Porsche goes after overall victory in Virginia

At round five of the IMSA SportsCar Championship at the Virginia International Raceway, the Porsche GT Team will field two 911 RSR in the GTLM class. As the two faster prototype classes will not be contested on the 5.263-kilometre racetrack, the sports car manufacturer will fight for overall victory for the first time in this IMSA season. Last year, Porsche scored a one-two result on the tradition-steeped North American circuit. One customer squad joins the two ca. 515-hp factory-run RSR racers from Weissach on the grid for the race over two hours and 40 minutes: Wright Motorsports campaigns a Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD category.

The race
The Virginia International Raceway is located near the town of Alton in southern Virginia close to the border of the neighbouring state of North Carolina. The circuit, which was opened in 1957, can look back on an eventful history and has evolved from a straightforward circuit for road vehicles to a modern motorsport resort with hotels and leisure activities. In 1971, Porsche legends Hurley Haywood and Peter Gregg won the inaugural IMSA GT event there at the wheel of a Porsche 914/6 GT. Last year, works drivers Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Patrick Pilet (France) took the flag as the overall winner in the 2017-generation Porsche 911 RSR ahead of their brand colleagues Earl Bamber (New Zealand) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium).

The Porsche GT Team drivers
Works drivers Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor share driving duties in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR. The reigning GTLM-class champions scored second place at the first two rounds of the season in Daytona. At Sebring, the pair claimed the third podium step after a spirited performance. After the spectacular rain race at Road America, Bamber and Vanthoor retain second place in the drivers’ championship with 120 points. Their team colleagues Nick Tandy and Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki concluded the 24-hour race at the end of January and the race over 2:40 hours in Daytona on 4 July in third place. With 113 points, they currently rank fifth in the drivers’ classification. In the manufacturer’s classification, Porsche sits third, nine points behind the leader.

The customer team
At the first GT-only round of the year in the North American sports car series, the seasoned customer squad Wright Motorsports fields a 500+hp Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD category. The squad from the U.S. state of Ohio entrusts the cockpit of the No. 16 car to the American works driver Patrick Long and his compatriot Ryan Hardwick.

Live streaming of the race
Round five of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the Virginia International Raceway takes off on Saturday, 22 August, at 02:00 pm local time (8:00 pm CEST). The race over 2:40 hours can be viewed outside the USA and Canada on www.imsa.com.

The schedule (local time, CEST: -6 hours)
Friday, 21 August
8.00 - 9:00 am – Free practice 1
12.00 - 1:15 pm – Free practice 2
5:35 - 5:50 pm – Qualifying GTD
6:00 - 6:15 pm – Qualifying GTLM

Saturday, 22 August
2:00 - 4:40 pm – Race