LMP3 Competitors May Have to Battle Sweltering Conditions
By Tony DiZinno
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge field discovered a swing in conditions over the course of its most recent two-hour race at Circuit of The Americas in May. As the series heads to VIRginia International Raceway this week, it’ll likely encounter a similar weather rise once more.
The last endurance round at COTA in Austin started with temperatures in the low 70s but crested into the mid-80s by race time. VIR is notorious for muggy, sweltering conditions in the summer and it’s likely similar weather will greet the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) field this go-around.
There are two 50-minute practice sessions, one late Friday afternoon and the second Saturday morning. Qualifying takes place Saturday afternoon with the race streaming live Sunday at 10:35 a.m. ET on the IMSA Official YouTube channel.
Gebhardt Motorsport USA Inc. and Toney Driver Development have split the opening two rounds of the four-race season. Oscar Tunjo and Valentino Catalano (No. 1 Gebhardt Duqueine D09) capitalized on a fuel pump issue that took Toney’s pair of Wyatt Brichacek and Lincoln Day (No. 95 Toney Ligier JS P325) out of the lead at Sebring.
However, Brichacek and Titus Sherlock bounced back in style at COTA, navigating a newly implemented rule requiring two mandatory pit stops and showcasing impressive pace all day to secure the win.
Tunjo and Catalano, who will share a Duqueine D09 this race after upgrading the previous generation D08, top the Airbnb Endurance Challenge standings by just 10 points (650-640). Brian Thienes and Patrick Kujala, Bronze Cup leaders, sit second after finishing second overall both races in their No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P325. Brichacek sits third on his own, 50 in arrears.
The other podium finishers so far in Airbnb Endurance Challenge rounds have been Ari Balogh and Garett Grist, third overall at Sebring and third in Bronze Cup at COTA in their No. 30 Toney Ligier JS P325, and Jagger Jones and Farhan Siddiqi who were second in Bronze Cup at COTA in their No. 87 FastMD with Remstar Duqueine D08.
One returning entry this weekend is Forte’s second car, the No. 86 Ligier JS P320 of Jon Hirshberg and Patrick Liddy. This car makes its first Airbnb Endurance Challenge start of the year while Hirshberg makes his first LMP3 start since Circuit of The Americas’ sprint round in February.
A handful of LMP3 competitors raced at VIR in 2025 as part of the sprint weekend in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. Catalano swept the three-race weekend in his Gebhardt Duqueine, while both Thienes and Hirshberg scored Bronze Cup podiums. Tunjo, meanwhile, missed the VIR weekend in 2025 owing to a schedule conflict.