian | Trent Hindman | 1.46.697 | +6.067 | 12 |
13 | GTD | 57 | Heinricher Racing w/Meyer Shank Racing | Alice Powell | 1.48.159 | +7.529 | 13 |
14 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Robby Foley | 1.48.398 | +7.768 | 14 |
15 | GTD | 33 | Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports | Ben Keating | 1.48.476 | +7.846 | 15 |
16 | GTD | 44 | Magnus Racing | John Potter | 1.48.567 | +7.937 | 16 |
17 | GTD | 48 | Paul Miller Racing | Corey Lewis | 1.51.132 | +10.502 | 17 1 |
18 | GTD | 63 | Scuderia Corsa | Cooper MacNeil | 1.53.823 | +13.193 | 18 2 |
19 | GTD | 76 | Compass Racing | Matt Plumb | 1.54.213 | +13.583 | 19 3 |
20 | GTD | 74 | Lone Star Racing | Gar Robinson | 1.56.054 | +15.424 | 20 4 |
21 | GTD | 73 | Park Place Motorsports | Patrick Lindsey | 1.56.158 | +15.528 | 21 5 |
Sources: [12] [13] | |||||||
The final results of GTLM kept Bamber and Vanthoor atop the Drivers' Championship with 280 points, but their advantage had been reduced by three as the victory of Pilet and Tandy meant the two drivers were eleven points behind. García and Magnussen's strong result allowed the duo to move into third while Briscoe and Westbrook fell to fourth as a result of finishing in fifth place. [19] The final results of GTD meant Farnbacher and Hindman extended their advantage to 37 points as Robichon took over second position. Montecalvo and Bell advanced from fifth to fourth while Auberlen and Foley dropped from second to third. [19] Porsche and Acura continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche GT Team and Meyer Shank Racing kept their respective advantages in their Teams' Championships with two rounds left in the season. [19]
Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.
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