TAVERES, Fla. (Aug. 19, 2014) – WeatherTech Racing is headed to Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Oak Tree Grand Prix to run Aug. 22-24.
Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Leh Keen (Charleston, SC) have raced to within three points of the GTD championship lead. A string of consistent top five finishes, with a first of the year podium at Road America have the duo in championship contention with three races left on the TUDOR Championship calendar. MacNeil won at VIR in 2012 with Keen and he finished second there last year. The 3.2-mile, 18-turn track will be challenging for the No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche up against the Ferrari of championship leaders Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell.
“It’s amazing to think that we have only three races left and we have finished on the podium only once this year,” MacNeil said. “We are second in points, so our consistency is paying off. We will need to push hard for the last three races if we want to win the championship and we will. I like VIR. I hold the SCCA T2 track record at in a BMW E46 M3. We will have to see how the Porsche matches up to the other cars this weekend as the GT3 cars have a lot of downforce, so I think we will have our hands full.”
Keen likes the championship battle. He is looking forward to a lot of green laps as this a GTD and GTLM weekend with no prototypes to share the track with at VIR.
“Our championship situation is really exciting leading up to the last couple of races,” Keen said. “With just three races left and three points out, we are in a good position. We come to VIR with a lot of momentum from Road America. Cooper and I won there in 2012 and he was on the podium last year. VIR has just repaved the entire track and made it wider so everyone is excited to get there and go faster. Being a GT only race I am expecting a lot of green flag running. And certainly a lot less traffic to deal with.”
Alex Job, team owner, is anxious to see how the Porsche matches up this weekend.
“We are in the thick of the championship with the end of the season in sight,” Job said. “Leh and Cooper have been doing a great job maximizing points since the Le Mans break. I think that the Ferrari of Sweedler and Bell will be very tough at VIR. That car has a lot of downforce and will be fast through the twisty sections. It will also be interesting to see how the race plays out with just the GTD and GTLM cars racing.”
