IMSA points, results VIR: Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner drove the No. 4 Corvette to its third consecutive victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, winning the Michelin GT Challenge from the pole position Saturday at Virginia International Raceway
With about 50 minutes remaining in the two-hour, 40-minute race, Tandy went from third to first in a half-lap. After No. 79 Porsche driver Kevin Estre had muscled No. 3 Antonio Garcia from the lead, Tandy returned the favor for his Corvette teammate a few turns later.
“It was an awesome race,” Tandy said. “It shows a way to win a race when you don’t have the fastest car. Honestly, the Porsche should have won the race. But honestly, when you kind of lose your brain and start driving stupid, stuff happens. Luckily with our Corvettes, we kept them on the track and didn’t do too much damage to them.”
RESULTS: Click here for the finishing order at VIR l Results by class
Garcia, who leads the GTLM standings with teammate Jordan Taylor, finished second, followed by Estre in third.
Talk about a roller coaster of a race, 🏁🏁 for the Michelin GT Challenge at @VIRNow💥
GTD: No. 9 @pfaffmotorsport
GTLM: No. 4 @CorvetteRacing #IMSA / #MichelinVIR pic.twitter.com/71uWhlUDER— #IMSA (@IMSA) October 9, 2021
“I think we had more pace than them,” Estre said. “I had some banging doors with Nick at the restart, which was unnecessary because I passed him already. I could also pass the No. 3 car and then Nick went hard again on my side.
“I went back to P2 and lost some time in traffic and then I pushed too hard trying to come back. I made a mistake in Oak Tree and hit the barrier. I was able to come back but it was too late. It’s a shame.”
It’s the 121st career victory for Corvette Racing and its seventh this season. After four victories by the No. 3 C8.R, the No. 4 has won at VIR, Laguna Seca and Long Beach.
Elbows out at @VIRNow 💥 Tune-in to NBC now to see the wild finish. #IMSA / #MichelinVIR pic.twitter.com/bN3EOI3YqQ
— #IMSA (@IMSA) October 9, 2021
“Today is all about Nick Tandy,” Milner said. “He made it happen today for sure. Porsche definitely had pace on us for sure, but when you have got a guy like that who can race like he does, he got a little bit, but he gave it right back. What an awesome race. That was a lot of fun to watch.”
In the GTD division, points leaders Laurens Vanthoor and Zach Robichon scored their first win at VIR and the first at the road course for the No. 9 Porsche of Pfaff Racing, which has four victories this season.
POINTS
Heading into the Motul Petit Le Mans season finale at VIR, the points leaders in each division are:
DPi: Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor
LMP2: Ben Keating and Mikkel Jensen
GTLM: Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor
GTD: Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor
Click here for the unofficial standings after VIR
STATS PACKAGE FOR THE MICHELIN GT CHALLENGE AT VIR:
Fastest laps by driver after race (over the weekend)
Fastest laps by driver and class after race
Race distance and speed average
ROUND 1: Points and results from the Rolex 24 at Daytona
ROUND 2: Points and results from the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
ROUND 3: Points and results from Mid-Ohio
ROUND 4: Points and results from Detroit
ROUND 5: Points and results from the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen
ROUND 6: Points and results from Watkins Glen WeatherTech 240
ROUND 7: Points and results from Lime Rock Park
ROUND 8: Points and results from IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America
ROUND 9: Points and results from IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Laguna Seca
ROUND 10: Points and results from IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Long Beach
NEXT: The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will conclude the 2021 season Saturday, Nov. 13 with the Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Road Atlanta (10:10 a.m., TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold; noon-3 p.m. ET on NBC; 3-10:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
