Seven AMR Vantage GT4 crews to battle Michelin Pilot Challenge and VP Sportscar Challenge at VIR

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Making their way to Virginia International Raceway is support of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship this weekend will again be the GT4 and TCR classes of the Michelin Pilot Championship as well as the LMP3 and GSX classes of VP Fuels Sportscar Championship.

Scrolling through the provisional entry lists for each sees seven Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 powered teams make the trip but this time we see a near split in preference between the two with the longer dual driver/compulsory pit stop punctuated Michelin Pilot Challenge to that of the solo driven, two races of the Sportscar Challenge four to three.

Within the more established MPC event, we see the Van Der Steur, Team TGM and Archangel teams return with their full season entries whilst in the Sportscar Challenge, we see two new entries compete for the first time alongside that of a near regular.

Thirty-seven cars are due to run in Saturday’s two-hour Virginia is for Racing Lovers Grand Prix with the #19 Van Der Steur car of Rory Van Der Steur and Austin McCusker joining the Team TGM Aston Martins of Owen Trinkler/Ted Giovanis (#64) and Hugh and Matt Plumb (#46) as well as the #88 Archangel car of Todd Coleman and Billy Johnson within a GS class of twenty-four cars.

Then in the Sportscar Challenge, the GSX class for GT4 based cars will outnumber the LMP3 runners 2:1 as both Scott Blind and Brady Behrman make their IMSA debuts aboard their Archangel and Van Der Steur prepared Vantage GT4’s.

This weekend will see itself as another step up the racing ladder for both gentleman drivers as Blind and his Ruckus Racing outfit add IMSA to their SRO GT America efforts of last weekend where he secured two P5 finishes at Road America – far removed from his World Racing League exploits undertaken until now. Behrman, meanwhile, also goes solo till season end having raced with Coby Shields within the GT4 America Series but again went solo for the first-time last weekend at Road America.

They will compete within a two forty-minute races over the weekend but with their top running AMR driver (Moisey Uretsky) still not back after was forced to miss the IMSA visit to Road America due to Covid.

Recent results in MPC have seen the #46 Team TGM crew drop to P9 within the GS drivers’ Championship as the Plumb brothers now sit just above the #19 Van Der Steur/McCusker partnership – some four hundred points in arrears to the leaders.

Photo credits – Team / Series / social media / GT America