The Two Drivers Have Dominated LMP3 Competition in the Development Series’ First Season
By Mark Robinson
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BRASELTON, Ga. – Considering they’ve combined to win nine of the 10 races thus far in the 2023 VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, it’s no surprise that Bijoy Garg and Dan Goldburg will battle it out this week at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta to determine the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class champion in the debut season of the IMSA sprint series.
Garg swept the last two doubleheader rounds and won six races overall to push his way into the LMP3 lead in the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320. With three victories, Goldburg (No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08) trails by just 90 points heading into the 45-minute races Thursday and Friday on Michelin Raceway’s speedy 2.54-mile, 12-turn road course.
With nine LMP3s on the entry list and the potential for as much as a 130-point swing for each race, nothing is guaranteed. Even though he’s the leader, Garg doesn’t plan on changing the hard-charging strategy that’s put him in front.
“Honestly, not really,” the 21-year-old Californian said. “You extend the points lead by winning races so that’s always been our goal and will continue to be our goal this weekend. We had a good test here and should be good for two wins.”
Garg is excelling in his first year racing sports cars after spending the past few seasons in junior open-wheel machines. Like Goldburg, he will also drive in Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but he’d love nothing more than to secure the VP Racing Challenge title in its inaugural season.
“It would mean quite a bit to me,” he said. “Obviously, there can only be one first winner of this series. Yeah, it’s a pretty big deal for me to win this in my first year of sports car racing. I think I’ve showed quite a bit of improvement this year, so I think it would be the perfect thing to cap off the year.”
As the chaser, Goldburg realizes he can control only so much as he tries to chase down Garg.
“Leading the championship at the mid-season point, I definitely got excited that an overall championship was possible,” said Goldburg, who has already locked up the VP Racing Challenge Bronze-rated LMP3 drivers’ title. “But I give credit to Bijoy for really improving as the season progressed; he’s been quite strong in the second half of the season. It will take a near-perfect performance from me and the team, and some luck, to come out on top overall. I will focus on my own performance and give it my all, and the rest we just have to see what happens!”
Selldorff on Verge of Clinching GSX Championship
In the GSX class for GT4-spec cars, Francis Selldorff can clinch the championship by finishing seventh or better in both races. The driver of the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 (G82) has just one win but hasn’t placed lower than fourth in the last six races.
Selldorff holds a 230-point lead on Sebastian Carazo in the No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport. Carazo is still in search of his first GSX win but his five podium finishes this season are tied for the most in class.
The VP Racing Challenge will conduct two practice sessions on Wednesday, ahead of qualifying at 8:55 a.m. ET Thursday. Race 1 starts at 4:40 p.m. Thursday, with Race 2 at 9:25 a.m. Friday. Both races stream live on Peacock in the U.S. and on IMSA.com internationally.