The 2017 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The Race was held at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on August 27, 2017. The race was the tenth round of the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Background
IMSA's president Scott Atherton confirmed the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was part of the series' schedule for the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship at Road America's victory lane in August 2016. It was the fourth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2017 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was the tenth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2017 by IMSA, and was the seventh round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup. The race was held at the ten-turn Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on August 27, 2017. Much like in previous years, the event was a GT only round, in which the GTLM and GTD classes were scheduled to compete. After the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase three weeks earlier, Antonio García and Jan Magnussen led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 239 points, ahead of Bill Auberlen and Alexander Sims with 231 points, and Joey Hand and Dirk Müller with 230 points. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen with 254 points, ahead of Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen with 239 points. Ford and Ferrari were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Corvette Racing and Scuderia Corsa each led their own Teams' Championships.
On August 16, 2017, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of performance for the event. In GTLM, the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R received a 0.5 mm larger air restrictor and an increased fuel restrictor. The BMW M6 GTLM and Ford GT received reductions in fuel capacity. In GTD, the Acura NSX GT3 received a fuel capacity reduction of 3 liters and a decreased fuel restrictor. The Audi R8 LMS received a smaller fuel restrictor while the Ferrari 488 GT3 received an increase in fuel restriction.
Entries
A total of 25 cars took part in the event split across two classes. 9 cars were in GTLM, and 16 in GTD. In GTLM, Risi Competizione returned after missing the previous four rounds. In GTD, Trent Hindman subbed for Ben Keating the #33 Riley Motorsports - Team AMG entry due to Hurricane Harvey making landfall affecting Ben's car delaerships. Lone Star Racing made their first appearance since the Circuit of the Americas round. Patrick Long returned to the Alegra Motorsports entry.
Practice There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third on Saturday morning lasted an hour.
Practice 1 The first practice session took place at 11:45 am ET on Friday and ended with Tommy Milner topping the charts for Corvette Racing, with a lap time of 1:42.341. Jeroen Mul set the fastest time in GTD. ClassTeamDriverTime1GTLM4Corvette RacingTommy Milner1:42.341_2GTLM67Ford Chip Ganassi RacingRichard Westbrook1:42.444 +0.1033GTLM62Risi CompetizioneGiancarlo Fisichella1:42.516 +0.175Sources:
Practice 2 The second practice session took place at 4:10 pm ET on Friday and ended with Antonio García topping the charts for Corvette Racing, with a lap time of 1:41.323. The GTD class was topped by the #16 Change Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 of Jeroen Mul with a time of 1:43.830. Andy Lally was second in the #93 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian entry and Andrew Davis rounded out the top 3. ClassTeamDriverTime1GTLM3Corvette RacingAntonio García1:41.323_2GTLM24BMW Team RLLJohn Edwards1:41.405 +0.0823GTLM66Ford Chip Ganassi RacingDirk Müller1:41.667 +0.344Sources:
Practice 3 The third and final practice session took place at 8:45 am ET on Saturday and ended with Toni Vilander topping the charts for Risi Competizione, with a lap time of 1:40.855. The GTD class was topped by the #16 Change Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 of Jeroen Mul with a time of 1:43.223. ClassTeamDriverTime1GTLM62Risi CompetizioneToni Vilander1:40.855_2GTLM66Ford Chip Ganassi RacingDirk Müller1:41.029 +0.1743GTLM24BMW Team RLLJohn Edwards1:41.054 +0.199Sources:
Qualifying Saturday afternoon's 40-minute two-group qualifying, each category had separate 15-minute sessions. Regulations stipulated that teams nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each class' starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put GTLMs ahead of GTD cars.
Qualifying was broken into two sessions. The first was for cars in GTD class. Jeroen Mul qualified on pole for the class driving the #16 car for Change Racing, besting Jesse Krohn in the Turner Motorsport entry.
The final session of qualifying was for the GTLM class. Joey Hand qualified on pole driving the #66 car for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, beating Alexander Sims in the #25 BMW Team RLL entry by over two tenths of a second.
Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . ClassTeamDriverTime1GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand1:40.211_12GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Alexander Sims1:40.415 +0.20423GTLM24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards1:40.441 +0.23034GTLM62 Risi Competizione Giancarlo Fisichella1:40.606 +0.39545GTLM4 Corvette Racing Tommy Milner1:40.758 +0.54756GTLM3 Corvette Racing Jan Magnussen1:40.802 +0.59167GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Richard Westbrook1:40.841 +0.63078GTLM912 Porsche GT Team Laurens Vanthoor1:41.339 +1.12889GTLM911 Porsche GT Team Dirk Werner1:41.991 +1.780910GTD16 Change Racing Jeroen Mul1:43.391 +3.1801011GTD96 Turner Motorsport Jesse Krohn1:43.621 +3.410912GTD57 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis1:43.770 +3.5591313GTD33 Riley Motorsports - Team AMG Jeroen Bleekemolen1:43.826 +3.6151414GTD15 3GT Racing Jack Hawksworth1:43.845 +3.6341515GTD14 3GT Racing Sage Karam1:44.105 +3.8941516GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow1:44.131 +3.9201617GTD28 Alegra Motorsports Daniel Morad1:44.146 +3.9351718GTD93 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Katherine Legge1:44.441 +4.2301819GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen1:44.573 +4.3621020GTD73 Park Place Motorsports Patrick Lindsey1:44.697 +4.4861921GTD86 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Oswaldo Negri Jr.1:45.080 +4.8692022GTD50 Riley Motorsports - WeatherTech Racing Cooper MacNeil1:45.530 +5.3192123GTD75 SunEnergy1 Racing Kenny Habul1:46.011 +5.8002424GTD54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett1:46.106 +5.8952325GTD80 Lone Star Racing Dan Knox1:46.768 +6.55725Sources:
The No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires). The No. 80 Lone Star Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).
Race Post-race The result kept García and Ricky Taylor atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 274 points, 16 points ahead of fourth-place finishers Auberlen and Sims. The result kept Balzan and Nielsen atop the GTD Drivers' Championship while Klingmann advanced from fifth to third. Chevrolet and Mercedes-AMG took the lead their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa kept their respective advantages in the Teams' Championships with two rounds left in the season.
Results Class winners are denoted in bold and . +Final race classificationClassTeamDriversChassisTireTime/RetiredEngine1GTLM3 Corvette Racing Jan Magnussen Antonio GarcíaChevrolet Corvette C7.R932:41.17.089Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V82GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard WestbrookFord GT93 +12.031Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V63GTLM62 Risi Competizione Toni Vilander
Giancarlo FisichellaFerrari 488 GTE93 +12.649Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V84GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Bill Auberlen Alexander SimsBMW M6 GTLM93 +28.026BMW 4.4 L Turbo V85GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Dirk Müller Joey HandFord GT93 +1:08.064Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V66GTLM4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy MilnerChevrolet Corvette C7.R93 +1:39.084Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V87GTLM912 Porsche GT Team Gianmaria Bruni Laurens VanthoorPorsche 911 RSR92 +1 lapPorsche 4.0 L Flat-68GTLM911 Porsche GT Team Patrick Pilet Dirk WernerPorsche 911 RSR92 +1 lapPorsche 4.0 L Flat-69GTD16 Change Racing Corey Lewis Jeroen MulLamborghini Huracán GT391 +2 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1010GTD96 Turner Motorsport Jens Klingmann Jesse KrohnBMW M6 GT391 +2 LapsBMW 4.4L Turbo V811GTD33 Riley Motorsports – Team AMG Jeroen Bleekemolen Trent HindmanMercedes-AMG GT390 +3 LapsMercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V812GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen Alessandro BalzanFerrari 488 GT390 +3 LapsFerrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V813GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison SnowLamborghini Huracán GT390 +3 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1014GTD50 Riley Motorsports – WeatherTech Racing Cooper MacNeil Gunnar JeannettePorsche 911 GT3 R89 +4 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-615GTD14 3GT Racing Robert Alon Sage KaramLexus RC F GT389 +2 LapsLexus 5.0L V816GTD54 CORE Autosport Jon Bennett Colin BraunPorsche 911 GT3 R89 +4 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-617GTD28 Alegra Motorsports Patrick Long Daniel MoradPorsche 911 GT3 R89 +4 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-618GTD73 Park Place Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister Patrick LindseyPorsche 911 GT3 R88 +5 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-619GTD80 Lone Star Racing Dan Knox Mike SkeenMercedes-AMG GT387 +6 LapsMercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V820GTD57 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis Lawson AschenbachAudi R8 LMS86 +7 LapsAudi 5.2L V1021 DNFGTLM24 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Martin TomczykBMW M6 GTLM72SteeringBMW 4.4 L Turbo V822 DNFGTD15 3GT Racing Scott Pruett Jack HawksworthLexus RC F GT371Crash DamageLexus 5.0L V823 DNFGTD86 Michael Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Jeff Segal Oswaldo Negri Jr.Acura NSX GT326Crash DamageAcura 3.5 L Turbo V624 DNFGTD93 Michael Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Andy Lally Katherine LeggeAcura NSX GT322Crash DamageAcura 3.5 L Turbo V625 DNFGTD75 SunEnergy1 Racing Tristan Vautier Kenny HabulMercedes-AMG GT36Power SteeringMercedes AMG M159 6.2 L V8Sources:+Tyre manufacturersKeySymbolTyre manufacturerContinentalMichelin
Standings after the race
+Prototype Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Jordan Taylor Ricky Taylor 258 2 João Barbosa Christian Fittipaldi 232 3 Dane Cameron Eric Curran 227 4 Misha Goikhberg Stephen Simpson 224 5 Ryan Dalziel Scott Sharp 213
+PC Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 James French Patricio O'Ward 252 2 Don Yount 212 3 Buddy Rice 150 4 Gustavo Yacamán 121 5 Kyle Masson 108
+GTLM Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Antonio García Jan Magnussen 274 2 1 Bill Auberlen Alexander Sims 258 3 1 Joey Hand Dirk Müller 257 4 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 257 5 Patrick Pilet Dirk Werner 240
+GTD Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Alessandro Balzan Christina Nielsen 282 2 Jeroen Bleekemolen 269 3 2 Jens Klingmann 252 4 1 Lawson Aschenbach Andrew Davis 245 5 3 Ben Keating 239
Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
+Prototype Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #10 Wayne Taylor Racing 258 2 #5 Mustang Sampling Racing 232 3 #31 Whelen Engineering Racing 227 4 #85 JDC-Miller MotorSports 224 5 #2 Tequila Patrón ESM 213
+PC Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #38 Performance Tech Motorsports 252 2 #26 BAR1 Motorsports 217 3 #20 BAR1 Motorsports 212 4 #8 Starworks Motorsport 58 5 #88 Starworks Motorsport 28
+GTLM Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 #3 Corvette Racing 274 2 1 #25 BMW Team RLL 258 3 1 #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 257 4 #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 257 5 #911 Porsche GT Team 240