Practice starts today 8/22/25 for the IMSA race at VIR race this weekend

For IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers have weighed in on the new-for-2025 class split between the GTD Pro and GTD categories, with most having admitted to just being a “different” element to races.
In a change for this season, all GTD Pro class cars start each race ahead of the GTD pack, even if some of the Pro-Am driver-enforced entries end up quicker in qualifying, which is now run in separate 15-minute sessions.

Additionally, GTD Pro cars are cycled to the front of the pack while under most full-course cautions, helping provide direct on-track battles between cars in their respective classes.
This has led to mixed feelings within the paddock, particularly with GTD competitors, who had previously been able to leverage slower GTD Pro cars while fighting for positions in their own class.

“The intermingling of the two classes is interesting from the GTD field,” said Triarsi Competizione driver Kenton Koch.
“I’m sure a lot of the GTD competitors are kind of frustrated with that, but the GTD Pro guys are really, really happy about that, but that’s just kind of how the nature of the beast works.

“It’s something different that you have to adapt to, and it’s neither bad nor good. It’s just the way it is and what you have to do to make the best of the situation. It’s no complaints, it’s just different.”
Vasser Sullivan Lexus ace Jack Hawksworth, meanwhile, admits the new procedures are “pretty different” to what was in place since the launch of the GTD Pro class in 2022.

“I like it in the sense that you’re always racing the guys in your class off the start but where it does become confusing is you end up with much faster cars behind slower cars,” he said.
“For instance you look at Road America, the fastest car was the Mercedes-AMG, and they qualified on pole overall, and they had to start behind cars which in qualifying, and they were two or three seconds a lot faster than.
“So it definitely makes it interesting because you end up with a set of faster cars kind of stuck behind a set of slower cars, which bunches the field up.

“From a GTD perspective, if you were able to then get one or two of the GTD Pro cars between you and the other GTD cars, as long as another caution doesn’t come out, it’s quite a big advantage, and you can obviously then pull out a big gap artificially because you’ve got cars from the other class slowing down the front-runners in your class.

“It’s different. It makes it at the end of a race, if you’ve got a [late] restart or something, it’s kind of re-rack and kind of turns it into a shootout, which is exciting for everybody.
“Like Kenton said, it’s just different. I don’t really have an opinion on an opinion on it. It’s just different.”
When asked if it will be any different this weekend, being a GT-only race, Hawksworth said it could add a new dynamic.
“If you’re the GTD leader, you would probably want to leave a gap to the GTD Pro cars on a restart. But IMSA has been very inconsistent in the way that they call this gapping rule.

“Like sometimes you get a penalty, if you leave more than a 10 or 15-car length gap and then another time you can jump the start or be way behind and get a big run, and they allow it. So, it’s hard to know, really.
“For the GTD Pro guys, it will make a big difference because they won’t have to worry about the P2s or the GTPs in front of them, so they can time their own restart.

“But for the GTD guys, they still have the same situation [of being] held up behind the GTD Pro cars off the start and off the restart, and it becomes a kind of game of how much of a gap do you dare leave on one of these restarts.”

Koch added: “It can be frustrating for the GTD guys but by the same token, if you are buried in a pack of GTD cars, and you don’t have the pace, but you have got craft and your savvy, I think it gives those guys opportunities to potentially get track position because that backed half of the GTD Pro field on a restart that might hold up the fast guys.
“It can actually add a whole other [element that’s] maybe good for the guys in the middle of the GTD field, but, frustrating for the top half of the GTD field.”
Ford Multimatic Motorsports driver Mike Rockenfeller, a front-runner in the GTD Pro class, meanwhile, says he prefers the new system IMSA introduced this year.

“For me, personally, last year I raced the first year in GTD Pro and the restarts, we didn’t have a class split,” he said.
“I preferred much more like it is [now]. When you wanted to race the guys you are racing [in class] and sometimes there were ten cars in between you and your next GTD Pro and there’s obviously no way that you make it back to your GTD Pro guy or GTD, it doesn’t matter whoever you race or which category.

“I think it’s a lot better, the way it is. I prefer it, but of course, like Jack said, basically, if the pace difference is as big as it sometimes has been, then it’s not so much fun sometimes… for both.
“I have been in the GTD Pro [car] not being able to be fast enough compared to the quickest GTD. That is something you don’t like for sure.
“And I guess the guy in the GTD [car] is kind of not happy if he’s held up.

“It’s not like a different category, really; the cars are the same. In prototype, it’s different, you just go through, and you race your guys, but here it’s sometimes it’s tough.
“But it’s part of the game, and it sometimes plays in your way and sometimes not, but I think in general the racing, it’s a lot of fun in your own category, for sure.
“I think this year it’s much cleaner in that respect that people understand, which category you are in, because the cars are the same.
I think for the fans, it’s a lot better that we see the battles in-between each GT category. That’s my opinion.”

DragonSpeed Ferrari leads first VIR practice

Under cloudy skies, preparation for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway got underway with the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 recording the fastest time in the first practice session.

DragonSpeed's lead driver Albert Costa took the Ferrari to the top of the timesheets with a 1m45.032s as his best time, the best in GTD PRO.

Leading GTD was the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Russell Ward, who turned in a 1m45.471s, good for second-best overall out of 23 GT3 cars.

From GTD PRO, Andrea Caldarelli was second fastest in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, followed by Road America winner Neil Verhagen in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

The two Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.Rs, and the No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3, also featured in the overall top 10.

Frederik Schandorff was second in GTD aboard the No. 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 EVO; then the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari and No. 13 AWA Corvette in third and fourth.

All 90 minutes proceeded with no major incidents, and only a brief red flag for debris on circuit. The best times of all 23 cars were covered by a spread of just under two seconds.

Practice 2 starts tomorrow at 10:35am ET, with qualifying starting later that afternoon at 4:55pm ET.

After second practice for the IMSA Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, Ferraris are on top of both GT classes, and in GTD PRO, the top two cars set identical lap times.
For the second session in a row, the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 set the outright fastest time and the top time in GTD PRO. After Albert Costa set the pace in Practice 1, this time it was co-driver Giacomo Altoe that led the way with a 1m45.011s.

Only a minute later, Sebastian Priaulx in the "Liquid Carbon" No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 (pictured above) set the exact same time as Altoe, which held up for second place.
In GTD, Onofrio Triarsi set the fastest time in the No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari, posting a 1m45.324s about 40 minutes into the 90-minute session.

All 90 minutes proceeded with no red flags, but with about 15 minutes to go,
smoke began to pour from out of the exhausts of the No. 4 Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Tommy Milner’s car was pulled behind the wall at Turn 1 safely, then retreated to the garage. The car will undergo a precautionary engine change ahead of qualifying.

Co-driver Nicky Catsburg had set the third-fastest time in the car earlier in the session, ahead of teammate Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette.

The No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini also spent most of the session in the garage with a fuel pump issue, before returning late. On the other hand, the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus enjoyed an uninterrupted practice after losing most of the first session with electrical problems.

Behind the Triarsi 296, the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth was second fastest in GTD, followed by the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of Danny Formal, and the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Russell Ward.

Rounding out the top five in each class, and the top ten overall, were the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO and the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari.
Heading into this afternoon’s qualifying session at 4:55 ET, the field is very close around VIRginia International Raceway:
Less than one second covered the best times of 19 out of the 23 cars entered.

Giacomo Altoe secured overall pole for Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway, giving DragonSpeed its fourth top-qualifying run of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
The Italian drove his No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3 to a chart-topping 1:44.433, edging out the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Neil Verhagen by 0.045 seconds.

Altoe helped co-driver Albert Costa inch closer to the lead of the GTD Pro class championship lead. Costa entered the weekend just 30 points behind the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims.
Paul Miller Racing teammate Dan Harper qualified the No. 48 BMW in third, with the pair of factory-supported Corvettes completing the top-five.

It came after a precautionary engine change for the No. 4 Corvette after issues in second practice.

Seb Priaulx was sixth quickest in the No. 64 Multimatic Ford Mustang GT3, ahead of Klaus Bachler’s No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R and the No. 65 Ford of Frederic Vervisch.
The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Aaron Telitz found trouble after spinning off course in Turn 14, although improved on his initial 1:47.044 lap time set prior to the incident.

GTD pole honors went to the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Jack Hawksworth.
In a reverse driver strategy that typically sees Silver-rated Parker Thompson qualify, Hawksworth reeled off a 1:44.860 to edge out points leader Russell Ward by 0.138 seconds.

Ward, who scored class pole last time out at Road America, will start second in the No. 57 Winward Racing Meredes-AMG GT3 Evo.
Road America class winner Onofrio Triarsi was third in the No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari, just 0.001 seconds slower than Ward’s time.
The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Casper Stevenson and the Manny Franco-qualified No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari completed the top-five in class.

The Michelin GT Challenge gets underway Sunday at 2 p.m. EST with live coverage on the USA Network, Peacock, as well as IMSA’s YouTube channel for international viewers.

Corvette program looking for seventh IMSA victory in GT-only contest

ALTON, Virginia (August 23, 2025)
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports will start fourth and fifth Sunday for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR, looking for additional speed to contend for a long-awaited first victory this season.

Antonio Garcia led the team’s qualifying efforts Saturday at Virginia International Raceway in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R that shares with Alexander Sims.
A four-time winner at VIR, Garcia’s best lap was a 1:44.886 (112.235 mph) effort to take the outside of the front row.
It also was just 0.005 seconds clear of teammate Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Corvette that he will pilot with Tommy Milner.

Catsburg’s result was especially satisfying given a precautionary engine change following Saturday morning’s final practice.
The team suspected a faulty thermostat but elected to remove all guesswork and make the swap with enough time between sessions.

While both qualifying drivers were pleased with their respective Corvettes, both sides of the Pratt Miller garage were looking for ways to close a nearly half-second gap to the GTD PRO front row.

In GTD, DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette will start eighth in class after Alec Udell’s 1:45.453 (111.632 mph) best lap in qualifying. He and Robert Wickens will share the DXDT Corvette for the final time this year, with two endurance races left in the season.

AWA’s No. 13 Corvette of Orey Fidani and Matt Bell will start 13th in GTD in their push for another Akin Award victory in the team’s push for a second straight appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET on Sunday and will air live on the USA Network starting at 2 p.m.
Live-streaming on Peacock in the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. from 2 to 5 p.m. ET IMSA Radio will provide the audio call at IMSA.com, XM 206 and SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARICA, NO. 3 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

"The results are OK but the car was excellent.
There really wasn't much more we could do than that. Maybe a tenth-and-a-half, if that. When you see you're fourth-tenths off, you know you don't have that. But the Corvette was good in this session, and it felt good in practice. Let's pray for that to be enough for tomorrow."

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

"The crew did an awesome job getting things ready in time. It's never easy, but the Corvette was excellent in qualifying, to be honest. We had super-nice balance. I don't know what I would have changed on it. I felt like I nailed the lap, but couldn't really do much more than that. Four-tenths is too much to ask. But our car is perfect, so hats off to the guys. Let's see what we can do tomorrow."

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

"The car feels good. I'm happy with my pace overall, as that was the quickest lap time I've put in across all the sessions so far this weekend. I've been doing better and better as I turn more laps. VIR is a challenging track, but the team has done a great job getting us ready for race day and I think we'll be competitive to come tomorrow."

ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

"Balance-wise, the car is good.
I think we're just fighting for a bit of grip; it's probably the same for everyone. So it was just digging into a few options (Friday in practice). We made a bunch of setup changes so there was a lot of in-and-out in that session.

I think we've got a good handle on where the car should be and just adapting to the conditions this weekend.
That's kind of where we are. It's not where we thought we would be, I would say, unloading so we have got to dig into that a little bit more."

Corvette Wins at VIR and takes the lead in season points in GTD-Pro class
The 2 Corvettes in the GTD class, sucked and ended the race towards the back of the field

Alexander Sims and Antonio Garcia extended their points lead in GTD Pro with their first victory of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season in Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway.

Sims took his No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R to a 1.070-second win over a hard-charging Albert Costa in the title-contending No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3.
Costa got around the No. 4 Corvette of Tommy Milner for second with 20 minutes to go and closed the gap in the closing minutes.

Both factory-supported Corvettes, and the DragonSpeed Ferrari, all pitted when the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Max Hesse stopped on track with an apparent engine failure with 59 minutes to go that brought out the second full-course caution of the race.

An undercut strategy in the opening hour for Garcia put the No. 3 Corvette out front after the pair of Paul Miller BMWs got past the pole-sitting DragonSpeed Ferrari of Giacomo Altoe at the start of the two-hour and 40-minute contest.

Costa kept his championship hopes alive with a second place result, with Milner completing the podium ahead of the No. 64 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 of Seb Priaulx, who started and finished the race after a middle stint by Mike Rockenfeller.
The No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Laurin Heinrich and Klaus Bachler bounced back from an opening hour drive-through penalty for incident responsibility with the No. 4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg to finish fifth.

Snow, in the remaining Paul Miller BMW, was one of several GTD Pro and GTD cars to get caught out by the race’s second-to-last yellow, and was relegated to a sixth place result after co-driver Neil Verhagen led the majority of the opening hour.

Verhagen ran long in the opening stint, which saw the Paul Miller squad split strategies between its two BMWs.
Ellis Gives Winward Top Class Honors in GTD

Winward Racing picked up its third GTD class victory of the season, which saw Philip Ellis hold off a hard-charging Mario Farnbacher and Kenton Koch to extend he and Russell Ward’s points lead.
An undercut strategy during the second round of stops got Ellis out ahead of the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of Mario Farnbacher, who led for much of the second hour.

The No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari of Koch and Onofrio Triarsi, however, finished second in class after Farnbacher was served a drive-through penalty for blocking, which came down on the final lap.
Farnbacher and co-driver Misha Goikhberg were classified 11th in class when factoring in a post-race time penalty equivalent to a drive-through.

The result for Koch and Triarsi came despite a drive-through penalty for the Bronze-rated driver for incident responsibility with the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari of Manny Franco early on.
IMSA race control handed out three penalties within the first 15 minutes to cars that had contact, in a stark contrast to the last round at Road America following a stricter enforcement of on-track conduct that was communicated during the pre-race drivers’ meeting.

The class pole-sitting No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth was another to get a penalty, which cost the team a potential chance of victory. Hawksworth and co-driver Parker Thompson finished eighth in class.
The No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Tom Gamble and title contender Casper Stevenson took a surprise podium result, ahead of a hard-charging Robby Foley in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW.

The No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari of Frederik Schandorff, which was running inside the top-five in the closing stanza, was served a drive-through penalty for blocking with less than ten minutes to go.
The race had three yellows, the first for debris from a trackside banner that was hit during a frantic opening lap, and the final for a fiery exit for the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini of Danny Formal with 38 minutes to go.

Formal climbed from the fully engulfed Lamborghini under his own power and gave a thumbs-up, indicating no serious injuries.
It set up a 28-minute shootout to the finish.

First GTD PRO win of 2025 as Pratt Miller Corvettes take two podium spots

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports scored its first victory of the season as Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims won the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR on Sunday in their championship-leading No. 3 Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
The timing of the result couldn’t have been better, as Sims took the checkered flag by 1.070 seconds over the No. 81 Ferrari the closest car to the No. 3 in the GTD PRO points standings for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Garcia and Sims combined to lead for 41 of 81 laps. They now lead by 53 points heading into the final two races of the season, and Chevrolet extended its Manufacturers Championship lead to 81 points with 770 points still remaining in the final two events.

The win Sunday was the seventh for Corvette Racing at VIR in IMSA competition. Garcia won for the fifth time at VIR most among active drivers and Sims is now a two-time winner. The Pratt Miller-run Corvette team also now has won at least one IMSA race in 25 of 26 seasons.
The No. 4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg and Virginia’s Tommy Milner placed third overall and in class for their second podium finish in three races. Sunday marked the first time this year that both GTD PRO Corvettes finished on the class podium.

Garcia and Catsburg began from fourth and fifth on the grid with the Pratt Miller team electing to split strategies between the two cars in the first race stint. The No. 3 Corvette was the first GTD PRO to make its first scheduled pit stop at the 46-minute mark for fuel, fresh tires and a driver change to Sims. The move paid dividends as the No. 3 moved to the lead after the class pit cycle as Sims took advantage of better tire management and a quick stop by the pit crew.

Catsburg went about 10 minutes deeper in the opening stint before handing over to Milner to go to the end of the race. The No. 4 went from second to seventh after the pit stop, but the advantage of fresher tires allowed Milner to catch back up to a four-car battle for third through seventh while saving fuel.

The race swung further in the direction of the two Corvettes as they both made their final stops just inside the final hour and minutes before the race’s second full-course yellow to gain valuable track position. Sims and Milner ran first and second for the final two restarts before a pace advantage for the Ferrari elevated it to second, but it was not quick enough to chase down Sims and the No. 3 Corvette.

In GTD, AWA’s No. 13 Corvette of Matt Bell and Orey Fidani placed eighth in class, but critically won the Akin Award for the second race in a row and second consecutive season at VIR.
The result vaulted Fidani back into the lead of the season-long championship and a step closer to having AWA return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year.

DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell made a huge jump to second place in class in his first stint. A slow pit stop, however, knocked the No. 36 Corvette and Robert Wickens down the order to eighth after the class cycle. Unlike the GTD PRO Corvettes, the DXDT entry did not make it into the pitlane before the yellow with an hour to go. Wickens and Udell, in their final race of the year together, ended 10th in class.
The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in IMSA is the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 21.

CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“Congratulations to Antonio, Alexander and everyone at Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports on today’s victory and two podium finishes at VIR. The strategy and execution by both the No. 3 and No. 4 Corvette teams were perfect and showed that ‘Never Give Up’ spirit of Corvette Racing. It’s great for our Corvette Z06 GT3.R program, good for the Manufacturers Championship and good for the Drivers Championship as well.”

CORVETTE RACING Z06 GT3.R POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Finally! It feels like VIR has always been good for us. It’s been more than a year since our last win, and we’ve been chasing it forever it seems. There was always something going on or this or that. It was a perfect race. It played out how we wanted by jumping everyone on the first stop. I’m very, very happy. Alex did a fantastic job. I’m so pleased and happy for this team and for Team Chevy. This is a great day for all of us in the championship for Drivers and Manufacturers.

“I was very nervous but very confident in the team and in Alex. We called a good race and it played out how we wanted. The Corvette had excellent race pace, for sure. So I’m very glad for Team Chevy and our Corvette community. We’ve been chasing this win for more than a year. It’s great to do it again here at VIR.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I was just doing my job. Antonio did a fantastic job in his first stint and the team called a great strategy. We went aggressive on the first stop to try and force a situation, and it seemed to work. We could just about hold the gap to the BMW who had a significant fuel advantage on us had it stayed green. Furthermore, we were fortunate with that second yellow, but I think we just about had the race anyway. A really great job by everyone.
The Corvette was fast today.
The Michelin tires held on nicely. In these temperatures they were working hard but held on well. It was a really enjoyable race, and it’s great to get our first win of the year.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It’s a fantastic day for everyone at Pratt Miller and Corvette Racing. We’ve been in contention a couple of times this year and things didn’t go our way. But they did today.
This is really good for the 3 car guys in their championship and of course Chevrolet in the Manufacturer's Championship.
On all fronts, it was really, perfect. For us, I would have loved to have been P2, but we just didn’t have the pace of the Ferrari. If I look at the whole event as a whole and the race, we were quite far back in P6 early.
Things just worked out for us with the second yellow and the timing of it.
Days like today where the engineers work so hard, the mechanics work so hard and they do everything right I’m just really, really pleased to be on the podium for these guys. An all-around great weekend.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Excellent execution by the team today! I felt like we weren’t the fastest car today or this weekend. But the team did such an amazing job for P1 and P3. It was really tough to keep the Ferrari behind. They showed some real pace at the end. So I’m super-happy with a 1-3 today. It’s good for all championships involved, and the team can be very happy with the results today.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“The objective coming into this event was to leave with the Akin Award lead, and we’ve done that.
Great job from the team and the crew. The car was good all weekend. We were fast and in the mix today.
It was one of Orey’s best qualifying performances of the year as well. We’re building nice momentum going into the endurance races where we know we are always strong.
A best-case scenario result from the last sprint race of the year, so now we can look forward to Indy.”

ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We’ve got really talented people. We’ve got a really good race car. For one reason or another it just hasn’t worked out. I believe there’s always a divine plan in some things, so we’ll focus forward on it. It’s a bummer because I think Robbie has had a ton of pace and I think we’ve had a couple times this year and for sure two races that were, I’d say, bad luck and we should have had the result that we wanted and deserved. But I’m really looking forward to Indy and grateful that we have that opportunity with the team. These guys really have put in the effort and really worked hard to earn a spot on the podium and a spot on the top step. I know it’s coming.”

ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It was a tough day all around. I think on every weekend we kept chipping away at it. We didn’t start the weekend particularly strong, but we just got better and better every session. Alec did a good job of qualifying and did an amazing job at the start of the race to get us up into P2. And then, unfortunately, at the first stop, I don’t exactly know what happened.

What I do know is that everyone at DXDT Racing has been so good in the pits all season long. For whatever reason, we couldn’t get a wheel off and we lost some track time. And then I was defending against the yellow Ferrari, and we had some contact in Turn One; it wasn’t anything that egregious, but for whatever reason the car never felt the same again so I don’t know if I did some suspension damage or whatever, but from there on it was just really struggling for pace.

We also had some electrical gremlins, so kind of race to forget and definitely not the way I wanted to end my first year with Corvette and DXDT Racing. I really wanted to end on a high end with a bang. But that’s racing sometimes. I think this team has done such a great job always putting the car in contention
to be where we need to be. And these things happen sometimes. Now the goal is to try to make sure I can be here with DXDT Racing and Corvette in 2026.”