Goikhberg Leads Both Practice Sessions In Virginia

Subtitle:Slusher Tops Lites 2

It was business as usual for Mikhail Goikhberg during two practice sessions Friday at Virginia International Raceway as he closes in on the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda season championship.

Goikhberg led both sessions and turned a top lap of 1 minute, 46.016 seconds in the No. 10 JDC Motorsports entry on the 17-turn, 3.27-mile circuit at VIR. His JDC Motorsports teammate, Matt McMurry, was second quickest overall at 1:46.242 in the team’s No. 20 entry.

“Everything was the same in both sessions,” Goikhberg said. “We tried a lot of different things on the car. And both me and my teammate are fast, so we’re really looking forward to tomorrow. The real deal is tomorrow.”

Qualifying is scheduled for 10:50 a.m. (ET) Saturday, followed by Round 11 of the championship – a 45-minute race – at 5:15 p.m. Goikhberg, from North Vancouver, British Columbia, leads the Lites 1 class by 55 points – 156-101 – over Christian Potolicchio and needs to lead by 60 points after Round 11 or 40 points after Round 12 Sunday to secure his first championship.

Andrew Novich was third overall in practice at 1:46.658 in the No. 61 Comprent Motor Sports entry. Christian Potolicchio was fourth at 1:47.292 in the No. 2 8Star Motorsports Élan DP02 chassis powered by a Mazda engine, with his father, Enzo Potolicchio, rounding out the top five at 1:47.835 in the team’s No. 4 entry. Enzo Potolicchio also was the quickest L1 Masters (age 40 or older) competitor.

Todd Slusher led the Lites 2 class at 1:49.380 in the No. 62 ONE Motorsports entry. Brian Alder was second at 1:50.123 in the No. 22 BAR1 Motorsports entry. Alder, from Marysville, Ohio, leads the Lites 2 class by 78 points and needs to start Round 11 to clinch his second consecutive L2 season title.

Goikhberg and Alder could win championships during a unique event weekend for the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Development Series. This is the second time Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda will race concurrently on track with the Prototype Challenge (PC) class of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, as the two championships first ran together in early June at Kansas Speedway.

“They go to brakes earlier, but they’re obviously a lot faster on the straightaway,” Goikhberg said about PC cars. “But I don’t think that will be a factor.”

For live updates on all the action, follow @IMSALive on Twitter.