Sheena Monk salvages Bob Akin Award points after alternator trouble disrupts VIR round
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Sheena Monk endured a frustrating afternoon at Virginia International Raceway as a promising IMSA weekend was compromised by alternator problems, with the Myers Riley Motorsports drivers nevertheless fighting through adversity to bring the #16 Ford Mustang home and secure valuable points toward the Bob Akin Award.
Sheena Monk endured a frustrating afternoon at Virginia International Raceway as a promising IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship weekend was compromised by technical problems, with the Myers Riley Motorsports drivers nevertheless fighting through adversity to bring the #16 Ford Mustang GT3 home and secure valuable points toward the Bob Akin Award.
After showing competitive pace throughout practice, Monk and teammate Felipe Fraga appeared capable of challenging for another positive GTD result, only for an alternator problem to effectively end their hopes of a competitive finish during the opening laps. Despite falling 22 laps behind the leaders, the team worked relentlessly to return the Mustang to the track, allowing Monk and Fraga to complete the race.
The VIR round represented another opportunity for Monk to reverse a recent run of misfortune that had interrupted what has otherwise been an encouraging 2026 campaign. The Myers Riley Motorsports driver has consistently been one of the leading Bronze-rated competitors in the GTD field, with positive performances at Long Beach, Laguna Seca and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, but a heavy accident at Road America had been followed by another difficult weekend at VIR.
The fast and technical Virginia International Raceway nevertheless appeared to suit the #16 Mustang.
Monk and Fraga were immediately competitive in the opening practice session, placing tenth overall in GTD, with Monk herself producing particularly encouraging laps as the team continued to work on extracting the maximum from the car. The Mustang again ended the second practice session inside the overall top ten, however the #16 car sustained bodywork damage after an accident for Fraga.
The setback could easily have compromised the remainder of the preparation, but Myers Riley Motorsports reacted quickly, working to repair the Mustang and returning it to the track before the end of the session.
Monk was entrusted with qualifying duties later that day. The session did not begin ideally, however, as a pit-lane speed violation forced Monk to serve a drive-through penalty, costing her valuable preparation time before she could begin her qualifying laps. Despite the disruption, she immediately produced a competitive first timed lap of 1:47.960, placing eleventh in GTD and second among the Bronze-rated drivers. Monk then lowered her benchmark to 1:47.521, although the improvement moved her to twelfth overall and third among the Bronze entries as the rest of the field continued to find time.
The session became increasingly complicated as Monk was also forced to lose her quickest time after the red flag triggered during the earlier session had left her with an additional qualifying consequence.
That meant she had to rely on her second-best lap; Monk responded with a 1:47.681, securing twelfth place in GTD and third among the Bronze entries for Sunday's 2-hour-40-minute race.
Sunday brought clear skies and warm conditions for the race, with Monk getting behind the wheel for the opening stint aboard the #16 Mustang.
The start immediately became chaotic: the GTD field was tightly packed through the opening corners, with several cars making contact and drivers forced to take evasive action. Monk was shuffled off and ended up in the grass, although she was able to rejoin without sustaining major damage.
A heavy crash involving Alexander Sims in the #3 Corvette, which ended up at speed in the tyre barriers and came close to flipping the car, immediately brought out the Safety Car.
For Monk, the neutralization provided an opportunity to recover the ground lost in the opening corners and regroup with the GTD field. She remained twelfth overall and third among the Bronze competitors as the field circulated under caution.
Racing resumed after approximately 20 minutes, and Monk immediately returned to the attack.
The #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari of Patrese was subsequently handed a penalty for incident responsibility, moving Monk up to 11th in GTD. She continued to build her pace and soon broke through the 1:50 barrier, recording a 1:49.932 as she settled into the opening stint.
Unfortunately, however, at approximately the 40-minute mark, Monk brought the #16 Mustang into pit lane, as the team encountered an issue. The Myers Riley Mustang lost significant time and eventually fell two laps behind the leaders before being taken behind the wall for further investigation. After only 14 laps of racing, the team's hopes of a competitive GTD result appeared to be over, with an alternator problem identified as the cause of the failure.
Rather than retire the car, however, Myers Riley Motorsports continued working on the Mustang, determined to get it back on track and maximize whatever championship value remained. Their efforts eventually paid off, with the #16 car returning to the track with approximately one hour and 20 minutes remaining.
By that stage, the Mustang was already 22 laps behind the leaders. The fight was no longer for a strong overall GTD result, but there were still important points available in the Bronze classification and, crucially, toward Monk's Bob Akin Award campaign.
Monk completed another six laps before returning to pit lane with approximately one hour and ten minutes remaining, handing the Mustang over to Fraga.
Fraga lowered the car's best lap to 1:48.6 before improving again to a 1:47.6, with the Mustang's pace not far off that of the leading GTD competitors, despite its deficit. Over the following laps, he maintained a consistent rhythm.
With 51 minutes remaining, Fraga made another scheduled pit stop on lap 31 for fuel. His pace remained solid. The team made another stop on lap 45 with 24 minutes remaining, before returning to pit lane again only four laps later. Despite the additional interruptions, the Mustang returned to the circuit and continued circulating consistently, initially in the 1:49s before Fraga once again brought the lap times down into the 1:48s during the closing stages.
The #16 Myers Riley Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 crossed the finish line thirteenth overall in GTD and third among the Bronze entries, a result that was a long way from the potential shown by Monk and Fraga during the opening stages of the weekend, yet the Bronze finish still carried significance, collecting valuable points. For Monk, it represented another example of salvaging something from a weekend that had once again been compromised by circumstances outside her control.
Nevertheless, Monk has continued to demonstrate the same fighting spirit that has characterized her latest seasons. After the VIR round, she remains third in the Bob Akin Award standings with 2,310 points.
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship now moves to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on September 20, where Monk will try to break the streak of misfortune.
