A battle right to the checkered flag saw Riley Motorsports drivers Gar Robinson and Lawson Aschenbach inherit their first podium of the 2020 season with a third place finish for the No. 74 74 Ranch Resort Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO at VIRginia International Raceway.
Having already shown dramatic strides in their 2020 partnership with Robinson Racing, the Riley Motorsports team knew they would have great potential as the reigning victors at VIRginia International Raceway.
After electing to take new tires for the race start, Robinson took the green flag from the twelfth position. Heads up, consistent driving through two caution periods propelled the Texan right into the top ten.
As the rest of the field pitted for fuel under yellow, the group waited until the 45-minute drive time window hit, before putting Aschenbach at the controls. Despite the flawless pit work, a pit lane speed violation merited a stop and go penalty which would soon be forgiven with a third caution.
Once the green flag was deployed, Aschenbach was latched onto the end of the field in eleventh position, where he’d soon begin shaving off positions.
With 45-minutes remaining, Aschenbach found himself in a tight battle for second with Bryan Sellers, while defending his position from Mario Farnbacher. The duel carried on until the final five laps, when the No. 74 dropped behind Farnbacher to fourth.
After the checkered flag flew, the No. 74 was elevated to the final spot on the GTD podium following a post-race technical infraction made by the No. 48 Lamborghini.
The IMSA WeatherTech Championship will return to action September 4-5 as they make their first of two appearances at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. This event will act as a replacement for the Sahlen Six Hours of the Glen, which has since been canceled as a result of COVID-19.
Gar Robinson | Driver, No. 74 Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO
“Even under these circumstances, it’s so nice to finally put our Riley Motorsports Mercedes on the podium!Everyone on the team did a great job and our Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO performed flawlessly. I’m excited to bring this same momentum to the Road Atlanta sprint race in a few weeks!”
Lawson Aschenbach | Driver, No. 74 Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO
“An unexpected bump to third place is exactly the momentum we needed to mark the halfway point of the season. Thanks to the entire Riley Motorsports organization for their dedication. Our expectations are high heading to Atlanta.