Alton, Va., (Aug. 27, 2023) - WeatherTech Racing finished fifth at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Michelin GT Challenge run at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) today.
Daniel Juncadella (Spain) had the start in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Mercedes-Benz of Billings, Montana support from his front row qualifying position for the two-hour-and-forty-minute race. The team was running in the top three in GTD Pro prior to handing over to Jules Gounon (France). The Frenchman was running strong holding the position as the rest of the GTD Pro competitors cycled through their pit stops. Then, with 75-minutes to go he was hit in the driver’s side rear by the No. 9 Porsche causing the bodywork to rub on the Michelin tire. The WeatherTech Racing/Proton Competition crew brought him to pit lane to pull the bodywork away from the tire. The repairs caused the team to go down two laps to the leaders. He was able to return to the race and come to the checker P5.
“I got rear-ended by the Pfaff Porsche,” Gounon said. “Unfortunately our race was ruined. It was a crazy attempt with no room to make the pass. The WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 was good today. I thought we at least had a podium. Let’s go onto Indy in three weeks.”
“Come race day everyone seems to find more pace,” Juncadella said. “Straight away the Corvette went by then I got passed by a GTD BMW on speed. Then Jules got hit by the Porsche and we lost two laps. I think we were racing for a P3 today. Let’s see if our luck can improve at Indy next month.”
The IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship will travel to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Tirerack.com Battle on the Bricks to run Sept. 15-17.
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