What do you get when you have 27 of the finest GT machines from seven manufacturers fighting for the overall win in a TUDOR United SportsCar Championship event? As fans found out in Sunday’s GT-only Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway, the answer is one of the most thrilling and competitive races on the TUDOR Championship calendar to date.
A GT record 18 cars finished the two hour, 45 minute race on the lead lap with the Ferrari F458 Italia of Giancarlo Fisichella taking the checkered flag a mere 0.492 seconds ahead of the Porsche 911 RSR of Wolf Henzler in the lead GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. A thrilling last-lap pass gave Fisichella and co-driver Pierre Kaffer their second consecutive win in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari. The BMW Z4 GTE of John Edwards had the best seat for the amazing finish, crossing the stripe in third just 0.764 seconds back.
In total three different manufacturers made up the podium in both the GTLM (Ferrari, Porsche, BMW) and GT Daytona (BMW, Ferrari, Porsche) classes, with the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW Z4 entry winning in GTD by 1.002 seconds.
In a two 45-minute segment Prototype Challenge event, 8Star Motorsports picked up its first PC win of the season with both Sean Rayhall and Luis Diaz leading every lap in their respective segments.
If you missed any of the action from Virginia International Raceway, we’ve got you covered.
Oak Tree Grand Prix (GTLM/GTD) Race Broadcast
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