Gregory Liefooghe, driving the No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4, made a decisive late-race move on IMSA veteran Mike Skeen in the No. 60 KOHR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 to claim the program’s first overall and GSX victory in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition at Virginia International Raceway on Saturday.
The opening half of the GSX race was paced by polesitter Jaxon Bell, son of racing legend Townsend Bell, aboard the No. 23 Koch-Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2.
Following the round of pit stops at the race’s midway point, Bell’s co-driver, Ford Koch, cycled down the running order. The shuffle allowed Robert Noaker, the GSX championship leader entering the weekend, to take control of the race in the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4.
Noaker would later pit as part of a different strategy, allowing Skeen to move into the lead with less than 40 minutes remaining.
As the race entered its final 20 minutes, Liefooghe began his charge toward the front. He moved past Hannah Grisham in the No. 26 Heart of Racing Aston Martin AMR GT4 Evo, the pole-winning car from the previous three races, to take third and position himself for a potential Ford 1-2-3 finish.
The battle intensified between Liefooghe and Matt Plumb in the No. 46 Team TGM Ford Mustang GT4. Contact between the two sent bodywork flying from Plumb’s Mustang and brought out a full-course yellow with 12 minutes remaining.
Liefooghe had cleared Plumb before the caution, setting up a late-race battle with Skeen for the lead. On the restart, Liefooghe pounced on Skeen entering Turn 1 with less than five minutes remaining to take the top spot.
Skeen remained within striking distance, but debris from Noaker’s championship-leading No. 13 Mustang brought out another full-course yellow, ending the race under caution and securing the victory for Liefooghe and co-driver Sean Quinlan.
Skeen and co-driver Evan Slater finished second in the No. 60 KOHR Motorsports Mustang, while Luca Mars and Dillon Machavern completed the GSX podium with a third-place finish in the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 EVO.
In TCR, Tyler Gonzalez picked up where co-driver Steven Clemons left off earlier in the race, taking control of the No. 99 Victor Gonzalez Racing Cupra Leon VZ after an early move for the lead and going on to claim the class victory.
Bryson Morris and Mason Filippi finished second in the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai Elantra N, while Tim Lewis and Rocco Pasquarella quietly secured third in the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic FL5.
The GSX championship standings underwent a major shakeup following the VIR weekend. Mars and Machavern now lead the championship aboard the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW after a difficult weekend for Noaker and the No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Mustang.
AutoTechnic Racing’s Stevan McAleer and Austin Krainz maintained second in the standings aboard the No. 27 BMW M4 GT4 EVO, while Noaker and his No. 13 crew dropped to third in the title fight.
In TCR, Morris and Filippi continue to lead the championship aboard the No. 33 Hyundai, with their Bryan Herta Autosport teammates Denis Dupont and Preston Brown second in the standings aboard the No. 76 Hyundai.
Michelin Pilot Challenge now heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the penultimate round of the season, scheduled for September 18-20, before the championship concludes at Road Atlanta.
