Porsche dominated the IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship race at Virginia International Raceway, sweeping the top two spots on the podium. Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet were the class of the field and mastered the hot and slippery conditions ahead of teammates Earl Bamber and Jörg Bergmeister.
The winning margin was 27 seconds which illustrates the dominance of Tandy and Pilet in their #911 Porsche. It was also the third GTLM win in a row for the pair.
Tandy led from pole to build a gap before Pilet took over in the middle of the race to extend the lead. Tandy took over at the last pit stop to manage the lead and take the checkered flag.
The Risi Ferrari of Pierre Kaffer and Giancarlo Fisichella finished in third to complete the GTLM and overall podium. The Ferrari was fastest in practice and had the fastest lap of the race, but the Porsches were consistently fast through practice and qualifying and continued their form in the race.
Bamber made a forceful pass to get around Kaffer in the last part of the race to take second. Kaffer and the #912 Porsche have been involved in a lot of close quarters racing recently, but there was contact from Bamber which was a bit rougher than usual.
Tires proved to be a challenge for several top runners, likely due to a combination of hot temperatures, slippery conditions, and individual set-up choices.
The two Corvettes and the #25 white BMW Z4 spent most of the race running together in their own battle. Early in the event, Bill Auberlen had a close dice with Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen before Auberlen spun on his own in turn one. Later on, the co-drivers all had another close race when Dirk Werner, Antonio Garcia and Tommy Milner were driving.
The race result put the pair of BMWs in fourth and fifth with the #3 Corvette in sixth. The Falken Porsche was seventh and the #4 Corvette rounded out the field after needing to make a last lap stop for a splash of fuel. The Corvettes in particular are frustrated with the current adjustment of performance table, with drivers like Tommy Milner saying that they were on the limit in every corner and had nothing else to give.
The win puts Patrick Pilet atop the chart in GTLM for driver season points over the pairs of Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia and Bill Auberlen/Dirk Werner. Porsche further extends its lead in manufacturer points with the win.
“It is easy to look and say it was easy for us, but there has been so much work going on since the end of last year, really – and since the summer break – since we’ve come back,” commented Nick Tandy. “Clearly, we’ve been really strong but the thing is we’ve been executing perfectly. It was tight on a two stop race. We managed the race, managed the tires, managed the fuel. It was a perfect run and when we do this, we always give ourselves a chance.”
Meanwhile, Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell in their Scuderia Corsa Ferrari claimed the GTD win with an extremely strong performance. The Ferrari crossed the line with a 14 second margin over Kuno Wittmer and Christina Nielsen in their TRG Aston Martin. Mario Farnbacher and Ian James in the Alex Job Racing Porsche came home in a very quiet third.
Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke were second in their Paul Miller Audi R8 behind the Ferrari until Haase spun off to drivers’ left into the grass with just under 30 minutes to go heading into the “roller coaster” set of turns. The Audi had become a handful in the middle part of the race. Haase didn’t hit anything, but lost a lot of track position and required a quick pit stop to remove grass from the front grille.
Sweedler put in a very impressive first stint as the Ferrari and Audi stayed within a second of each other for most of the first part of the race. Bell extended the gap through pit stop exchanges, however, and maintained a 10 plus second gap for most of the second half of the race until Haase’s spin.
After the race, Townsend Bell commented “It’s great. We’re coming. It is nice to have a playground where we can play. It’s been a while. The car was perfect all day. How about my teammate Bill Sweedler? He went straight to the front, led the whole time, and then the pressure was on me to keep it up. It was a little difficult on new tires for us with the #48 (Audi) but once we settled into a groove, we had good pace. I’m just so happy for these guys.”
Bill Sweedler echoed the team theme, saying “The Scuderia Corsa team has done a flawless job and frankly that’s what it’s all about. The Ferrari is meant to be driven at VIR. It is high speed. It is undulating.” He further commented on the win, saying: “Awesome run. It feels great, but we want quite a few more. VIR is one of my all-time favorites. I love the track. It is great to win here.”
Markus Palttala and Michael Marsal put their Turner BMW Z4 into fourth, with Palttala registering GTD fast lap of the race. Haase and von Moltke were credited with fifth in their Audi R8 with Leh Keen and Cooper MacNeil close behind with their Porsche in sixth. The Viper of Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen was clearly slowed by the recent adjustment of performance changes and was a second off a lap at most points during the race, resulting in a seventh place finish.
The #73 Park Place Porsche and #44 Magnus Porsche both suffered with mechanical problems. The Park Place car struggled with overheating/cooling issues and the Magnus car had a difficult setup issue that strained the tires.
GTD points-leader Christina Nielsen extended her points lead with the second place finish. The duo of Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell moved into second ahead of the Paul Miller Racing Audi team who missed an opportunity to gain ground with another difficult finish.
Nielsen continues her championship focus. She commented that “We showed that consistency is the key. We finished second again. I’m focusing on this championship. It was just a pleasure to drive. It is my first time racing at VIR and I consider myself lucky to be in the position I am. We’re fighting for that championship.”
There were no safety car periods, so no full course yellow interruptions. There was a bit of side to side contact here and there – Auberlen and Gavin early in the race in their BMW and Corvette and Bamber and Kaffer later in the race in their Porsche and Ferrari, respectively. However, there were no major incidents.
The IMSA TUSCC circus packs up and heads to Austin to run at the Circuit of the Americas on September 17-19. All four classes will be in action. Spectators will also see the World Endurance Championship in Austin, so it should be quite a weekend.
Kevin Ehrlich
