IMSA VIR GT results: Pfaff Motorsports outduels Corvette, closes in on championship

By Aug 28, 2022, 7:00 PM EDT
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IMSA results, points: Pfaff Motorsports continued its GTD Pro championship push Sunday, winning at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) with Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet.

The No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3R duo extended its lead in the standings to 265 points heading into the Petit Le Mans season finale Oct. 1. It’s the fifth GTD Pro win this season (and 11th in IMSA’s top GT division) for Pfaff and its second consecutive at VIR.

Campbell earned his first win at VIR and the 10th of his IMSA career. It also was the first VIR victory for Jaminet, who held off a charge by runner-up Jordan Taylor in the No. 3 Corvette C8.R and won by 0.823 seconds. Taylor and co-driver Antonio Garcia are second in the GTD Pro standings after their second consecutive podium finish.

RESULTS: Click here for overall finishing order l Click here for the class breakdown

POINTS: Standings after VIR

The Corvette led by 11 seconds early in the two-hour and 40-minute race, but Pfaff pulled out the victory on strategy.

“It was super tight when guys went on different strategies,” Jaminet told the IMSA Wire Service. “Only taking rear tires like we did is not very common, and the car was super hard to drive. I had to push flat out, but we were pretty tight on fuel at the end, so we had some quite big saving over the last two laps. It was a good calculation from the boys. We maximized everything.

“Super happy for the team. Fifth win of the season and the championship is pretty much done. I think all the objectives are achieved, so now we go to Petit Le Mans to push hard and win one more.”

In the GTD division, the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Winward Racing earned its second consecutive victory this season and first at VIR. Ellis took the lead from Maxime Martin (who was saving fuel) with two minutes remaining in the event.

Ellis and co-driver Russell Ward are fourth in the driver standings, 140 points behind leader Roman De Angelis. Steve McAleer is 45 points behind, followed by Ryan Hardwick and Jan Heylen in third, 57 points behind.

STATS PACKAGE FOR IMSA MICHELIN GT CHALLENGE AT VIR 

Fastest laps by driver

Fastest laps by driver after race (over the weekend)

Fastest laps by driver and class after race

Fastest lap sequence

Leader sequence

Lap chart

Race analysis by lap

Drive time

Time cards

Pit stop time cards

Average distance and speed

Best sector times

NEXT: The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will end its season Oct. 1 for all five classes with the Petit Le Mans at Michelin Road Atlanta. The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR will begin at noon ET with broadcast coverage across USA and NBC and flag to flag on Peacock.

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).