OCTOBER 13, 2021

(imsa.com)
In the penultimate IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM race before the class goes away in 2022, Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner (No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R) teamed Saturday to win the Michelin GT Challenge At VIRginia International Raceway. After Tandy recovered from contact with Kevin Estre (in the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche RSR-19), he crossed the stripe 17.852 seconds ahead of the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R team car co-driven by Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia. Tandy and Milner moved to within 127 points of Taylor and Garcia with only the season finale - the Motul Petit Le Mans on Nov. 13 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta - remaining. “This whole year as a team has been really, really good,” Milner said. “We had a really good car at Daytona and Sebring, but things didn’t go our way. It was frustrating for us and frustrating for our crew guys. Everybody buckled down and focused on getting every last detail just right, so we get these wins. I’m a firm believer in making your own luck.” The win was the third consecutive for the No. 4 Corvette, which had fallen behind the No. 3 Corvette early in the season, and it came despite contact that could have cost the No. 4 car dearly. “It was an interesting one,” Tandy said. “It’s always great to win a race when you really shouldn’t. It was fun out there.” On Friday, Milner broke Taylor’s five-race pole-winning streak by qualifying the No. 4 car just 0.003 seconds ahead of Taylor in the No. 3 car around the 17-turn, 3.27-mile VIR course. On Saturday, the two cars traded the lead before Tandy was able to pull away from Garcia in the final minutes of the 2-hour 40-minute race. After the mid-race incident, Estre and Cooper MacNeil finished third, 38.655 seconds off the pace. “It shows a way to win a race when you don't have the fastest car,” Tandy said. “Honestly, the Porsche should have won the race. But honestly, when you kind of lose your brain and start driving stupid, stuff happens. Luckily with our Corvettes, we kept them on the track and didn't do too much damage to them.” The victory was the fifth by the No. 4 Corvette at VIR and third each at the track for Tandy and Milner. Milner now has 20 career IMSA victories, Tandy 18. NBC’s live coverage of Motul Petit Le Mans will start at noon ET Nov. 13 and go until 3 p.m., when NBCSN takes over the coverage until the checkered flag. Tickets are available now at roadatlanta.com. (Thank you to Jeff Olson/IMSA.com)

(imsa.com)
Relegated to 13th starting position following a penalty for the Pfaff crew touching the car between qualifying sessions a day prior, Zacharie Robichon and Laurens Vanthoor charged through the field to move the No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R into contention for the GTD win at VIRginia International Raceway. They capitalized when the leading No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW was involved in a late-race incident, allowing Vanthoor to scoot past and win by 2.755 seconds over the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 shared by Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers. “I still don’t believe it,” Vanthoor admitted in victory lane. “This is one I’m probably happiest about because yesterday was just our mistake. A stupid mistake, but we win and lose together." Robichon was a rocket on the opening stint, guiding the Pfaff Porsche to fifth place before the first round of pit stops. The Pfaff crew worked magic in pit lane, getting Vanthoor out in third on the first stop and into the GTD lead on the second stop. A fuel-only trip for the No. 96 BMW on the third and last stop with 20 minutes left in the 2-hour, 40-minute race put Bill Auberlen back in front. But not for long. With 11 minutes to go, Auberlen and No. 3 Corvette Racing C8.R driven by Antonio Garcia made contact in Turn 1. Auberlen’s BMW suffered a punctured right-rear tire and he had to limp the No. 96 around the entire 3.27-mile track to pit for a new tire, eventually finishing 12th. A surprised Vanthoor happily accepted the gift and kept Sellers at a distance to the checkered flag. Vanthoor and Robichon have won three of the last four GTD races and finished second in the other. Prior to that torrid stretch, they sat fourth in the standings, 161 points from the lead. They now are on top, 50 points ahead of Sellers and Snow and the No. 1 Lamborghini. Only the Motul Petit Le Mans, the 2021 season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Nov. 13, remains to determine the champion. “It’s when you’re down that a championship team steps up and shows why they deserve to be fighting for the championship,” said Robichon. “I think we all showed that today. We showed resilience. We got kicked down yesterday but we fought back.” Rounding out the podium was the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, thanks to the daring last-lap pass Jack Hawksworth made on Patrick Long in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA.com)

(F1)
Valtteri Bottas (No. 77 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) converted his pole position into his first win of 2021 at the Turkish F1 Grand Prix. Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Honda) was second and Sergio Perez (No. 11 Red Bull Racing Honda) finished third. Charles LeClerc (No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari) was fourth and Lewis Hamilton (No. 77 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) finished fifth in the damp conditions. Verstappen now has a six-point lead in the championship. “It’s been a while,” Bottas said. “It feels good. From my side, that’s one of the best races I’ve had. It’s not easy to choose the strategy here in these conditions. It feels like a well-earned victory.” Watch race highlights here.

(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) cruised to his series-best seventh win of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Tyler Reddick (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) was 0.782 seconds behind Larson in second, followed by Chris Buescher (No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford), Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) and Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota). The Bank of America Roval 400 doubled as the cutoff race for the Round of 12. Though he was already well above the elimination line, Larson’s victory solidified his spot in the Round of 8. Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski (finished 20th), Martin Truex Jr. (29th), Dave Blaney, Chase Elliott (12th) and Busch complete the Round of 8 field with Larson. The Round of 8 will begin next Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway with the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Watch the video here. (Thank you to NASCAR Wire Service.)