The weather changed for Sunday’s second IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge 45-minute race at Daytona International Speedway. However, the winners in all three categories did not, as each driver showcased their skills in drastically different conditions.

Saturday

The debut of the GTDX class within VP Racing Challenge was largely uneventful. After starting from pole, Adelson led all 26 laps in the No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) with a 30.236-second margin of victory.

“I knew where we were going to get our tire temperature up way more quickly than the LMP3 cars on the start, so for me it was about making sure if I was faster than any of them to get by,” Adelson said. “Thankfully I successfully did so and that really helped me build a gap.

“It’s absolutely incredible,” he added about winning the GTDX class debut. “Believe it or not, even just the addition of the torque sensors on the WeatherTech car, makes it so you have to drive it quite differently. Regardless, any track time is good track time. It’s the first time GTDX is running with VP Challenge, so it’s an honor to be here and win that inaugural race.”

While Adelson enjoyed a simple drive, the battle behind him was intense among three Ferrari 296 GT3 cars and a single BMW M4 GT3.

Like Golan in P3, AJ Muss in GTDX had a mission to complete from a pre-race penalty. The driver of the No. 66 Af Corse Ferrari qualified fastest but had all his times disallowed for exiting the car during qualifying, which dropped him to the rear of the eight-car GTDX grid.

From there, the snowboarder-turned-driver was on a charge and rose to second ahead of teammate Matias Perez Companc in the No. 50 Af Corse Ferrari.

Those two ended just ahead of the top-rated Bronze driver in GTDX, Dave Musial (the father of the father-son Musial pairing) in the No. 99 Conquest Racing Ferrari. His margin over fellow series debutante Samantha Tan, in the No. 38 ST Racing BMW, was just 0.241 of a second.

Sunday

In GTDX, Adelson’s No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) was again the class of the field. After winning by more than 30 seconds in the dry on Saturday, Adelson’s winning margin was a nearly equivalent 26.324 seconds on Sunday.

Like Catalano in GTDX, he only lost the lead on Lap 8 as Kyle Washington powered past in his similar Porsche, before Adelson regained the top spot into the Le Mans Chicane on the inside of Lap 9.

“You’re trying to feel the grip on the out laps, trying to learn what it’s like out there and what you can or can’t get away with,” Adelson said. “I think I came under threat a bit just because I was struggling a bit with the P3 cars at the start. But they don’t have (traction control) or ABS, so they’re rightfully more cautious and because we’re heavier, we can also get our tires up (to temperature) more quickly. Hoping to be back here a third time to step onto the podium when it matters the most!”

Af Corse teammates Matias Perez Companc and AJ Muss in their Nos. 50 and 66 Ferrari 296 GT3 cars completed the GTDX podium, with Muss starting first in class. Washington, in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche, ended fourth among GTDX cars and was the top Bronze-rated driver ahead of Samantha Tan, who was second in Bronze for the second straight day in her No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3.

Source; IMSA