- Udell and Milner Secure Both Pro Class Poles for DXDT Racing
- Pro-Am’s Ellis and Regulator Racing Starting First Overall in Race 1
- Qualifying 1 Final Results
- Qualifying 2 Final Results
The Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS championship field descended upon Virginia International Raceway on Saturday morning for two consecutive Qualifying sessions to set the grid ahead of Race 1 and Race 2.
Pro-Am competitor Phillip Ellis and Regulator Racing put in a stellar performance in Qualifying 1 to set the fastest overall lap and clinch the ROWE Pole Position Award for Race 1 with the No. 91 Mercedes-AMG GT3. Meanwhile, DXDT Racing's Alec Udell and Tommy Milner showcased their speed in the No. 63 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R by capturing the fastest time in the Pro class in Qualifying 1, in addition to the overall pole in Qualifying 2.
Pro Class
Qualifying 1 saw many challengers in contention for the top spot in the Pro class, notably with Bill Auberlen taking the early lead in the No. 28 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3. However, halfway through the session it was Alec Udell’s time to shine in the No. 63 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R as he took over and clinched the ROWE Pole Position Award with a time of 1:45.587.
Auberlen and ST Racing will start from second in class and third overall on the grid, with Luca Mars set to line up alongside him in the No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 EVO22.
As Tommy Milner got behind the wheel of the DXDT Racing Pro car entry for Qualifying 2, he set off on a mission to replicate his teammate’s performance. As the track continued to dry, he posted an impressive lap time of 1:44.775 to secure back-to-back pole positions for the team.
Elliott Skeer also made his presence known in Qualifying 2 in his No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 992 GT3 R, locking in the second-best time in the Pro category and third-best time overall. Meanwhile, Zach Veach clinched another Top 3 Pro qualifying result for Racers Edge Motorsports.
Pro-Am Class
Phillip Ellis wasted no time showing off his rapid pace on board the No. 91 Regulator Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, claiming first place in the Pro-Am class before going on to set the fastest lap overall in Qualifying 1 with a time of 1:45.470.
Justin Rothberg secured a second-place qualifying result in class for Race 1 on his final flying lap in the No. 29 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, just ahead of Samantha Tan in the No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3.
In Qualifying 2, it was Robby Foley who took over from Rothberg to clinch pole position for Turner Motorsport, with a second-place starting position overall which saw him only 0.004 seconds off the top time overall.
Tom Sargent will be starting from the second row on the grid for Race 2 after putting in a strong lap in his No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R, earning the second-best time in Pro-Am and fourth-quickest time overall. Bryan Sellers gave DXDT Racing’s Pro-Am entry their best qualifying result of the season as he set the third-fastest lap in class on board the No. 08 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
Let’s Get Racing
The Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS field will return to the track for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, July 20th at 3:10 PM ET.
If you can’t make it to VIR, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free livestreams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTVIR.