International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in September 2020. It was the eighth consecutive year it was part of the IMSA SCC.[1] The 2021 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was the eleventh of twelve sports car races of 2021 by IMSA, and it was the eighth round held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.[2] The race was held at the seventeen-turn 3.270 mi (5.263 km)Virginia International Raceway inAlton, Virginia. As in previous years, the event was also the second GT-only round of theIMSA SportsCar Championship season, in which only the GTLM and GTD classes were scheduled to compete.[3]
Originally scheduled to run on August 22, 2021, the race was set to clash with the24 Hours of Le Mans after the event was postponed from its original date in June to August.[4] As a result, IMSA rescheduled the event to October 9, 2021, and movedPetit Le Mans to November 13, 2021.[3][5]
On September 30, 2021, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event.[6] In GTD, theLexus RC F GT3 received a 10 kilogram weight break. No changes were made in GTLM.
A total of 18 cars took part in the event, split across 2 classes. 3 cars were entered in GTLM, and 15 in GTD.[8] In GTLM,Kévin Estre would be joiningCooper MacNeil in the #79WeatherTech Racing entry. GTD saw various changes after the previous round, as Alegra Motorsports would return after skipping the previous 3 rounds.[9] Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports also returned for the first time since the Road America race withMike Skeen partneringGuy Cosmo.[10] Compass Racing withdrew from the event in order to focus on theIndianapolis 8 Hours.[11]Mario Farnbacher subbed forMarc Miller, who was injured, in the Gradient Racing #66.[12]
There were two practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, both on Friday. The first session lasted one hour on Friday morning while the second session on Friday afternoon lasted 75 minutes.[13]
Qualifying was broken into two sessions.[13] The first was for cars in the GTD class.Robby Foley qualified on pole for the class driving the No. 96 car forTurner Motorsport, beatingMadison Snow in the No. 1 Lamborghini by 0.236 seconds.Trent Hindman was third in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche followed byRoman De Angelis in the No. 23 Aston Martin.[22]
The final session of qualifying was for the GTLM and GTD classes.Tommy Milner qualified on pole in GTLM driving the No. 4 car forCorvette Racing, besting teammateJordan Taylor in the sister No. 3 Corvette Racing entry by less than 0.010 seconds.[23]Cooper MacNeil in the No. 79 Porsche rounded out the GTLM field.[24]Ross Gunn set the fastest time in the GTD points paying session driving the No. 23 car for Heart of Racing Team and earned 35 championship points. Gunn was 0.141 seconds clear of teammateAlex Riberas in the sister No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin.[23]Jack Hawksworth was third in the No. 14 Lexus followed byBryan Sellers in the No. 1 Lamborghini.[24]
1 The No. 16 Wright Motorsports entry was moved to the rear of the GTD classification for violating competition rules regarding the car's ride height.[28]
2 The No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports entry was moved to the back of the GTD classification as per Article 40.2.9. of the Sporting regulations (car was touched by the crew during qualifying without permission by the officials).[29]
3 The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team entry was moved to the back of the GTD classification for violating competition rules regarding the car's rear wing.[30] Additionally, the team elected to change tires after qualifying.
The result kept Antonio García and Jordan Taylor atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship.[31] With 2938 points, Robichon and Vanthoor's victory allowed them to increase their advantage over Sellers and Snow in the GTD Drivers' Championship. Long advanced from fifth to fourth while Auberlen and Foley dropped from fourth to fifth.[31] Chevrolet and Porsche continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Corvette Racing and Pfaff Motorsports kept their respective advantages in their respective Teams' Championships with one round remaining in the season.[31]
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Corvette Racing
Roman De Angelis
Ian James
GRT Grasser Racing Team
