Pfaff temerario goes back-to-back, catapulting caldarelli, mitchell into title fight following VIR

The newest car in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is officially its hottest. Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell dominated the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway, piloting the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Temerario GT3 to their second consecutive class victory of the season.

After 2 hours and 40 minutes of racing in the production-based GTD and GTD PRO showcase, the Pfaff duo triumphed by 1.517 seconds over the No. 64 Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 driven by Ben Barker and Dennis Olsen. Frederic Vervisch and Christopher Mies wrapped up a strong weekend for Ford Racing by taking third, finishing 39.039 seconds back.

Lamborghini Squadra Corse handed Pfaff the keys to develop the new-for-2026 Temerario ahead of its debut in March at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Early growing pains gave way to a podium at Detroit in late May, a breakthrough win at Road America in August, and now a masterclass weekend at Alton, Virginia, where Caldarelli took the Motul Pole Award and the team led start-to-finish on Sunday.

Those back-to-back wins have blown the GTD PRO championship wide open. Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi hold the standings lead in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO by 23 points after finishing fifth, ahead of Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in seventh with the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Mitchell and Caldarelli now sit third, 56 points back, while Barker and Olsen's second-place run lifted them into a tie for fourth with AO Racing’s No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), 77 points behind. The race featured just a single full-course caution on the opening lap for Alexander Sims, who emerged unhurt from a single-car accident in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Meanwhile, the GTD class boiled over in the final hour as Winward Racing stormed to their third straight win. Russell Ward and Philip Ellis started third in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 and capitalized on lightning-fast pit work to leapfrog rivals during the final stops. The No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of Danny Formal and Trent Hindman had led 37 of 84 laps, but a stellar 58-second stop by the Winward crew vaulted Ellis into the fight.