Wild Michelin Pilot Challenge Races Have Occurred the Last Three Years at VIR
By Tony DiZinno
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix at VIRginia International Raceway isn’t the deciding race of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season. But for the last three years, it’s been one of the wildest races on the calendar.
A thoroughly epic scrap took place in Touring Car (TCR) in 2024 between Karl Wittmer and Tyler Gonzalez, ending with Wittmer’s No. 93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR just ahead of Gonzalez’s No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR following a brilliant outside-inside pass of the 20-year-old. Grand Sport (GS) was a fuel-mileage affair captured by BGB Motorsports’ Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.
A year earlier in 2023, a GS dice went front-and-center with a three-car, one-lap dash that ended with a clash. Robin Liddell’s No. 71 Rebel Rock Racing Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R took the win with Frank DePew, ultimately the last for that car before the team switched to Aston Martin ahead of the 2024 Michelin Pilot Challenge season. TCR saw the Unitronic/JDC-Miller MotorSports Audi RS3 LMS TCR win ahead of the Bryan Herta Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian Hyundai armada, led by Robert Wickens and Harry Gottsacker.
And in 2022, to keep up the craziness, Joey Hand made a last lap pass for the win in GS after then-leader, Scott Andrews, ran out of fuel on the final lap. Hand did so despite braking issues in his No. 40 PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4. Eventual champions Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis won in TCR for their first win of the season.
The post-script for the 2023 and 2024 VIR wins was fascinating in the following races.
The MMG Honda win in 2024 was the last for the brand in TCR before Hyundai reeled off six straight TCR wins – two to end 2024 and the first four of 2025 – until the No. 93 Honda recaptured the checked flag at this year’s LP Building Solutions 120 at Watkins Glen International.
Drama from the Liddell battle with the two other cars at VIR wound up biting them at the 2023 season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, with one of its VIR rivals pitting on the final lap to lose enough positions that allowed the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 to leapfrog the No. 71 car to take the GS championship by 10 points – or one position.
With the last several years as a backdrop and VIR clearly a fascinating stop for the series as the third-to-last round of the season, will the wildness continue or will a calmer, cooler race prevail? Leaving Road America, the championship battles have intensified.
In GS, RS1’s pair of Jan Heylen and Luca Mars in the No. 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS have seen their once-unassailable 340-point lead leaving Round 5 at Watkins Glen reduce to 90 leaving Round 7 at Road America. They’re still in a good spot and head to a track where Porsche won last year with BGB Motorsports. However, back-to-back finishes off the podium have opened the door for closest rival Jenson Altzman, who along with Nate Cicero won the most recent race at Road America in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing with Aerosport Ford Mustang GT4. The No. 13 car also has three straight GS poles.
BMW M4 GT4 EVO entries from CarBahn by Peregrine racing, Auto Technic Racing and Turner Motorsport completed the top five at Road America, and BMW’s run of form has also brought it to a tie with Porsche atop the GS Manufacturer Championship standings with just three races to go.
The TCR title battle remains a neck-and-neck competition between the two BHA teammates in the Nos. 98 and 76 Hyundais, with the No. 93 MMG Honda of Wittmer and LP Montour surging. The No. 98 Hyundai of Harry Gottsacker leads the No. 76 Hyundai of Denis Dupont and Preston Brown by just 20 points, while after four straight podium finishes, Wittmer and LP Montour are just 90 points back in third place. The top-ranked Audi from Precision Racing LA sits fifth in points, but 300 points back of the lead.
Among the 40 cars on the entry list split between 24 GS and 16 TCR, there’s a handful of changes. KOHR Motorsports’ second Ford Mustang GT4 for Nick Persing and Sam Paley returns, while past TCR entrants Copeland Motorsports make their GS season debut with a Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2. Stephen Cameron Racing also returns with a new chassis after its Road America incident, adorned in the same full livery of names as its primary chassis. Three Audis are back in TCR (for a total of six), including Baker Racing also with a fresh chassis and a motivated James Vance and Sam Baker in their No. 52 Audi RS3 LMS TCR, one of two team cars. Rockwell Autosport Development also returns.
Michelin Pilot Challenge teams have two one-hour practice sessions on Friday and qualify Saturday morning. Saturday’s Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix, Round 8 of the 2025 season, rolls off at 2:20 p.m. ET and local time. It will stream live on Peacock and globally, ad-free, courtesy of Michelin on IMSA’s Official YouTube channel.
Fast Facts
Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix
VIRginia International Raceway – Alton, Virginia
Aug. 22-23, 2024
Race Day/Time: Saturday, Aug. 23, 2:20 p.m. ET
Live Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 2:15 p.m., Peacock in the U.S., globally on IMSA YouTube ad-free courtesy of Michelin
Circuit Type: 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course
Classes Competing: Grand Sport (GS), Touring Car (TCR)
Race Length: Two hours
Michelin Pilot Challenge Track Records
- GS: Stevan McAleer, Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS, 1:52.627 / 104.521 mph, August 2024 (Qualifying)
- TCR: Bryson Morris, Hyundai Elantra N TCR, 1:55.230 / 102.160 mph, August 2024 (Qualifying)
2024 Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix Winners
- GS: Spencer Pumpelly/Thomas Collingwood, No. 38 BGB Motorsports Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS
- TCR: Dai Yoshihara/Karl Wittmer, No. 93 Montreal Motorsports Group Honda Civic FL5 TCR
Storylines
- GS Title Battle Tightens: Last year RS1 was the chaser in GS; this year; they’re being chased. With a. 340-point gap leaving Watkins Glen, RS1’s lead has now been cut to 90 entering VIR. Jan Heylen and Luca Mars are still well-positioned in their No. 28 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS, but the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing with Aerosport Ford Mustang GT4 and pair of BMW M4 GT4 EVOs from CarBahn and Auto Technic Racing are lurking. Additionally, Porsche and BMW are tied for the GS Manufacturer Championship lead at 2,200 points apiece.
- Can Herta Hyundais Hold Off Honda?: The Nos. 98 and 76 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars have been the measure of the TCR field all season. But the run of form from the No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR has made this a battle, within 90 points.
Who’s Hot?
- No. 27 Auto Technic Racing and No. 39 CarBahn by Peregrine racing BMW M4 GT4 EVOs: No one’s hotter in GS than Stevan McAleer and Austin Krainz in the No. 27 Auto Technic BMW, who together have scored six straight top-six finishes including two podiums. CarBahn’s pairing of Jeff Westphal and Sean McAlister in the No. 39 BMW is also on a roll with three straight top-fives, and five in the last six races.
- No. 93 MMG Honda Civic FL5 TCR: Four straight podiums, two wins and three poles for the LP Montour and Karl Wittmer pairing in their No. 93 Honda have brought them to within 90 points of the TCR championship lead.
Who’s Good Here?
- UniTronic in Odd Years: The 2024 TCR champions, Mikey Taylor and Chris Miller, have had their best VIR success in odd-numbered years with wins in 2021 and 2023. Now in GS, the pair seeks to extend this “odd” trend in their No. 17 UniTronic/JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.
- The Plumb Brothers: On three different occasions, brothers Matt and Hugh Plumb have won driving together at VIR. They’re split in 2025, but still have win hopes in the Nos. 46 and 64 Team TGM Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evos, respectively.