Race 1
The action came early and fast in the debut race of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge on Saturday. Once things settled into a rhythm, Dan Goldburg and Billy Griffin logged their names into the record book as first-ever race winners in their classes.
Dan Goldburg capitalized on a first-lap, first-turn miscue by pole sitter Bijoy Garg to take the overall and Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class lead that he never surrendered. Griffin, pole sitter in the GSX class, lost his lead on the opening lap but recovered the top spot on Lap 3 and never looked back.
Goldburg, driving the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08, started second in the 45-minute sprint race but had to check up when Garg locked up the brakes on his No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 heading into Turn 1 of the road course that leads to the infield section at Daytona International Speedway. Lance Willsey snuck briefly ahead in the No. 30 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier until Goldburg recovered and took the lead for good midway through the opening lap.
“Coming into (Turn) 1, it seemed like Bijoy was braking kind of in a weird spot,” Goldburg said. “He didn’t take the natural line so I was immediately a little cautious. I was just playing it safe and took it out wide and around, and then Lance got through.
“I was able to get by him pretty quick and then just put my head down and tried to build a gap. This is really special to be here in Daytona victory lane. It’s quite a spot! I couldn’t be happier.”
Brian Thienes finished second in the No. 77 US RaceTronics Ligier, 22.808 seconds behind Goldburg. Garg recovered after falling to the back of the field following the opening-lap spin to finish third.
In the GSX class for GT4-specification cars, Griffin started first in the No. 14 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 but fell to third on the opening lap. He rebounded just as quickly, going from third to first on Lap 3 with the help of a spin by Sebastian Carazo in the No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport that was running second.
Like Goldburg in LMP3, once Griffin snatched first place in GSX, he led the rest of the way and finished 12.717 seconds ahead of Moisey Uretsky in the No. 44 Accelerating Performance Aston Martin Vantage GT4. It culminated an amazing day for Griffin, making his debut in any IMSA series.
“It’s unbelievable, it’s an absolute dream come true for me,” the resident of Jupiter, Florida, said. “It’s been a dream come true just to get to IMSA alone, let alone getting pole and to win the first race ever in GSX. I was really glad that IMSA came up with this sprint-race challenge series.”
Patrick Wilmot crossed the finish line third in GSX, in the No. 88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW M4 GT4, but the car was found to have suspension components in conflict with GSX technical regulations during postrace inspection and moved to the rear of the class. That moved the No. 25 Auto Technic Racing BMW driven by Rob Walker to third in the GSX provisional results.
Goldburg and Griffin would start from their respective pole positions in Race 2 on Sunday.
Race 2
They took different paths, but Dan Goldburg and Billy Griffin completed weekend victory sweeps Sunday in the debut of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. Goldburg cruised to a dominant win in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class while Griffin battled from behind to triumph in the GSX class for GT4-spec cars.
Both drivers started from their respective pole positions in the 45-minute race. Goldburg, in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08, was hounded by Bijoy Garg in the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 until Garg spun in the Le Mans Chicane while working through lapped traffic with 15 minutes remaining. Relieved of that pressure, Goldburg went on to win by 9.739 seconds over Brian Thienes in the No. 77 US RaceTronics Ligier.
As he did in Saturday’s first race, Griffin took a patient approach and relinquished the GSX lead on the opening lap to avoid potential confrontations. Dropping to third place in the No. 14 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4, Griffin bided his time before overtaking Sebastian Carazo (No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport) for the lead on the tri-oval section of Daytona International Speedway with seven minutes to go. Griffin pulled away to win by 3.735 seconds over Carazo.
Goldburg credited his LMP3 experience, three previous years overall, including 10 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races in the past two seasons, with his success negotiating slower traffic that led to the two VP Racing Challenge wins.
“I think the key was running WeatherTech last year and learning how to manage GT traffic,” said the 44-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida. “That came in really handy today.
“I like having the traffic to work with. I had good success last year in WeatherTech with it, so I like it. There’s definitely a big enough gap between the speeds of the (LMP3 and GSX) cars that’s manageable and can be used well. It’s good.”
It was that traffic and over-aggressive driving in his class that Griffin was on the lookout for in his bid to repeat as the GSX winner, and it wound up costing a pair of contenders. He and Carazo were locked in an intense four-car battle with Moisey Uretsky (No. 44 Accelerating Performance Aston Martin Vantage GT4) and Patrick Wilmot (No. 88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW M4 GT4) when Uretsky and Wilmot tangled in Turn 3 of the infield section with 14 minutes remaining.
Wilmot’s BMW sustained significant damage and retired. Uretsky was assessed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility and taken out of contention, leaving Griffin and Carazo to battle it out for the win.
“I lost the lead (on Lap 1) again because of aggressiveness and the way they were crowding in there but was able to regroup,” Griffin said. “I knew that the patience thing was going to pay off for me in the long run. I really just took my time and let the battle happen.”
Griffin got a run on Carazo through Turns 3 and 4 of the Daytona oval and made the decisive pass as they crossed the start-finish line.
“I made the move, it worked … and I was able to check away,” the Venice, Florida, resident and IMSA newcomer added. “It’s an amazing feeling; thrilled to death. Definitely a lifelong dream come true.”
