Continental Tire Keys to the Race: VIR

Race: Michelin GT Challenge at VIR

Track: Virginia International Raceway

Length: 2 hours and 40 minutes

Entries: 25 cars spread across two classes: 9 cars (GTLM), 16 cars (GTD)

Schedule:

Friday, Aug. 25 (all times ET)
Practice 1 – 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Practice 2 – 4:10 – 5:10 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 26
Practice 3 – 8:45 – 9:45 a.m.
Qualifying – 12:20 – 1 p.m.
CTSC Race – 2:10 – 4:10 p.m. (2 hours)

Sunday,  Aug. 27
Warmup – 8:20 – 8:40 a.m.
Race –  1:35 – 4:15 p.m. (2 hours, 40 minutes)

Previous Winners: Porsche North America (GTLM), Scuderia Corsa (GTD)

Previous Polesitters: Nick Tandy (GTLM), Dion von Moltke (GTD)

Driver Insight: “The layout at VIR is an excellent track that makes you feel like you’re really driving somewhere when you’re going around. It feels like someone just meandered through some fields on a tractor to plan the layout. The result is a great combination of technical corners and flowing, high-speed sections with over 130 feet of elevation change. There is plenty of runoff area for the drivers to work with, but all of that beautiful grass proved to be an issue last year for many people that went off course and then had to pit to clean out the grill to avoid overheating. There are also many curbs that we have to use to improve lap times, but they can cause problems if taken too aggressively when the air pressures in our Continental tires are too low.” – Mike Skeen, No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3

Drive Times: Minimum: 45 minutes for GTD; Base Driving Time: 10 minutes for GTLM; Maximum: None

Tires: Continental Tire “Black” for GTD; open tires for GTLM.

Pit Stops: 55-60 minutes for GTLM, GTD

Weather: Partly Cloudy, High: 78 F, 20 percent chance of rain

TV: Sunday Aug. 27, 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET (Live, FS1)

Radio: Complete session-by-session coverage on IMSA Radio

Spotter’s Guide: Click Here