“In terms of how we’ve won the last two races, we’re hoping for more of the same at VIR,” said Ford driver Ryan Briscoe of Ganassi. “Hopefully, our consistency can pay off again.”
IMSA is wrapping up this summer racing season this weekend at Virginia International Raceway with five series and seven races scheduled over the three days. The Michelin GT Challenge will have the second and final GT-class showdown between the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM and GTD classes. It’s live Sunday, August 25 on NBCSN at 1:30 p.m. ET, as well as follow live flag-to-flag coverage on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. Qualifying will also be streamed live Saturday starting at 12:25 p.m. on IMSA.tv with IMSA Radio commentary.
The GT teams are particularly entertaining because the cars they drive look like the cars wealthy people can buy. Watch Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and Pfaff Motorsports to see how they do. Both are on a run.
The Ganassi gang, specifically, No. 67 Ford GT co-drivers Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook – are winners of the past two races in the top GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. the team’s No. 66 entry, shared by Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller, has finished on the podium in the last two races also with a second-place run earlier at Road America and a third-place showing last month at Lime Rock Park.
What’s more, Briscoe and Westbrook finished third in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International at the end of June. So, they head into this weekend’s two-hour, 40-minute Michelin GT Challenge with a winning streak and three podiums in their past four races.
Pfaff Motorsports and driver Zacharie Robichon are also hot. The team picked up its first WeatherTech Championship victory at Lime Rock with Robichon and Porsche Young Professional Dennis Olsen bringing the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R across the line first in the GT Daytona (GTD) class by a mere 0.010 seconds ahead of the No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 shared by Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher.
Moving from the shortest track on the schedule – the 1.5-mile Lime Rock Park – to the longest, Road America at four miles, Robichon and the Pfaff team picked up a second consecutive win, this time with another Porsche Young Professional in Matt Campbell sharing the No. 9 machine. This time, they were a lap ahead of the second-place finishers, Bryan Sellers and Corey Lewis in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Ford GT v Porsche 911 v Acura NSX at Virginia International in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Racing Championship
“In terms of how we’ve won the last two races, we’re hoping for more of the same at VIR,” said Ford driver Ryan Briscoe of Ganassi. “Hopefully, our consistency can pay off again.”
IMSA is wrapping up this summer racing season this weekend at Virginia International Raceway with five series and seven races scheduled over the three days. The Michelin GT Challenge will have the second and final GT-class showdown between the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM and GTD classes. It’s live Sunday, August 25 on NBCSN at 1:30 p.m. ET, as well as follow live flag-to-flag coverage on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. Qualifying will also be streamed live Saturday starting at 12:25 p.m. on IMSA.tv with IMSA Radio commentary.
The GT teams are particularly entertaining because the cars they drive look like the cars wealthy people can buy. Watch Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and Pfaff Motorsports to see how they do. Both are on a run.
The Ganassi gang, specifically, No. 67 Ford GT co-drivers Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook – are winners of the past two races in the top GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. the team’s No. 66 entry, shared by Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller, has finished on the podium in the last two races also with a second-place run earlier at Road America and a third-place showing last month at Lime Rock Park.
What’s more, Briscoe and Westbrook finished third in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International at the end of June. So, they head into this weekend’s two-hour, 40-minute Michelin GT Challenge with a winning streak and three podiums in their past four races.
Pfaff Motorsports and driver Zacharie Robichon are also hot. The team picked up its first WeatherTech Championship victory at Lime Rock with Robichon and Porsche Young Professional Dennis Olsen bringing the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R across the line first in the GT Daytona (GTD) class by a mere 0.010 seconds ahead of the No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 shared by Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher.
Moving from the shortest track on the schedule – the 1.5-mile Lime Rock Park – to the longest, Road America at four miles, Robichon and the Pfaff team picked up a second consecutive win, this time with another Porsche Young Professional in Matt Campbell sharing the No. 9 machine. This time, they were a lap ahead of the second-place finishers, Bryan Sellers and Corey Lewis in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.