Vanthoor Leads Porsche 1-2 in Opening Practice at VIR

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Laurens Vanthoor led a Porsche sweep of the top two positions in opening practice for this weekend’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway

The defending IMSA GT Le Mans class champion reeled off a 1:41.550 lap to go quickest in the 60-minute scheduled session.

The No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR-19 was 0.386 seconds faster than the sister car of Nick Tandy, who heads into the VIR weekend as the defending race winner.

Antonio Garcia, who won last time out with Jordan Taylor in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, was third quickest, followed by the No. 4 Corvette of Tommy Milner in fourth.

A cracked fuel line for the No. 3 car saw it complete only 12 laps in the session.

The Porsches and Corvettes led the way despite both receiving 20 kg increases in minimum weight, in the latest round of Balance of Performance adjustments.

The pair of Team RLL BMW M8 GTEs, which have lost 5 kg this weekend, brought up the rear of the six-car class.

Lexus Quickest Again in GTD

Jack Hawksworth led the way in GT Daytona, thanks to a 1:45.264 lap time in his championship-leading Lexus RC F GT3 from AIM Vasser Sullivan.

The Briton was 0.076 seconds quicker than the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Patrick Long, who was second on the class time sheets.

The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo of Bryan Sellers, in the team’s return to the series for the first time since winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona, was third quickest.

It was the only Lamborghini to set a time after the No. 44 GRT Magnus entry struggled with electrical issues according to IMSA Radio’s Shea Adam.

The session was halted with 4 minutes to go for an accident by the No. 23 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Roman De Angelis, who went off in Turn 4.

Practice 2 is set to get underway at 12 p.m. ET.

RESULTS: Practice 1

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John