Courtney Crone scores back-to-back podiums at VIR in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
- RACERS
- Aug 26
- 5 min read
Courtney Crone continued her impressive first season in GT4 machinery with another double-podium weekend at Virginia International Raceway, securing third place in the opening race before following it with a controlled second-place finish in Race 2 of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX class.
Courtney Crone continued her impressive first season in GT4 machinery with another double-podium weekend at Virginia International Raceway, securing third place in the opening race before following it with a controlled second-place finish in Race 2.
The CarBahn Motorsports driver once again demonstrated pace and consistency to run at the front in the 2026 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX class, although she remains in pursuit of her maiden victory with just one round of the season remaining.
Crone arrived at VIR carrying momentum from the opening eight rounds of the championship. Having returned to sportscars from single-seaters after competing in F1 Academy in 2025, Crone is tackling her first season in GT4 machinery, and the driver of the #35 BMW M4 GT4 immediately emerged as a regular front-runner, opening the campaign with fourth place at Daytona before securing back-to-back runner-up finishes at Circuit of the Americas.
She continued to show race-winning pace at Mid-Ohio, topping both practice sessions despite difficult mixed-weather conditions, before adding another top-five finish. Her strongest weekend of the season to that point came at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where Crone finished fourth in the opening race before coming within reach of her first GSX victory in Race 2, ultimately taking second after a race-long battle for the lead. Those results strengthened her position in the championship and kept her second in the standings behind Westin Workman.
The early signs at the technical Virginia circuit were encouraging. Crone placed fourth fastest in the opening practice session with a 1:57.224 before making another significant step forward in the second session, improving to a 1:56.458 and finishing second fastest.
Crone carried that form into qualifying, where she posted a 1:55.580 to secure third fastest overall. Her second-best lap, a 1:55.921, was also strong enough to demonstrate her consistency over a qualifying run and confirmed third place as her starting position for both races, putting her on the second row with a genuine opportunity to fight for another pair of podium finishes.
Crone lined up third for the opening race on Saturday, with the target of challenging for the podium. From the second row, she made an excellent launch when the race went green and immediately closed in on the leading Toyota of Westin Workman.
The CarBahn Motorsports driver quickly moved into second position and wasted no time in putting pressure on Workman, but she also had to keep an eye on Chaves, who made an equally strong start and was already attacking Crone by the end of the opening lap.
Workman managed to establish a small advantage at the front, leaving Crone and Chaves to fight over second place. Crone defended effectively through the early laps and, once the initial pressure subsided, found a strong rhythm that allowed her to build a margin of several tenths over her pursuer.
Chaves continued to apply pressure, however, and intensified the attack again on lap four. Crone responded by defending firmly, while a mistake from Chaves, who ran slightly deep, gave the CarBahn driver an opportunity to create another small buffer.
The pressure remained relentless as Chaves repeatedly closed in, but Crone continued to shut down the available gaps and appeared comfortable in second. The battle ultimately turned on a small mistake from Crone herself on lap seven, when she lost some momentum through Turn 17 and Chaves was able to take advantage, moving ahead into second place.
Crone immediately settled into third and remained within roughly two seconds of Chaves, while simultaneously building an enormous gap over the cars behind. Her pace remained consistent, and the advantage over Brel in fourth grew to almost 15 seconds before eventually exceeding 20 seconds.
A major crash involving Ammann subsequently brought out a Full Course Yellow, neutralizing the race and preventing any further changes at the front. The race ultimately finished under caution, with Crone taking the checkered flag in third place. The result represented another hard-earned podium for the CarBahn Motorsports driver, who had spent much of the race fighting for second.
Crone had another opportunity to fight for victory in the second race, starting from second position behind championship rival Workman and ahead of Brel. The race, however, was turned upside down before the green flag had even been waved when Workman spun on the formation lap while attempting to generate tyre temperature.
The incident handed Crone an unexpected opportunity and when the race started, she made a clean launch and moved into the lead, with the clear objective of building as much of a gap as possible before Workman could recover through the field.
That recovery came remarkably quickly. Starting from the back, Workman had climbed all the way into second position within just four corners, putting the RAFA Racing Toyota immediately back into contention and giving Crone little time to settle into the lead.
Crone continued pushing after her strong launch, attempting to establish a buffer, but Workman's pace allowed him to close rapidly. By the end of the first lap, the Toyota had regained the lead, with Crone remaining immediately behind and determined to stay within striking distance. While Workman began to pull slightly clear, Crone also succeeded in opening a significant advantage over the cars behind. Brel ran third behind the leading pair with Martinez fourth, already around three seconds away as the field began to spread out.
Crone remained within one second of Workman for the following laps; eventually, however, the gap began to grow at both ends of the battle, leaving Crone comfortably in second but no longer within close distance of the leader. She then concentrated on maintaining her rhythm and continuing to set competitive lap times, posting a 1:55.653, more than half a second faster than the cars behind, before improving further with a 1:55.373 and then a 1:55.303.
Workman had a moment of his own when he ran deep and briefly slid into the grass, but by that stage he had built sufficient margin to retain the lead. Crone continued to push without making any mistakes of her own, while the gap behind her became increasingly decisive. With 15 minutes remaining, Crone had extended her advantage over third-placed Brel to more than 20 seconds.
With the race remaining entirely under green-flag conditions, she managed the closing stages with the consistency that has characterized her campaign. Workman remained out of reach at the front, but Crone produced an impeccable final phase to secure second place, crossing the finish line with an enormous advantage of almost 50 seconds over Jon Brel in third.
The double podium represented another highly successful weekend for Crone and CarBahn Motorsports, with the driver adding a third and second place to her 2026 campaign. After nine rounds, Crone sits second in the GSX championship standings with 2,900 points.
The final round of the 2026 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge will take place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta from October 1–3.
