Paul Miller Racing Returns to P1 in Michelin GT Challenge at VIR GTD PRO Qualifying

Winning the Motul Pole Award as fastest qualifier for an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race is nothing new for Madison Snow.

But earning that achievement in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class on Saturday for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway marked the first time he did it as an FIA Gold-rated driver in a full professional category.

Snow’s lap timed at 1 minute, 43.206 seconds (114.062 mph) in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 was fast enough to set the class track record and earn his 13th pole position in IMSA action. What made it more special was that it was also the first pole for the PMR team since it made the transition this year from longtime competitor (and multiple class champion) in GT Daytona (GTD) to respected contender in GTD PRO. 

Snow has now claimed pole position three times at VIR, a 3.27-mile, 17-turn “old-school” road course. He and co-driver Bryan Sellers will be chasing their third victory at the venue in Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute race. 

“This is definitely one of the best old-fashioned tracks that we go to on the schedule,” Snow said. “I love coming here, I love racing here.

“It’s nice to have the right momentum headed towards the end of the year, finishing the last race at Road America on the podium and now going into this getting pole position,” he added. “It’s definitely good momentum for this race and for the end of the year. We’ll see where the race goes tomorrow, but the Paul Miller (team) definitely did a good job preparing the car for qualifying this weekend, and I think even more for the race.”

Antonio Garcia qualified the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R on the outside of the front row, lapping at 1:43.346 (113.908 mph). Both front-row starters were under the previous track record for either GTD or GTD PRO of 1:43.356 set in 2021 by Ross Gunn.

Sellers and Snow hope to make up additional ground in the GTD PRO standings in the race. They arrived at VIR fifth in the standings, and the pole shaved 13 points off their incoming 233-point deficit to leader Laurin Heinrich, whose No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R was qualified ninth by Klaus Bachler.

“It was difficult for us at the beginning of the year. I guess we did get a podium right off the bat, but we struggled or just didn’t do as good as we did last year,” Snow reflected. “That being said, it would be hard to match what we did last year (when Sellers and Snow won five races and the GTD championship), so we knew to keep our expectations in check. 

“It’s nice that we’ve had the momentum in the last couple races, and we’re definitely looking better at the end of the year than we did at the beginning.” 

Mustang GT3s Shine in GTD

Giammarco Levorato has the honor of earning the first pole position in worldwide competition for the new-for-2024 Ford Mustang GT3. 

Levorato, a 21-year-old Italian, guided the No. 55 Proton Competition Mustang around VIR in 1:43.900 seconds (113.300 mph) to seize the Motul Pole Award in the GTD class. That was 0.206 seconds better than Kenton Koch in the No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, with practice pacesetter Elliott Skeer claiming third place in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. 

It was the first IMSA pole for Levorato, and his effort capped a great day for the Mustang GT3 program as the two “factory” Ford Multimatic Motorsports entries swept the second row in GTD PRO qualifying. 

“I’m super happy personally to get this result for the Mustang,” said Levorato, whose co-driver is Corey Lewis. “We know how much effort is behind this project to make it work, so I am happy to bring this to them.

“It’s my first time here at VIR, and I came here with a lot of confidence,” he added. “I knew this track was not super easy, but it went better than expected because from the first lap, I had a great feeling with the car. We worked a bit on the setup, and we are in a great spot, I think.”

Live coverage of the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR starts at noon ET Sunday. USA Network and Peacock have coverage in the U.S., with IMSA.tv and YouTube.com/IMSAOfficial streaming live outside the U.S.

PJ Hyett loves everything about Road America, the circuit he considers his home track. He loves it even more after recording his fourth consecutive Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) pole position of the season on Saturday.

Hyett turned a lap of 1:53.738 (128.125 mph) in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 he co-drives with Paul-Loup Chatin to take the top starting LMP2 spot for Sunday’s IMSA SportsCar Weekend.

Doing it at the IMSA track closest to AO Racing headquarters in St. Charles, Illinois, just 150 miles away, made it even more special.

“I absolutely love this track,” said Hyett, co-founder of AO Racing with Gunnar Jeannette. “It’s the first track that I ever drove a P2 car at 12 months ago. It’s special on a number of levels. My grandfather taught me to drive about 100 miles from here in the rolling hills of Wisconsin.”

Ben Keating recovered from a hard crash during the Saturday morning practice session to land the No. 2 starting position in class with a lap of 1:54.110 (127.708 mph) in the No. 2 United Autosports USA ORECA. Teammate Daniel Goldburg was third with a lap of 1:54.129 (127.686 mph) in the No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA he co-drives with Paul Di Resta.

Hyett previously won LMP2 poles this season at Sebring International Raceway, Watkins Glen International and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. But Saturday’s effort meant just that much more.

“Everything is special about what’s happening today,” Hyett said. “For me to be able to put the car on pole here is really a dream come true. I absolutely love racing a P2 car and hope to continue doing it.”  

Live streaming of Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute race begins at 3 p.m. ET on Peacock. CNBC will show an encore telecast at 6 p.m.