Jack Hawksworth Fastest In VIR WeatherTech Practice

VasserSullivan’s Jack Hawksworth was fastest overall Saturday morning (Aug. 27) in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice at VIRginia International Raceway with a lap at 113.210 mph in his Lexus.  His lap was more than a half-second clear of the field.

Practice No. 1

The opening practice session Friday (Aug. 26) was run in a similar manner to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge on-track sessions on Friday for the GTD Pro class.  The fastest laps were turned in at the beginning of the session.  Just eight minutes into the session, BMW M Team RLL’s Connor de Phillippi put his BMW M4 GT3 at the top of the chart.  A lap later, he turned in a lap at 111.905 mph.  That lap held up to be the fastest lap of the day.

De Phillippi’s lap was .296 seconds faster than Pfaff Motorsports’ Matt Campbell.  Hawksworth was third fastest, then Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor and The Heart of Racing’s Ross Gunn.

In GTD, things were a little more normal.  The quick time of the session was jostled back and forth between three different teams.  With 15 minutes to go, Team Korthoff Motorsports’ Mike Skeen posted a lap at 111.744 mph to top the class at his home track.

Skeen’s lap was good enough for second overall, .152 seconds slower than de Phillippi.  Skeen’s lap was .042 seconds faster than Wright Motorsports’ Jan Heylen.  Late in the session, Heylen’s teammate Ryan Hardwick spun the team’s Porsche at the Oak Tree turn.  Luckily, Hardwick did not hit anything and continued.

Paul Miller Racing’s Bryan Sellers was third in GTD, followed by Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis, fresh off of a weekend sweep at Road America last weekend.  This is also Ellis’ first-ever trip to VIR.  VasserSullivan’s No. 12 Lexus for Aaron Telitz was fifth in class.

There were no red flags in the session, but there were a couple of minor incidents.  In addition to Hardwick’s spin, Magnus Racing’s John Potter spun a couple of minutes before Hardwick in turn 1 without hitting anything.

Practice No. 2

In the 90-minute second session of the weekend, it did not take long for the best laps of the session to be turned in.  Hawksworth put his Lexus on top of the charts in the opening 10 minutes.  The best lap of the weekend to this point was turned in on his fifth timed lap (fourth at speed).

Hawksworth’s lap was two-thirds of a second faster than Gunn.  Campbell was third, then de Phillippi and Antonio Garcia in the Corvette.

During the…