2018 Oak Tree Grand Prix

The 2018 Oak Tree Grand Prix 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 19, 2018. The race was the tenth round of the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Track map of VIR

Background

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Virginia International Raceway, where the race was held.

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2017.[1] It was the fifth consecutive year the event was held as part of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 2018 Oak Tree Grand Prix was the tenth of twelve scheduled sports car races of 2018 by IMSA, and was the seventh round not held on the held as part of the North American Endurance Cup.[2] The race was held at the ten-turn 3.270 mi (5.263 km) Virginia International Raceway on August 19, 2018.[1] As in previous years, the event was also the second GT-only round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship season, in which only the GTLM and GTD classes were scheduled to compete.[2]

After the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase 2 weeks earlier, Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook led the GTLM Drivers' Championship with 241 points, ahead Antonio García and Jan Magnussen with 237 points, and Joey Hand and Dirk Müller with 232 points.[3] With 250 points, the GTD Drivers' Championship was led by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow with an eighteen-point advantage over Katherine Legge with 232 points.[3] Ford and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships, while Ford Chip Ganassi Racing and Paul Miller Racing each led their own Teams' Championships.[3]

On August 13, 2018, IMSA issued the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event.[4] In GTD, the Ferrari 488 GT3 received a reduction in turbo boost and a fuel capacity reduction of 2 liters. No changes were made in GTLM.

Entries

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A total of 18 cars took part in the event split across 2 classes. 8 cars were entered in GTLM, and 10 in GTD.[5] In GTD, Park Place Motorsports and Squadra Corse Garage Italia were absent. Gunnar Jeannette substituted for Alessandro Pier Guidi in the Scuderia Corsa #63 entry due to a clash with the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Silverstone. Mario Farnbacher substituted for Álvaro Parente returned to the Meyer Shank Racing #86 entry.

Practice

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There were three practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Sunday, two on Friday and one on Saturday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Friday morning and afternoon. The third on Saturday morning lasted an hour.[6]

Practice 1

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The first practice session took place at 11:45 am ET on Friday and ended with Richard Westbrook topping the charts for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, with a lap time of 1:42.627.[7]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Richard Westbrook 1:42.627 _
2 GTLM 912 Porsche GT Team Earl Bamber 1:42.761 +0.134
3 GTLM 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Joey Hand 1:42.793 +0.166
Source:[8]

Practice 2

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The second practice session took place at 4:25 pm ET on Friday and ended with Antonio García topping the charts for Corvette Racing, with a lap time of 1:41.743.[9]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 3 Corvette Racing Antonio García 1:41.743 _
2 GTLM 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ryan Briscoe 1:42.262 +0.519
3 GTLM 4 Corvette Racing Tommy Milner 1:42.351 +0.608
Source:[10]

Practice 3

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The third and final practice session took place at 8:35 am ET on Saturday and ended with Tommy Milner topping the charts for Corvette Racing, with a lap time of 1:41.205.[11]

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap
1 GTLM 4 Corvette Racing Tommy Milner 1:41.205 _
2 GTLM 25 BMW Team RLL Connor De Phillippi 1:41.448 +0.243
3 GTLM 912 Porsche GT Team Earl Bamber 1:41.512 +0.307
Source:[12]

Qualifying

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Saturday afternoon's 40-minute qualifying session was divided into two groups.[6] Both categories had 15-minute individual sessions, and regulations stipulated teams to nominate a single driver to qualify their cars. The competitors' fastest lap times determined the starting order with the grid arranged to put the GTLM cars ahead of all GTD entries.[13]

Qualifying results

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Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 GTD 15   3GT Racing   Jack Hawksworth 1:44.107 _ 9‡
2 GTD 33   Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport   Jeroen Bleekemolen 1:44.323 +0.216 10
3 GTD 96   Turner Motorsport   Bill Auberlen 1:44.360 +0.253 11
4 GTD 14   3GT Racing   Kyle Marcelli 1:44.516 +0.409 12
5 GTD 48   Paul Miller Racing   Madison Snow 1:44.626 +0.519 13
6 GTD 58   Wright Motorsports   Patrick Long 1:44.758 +0.651 14
7 GTD 93   Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin   Lawson Aschenbach 1:44.797 +0.690 171
8 GTD 86   Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin   Mario Farnbacher 1:44.954 +0.847 16
9 GTD 63   Scuderia Corsa   Cooper MacNeil 1:45.506 +1.399 182
10 GTD 44   Magnus Racing   John Potter 1:45.918 +1.811 163
11 GTLM 67   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Ryan Briscoe 1:55.580 +11.473 1‡
12 GTLM 911   Porsche GT Team   Patrick Pilet 1:56.170 +12.063 2
13 GTLM 24   BMW Team RLL   John Edwards 1:56.185 +12.078 3
14 GTLM 3   Corvette Racing   Antonio García 1:56.760 +12.653 4
15 GTLM 25   BMW Team RLL   Connor De Phillippi 1:57.148 +13.041 5
16 GTLM 66   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Joey Hand 1:57.202 +13.095 6
17 GTLM 4   Corvette Racing   Tommy Milner 1:57.492 +13.385 7
18 GTLM 912   Porsche GT Team   Earl Bamber 1:57.874 +13.767 8
Sources:[14][15]
  • 1 The No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.5 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting driver).[13]
  • 2 The No. 63 Scuderia Corsa entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[13]
  • 3 The No. 44 Magnus Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[13]

Race

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Post-race

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By finishing second place in the race, García and Magnussen took the lead of the GTLM Drivers' Championship.[16] The result kept Sellers and Snow atop the GTD Drivers' Championship with 275 points, 13 points ahead of Legge.[16] Ford and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Corvette Racing took the lead of the GTLM Teams' Championship. Paul Miller Racing kept their advantage in the GTD Teams' Championship with two rounds remaining.[16]

Results

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Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Final race classification
Pos Class No. Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps Time/Retired
Engine
1 GTLM 25   BMW Team RLL   Connor De Phillippi
  Alexander Sims
BMW M8 GTE M 88 2:40.52.276‡
BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8
2 GTLM 3   Corvette Racing   Antonio García
  Jan Magnussen
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 88 +1.323
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
3 GTLM 24   BMW Team RLL   John Edwards
  Jesse Krohn
BMW M8 GTE M 88 +2.116
BMW S63 4.0 L Turbo V8
4 GTLM 66   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Joey Hand
  Dirk Müller
Ford GT M 88 +30.907
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
5 GTLM 912   Porsche GT Team   Earl Bamber
  Laurens Vanthoor
Porsche 911 RSR M 88 +35.530
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
6 GTLM 4   Corvette Racing   Oliver Gavin
  Tommy Milner
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R M 88 +36.345
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
7 GTD 14   3GT Racing   Dominik Baumann
  Kyle Marcelli
Lexus RC F GT3 C 86 +2 Laps‡
Lexus 5.0L V8
8 GTD 58   Wright Motorsports   Patrick Long
  Christina Nielsen
Porsche 911 GT3 R C 86 +2 Laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
9 GTD 86   Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin   Katherine Legge
  Mario Farnbacher
Acura NSX GT3 C 86 +2 Laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
10 GTD 63   Scuderia Corsa   Cooper MacNeil
  Gunnar Jeannette
Ferrari 488 GT3 C 86 +2 Laps
Ferrari F154CB 3.9 L Turbo V8
11 GTD 33   Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsport   Jeroen Bleekemolen
  Ben Keating
Mercedes AMG GT3 C 86 +2 Laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
12 GTD 48   Paul Miller Racing   Bryan Sellers
  Madison Snow
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 C 86 +2 Laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
13 GTD 44   Magnus Racing   John Potter
  Andy Lally
Audi R8 LMS GT3 C 86 +2 Laps
Audi 5.2L V10
14 GTD 93   Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanin   Justin Marks
  Lawson Aschenbach
Acura NSX GT3 C 86 +2 Laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
15 GTD 96   Turner Motorsport   Robby Foley
  Bill Auberlen
BMW M6 GT3 C 85 +3 Laps
BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8
16[a] GTD 15   3GT Racing   Jack Hawksworth
  David Heinemeier Hansson
Lexus RC F GT3 C 86 +2 Laps
Lexus 5.0L V8
17

DNF

GTLM 911   Porsche GT Team   Patrick Pilet
  Nick Tandy
Porsche 911 RSR M 42 Clutch
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
18

DNF

GTLM 67   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Ryan Briscoe
  Richard Westbrook
Ford GT M 40 Engine
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
Sources:[18][19]
Tyre manufacturers
Key
Symbol Tyre manufacturer
C Continental
M Michelin

Notes

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  1. ^ The no. 15 3GT Racing entry was moved to the rear of the GTD classification for not meeting minimum refueling time[17]

Standings after the race

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  • 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

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  1. ^ a b Goodwin, Graham (August 6, 2017). "IMSA Announce 2018 Calendar". DailySportsCar. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (August 4, 2017). "IMSA's 2018 WeatherTech calendar released". racer.com. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 7, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Dagys, John (August 13, 2018). "Ferrari Slowed for VIR". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  5. ^ Allaway, Phil (August 16, 2018). "Entry List: 2018 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR". frontstretch.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Continental Tire Keys to the Race: VIR". sportscar365.com. August 16, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  7. ^ Dagys, John (August 17, 2018). "Westbrook Tops Opening Practice at VIR". sportscar365.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  8. ^ "03_Results_Practice 1.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 17, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  9. ^ Myrehn, Ryan (August 17, 2018). "Corvette Leads Practice 2 at VIR". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  10. ^ "03_Results_Practice 2.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 17, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  11. ^ Bradley, Charles (August 18, 2018). "VIR IMSA: Milner tops third practice for Corvette". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  12. ^ "03_Results_Practice 3.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 18, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d "2018 IMSA Sporting Regulations & Series Supplementary Regulations of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. May 16, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  14. ^ "03_Results_Qualifying.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 18, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  15. ^ "01_Starting Grid_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 19, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "00_Champoinship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. August 21, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  17. ^ "2007 ENTRANT CREDENTIAL AND" (PDF). IMSA. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  18. ^ "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. 21 August 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  19. ^ "2018 MICHELIN GT CHALLENGE AT VIR". racing-reference.info. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
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IMSA SportsCar Championship
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Continental Tire Road Race Showcase
2018 season Next race:
Monterey Grand Prix