Corvette by Pratt Miller, Winward extend leads with victories in final regular round of the season

Sunday marked the one round of the season the GT classes are the headline act. The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship convenes at the scenic Virginia International Raceway for the annual Michelin GT Challenge.

GTD PRO: Corvette FINALLY breaks through…

It is a long time coming. The #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports duo of Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia are the most consistent team in GTD PRO. They are fast, master strategy and constantly placing themselves in position. But for some reason, everything has not come together in their favor…until Sunday afternoon…but not right away.

This race proved eventful from the very beginning. Polesitter Giacomo Altoe didn’t even get to enjoy his time leading the field to green as Neil Verhagen attacked immediately. The #1 Paul Miller BMW seized the lead at Turn 1 and by the time the field reached the Esses, teammate Dan Harper made it a Paul Miller BMW 1-2 out front.

Drama found “Rexy,” the #77 AO Racing Porsche around the 40 minute mark with Klaus Bachler making contact with Nicky Catsburg in the #4 Corvette through the Left Hook and into the Snake. The result saw the German taking a trip through the grass and falling to the back of the GTD PRO field.

As the race found its rhythm, it looked like it would be a repeat of Road America three weeks ago. The BMWs were the dominant force for the first two hours. Barring some crazy circumstances, the rest of the field did not have an answer. However, that all changed with an hour to go.

As the field began the final pit stop sequence, Max Hesse in the #48 BMW, fresh off pit road, caught fire at the bottom of the Roller Coaster. As Hesse rolled to a stop at a marshal’s post, the full course yellow was deployed. At the same time, the sister car with Madison Snow at the wheel of the #1 BMW, had not pitted. Conversely, the Corvettes and the DragonSpeed Ferrari made it to the pits before the yellow.

The result was a Corvette 1-2 with 40 minutes left to go on the restart. Alexander Sims nailed both late race restarts to gap the field. With 20 minutes to go, Alberto Costa put his Ferrari alongside Tommy Milner at Left Hook and going into the Snake, powering past the Corvette into second.

The Spaniard set chase and caught Sims with eleven minutes to go. But the Corvette proved too hard to pass once he got there. Sims held his nerve and kept Costa in the DragonSpeed Ferrari at bay to the checkered flag. For Sims and Garcia, it’s their first win since Mosport last season. More importantly, it extends their championship lead. Behind Costa, who minimized his points loss with his runner-up, Milner held on for third to give Corvette a double podium. 

Corvette becomes the fifth different manufacturer to win in GTD PRO this season. Garcia and Sims becomes the seventh different driving team to win in class in eight races this season. Talk about competitive!

The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes of Russell Ward and Phillip Ellis

GTD: Ellis masterclass lifts Winward to victory 

The headline for GTD could have very well been racers vs race control. Aggressiveness was visible from the very beginning. At the start through the Snake, the GTD frontrunners were mixing it up with the GTD PRO Mustang of Frederic Vervisch. Vervisch in the #65 Mustang was sent through the grass as a result. 

Race control deemed Jack Hawksworth to be at fault for the incident and the #12 Lexus was thus given a drive-thru penalty. Additionally, Onoforo Triarsi in the #021 Ferrari, fresh off their class win at Road America, was also given a drive-thru penalty for aggressive driving on Lap 1.

One of the weirder moments occured during the 35-minute mark of the race. While going off-road, Brendan Iribe collected some of the trackside sponsorship signage. Iribe drove for half a lap with the signage in front of his black and yellow Inception Ferrari. Finally, the banner flew off going down the backstretch and the Am driver was able to keep going.

In contrast, the scariest moment of the race occurred with 38 minutes to go. Danny Formal, who led the race in its earlier stages, was aboard the #45 Lamborghini for Wayne Taylor Racing when the car caught flames. Entering the Roller Coaster, the fuel line burst resulting in the fire. Fortunately, the Costa Rican quickly escaped the burning Lamborghini. Outside of possibly having some substance enter his eyes, Formal was ok following the incident.

After the final stop, Philip Ellis performed a tactical drive to hold off his GTD rivals. The Swiss pro stewarded the gap to the chasing pack while he managed the tire wear to maintain competitive levels.

As Ellis and teammate Russell Ward celebrated their third win of the season, there was drama behind as race control intervened. First the #70 Inception Ferrari was given a drive-thru penalty for blocking with 10 minutes remaining. Similarly, the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini was penalized for blocking on the final lap. The car, which finished 2nd on the road, would be handed a post-race time equivalent thus knocking them off the podium.

Inheriting podium positions, and keeping the championship battle interesting, was Kenton Koch and Casper Stevenson. Koch and the #021 Triarsi Ferrari was promoted to 2nd. Stevenson and the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, shared today with Tom Gamble, was promoted to 3rd.

So Long Sprints…

Two races remain in the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and the series returns to endurance mode. 

The full family reunites at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the fourth leg of the Michelin Endurance Cup. The 6-Hour Tire Rack.com Battle of the Bricks takes place Sunday, September 21.

Featured Image: The Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports #3 Corvette driven by Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims