Fassnacht Sweeps GT4 Sprint Weekend at VIR

Photo: SRO

Matt Fassnacht has swept the Pirelli GT4 America Sprint weekend at Virginia International Raceway, following victory in Race 2 on Sunday morning.

The Murillo Racing driver benefitted from tire punctures for both Spencer Pumpelly and Jarett Andretti, who had been leading the 50-minute contest, to take the win, which ended under a full-course caution.

Fassnacht assumed the lead with 15 minutes to go when Andretti’s left-front tire went down on his No. 18 Andretti Autosport McLaren 570S GT4, which had led from the start.

The two GT4 Am class cars had been in a close-fought battle for the lead at the time.

A caution for the No. 24 Ian Lacy Racing Ford Mustang GT4 of Frank Gannett, who stopped on track with 7 minutes to go, resulted in the race not restarting due to the cleanup.

The No. 74 Robinson Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R of Gar Robinson finished second, first in GT4 Pro, with Ian James completing the overall podium in third in the No. 50 Panoz Avezzano GT4.

Michael Cooper, meanwhile, came home fourth in the No. 10 Blackdog Speed Shop McLaren GT4, with Shane Lewis completing the top-five in the sister Robinson Camaro GT4.

It was another tough race for Spencer Pumpelly, who entered the VIR weekend as the Pro class points leader.

The TRG driver sustained another left-rear tire puncture while battling for the lead on Lap 8, which damaged the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport’s ABS system and led to an early retirement.

Pumpelly reported he was taking caution of the curbing, which had been attributed to the punctures in Saturday’s race.

SRO America officials installed a tire bundle at Turn 5 on Saturday afternoon in an effort to prevent drivers from hitting the curbing.

No other cars had punctures on Sunday, despite a precautionary stop and tire change for the No. 77 Park Place Motorsports Porsche of Alan Brynjolfsson in the race.

RESULTS: Race 2

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