2022 GT Challenge at VIR
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.
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Background
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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.[1] After the previous years edition was moved to October, the race returned to its traditional date of August.[2][3]
The #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.
Entries
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.[4] 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.
Practice
Practice 1
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.[5]
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:[6] | ||||||
Practice 2
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.[7]
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:[8] | ||||||
Qualifying
Ross Gunn took overall pole for Heart of Racing Team, while Russell Ward and Winward Racing scored pole in GTD.[9]
Qualifying results
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 García | 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:[10][11] | |||||||
Results
Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.
Standings after the race
Drivers
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
Teams
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
Manufacturers
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
References
- Ryan, Nate (August 28, 2022). "IMSA SportsCar Championship at VIR: How to watch, TV, start times, streaming, entry list". motorsports.nbcsports.com. NBC. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- Dagys, John (August 6, 2021). "CTMP to Return in Largely Unchanged 2022 Schedule". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- Allaway, Phil (August 6, 2021). "IMSA Reveals 2022 Schedules, Changes". frontstretch.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- Lloyd, Daniel (August 17, 2022). "18 Entries for VIR as Magnus, Hardpoint Commit". sportscar365.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- Lopez, David (August 26, 2022). "VIR IMSA: BMW and Mercedes lead first practice". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- "03_Results_Practice 201.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 26, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- Dagys, John (August 27, 2022). "Hawksworth Quickest in Second Practice at VIR". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- "03_Results_Practice 202.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 27, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- "Gunn Scores Pole At VIR For Heart Of Racing". dailysportscar.com. August 28, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- "03_Results_Qualifying.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
- "01_Grid_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- "03_Results_Race_Unofficial.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. Retrieved July 3, 2023.