At a glance
- “Rexy” Porsche 911 GT3 R finishes ninth in GTD Pro class
- Wright Motorsports ends 10th in GTD class battle
- AO Racing’s Tandy, King remain in class title hunt
ALTON, Va. Round nine of the championship proved challenging for both AO Racing and Wright Motorsports competing at VIRginia International Raceway.. Both teams fought for pace throughout the weekend, necessitating a bold strategy call for AO Racing once the green flag fell.
Starting driver Harry King stayed on track longer than any other team in the opening stint, moving “Rexy” into the lead for a limited time. A driver change to fellow Brit Nick Tandy dropped the team down the standings, but came back to pit lane with just under an hour to go as one of the first to make their final stop.
With no more full course cautions and a late drive-through penalty for contact, the No. 77 was unable to climb back through the field and finished ninth in the GTD Pro class.
Like their counterparts in the GTD Pro class, Wright Motorsports struggled for outright pace in the GTD class. Drivers Adam Adelson and Callum Ilott raced clean in the green No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R, crossing the finish line 10th in class.
AO Racing drivers Tandy and King enter the final two races of the season fourth in the GTD Pro driver championship standings, 67 points behind the leaders.
The GTP class prototypes return for round 10 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for a sprint race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The “Battle on the Bricks” will take place September 18 – 20.
More information and links
All results and overall standings: Alkamelsystems
75 Years of Porsche Motorsport: The history of #Raceborn
High-resolution photos: Porsche at VIR
Drivers’ comments on the race
Adam Adelson (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): “It was an extremely difficult weekend for us to finish in 10th. We definitely could have executed a few things better on our side, but I don’t see how we could have finished much higher with our lack of straight line speed. This week is one to learn from but also one to forget and I hope we can have a better outing next time.”
Harry King (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): “We were in damage limitation right from lap one. We knew we didn’t really have the car performance to deliver a podium finish like we have previously. So we tried to have a clean race, hit our marks and try a different strategy. Unfortunately we got a drive through penalty on the final stint that put us out of place but we optimized everywhere else. We’re head down, full focus for Indianapolis coming up.”
Motorsport
