Breakthroughs and Milestones from VIR

Breakthroughs and Milestones from VIR

The summer break came to a close as the Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS field took over VIRginia International Raceway for the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2024 championship season. Teams across both the Pro and Pro-Am classes wasted no time getting back up to speed as they provided endless action across the rollercoaster-esque track, with new winners and dominant performances emerging in the process.

In the Global Manufacturers Championship, Porsche has taken a substantial lead following this past weekend’s events at VIR and the Hockenheimring, now sitting at a total of 11,297 points. Comparatively, Mercedes-AMG retained second in the standings with 10,918 points. Ferrari has now moved up into the Top 3 with 10,273 points.

  • DXDT Racing extended their winning streak as Tommy Milner and Alec Udell added two more back-to-back victories in the Pro class to their tally in the No. 63 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
  • There were a number of firsts in the Pro-Am class. Notably, Kyle Washington and Tom Sargent clinched their first victory of the season for the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R, taking the class win Race 1 in thrilling fashion. 
  • In Race 2, it was Regulator Racing’s Jeff Burton and Phillip Ellis who stole the show in the No. 91 Mercedes-AMG GT3 as the duo secured the overall win, marking the first time this feat has been achieved by a Pro-Am entry in 2024. 
  • They also earned the SUPER FUEL Hard Charger award in the process as they gained 10 positions overall.
  • Philip Ellis set the fastest laps in both races, with a time of 1:46.276 in Race 1, followed by a flying lap time of 1:46.959 in Race 2 in hotter temperatures. DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell was the only other driver on the grid to set a racing lap under the 1:47 mark. 
  • It was a successful weekend for RS1 as well, with Pro driver pairing Spencer Pumpelly and Trent Hindman taking home a third-place finish in Race 1, followed by a second-place result in Race 2 in the No. 85 Porsche 992 GT3 R.
  • Wright Motorsports also claimed a second-place finish, with Adam Adelson and Elliott Skeer stepping on the podium in Race 1. The drivers of the No. 120 Porsche 992 GT3 R continued to retain their championship lead in the Pro class, leaving VIR with a total of 152 points.
  • In Pro-Am, ST Racing extended their championship lead as Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen drove their No. 38 BMW M4 GT3 to back-to-back second place finishes.

  • DXDT Racing also secured their first podium of the season in the Pro-Am class as Bryan Sellers and Scott Smithson co-drove their No. 08 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R to third in Race 2.  
  • A total of 38 laps were completed in Race 1 due to full course caution running, with Race 2 totaling 48 laps under mostly green flag running. 
  • The series will return for the ninth and tenth rounds of the 2024 season at Road America from August 16th to 18th. The series eagerly awaits its return to Wisconsin, kicking off the action with a full field GT parade through the streets of downtown Elkhart Lake, Thursday August 15 at 5:00pm CT. Tickets and packages are available for purchase now!