2019 Oak Tree Grand Prix

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Track map of VIR

The 2019 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 25, 2019. The race was the tenth round of the 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the sixth round of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet won the race overall in the #911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR leading home a 1-2 for Porsche who clinched the GTLM manufactures championship. In GTD, the #33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports of Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen took their first win of the season. [1]

Background[edit]

Virginia International Raceway, where the race was held.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2018.[2] It was the sixth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2019 Oak Tree Grand Prix was the tenth of twelve sports car races of 2019 by IMSA, and it was the sixth of seven rounds held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[3] The race was held at the seventeen-turn 3.270 mi (5.263 km) Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on August 25, 2019.[4] As in previous years, it would be the second of two GT-only rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, in which only the GTLM and GTD classes competed.[5]

On August 15, 2019, IMSA released a technical bulletin regarding the Balance of Performance for the race. In GT Le Mans, The Ford GT received a 5 kilogram weight increase, and gained 10 horsepower. The BMW M8 GTE received a 6.5 horsepower reduction and fuel capacity reduction of 1 liter. In GTD, the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo and Ferrari 488 GT3 were given weight reductions of 20 and 10 kilograms respectively, while the McLaren 720S GT3 got a fuel capacity reduction of 4 liters.[6]

Before the race, Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 248 points, 14 points ahead of Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy in second followed by Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook with 230 points in third.[7] In GTD, Mario Farnbacher and Trent Hindman led the Drivers' Championship with 209 points; the duo held a thirty-six point advantage over Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley in second.[7] Porsche an Acura were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche GT Team and Meyer Shank Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.[7]

Entries[edit]

Further information: 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship § Entries

A total of 21 cars took part in the event split across two classes. 8 cars were entered in GTLM, and 13 in GTD. In GTD, Scott Hargrove returned to Pfaff Motorsports after Dennis Olsen and Matt Campbell filled in the previous two rounds.[8] Due to a scheduling conflict for Christina Nielsen, who was at Suzuka International Racing Course for the Suzuka 10 Hours, was replaced by Alice Powell.[9] Starworks Motorsport withdrew from the event following continued performance issues with its Audi R8 after competing at Road America.[10] No changes happened in GTLM.

Practice[edit]

There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first session on Friday morning lasted one hour while the second session on Friday afternoon lasted one hour. The third on Saturday morning lasted one hour.[11]

Practice 1[edit]

The first practice session took place at 11:45 am ET on Friday and ended with Laurens Vanthoor topping the charts for Porsche GT Team, with a lap time of 1:41.296. Nick Tandy was second fastest in the sister No. 911 Porsche followed by Ryan Briscoe's No. 67 Ford GT in third position.[12] Dirk Müller in the No. 66 Ford GT was fourth fastest and Jan Magnussen's No. 3 Corvette rounded out the top five.[13][14] The GTD class was topped by the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Ben Keating with a time of 1:44.336. Patrick Long was second fastest in the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche followed by Andy Lally in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini in third position.[12]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 912 Porsche GT Team Laurens Vanthoor 1:41.296 _
2 GTLM 911 Porsche GT Team Nick Tandy 1:41.435 +0.139
3 GTLM 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe 1:41.478 +0.182
Sources:[15][16]

Practice 2[edit]

The second practice session took place at 4:30 PM ET on Friday and ended with Patrick Pilet topping the charts for Porsche GT Team, with a lap time of 1:41.234. Antonio García was second fastest in the No. 3 Corvette followed by Earl Bamber in the No. 912 Porsche in third.[17] Richard Westbrook in the No. 67 Ford GT was fourth fastest and Jesse Krohn's No. 24 BMW rounded out the top five.[18] The GTD class was topped by the No.14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth with a time of 1:43.783. Robby Foley was second fastest in the No. 96 BMW followed by Bryan Sellers in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini in third position.[19] The session was disrupted when the No. 44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini of Andy Lally stopped on track with a mechanical problem.[18]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 911 Porsche GT Team Patrick Pilet 1:41.234 _
2 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Antonio García 1:41.324 +0.090
3 GTLM 912 Porsche GT Team Earl Bamber 1:41.337 +0.103
Sources:[20][21]

Practice 3[edit]

The third and final practice session took place at 8:35 am ET Saturday was held on a wet track. Vanthoor's No. 912 Porsche lapped fastest at 2:00.631, ahead of Nick Tandy in the No. 911 Porsche.[22] Joey Hand was third in the No. 66 Ford GT followed by Connor De Phillippi's No. 25 BMW in fourth, and Magnussen's No. 3 Corvette rounded out the top five.[23] GTD was led by Jeroen Bleekemolen's No. 33 Mercedes-AMG with a lap of 2:03.544. Lally was second-fastest and had the categories fastest time for most of the session.[24] Richard Heistand was third fastest in the No. 14 Lexus followed by Toni Vilander's No. 63 Ferrari in fourth.[25]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 912 Porsche GT Team Laurens Vanthoor 2:00.631 _
2 GTLM 911 Porsche GT Team Nick Tandy 2:00.938 +0.307
3 GTLM 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand 2:01.262 +0.631
Sources:[26][27]

Qualifying[edit]

Laurens Vanthoor (pictured in 2009) helped take the No. 912 Porsche's second pole position of 2019.

Saturday's early afternoon qualifying session was divided into two groups that lasted 15 minutes each.[11] Cars in GTD were sent out first and, after a ten-minute interval, GTLM vehicles drove onto the track. All cars were required to be driven by one participant and the starting order was determined by the competitor's fastest lap.[28] IMSA then arranged the grid so that the GTLM field started in front of all GTD cars. The session took place on a damp track but dried out as it progressed.[29]

The first was for cars in the GTD class. Zacharie Robichon in the No. 9 Porsche was fastest on the car's final lap timed lap with a time of 1 minute and 45.826 seconds to clinch his second pole position of the season.[30][31] He was joined by Frankie Montecalvo's No. 12 Lexus on the grid's front row with his best lap being 0.324 seconds slower, and Richard Heistand drove the No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus to third place.[31][30] Trent Hindman qualified the No. 86 Acura fourth, ahead of Alice Powell's fifth placed Acura.[29]

The final session of qualifying was for cars in the GTLM class. Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 912 Porsche clinched his second pole position of the season. The No. 3 Corvette of Magnussen 0.078 seconds off the pace in second.[31] The two Fords were third and fourth (the No. 67 car driven by Briscoe in front of the No. 66 vehicle of Hand).[29] Oliver Gavin's No. 4 Corvette completed the top five category qualifiers.[30] Tandy was sixth after spinning at turn twelve, and made contact with the barrier leaving damage on the left side.[32] The two BMW Team RLL cars rounded out the GTLM field.[30]

Qualifying results[edit]

Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 GTLM 912 United States Porsche GT Team Belgium Laurens Vanthoor 1.40.630 _ 1 ‡
2 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing Denmark Jan Magnussen 1.40.708 +0.078 2
3 GTLM 67 United States Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Australia Ryan Briscoe 1.40.786 +0.156 3
4 GTLM 66 United States Ford Chip Ganassi Racing United States Joey Hand 1.40.956 +0.326 4
5 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United Kingdom Oliver Gavin 1.41.578 +0.948 5
6 GTLM 911 United States Porsche GT Team United Kingdom Nick Tandy 1.41.615 +0.985 6
7 GTLM 24 United States BMW Team RLL United States John Edwards 1.41.703 +1.073 7
8 GTLM 25 United States BMW Team RLL United States Connor De Phillippi 1.41.772 +1.772 8
9 GTD 9 Canada Pfaff Motorsports Canada Zacharie Robichon 1.45.826 +5.196 9‡
10 GTD 12 Canada AIM Vasser Sullivan United States Frankie Montecalvo 1.46.150 +5.520 10
11 GTD 14 Canada AIM Vasser Sullivan United States Richard Heistand 1.46.524 +5.894 11
12 GTD 86 United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian United States Trent Hindman 1.46.697 +6.067 12
13 GTD 57 United States Heinricher Racing w/Meyer Shank Racing United Kingdom Alice Powell 1.48.159 +7.529 13
14 GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Robby Foley 1.48.398 +7.768 14
15 GTD 33 United States Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports United States Ben Keating 1.48.476 +7.846 15
16 GTD 44 United States Magnus Racing United States John Potter 1.48.567 +7.937 16
17 GTD 48 United States Paul Miller Racing United States Corey Lewis 1.51.132 +10.502 171
18 GTD 63 United States Scuderia Corsa United States Cooper MacNeil 1.53.823 +13.193 182
19 GTD 76 Canada Compass Racing United States Matt Plumb 1.54.213 +13.583 193
20 GTD 74 United States Lone Star Racing United States Gar Robinson 1.56.054 +15.424 204
21 GTD 73 United States Park Place Motorsports United States Patrick Lindsey 1.56.158 +15.528 215
Sources:[33][34]
  • 1 The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field for change tires during qualifying.[35]
  • 2 The No. 63 Scuderia Corsa entry was moved to the back of the GTD field for change tires during qualifying.[36]
  • 3 The No. 76 Compass Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field for change tires during qualifying.[37]
  • 4 The No. 74 Lone Star Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field for change tires during qualifying.[38]
  • 5 The No. 73 Park Place Motorsports entry was moved to the back of the GTD field for change tires during qualifying.[39]

Race[edit]

Post-race[edit]

The final results of GTLM kept Bamber and Vanthoor atop the Drivers' Championship with 280 points, but their advantage had been reduced by three as the victory of Pilet and Tandy meant the two drivers were eleven points behind. García and Magnussen's strong result allowed the duo to move into third while Briscoe and Westbrook fell to fourth as a result of finishing in fifth place.[40] The final results of GTD meant Farnbacher and Hindman extended their advantage to 37 points as Robichon took over second position. Montecalvo and Bell advanced from fifth to fourth while Auberlen and Foley dropped from second to third.[40] Porsche and Acura continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Porsche GT Team and Meyer Shank Racing kept their respective advantages in their Teams' Championships with two rounds left in the season.[40]

Race Results[edit]

Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 GTLM 911 United States Porsche GT Team France Patrick Pilet
United Kingdom Nick Tandy 		Porsche 911 RSR 88 2:41:28.773 ‡
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
2 GTLM 912 United States Porsche GT Team New Zealand Earl Bamber
Belgium Laurens Vanthoor 		Porsche 911 RSR 88 +0.737s
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
3 GTLM 3 United States Corvette Racing Spain Antonio García
Denmark Jan Magnussen 		Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 88 +3.275s
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
4 GTLM 4 United States Corvette Racing United Kingdom Oliver Gavin
United States Tommy Milner 		Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 88 +3.972s
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
5 GTLM 67 United States Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Australia Ryan Briscoe
United Kingdom Richard Westbrook 		Ford GT 88 +4.396s
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
6 GTLM 66 United States Ford Chip Ganassi Racing United States Joey Hand
Germany Dirk Müller 		Ford GT 88 +9.556s
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
7 GTLM 25 United States BMW Team RLL United Kingdom Tom Blomqvist
United States Connor De Phillippi 		BMW M8 GTE 88 +12.560s
BMW S63 4.0 L Twin-turbo V8
8 GTLM 24 United States BMW Team RLL United States John Edwards
Finland Jesse Krohn 		BMW M8 GTE 87 +1 laps
BMW S63 4.0 L Twin-turbo V8
9 GTD 33 United States Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen
United States Ben Keating 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 86 +2 laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
10 GTD 86 United States Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Germany Mario Farnbacher
United States Trent Hindman 		Acura NSX GT3 Evo 86 +2 laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
11 GTD 63 United States Scuderia Corsa United States Cooper MacNeil
Finland Toni Vilander 		Ferrari 488 GT3 86 +2 laps
Ferrari F154 3.9 L Turbo V8
12 GTD 9 Canada Pfaff Motorsports Canada Scott Hargrove
Canada Zacharie Robichon 		Porsche 911 GT3 R 86 +2 laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
13 GTD 73 United States Park Place Motors United States Patrick Long
United States Patrick Lindsey 		Porsche 911 GT3 R 86 +2 laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
14 GTD 44 United States Magnus Racing United States Andy Lally
United States John Potter 		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 86 +2 laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
15 GTD 12 Canada AIM Vasser Sullivan United States Townsend Bell
United States Frankie Montecalvo 		Lexus RC F GT3 86 +2 laps
Lexus 5.0 L V8
16 GTD 74 United States Lone Star Racing United States Lawson Aschenbach
United States Gar Robinson 		Mercedes-AMG GT3 86 +2 laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
17 GTD 76 Canada Compass Racing United States Paul Holton
United States Matt Plumb 		McLaren 720S GT3 86 +2 laps
McLaren M480T 4.0 L Twin-turbo V8
18 GTD 48 United States Paul Miller Racing United States Corey Lewis
United States Bryan Sellers 		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 84 +4 laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
19 GTD 96 United States Turner Motorsport United States Bill Auberlen
United States Robby Foley 		BMW M6 GT3 83 +5 laps
BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8
20

DNF

GTD 57 United States Heinricher Racing w/Meyer Shank Racing United Kingdom Katherine Legge
United Kingdom Alice Powell 		Acura NSX GT3 Evo 74 Crash
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
21

DNF

GTD 14 Canada AIM Vasser Sullivan United Kingdom Jack Hawksworth
United States Richard Heistand 		Lexus RC F GT3 63 Electrical
Lexus 5.0 L V8
Sources:[41][42]

Standings after the race[edit]

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.


  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.


  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Porsche Wins Manufactures' Title With VIR Win". dailysportscar.com. 25 August 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  2. ^ Klein, Jamie (August 4, 2018). "IMSA reveals largely unchanged 2019 schedule". motorsport.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  3. ^ Pruett, Marshall (August 3, 2018). "IMSA releases 2019 schedule". racer.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "2019 IMSA Schedule Released". dailysportscar.com. August 4, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "2019 IMSA Schedule Released". dailysportscar.com. August 4, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  6. ^ "Ford, BMW Adjusted in Latest Round of BoP Changes". sportscar365.com. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 6, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  8. ^ "22 Entries for Michelin GT Challenge at VIR". sportscar365.com. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Powell to Make IMSA Debut in MSR Acura". sportscar365.com. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  10. ^ Dagys, John (22 August 2019). "Starworks withdraws from VIR". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  11. ^ a b "2019 IMSA Official Schedule and SR VIR 081419 V1" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Lloyd, Daniel (August 23, 2019). "Vanthoor Quickest in VIR Opening Practice". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  13. ^ O'Malley, J.J. (August 23, 2019). "Porsches 1-2 in hot VIR opening practice". racer.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  14. ^ Bradley, Charles (August 23, 2019). "VIR IMSA: Vanthoor tops first practice for Porsche". motorsport.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  15. ^ "03_Results_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 23, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  16. ^ "06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 23, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  17. ^ Bradley, Charles (August 23, 2019). "VIR IMSA: Pilet fastest in FP2 for Porsche". motorsport.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Lloyd, Daniel (August 23, 2019). "Pilet Beats Garcia by 0.090 Seconds in Practice 2". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  19. ^ O'Malley, J.J. (August 23, 2019). "Pilet's Porsche leads dry VIR second practice". racer.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  20. ^ "03_Results_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 23, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  21. ^ "06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 23, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  22. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (August 24, 2019). "Vanthoor, Porsche Quickest in Rain-Hit VIR Third Practice". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  23. ^ Bradley, Charles (August 24, 2019). "VIR IMSA: Vanthoor beats Tandy in all-Porsche FP3 duel". motorsport.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  24. ^ "Road America IMSA: Acura Team Penske unmatchable in FP3". motorsport.com. August 3, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  25. ^ O'Malley, J.J. (August 24, 2019). "Porsches 1-2 in wet VIR third practice". racer.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  26. ^ "03_Results_Practice 3.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 24, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  27. ^ "06_Fastest Lap By Driver_Practice 3.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 24, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  28. ^ "2019 IMSA SPORTING REGULATIONS and SERIES SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2020. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  29. ^ a b c Allaway, Phil (August 24, 2019). "Laurens Vanthoor Wins Michelin GT Challenge At VIR Pole". frontstretch.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  30. ^ a b c d "VIR IMSA: Vanthoor beats Magnussen to pole by 0.078s". motorsport.com. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  31. ^ a b c Lloyd, Daniel (August 24, 2019). "Vanthoor Takes Porsche's Fifth Pole of Season in Close Session". sportscar365.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  32. ^ O'Malley, J.J. (August 24, 2019). "Vanthoor, Robichon score VIR poles". racer.com. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  33. ^ "03_Results_Qualifying.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 24, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  34. ^ "01_Grid_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 25, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  35. ^ "2007 ENTRANT CREDENTIAL AND" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  36. ^ "2007 ENTRANT CREDENTIAL AND" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  37. ^ "2007 ENTRANT CREDENTIAL AND" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  38. ^ "2007 ENTRANT CREDENTIAL AND" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  39. ^ "2007 ENTRANT CREDENTIAL AND" (PDF). results.imsa.com/noticeBoard.php. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  40. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 27, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  41. ^ "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 27, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  42. ^ "2019 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR". racing-reference.info. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

External links[edit]

IMSA SportsCar Championship
Previous race:
Road Race Showcase at Road America 		2019 season Next race:
Monterey Grand Prix
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