GSX Takes Spotlight in Standalone Round at VIR

GSX competitors will have the spotlight to themselves in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge action this week, with a pair of 45-minute sprint races at Virginia International Raceway.

A total of eight GT4-spec cars are set to do battle over the course of the two 45-minute races.

Class championship leader Westin Workman will look to get back on track after his first defeat of the season came at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The driver of the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 swept sprint weekends at Daytona International Speedway, Circuit of The Americas and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and captured a seventh straight win to open the year at CTMP.

Workman appeared poised to complete another sweep north of the border as he led the first two laps in Round 8. But mechanical issues stymied him and opened the door for a new winner to deny driver No. 8 win number eight of the season.

Ismaeel Ellahi took the spoils in his new No. 25 CSM Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo, holding off Courtney Crone in her No. 35 CarBahn Motorsports BMW M4 GT4 EVO who pushed for the bulk of the race. Ellahi graduates to Michelin Pilot Challenge with CSM this weekend.

Although Workman lost his shot at a perfect season in GSX, he still holds a comfortable 400-point lead over Crone. It’s unlikely Workman will be able to clinch the title early at VIR, but he has one hand firmly on the season-long championship title.

The other key battle of note is in the GSX Bronze Cup, which sees three drivers covered by just 40 points. Dan Ammann (No. 91 VRC Motorsports Group, LLC Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport) leads Rafa Martinez (No. 68 RAFA Toyota) by 30 points and Jon Brel (No. 81 Kingpin Racing Toyota) by 40.

Full-timers Ammann and Brel secured their first Bronze wins of the season at CTMP, bucking an unusual run where part-time GSX entries swept the first six races of the year.

LMP3 competitors raced separately at Virginia International Raceway as part of the Airbnb Endurance Challenge in June. Ari Balogh and Garett Grist claimed the overall win in their No. 30 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325 Toyota.

VP Racing Challenge competitors practice twice and qualify on Friday. The first race is Saturday at 12:20 p.m. EST with the second on Sunday at 8:40 a.m. Races stream live on Peacock and the IMSA Official YouTube channel.