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Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA Fred Vervisch paced the opening practice session for Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway, leading a 1-2 in the GTD Pro class for the factory Ford Mustang GT3 EVOs. The Belgian in the No. 65 Mustang reeled off a chart-topping 1:46.065 to edge out the GTD pace-setting No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Frederik Schandorff by just 0.003 seconds. Tom Gamble slotted in third quickest overall in the GTD points-leading No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, followed by the No. 64 Multimatic Motorsports-run Mustang of Dennis Olsen in fourth. The GTD Pro championship-leading No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Neil Verhagen completed the overall top-five but had a sizable accident in Turn 14 that brought out the session’s only red flag. Verhagen returned to the track in the final 12 minutes with a fully repaired car after sustaining mostly front bodywork damage in his off-course moment. ...

Photo: Bob Chapman/Ford Wheelhouse Motorsports driver Sandy Satullo was quickest following a pair of practice sessions for this weekend’s Mustang Challenge North America races at Virginia International Raceway. Satullo, in the No. 7 Ford Mustang Dark Horse R, reeled off a chart-topping 1:57.327 in Friday’s second session to outpace Dark Horse points leader Cole Loftsgard by 0.579 seconds. The Round 3 Racing driver’s best time was set in the morning’s 30-minute session, which ran in full dry conditions before heavy rain and thunderstorms blanketed the 3.27-mile circuit in time for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge’s opening practice. While the second Mustang Challenge practice was shortened by five minutes due to an adjusted schedule, Satullo went quicker in the afternoon running. Will Lucas posted the third quickest time on the combined timesheets in his No. 34 Wheelhouse Mustang, followed by Devin Anderson and Ethan Low, who completed the top-five for Te...

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA Kiko Porto set the quickest time in a rain-affected opening IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge practice session of the day at Virginia International Raceway. The driver of the No. 12 RAFA Racing Team Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 reeled off a pace-setting 1:54.989 lap time on his first flying lap of the session prior to a sudden downpour and red flag at the eight-minute mark of the 60-minute scheduled session. The No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 of Bob Michaelian went off in Turn 14 amid the arrival of heavy rain. The track remained red-flagged for nearly an hour due to multiple strikes of lightning in the area, before IMSA elected to extend the session through the lunchtime break once conditions improved. The session restarted with 53 minutes added to the clock and saw several more incidents in wet track conditions, including an accident for Allen Patten in the No. 66 YRB Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in Turn 1 that brought out a stoppage. Patt...

Photo: Conquest Racing Longtime GT racing driver Cedric Sbirrazzuoli has died at the age of 39. A cause of his death has not yet been disclosed but is understood to not be motorsport-related. News of Sbirrazzuoli’s passing first appeared on AF Corse’s Instagram page on Thursday evening, with the following words: “You were a very talented, determined and professional driver, with that passion and desire to win that only belongs to those who really love racing. “But you were also much more: an authentic, respectful and sunny person, capable of bringing healthy enthusiasm and your own special way of living your passion for motorsport. “It has been a privilege to work and dream together. “Your race stopped too soon. Your memory will keep running forever. We hug your wife, parents and all your loved ones with love.” Sbirrazzuoli, who won the GTD class at the 2024 Motul Petit Le Mans with Conquest Racing, had been a longtime driver and coach i...

Photo: John Dagys ***IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams unloaded on Thursday at Virginia International Raceway for the lone GT-only race of the year. This weekend’s Michelin GT Challenge marks the 10th anniversary of Michelin, the Official Tire of IMSA, serving as the event’s title sponsor, which has seen a large level of activation around the event in the decade since. ***The GR GT3 made its un-camouflaged North American dynamic debut in last week’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, with Jack Hawksworth turning laps in the car that’s set to replace the Lexus RC F GT3 next year. Among the interested onlookers included RAFA Racing Team owner Rafael Martinez and team principal Kevin Conway, with the Toyota-affiliated GT4 squad understood to be evaluating a future expansion into the GT3 ranks. ***McLaren’s new MCL-HY LMDh-based prototype, meanwhile, was also on display during Monterey Car Week, in what marke...

Photo: SRO GT racing veteran Andrew Howard will bow out of top-line GT3 competition at the end of the year, it has been announced. The 62-year-old Briton has elected to call time on his full time driving career that yielded two British GT Championship crowns, in 2013 and 2015, when the current series concludes at Brands Hatch next month. He also won the 2016 GTE title in the European Le Mans Series, and made two appearances in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016-17. Howard explained that he is hanging up his helmet mainly because of the changing nature of Pro-Am competition in GT racing, amid the constant arrival of younger and better-prepared FIA Bronze-rated drivers. “In short, despite the competitive fires burning in me just as intensely as 10 or 15 years ago, I just don’t have the time and energy to commit myself 100 percent to racing any more,” he said. “The game has moved on over the past decade and it’s clear that younger Am drivers, who can race weekend after weeke...

Photo: Aston Martin Heart of Racing Team completed an initial test with a development version of the Aston Martin Valkyrie ahead of planned Evo joker updates to the car for next year. Ross Gunn and Harry Tincknell handled driving duties on Wednesday at Silverstone, in what was billed as a “comprehensive test” for the 6.5-liter V12-powered LMH-based prototype. While specifics on the potential upgrades were not disclosed, the British manufacturer stated they assessed a “wide range of technical items” in order to evaluate the “future performance direction” of the car. “This was a significant day for Valkyrie,” said Heart of Racing team principal Ian James. “Some of the developments we tried today will fuel our thinking as we consider the technical direction we go next with Valkyrie. “We have been able to evaluate lots of areas of performance on the car, so Silverstone has proved an interesting place to challenge ideas. ...