Pfaff doubles up with VIR overall win for Lamborghini
What a masterclass from Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell. The duo completely controlled the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway, driving the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3 to a stunning overall victory. After Caldarelli rocketed off the Motul Pole Award to set the early pace, he handed the machine over to Mitchell. Every single time the car pitted from the front, it emerged back out in the lead, anchoring a gorgeous, utterly dominant run where they led 69 of the 84 laps in the two-hour, 40-minute race.
This triumph marks a proper piece of history for the manufacturer, delivering Lamborghini its first WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win at the facility since 2017. Just like that win back in 2017, the weekend started on pole and ended on the top step. Behind them, the pair of Ford Racing entries locked down the GTD PRO podium. Dennis Olsen and Ben Barker brought the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 home in second, with their sister car—the No. 65 entry shared by Frederic Vervisch and Christopher Mies—right behind them in third. With most of the title contenders finishing fifth or worse, that brilliant No. 9 Lamborghini has unofficially rocketed up to third in the GTD PRO standings, sitting behind the leading No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO and the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Over in the GTD class, the battle completely turned on its head inside the final hour while all the championship rivals ran inside the top three. Philip Ellis and Russell Ward staged an insane comeback in their No. 57 Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3, securing their third straight win. The decisive moment arrived with just seven minutes remaining, when Ellis launched a winning dive pass on Tom Gamble at Turn 3. Gamble tried to answer right back down the inside into Turn 4 on the very next lap, but he could not make the corner stick, clipping Ellis and earning a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility.
That late drama capped off a ridiculous turnaround for Winward Racing, who sat 300 points behind leaving Watkins Glen International and now suddenly ascend to the GTD championship lead by 36 points. Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher took second place in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO, while Frederik Schandorff and Brendan Iribe grabbed third in the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. That strong finish also pushes Iribe unofficially back to the top of the Bob Akin Award standings.