The 2022 GT Challenge at VIR (known as the 2022 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR for sponsorship reasons) 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 28, 2022. The race was the eleventh round of the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the eighth round of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021. [1] It was the ninth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2022 GT Challenge at VIR was the eleventh of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2022 by IMSA , and it was the last of eight rounds 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 on August 28, 2022. [3]
As in previous years, it would be the second of two GT-only rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, in which only the GTD Pro and GTD classes competed. [4] After the previous years edition was moved to October, the race returned to its traditional date of August. [5] [6]
The No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports entry entered the event as defending GTD-class winners, while the GTD Pro class would compete at Virginia International Raceway for the first time in class history.
Before the race, Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet led the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 2793 points; the duo held a 227 point lead over Ben Barnicoat. [7] With 2329 points, Stevan McAleer led the GTD Drivers' Championship by 36 points over Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen in second while Roman De Angelis was third with 2285 points. [7] Porsche and BMW were leading their respective Manufactures' Championships while Pfaff Motorsports and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports each led their own Teams' Championships. [7]
A total of 18 cars took part in the event split across two classes. 5 cars were entered in GTD Pro and 13 in GTD. [8] In GTD, Magnus Racing and Team Hardpoint made their first appearances since the Watkins Glen round. Jules Gounon joined Cooper MacNeil in the WeatherTech Racing entry. No changes happened in GTD Pro.
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday; one on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session on Friday afternoon ran for 60 minutes while the second session on Saturday morning lasted 90 minutes. [9]
The first practice session took place at 3:50 pm ET on Friday and ended with Connor De Phillippi topping the charts for BMW M Team RLL, with a lap time of 1:45.196. [10]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTD Pro | 25 | BMW M Team RLL | Connor De Phillippi | 1:45.196 | _ |
| 2 | GTD | 32 | Team Korthoff Motorsports | Mike Skeen | 1:45.348 | +0.152 |
| 3 | GTD | 16 | Wright Motorsports | Jan Heylen | 1:45.390 | +0.194 |
| Source: [11] | ||||||
The second and final practice session took place at 10:40 am ET on Saturday and ended with Jack Hawksworth topping the charts for Vasser Sullivan Racing, with a lap time of 1:43.984. [12]
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTD Pro | 14 | Vasser Sullivan Racing | Jack Hawksworth | 1:43.984 | _ |
| 2 | GTD | 51 | Rick Ware Racing | Aidan Read | 1:44.518 | +0.534 |
| 3 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Bill Auberlen | 1:44.610 | +0.626 |
| Source: [13] | ||||||
Saturday's afternoon qualifying was broken into one session for the GTD Pro and GTD classes, which lasted for 15 minutes. [9] The rules dictated that all teams nominated a driver to qualify their cars, with the Pro-Am (GTD) class requiring a Bronze/Silver Rated Driver to qualify the car. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order. [14]
Ross Gunn took overall pole for Heart of Racing Team, while Russell Ward and Winward Racing scored pole in GTD. [15]
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.
| Pos. | Class | No. | Team | Driver | Time | Gap | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTD Pro | 23 |  Heart of Racing Team |  Ross Gunn | 1:43.953 | _ | 1‡ |
| 2 | GTD Pro | 3 | Corvette Racing |  Antonio Garcia | 1:44.667 | +0.714 | 2 |
| 3 | GTD Pro | 9 |  Pfaff Motorsports |  Matt Campbell | 1:44.719 | +0.766 | 3 |
| 4 | GTD Pro | 25 | BMW M Team RLL | Connor De Phillippi | 1:44.791 | +0.838 | 4 |
| 5 | GTD Pro | 14 | Vasser Sullivan Racing | Jack Hawksworth | 1:44.890 | +0.937 | 5 |
| 6 | GTD | 57 | Winward Racing | Russell Ward | 1:45.010 | +1.057 | 6‡ |
| 7 | GTD | 51 | Rick Ware Racing | Aidan Read | 1:45.077 | +1.124 | 7 |
| 8 | GTD | 1 | Paul Miller Racing | Madison Snow | 1:45.081 | +1.128 | 8 |
| 9 | GTD | 39 | CarBahn with Peregrine Racing | Robert Megennis | 1:45.155 | +1.202 | 9 |
| 10 | GTD | 32 | Team Korthoff Motorsports | Mike Skeen | 1:45.328 | +1.375 | 10 |
| 11 | GTD | 27 | Heart of Racing Team | Roman De Angelis | 1:45.402 | +1.449 | 11 |
| 12 | GTD | 96 | Turner Motorsport | Robby Foley | 1:45.490 | +1.537 | 12 |
| 13 | GTD | 12 | Vasser Sullivan Racing | Frankie Montecalvo | 1:45.830 | +1.877 | 13 |
| 14 | GTD | 42 | NTE Sport/SSR | Jaden Conwright | 1:45.965 | +2.012 | 14 |
| 15 | GTD | 79 | WeatherTech Racing | Cooper MacNeil | 1:46.648 | +2.695 | 15 |
| 16 | GTD | 16 | Wright Motorsports | Ryan Hardwick | 1:46.763 | +2.810 | 16 |
| 17 | GTD | 99 | Team Hardpoint | Rob Ferriol | 1:47.266 | +3.313 | 17 |
| 18 | GTD | 44 | Magnus Racing | John Potter | 1:47.905 | +3.952 | 18 |
| Sources: [16] [17] | |||||||
With 3173 points, Campbell and Jaminet's victory allowed them to extend their advantage to 265 points as García and Taylor took over second position in the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship. [18] As a result of finishing second place, De Angelis took the lead of the GTD Drivers' Championship with 2630 points while McAleer dropped to second. Ellis and Ward jumped to fourth after being sixth coming into Virginia International Raceway. [18] Porsche and BMW continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Pfaff Motorsports kept their advantage in the GTD Pro Teams' Championship. Heart of Racing Team took the lead of the GTD Teams' Championship with 1 round remaining. [18]
Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.
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