ALTON, Va. – The No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R team entered this weekend’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia Int’l Raceway looking to do two things.
The first is repeat its 2016 victory VIR, with the second being expand its GT Le Mans class points lead with two races remaining after VIR.
If Friday’s pair of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice sessions are any indication, they’re off to a strong start with Antonio Garcia setting the fastest lap of the day in GTLM with a lap of 1:41.323 (116.182 mph) in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R.
Garcia and co-driver Jan Magnussen enter the weekend with an eight-point lead over the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing duo of Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller.
“We can see that everyone is close,” said Garcia. “A lot of it (setting a fast lap) depends on when you use your tires and your fuel load. That’s the biggest thing. The Corvette is running very well. There is still quite a bit of grip here. It’s different from last year; it’s less consistent. But everyone is very tight and the race and qualifying should be like that, too. It’s a bit early yet but it’s good to be on the competitive side of things.”
Hand and Mueller led throughout much of the final session, before Garcia and BMW Team RLL’s John Edwards jumped to the top two spots on the charts in the final minute. Edwards lapped the 3.27-mile circuit in 1:41.405, just ahead of Mueller at 1:41.667.
Jeroen Mul swept the day’s two practice sessions in the GT Daytona class, setting the fastest lap in the afternoon session with a lap of 1:43.830 (113.337 mph) in the No. 16 XBOX / Monster Energy / Orion Lighting Lamborghini Huracán GT3.
Mul, co-driver Corey Lewis and the No. 16 Change Racing team have had speed for much of the season, but often have been the victim of bad luck. They hope this is the weekend that all turns around.
“Obviously there are no points given yet, but it’s always a good feeling to know the car is in the right and setup,” he said. “Still a long way to go with another practice and qualifying, which is the first session that’s going to matter, and then the race where we hopefully finally have a good result after the bad luck we’ve had this season.”
There was one notable driver change on the day in the GTD class with one of the contenders for the GTD championship not competing this weekend due to the potential impact of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.
Ben Keating, who has multiple businesses and his residence in the path of the storm, returned home Friday. Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge regular Trent Hindman will pilot the No. 33 Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 alongside co-driver Jeroen Bleekemolen.
Source : speedsport.com
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