VIR Preview: Grabbing the Spotlight at Virginia International Raceway

The Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway is the ninth round of the 2023 IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship. It is also this season’s second opportunity to showcase the depth of talent and high level of competition offered by the GTD category as it takes center stage at the beautiful, natural terrain road course in Southern Virginia.

The twenty-car field will take the Green Flag on Sunday afternoon at the seventeen-turn 3.27 mile knowing that the winner will have the rare opportunity to claim all of the spoils and the plaudits that go along with it.

For the drivers of the #66 JG Wentworth Acura NSX GT3 Evo22, Sheena Monk and Katherine Legge, the race weekend is another chance to further develop their on-track relationship and take yet another step forward in terms of confidence, pace, and ultimately, results.

A Top 3 finish has eluded the team from Austin, Texas so far this year but there is no doubt that the pace of the both drivers can deliver a podium finish in one of the three remaining races. Sheena Monk recognizes this and believes it's a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ the duo can grab their first podium together. “There have been a couple of races where I feel like we really deserved it. We were taken out or we had a mechanical issue when we were right on the cusp of it. I honestly think it is almost inevitable as we have been getting better as a pairing every time we come to a race.”

The driver from Pennsylvania can also lean on ‘muscle memory’ to some extent having had her breakthrough IMSA win there in 2018. “VIR is one of my favorite tracks and I've had some great moments there. I think combining the car's strengths and my personal comfort with the track is maybe the recipe we need to get the elusive podium that JG Wentworth, Acura, and Gradient deserve.”

Sheena Monk celebrating her Lamborghini Super Trofeo victory at VIR in 2018

The allure of VIR begins for Katherine Legge before she has even made it through the gates of the facility. “It's in a beautiful part of the country and you have to drive through wonderful Virginia country lanes to get there, it's really lovely.” The layout also reminds the Atlanta based driver of her other home. “It's one of the traditional storied tracks that you have in North America that reminds me of being home in Europe. It's not manufactured in any way shape or form. It follows the lay of the land, you've got elevation, you've got increasing radius corners, you've got fast corners, you've got a little bit of everything. I love the fast uphill esses and scaring the living daylights out of myself!” Legge also shares her partner's confidence as she too can lean on GT success there. “Traditionally the NSX has done well there. I have stood on the VIR podium with this car and we should be legitimately fast! We're very excited to get back there this weekend.”

Sunday’s expected ambient and track temperatures are a cause of some concern for Team Manager, Andris Laivins. “I think the biggest challenge for every team on Sunday will be the heat; it's typical to see drivers struggling at the end of the stint, and finding grip when the track gets greasy is tough. The team's last visit to VIR was promising, we had decent pace, but it ended in the tire barriers at the end of the back straight. We are planning to have a better week this time! Sheena and Kat have both been driving really well the last couple of races, so I think we'll be in the hunt.”

Gradient Racing Team Manager, Andris Laivins

Coverage of Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is live on USA Network and Peacock in the United States from 2:00pm ET. For viewers without an international TV broadcaster the race can be seen live at IMSA.TV. IMSA Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio will also have non-stop coverage of the race. For full coverage please follow Gradient Racing on Twitter at @GradientRacing, on Instagram at @gradientracing and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GradientRacing/.