Image by IMSA
Porsches 1-2 in wet VIR third practice
Fastest in both hot and dry sessions on Friday, the Porsche GT 2 prevailed in Saturday morning’s wet and cooler conditions in the third IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice for Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge.
Laurens Vanthoor led the session with a lap of 2m00.631s in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR, followed by teammate Nick Tandy at 2m00.938s. After the rain eased up early on, it began falling steadily in the closing 20 minutes. Vanthoor was among the drivers having off-course excursions in the closing minutes but was able to make it back to the pits without damage.
“We’ve got good speed, and we’re going through our options because we’re not sure if it’s going to be dry or wet for qualie,” said Vanthoor’s co-driver, Earl Bamber. “I think we’re going to have a good car for the race tomorrow.”
Light rain is expected to continue this morning, with temperatures at 64F. Sunny calls for partly cloudy and a high of 79 – a far cry from Friday’s mid-90s – but only a 10-percent chance of rain.
Joey Hand was third, at 2m001.262s in the No. 66 Ford GT, followed by Connor De Phillippi, 2m002.258s in the No. 25 BMW M8 GTLM.
Andy Lally bounced back from a spin in Friday’s second session to lead GTD, running 2m03.784s in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Co-driver John Potter had a slide off in Turn 17 midway through the session and nudged the tire barrier. He was able to continue back to the pits.
https://twitter.com/MagnusRacing/status/1165257157715070976?s=20
“Rain or dry, I’m looking forward to it,” Lally said. “Our Lambo is pretty quick.”
Richard Heistand was second at 2m04.732s in the No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, followed by Toni Vilander with a 2m04.968s in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3.
UP NEXT: Qualifying begins at 12:25 p.m. ET Saturday while Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge takes the green flag at 1:35 p.m. The event will be televised live on NBCSN, beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.
J.J. O'Malley
J.J. O’Malley became news editor for Chris Economaki in 1977, launching him on a career covering all facets of motorsports in many capacities. He did public relations at Watkins Glen International for 14 years; followed by four seasons at Homestead-Miami Speedway; news editor at ISC Publications (now Edgeset Marketing); and communications manager for Grand-Am and IMSA. He’s currently completing his 13th book on racing – a history of the Daytona Prototype – in addition to covering events for RACER.com, Edgeset Marketing and Sunday Group Management. O’Malley is an honorary member of the prestigious Road Racing Drivers Club.
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