The 2023 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was a sports car race sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The Race was held at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on August 27, 2023. The event was the ninth round of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the sixth round of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup.

Background 

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2022. It was the tenth consecutive year the event will be held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2023 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR was the ninth of eleven scheduled sports car races of 2023 by IMSA, and it was the sixth round held as part of the WeatherTech Sprint Cup. The race was held at the seventeen-turn  Virginia International Raceway on August 27, 2023. As in previous years, it will be the second of two GT-only rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, in which only the GTD Pro and GTD classes will compete.

IMSA released two separate technical bulletins regarding the Balance of Performance for the event. The first one was released on August 16, 2023. In this bulletin, the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 received a 12-horsepower decrease, as well as a four-liter fuel capacity reduction. The second technical bulletin was released on August 18, 2023. In this bulletin, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo received a 15 kilogram weight increase, as well as a 0.5 mm larger air restrictor and a one-liter fuel capacity increase. The Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) received a 10 kilogram weight increase, 2 mm larger air restrictor, and an increase in fuel capacity of one liter.

Before the race, Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth led the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 2810 points, ahead of Antonio García and Jordan Taylor in second with 2641 points, and Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella in third. In GTD, the Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with 2611 points, ahead of  Roman De Angelis and Marco Sørensen with 2406 points. Lexus and BMW were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Vasser Sullivan Racing and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.

Entries 

A total of 19 cars took part in the event split across two classes. 5 cars are entered in GTD Pro and 14 in GTD. Andretti Autosport skipped the event.

Practice 
There were two practice sessions preceding the race start on Sunday, one on Friday afternoon and one on Saturday morning.

Practice 1 
The first practice session will take place at 4:30 pm ET on Friday and ended with Ben Barnicoat topping the charts for Vasser Sullivan Racing, with a lap time of 1:45.201. Patrick Pilet put the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche second in class followed by the No. 3 Corvette of Antonio García. Patrick Gallagher set the fastest time in GTD with a time of 1:45.234, 0.160 seconds faster than Aaron Telitz. The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes of Daniel Juncadella caught fire in the pitlane in the closing minutes.

Practice 2 
The second and final practice session took place at 10:20 am ET on Saturday and ended with Daniel Juncadella topping the charts for WeatherTech Racing, with a lap time of 1:44.539. Jack Hawksworth was second fastest in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry and Antonio García rounded out the top 3. Madison Snow set the fastest time in GTD.

Qualifying 

Qualifying featured one session. The only session was for cars in the GTD Pro and GTD classes. Jack Hawksworth qualified on pole in GTD Pro driving the No. 14 car for Vasser Sullivan Racing, beating Daniel Juncadella in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing entry by 0.096 seconds. Following in third was Antonio García's No. 3 Corvette while the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche and No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin rounded out the GTD Pro qualifiers. Madison Snow qualified on pole in GTD driving the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing car. Snow was 0.153 seconds clear of Aaron Telitz in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing entry followed by Loris Spinelli in the No. 78 Lamborghini in third.

Qualifying results 
Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by .

Warm up 
A 20-minute morning warm-up session was held on the morning of August 27. Antonio García led GTD Pro with a lap time of 1:46.295, 0.055 seconds ahead of Jules Gounon. Frederik Schandorff set the fastest time amongst all GTD cars.

Race

Post-race 
The result kept Barnicoat and Hawksworth atop the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship. Bachler and Pilet advanced from fourth to third while Gounon and Juncadella dropped from third to fourth. With 2996 points, Sellers and Snow's victory allowed them to increase their advantage over De Angelis and Sørensen in the GTD Drivers' Championship. Foley and Gallagher advanced from seventh to fifth while Iribe and Schandorff dropped from third to fourth. Lexus and BMW continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Vasser Sullivan Racing, and Paul Miller Racing kept their respective advantages in their respective of Teams' Championships with two rounds remaining in the season.

Race Result 
Class winners are in bold and .

Standings after the race 

 Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

 Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

 Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

References

External links 

August 2023 sports events in the United States
GT Challenge at VIR
VIR 240
Michelin GT Challenge at VIR