Alton, Va., (Aug. 27, 2017) – WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Gunnar Jeannette (Salt Lake City, Utah) finished sixths in GTD in today’s running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge race at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).
MacNeil took the starting stint in the No. 50 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3 R for the two-hour-and-forty-minute race. Into Turn 1 he was balked and had to take evasive action to avoid the cars in front, but quickly came back on track with no damage. As his stint played out he was able to drive up to sixth position in GTD before handing off to Jeannette 54-minutes into the race. Jeannette put in a strong double run with just a slight hiccup with 32 minutes left he was experiencing a vibration in the right rear of the car. The Riley crew called him to pit lane for four tires and he was able to rejoin the race and maintain the sixth place at the checkered flag.
“This is another learning weekend for us with the Porsche,” Jeannette said. “We made a lot of changes to the car from Road America. We didn’t know what kind of car we would have off of the trailer on Friday. I was pretty depressed on Friday after practice. All of the guys worked hard all weekend. Every session the car got better and better. The car really came around for the race. Hats off to the WeatherTech Racing Riley boys, they gave us a great race car. Thanks to Porsche as well for their input all weekend.”
“We started out the weekend with a few issues,” MacNeil said. “Each session the guys made the car better. We started 13th and finished sixth. We were the top finishing Porsche, so happy with that aspect. Gunnar did a great job in the car, he raced hard. My stint was good, I was able to move up to sixth at the pit stop. We are heading to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca where I have driven and won this year and Gunnar has a lot of laps there already this year as well. So looking forward to that weekend.”
The IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship will travel to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, September 21-24 for the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix.