The 2016 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 28, 2016. The race was the tenth round of the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Background
Preview International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2016 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2015. It was the third consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2016 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was the tenth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2016 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 28, 2016.
IMSA altered the balance of performance to try to create parity within the GTLM and GTD categories. The BMW M6 GTLM's refuelling hose restrictor was increased by . The Ferrari 488 GTE and Ford GT's refuelling hose restrictor was shortened by . Audi's R8 LMS had its refuelling hose restrictor increased by . The Dodge Viper GT3-R and Ferrari 488 GT3 had their refuelling hose restrictor shortened by . The Lamborghini Huracán GT3's refuelling hose restrictor was shortened by .
Before the race, Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 264 points, ahead of Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook in second by 13 points. With 243 points, Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen led the GTD Drivers' Championship, 15 points ahead of Andy Lally and John Potter. Chevrolet and Audi were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Corvette Racing, and Scuderia Corsa each led their own Teams' Championships.
Entry list Twenty-one cars were officially entered for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, with most of the entries being in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) category. GTLM was represented by nine entries from five different brands. In the list of GTD entrants, twelve GT3-specification vehicles were represented by six different manufacturers. Alex Job Racing's No. 22 and Park Place Motorsports No. 73 Porsche's withdrew over balance of performance concerns. Although it was listed as an entrant, Black Swan Racing's No. 540 car was withdrawn due to family obligations for Tim Pappas. With the absence of the Prototype (P) and Prototype Challenge (PC) classes from the field, only two racing classes were represented in Virginia International Raceway.
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.
In the first practice session, Bamber's No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR lapped quickest at 1:43.232, 0.018 seconds ahead of Joey hand in the No. 66 CGR car. García was third fastest in Corvette Racing's No. 3 car, Briscoe's No. 67 Ford GT placed fourth and Giancarlo Fisichella's Risi Ferrari rounded out the top five. Lamborghini paced GTD with Paul Miller's Huracán of Madison Snow lapping 1:45.722, ahead of Spencer Pumpelly's Change Lamborghini. The session had two stoppages. The first was when the No. 25 Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM lost its roof on track. A spin by Davis' No. 6 Stevenson Audi into the turn-fifteen barriers gave right-side damage and caused the second stoppage.
The second practice session saw García lap quickest for Corvette at 1:42.623. Ford were second and third after laps by Hand and Briscoe. GTD saw Bryan Sellers No. 48 Paul Miller Lamborghini record the quickest class lap: 1:44.944, 0.165 seconds faster than Bleekemolen's second-placed No. 33 Riley Motorsport Viper.
In the last practice session, Magnussen went fastest for Corvette at 1:41.637. Müller's No. 66 CGR car was second, followed by RLL's Werner in third. Risi were fourth after a lap by Fisichella, and Westbrook No. 67 CGR Ford GT rounded out the top five. Lamborghini took the first two GTD positions, led by Paul Miller's No. 48 car driven by Snow (whose benchmark time of 1:43.864 was 0.262 seconds quicker than Corey Lewis' No. 16 Change Lamborghini).
Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's 40-minute two-group qualifying session gave 15-minute sessions to all categories. Cars in GTD were sent out first before those grouped in GTLM had a separate identically timed session. Regulations stipulated teams to nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each classes starting order. IMSA would arranged the grid to put all GTLMs ahead of the GTD cars.
Magnussen in the No. 3 Corvette set a new category track record, and his took first pole position since the 2014 Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase with a lap of 1 minute, 41.557 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by Milner whose best lap in the sister No. 4 Corvette was 0.011 seconds slower. Hand's No. 66 Ford took third followed by Giancarlo Fisichella's Risi car in fourth. John Edwards' No. 100 Team RLL BMW M6 started from fifth place.
In GTD, Madison Snow took pole position in PMR's No. 48 Lamborghini with a 1 minute, 44.956 time. Matt Bell's No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS qualified second, and Cédric Sbirrazzuoli's No. 27 Dream Racing took third. Rounding out the top five in class were the No. 6 Stevenson Motorsport Audi of Andrew Davis in fourth, and Corey Lewis' No. 16 Change Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3.
Qualifying results Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by . ClassTeamDriverTime1GTLM3 Corvette Racing Jan Magnussen1:41.557_12GTLM4 Corvette Racing Tommy Milner1:41.568 +0.01123GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand1:41.817 +0.26034GTLM62 Risi Competizione Giancarlo Fisichella1:42.225 +0.66845GTLM100 BMW Team RLL John Edwards1:42.227 +0.67056GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Dirk Werner1:42.255 +0.69867GTLM911 Porsche North America Nick Tandy1:42.276 +0.71978GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Richard Westbrook1:42.314 +0.757219GTLM912 Porsche North America Frédéric Makowiecki1:42.372 +0.815810GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Madison Snow1:44.956 +3.399911GTD9 Stevenson Motorsports Matt Bell1:45.247 +3.6901012GTD27 Dream Racing Cédric Sbirrazzuoli1:45.251 +3.6941113GTD6 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis1:45.302 +3.7451214GTD16 Change Racing Corey Lewis1:45.372 +3.8151315GTD23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Mario Farnbacher1:45.563 +4.0062016GTD33 Riley Motorsports Ben Keating1:45.680 +4.1231417GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen1:45.997 +4.4401518GTD97 Turner Motorsport Michael Marsal1:46.236 +4.6791619GTD96 Turner Motorsport Bret Curtis1:46.431 +4.8741720GTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter1:46.559 +5.0021821GTD80 Lone Star Racing Dan Knox1:48.115 +6.55819Sources:
The No. 23 AJR, No. 67 CGR, and No. 80 Lone Star Racing entries were sent to the rear of their respective class fields as per 40.1.5 of the Sporting regulations (Tire change).
Race
Post race With a total of 287 points, Gavin and Milner's ninth-place finish finished allowed them to keep their advantage in the GTLM Drivers' Championship, but their advantage was reduced to 7 points over Briscoe and Westbrook. Bamber and Makowiecki advanced from sixth to fourth. The final results of GTD allowed Balzan and Nielsen to extend their advantage in the GTD Drivers' Championship to 20 points as Bleekemolen and Keating jumped to second. Lally and Potter dropped from second to sixth. Chevrolet and Audi continued to top their respective Manufactures' Championships, while Corvette Racing and Scuderia Corsa kept their respective advantages in their of Teams' Championships with two rounds left in the season.
Race results Class winners are denoted in bold and . GTLM stands for Grand Touring Le Mans and GTD (Grand Touring Daytona). +Final race classificationClassTeamDriversChassisTireTime/RetiredEngine1GTLM3 Corvette Racing Antonio García Jan MagnussenChevrolet Corvette C7.R902:40:13.166Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V82GTLM66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Dirk Müller Joey HandFord GT90 +0.802Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V63GTLM912 Porsche North America Earl Bamber Frédéric MakowieckiPorsche 911 RSR90 +1.448Porsche 4.0 L Flat-64GTLM67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe Richard WestbrookFord GT90 +6.004Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Twin-turbo V65GTLM25 BMW Team RLL Bill Auberlen Dirk WernerBMW M6 GTLM90 +6.243BMW 4.4 L Turbo V86GTLM911 Porsche North America Patrick Pilet Nick TandyPorsche 911 RSR90 +7.168Porsche 4.0 L Flat-67GTLM62 Risi Competizione Toni Vilander Giancarlo FisichellaFerrari 488 GTE90 +25.016Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V88GTLM100 BMW Team RLL John Edwards Lucas LuhrBMW M6 GTLM89 +1 LapBMW 4.4 L Turbo V89GTD48 Paul Miller Racing Bryan Sellers Madison SnowLamborghini Huracán GT388 +2 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1010GTD9 Stevenson Motorsports Lawson Aschenbach Matt BellAudi R8 LMS88 +2 LapsAudi 5.2L V1011GTD6 Stevenson Motorsports Andrew Davis Robin LiddellAudi R8 LMS88 +2 LapsAudi 5.2L V1012GTD23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Mario Farnbacher Alex RiberasPorsche 911 GT3 R88 +2 LapsPorsche 4.0 L Flat-613GTD16 Change Racing Corey Lewis Spencer PumpellyLamborghini Huracán GT387 +3 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1014GTD33 Riley Motorsports Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben KeatingDodge Viper GT3-R87 +3 LapsDodge 8.3L V1015GTD63 Scuderia Corsa Christina Nielsen Alessandro BalzanFerrari 488 GT387 +3 LapsFerrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V816GTD97 Turner Motorsport Michael Marsal Markus PalttalaBMW M6 GT387 +3 LapsBMW 4.4L Turbo V817GTLM4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin Tommy MilnerChevrolet Corvette C7.R86 +4 LapsChevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V818GTD80 Lone Star Racing Dan Knox Mike SkeenDodge Viper GT3-R84 +6 LapsDodge 8.3L V1019GTD27 Dream Racing Cédric Sbirrazzuoli Luca PersianiLamborghini Huracán GT375 +15 LapsLamborghini 5.2 L V1020 DNFGTD96 Turner Motorsport Bret Curtis Jens KlingmannBMW M6 GT325Did Not FinishBMW 4.4L Turbo V8DSQGTD44 Magnus Racing John Potter Andy LallyAudi R8 LMS88ExcludedAudi 5.2L V10Sources:+Tyre manufacturersKeySymbolTyre manufacturerContinentalMichelin
Championship standings after the race
+Prototype Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 João Barbosa Christian Fittipaldi 253 2 Eric Curran Dane Cameron 252 3 Jordan Taylor Ricky Taylor 242 4 Marc Goossens 223 5 Oswaldo Negri Jr. 220Source:
+PC Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Alex Popow Renger van der Zande 293 2 Robert Alon Tom Kimber-Smith 286 3 Stephen Simpson Misha Goikhberg 260 4 Jon Bennett Colin Braun 245 5 James French Kyle Marcelli 241Source:
+GTLM Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner 287 2 Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook 280 3 Antonio García Jan Magnussen 259 4 2 Earl Bamber Frédéric Makowiecki 250 5 Bill Auberlen Dirk Werner 246Source:
+GTD Drivers' Championship standings +/– Driver Points 1 Alessandro Balzan Christina Nielsen 268 2 1 Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating 248 3 1 Andrew Davis Robin Liddell 243 4 1 Mario Farnbacher Alex Riberas 236 5 2 Bryan Sellers Madison Snow 231Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
+Prototype Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 No. 5 Action Express Racing 253 2 No. 31 Action Express Racing 252 3 No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 242 4 No. 90 VisitFlorida Racing 223 5 No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian 220Source:
+PC Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 No. 8 Starworks Motorsport 293 2 No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports 286 3 No. 54 CORE Autosport 268 4 No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports 266 5 No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports 260Source:
+GTLM Teams' Championship standings +/– Team Points 1 No. 4 Corvette Racing 287 2 No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing 280 3 No. 3 Corvette Racing 259 4 2 No. 912 Porsche North America 250 5 No. 25 BMW Team RLL 246Source: