18 Entries for VIR as Magnus, Hardpoint Commit

Magnus Racing and Team Hardpoint have joined the GT Daytona class field for next weekend’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway.

The addition of two teams that participated in earlier IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rounds this year has bolstered the grid for the GT-only encounter to 13 cars in GTD and 18 in total.

Magnus Racing’s No. 44 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 will be driven by Andy Lally and John Potter, while Katherine Legge and Rob Ferriol are due to share Hardpoint’s No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Magnus is primarily competing in the Michelin Endurance Cup, but VIR will mark its first sprint race appearance of the season.

Hardpoint, meanwhile, has contested the long-distance events as well as the shorter rounds at Long Beach and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in April and May.

The only driver change in the GTD class is Jules Gounon’s return to the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, alongside team regular Cooper MacNeil.

As part of a rotating lineup strategy, Daniel Juncadella partnered MacNeil last time out at Road America, while the Spaniard’s fellow TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa winner Gounon is returning to the cockpit after contesting the preceding race at Lime Rock Park.

There are no tweaks in the five-car GTD Pro category, with the usual full-time driver pairings from Corvette Racing, Pfaff Motorsports, Vasser Sullivan, The Heart of Racing and BMW Team RLL all shown on the VIR entry list.

The 2-hour, 40-minute Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is the second GT-only race of the season after Lime Rock and stands as the final round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup.