Southside Virginia has been hosting some classes with a fast learning curve. Drivers and teams are finding the ins, the outs, the tricks and the lines for the picturesque straights and turns of Virginia International Raceway.
American Le Mans will be racing here in September. Five classes of cars ranging from custom shell prototypes to modified production touring cars will be mixing it up among the trees and the twists when they pull off the grid with the green flag. As this will be their first race at VIR the teams are anxious for track time to find all they can about how to get around as fast as possible. With long straight runs, hard braking, downhill bends and some narrow sections the challenge of driving here is multiplied many times with unfamiliarity.
With that in mind, ALMS has paid a few visits to VIR with a variety of their series to find what all the fuss is about concerning this road course in Virginia. NASCAR tests here. Grand-Am has raced here. SCCA and AMA race here. Movie, TV and music stars have driven here. All have fond words of praise for the experience. Now, American Le Mans takes their turn with a first visit as part of the 2012 race schedule. (more…)